Civil War Unfolds: Lincoln's Presidency and Strategies

1. Chapter 14 – The Civil War, 1861-1865

2. Lincoln takes Presidency • Lincoln’s position in inaugural address: • He promised to safeguard slavery where it existed, but vowed to prevent its expansion • If military force was necessary to preserve the Union, he would use it • The choice for the South: return to the Union or face war

3. Battle of Fort Sumter [April , 1861] • First battle of the Civil War • South Carolina demanded that the US Army abandon its fort since they seceded • US Army refused • Confederacy prevented any supplies from entering the fort • In the end, the Union forces agreed to evacuate

4. Secession of Southern States • After the Battle of Sumter, Lincoln called for 75,000 troops to crush the rebellion in the South • This led to these states seceding: • Virginia – April 17, 1861 • Arkansas – May 6, 1861 • North Carolina – May 20, 1861 • Tennessee – June 8, 1861

5. Border States • Slave states that did not secede from the Union: • Missouri • Kentucky • Maryland • Delaware

6. The North [Union] • Advantages: • Overwhelming supremacy in men, material, and money • An established government, good relations with other nations, and control of the coastline • Goal: • Conquer the South

7. The South [Confederacy] • Advantages: • Only had to wage a defensive war, fight on familiar soil, and defend their homes/ way of life • Hoped “cotton diplomacy” would bring them foreign assistance • Believed that Great Britain and France would support them if the cotton trade were restricted

8. Strategy of the war • North: • Divide the South, isolate it diplomatically and use overwhelming might to crush the rebellion • South: • They expected a quick victory • they expected the North to tire of fighting

9. Toward Richmond [Virginia] • Lincoln hoped a quick strike against the Confederate capital would end the rebellion – did not work • July 1861 – Battle of Manassas [First Battle of Bull Run] • This Confederate victory showed the strength of the rebellion

10. Attempts at invading the North • Robert E. Lee invaded the North to: • apply political pressure • try to convince border states [like Maryland] to join the Confederacy • secure foreign recognition • Each time he was forced to return to the South, short of his goals

11. Battle of Antietam [Sept. 17, 1862] • First battle fought on Northern soil: Maryland • Union was able to check the Confederate advance into Northern territory • Bloodiest single day in American History • 23,000 causalities

12. Total War • The military carnage in 1862 proved the war would be long and costly • Lincoln committed the nation to a total war that would mobilize all of society’s resources in support of the North’s military effort

13. The Military draft • Initially, both sides had numerous young volunteers • However, enlistments will decline as people learn about the realities of mass warfare: diseases, death, etc. • Both governments soon faced the need for conscription [draft]

14. Military draft in the south • The Confederacy imposed the first legally binding draft in American history • Existing soldiers had to serve for the remainder of the war • All men ages 18-35 were mandated three years of military service • Two loopholes: • One white man was exempt [either the planter, a son, or an overseer] for every twenty slaves • Draftees could hire substitutes

15. Military draft in the north • Most Union governments used incentives to lure recruits • To meet quotas set by the Militia Act of 1862, governments used cash bounties to sign up nearly 1 million men [$600/$11,000 today] • Men could avoid military service by providing a substitute or paying $300 [$5,500 today] • The Enrollment Act of 1863 initiated conscription • This sparked riots in New York City that lasted for five days • Mostly recent German and Irish immigrants who felt it wasn’t their war

16. Emancipation Proclamation “…I do order and declare that all persons held as slaves within [rebelling] States …shall be free; and that the Executive government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities … will recognize and maintain the freedom of [these] person. And I hereby [ask] the people so declared to be free to [avoid] all violence, unless in necessary self-defense; and I recommend to them that, in all cases when allowed, they labor faithfully for reasonable wages. And I further declare …that… persons of suitable condition, will be received in to the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places, and to man vessels of all sort in said service.” Abraham Lincoln, The Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863

17. All Slaves Free? Nooooooooo • Only the slaves in the Confederate states • Lincoln feared the impact of emancipation of all slaves on the Border States • These states were still loyal to the Union and were fundamental to his strategy for restoring the Union [when the war was over]

18. Battle of Vicksburg, May 18-July 4, 1863 • General Grant mounted a major offensive to split the Confederacy in two • He defeated two Confederate armies and then laid siege to the city • The starving Vicksburg (Mississippi) garrison surrendered on July 4, 1863 after a six week holdout – forced to eat rats, etc. • Led to thousands of slaves leaving their plantations

19. Battle of Gettysburg [July 1-3, 1863] • 2nd Confederate invasion of the North (Pennsylvania) • Robert E. Lee wanted to take the war away from Virginia, loot supplies, & threaten Northern cities • 3-day battle • 51,000 from both armies were killed, wounded, captured, or missing • Lincoln used a ceremony for fallen soldiers to redefine the purpose of the war • Gettysburg Address

20. War comes to an end • In April 1865, Grant gained forced Lee to abandon Richmond, Virginia • He cut off Lee’s escape route to North Carolina • Lee surrendered on April 9, 1865 at Appomattox Court House, Virginia

21. Costs of the Civil War • The Union had been preserved and slavery had been destroyed, but… • Southern factories, railroads, & cities ruined • Southern farms and plantations had suffered years of neglect • Almost 260,000 Confederate soldiers killed • More than 360,000 Union soldiers were killed • Thousands more had been injured

22. How war transformed the North • Mobilized for the war by: • instituting a draft • issuing an income tax • issuing $450 million in “greenback” currency • Largely financed the war • Was not backed by gold or silver, but by the credibility of the government

23. How war transformed the North • Lincoln expanded his powers enormously • Sent troops into battle without congressional approval • Suspended habeas corpus • Cannot be jailed without reason and cannot be detained or punished without a trial • Arrested and held without charges over 13,000 people during the war

24. How war transformed the North • Lincoln expanded his powers enormously • Sent troops into battle without congressional approval • Suspended habeas corpus • Cannot be jailed without reason and cannot be detained or punished without a trial • Arrested and held without charges over 13,000 people during the war