Strengths and Strategies in the Civil War

1. Lesson 16.1b: Strengths and Strategies Today we will list the strengths and describe the strategies of each side at the beginning of the Civil War.

2. Vocabulary • strength – a skill or an advantage • strategy – long-term plan for success • agrarian – having to do with agriculture or farming • diplomat – one who is appointed by his government to maintain relations with another country

3. Check for Understanding • What are we going to do today? • What is a strength?

4. What is an agrarian economy?

5. What is a strategy?

6. What We Already Learned Charleston, South Carolina’s shore guns fired on Fort Sumter until it was forced to surrender.

7. What We Already Learned Two days after the surrender of Fort Sumter, President Lincoln asked the Union states to provide 75,000 militiamen for 90 days to put down the uprising in the South.

8. What We Already Learned • North Carolina • North Dakota • West Virginia • New Jersey • Arkansas Lincoln’s call for troops led four more states to join the Confederacy.

9. Strengths and Weaknesses

10. Industrial capacity • About 85% of all factories were in the North. • Factories: 119,500 to 20,600 • Factory workers : 1,198,000 to 111,000 • An industrial economy is invigorated by war, and an agrarian economy is devastated by war.

11. Farm acreage • 105.8 million acres in the North • 56.8 million Southern acres

12. Railroad system • 21,847 miles in the North vs. 8,947 miles in the South (71% to 29%) • Much of the southern rail lines had different gauges.

13. Population • Union population: 22 million (71%) • Confederate population: 9 million (29%); 3.5 million were slaves

14. Public Support • Public opinion was divided in Union. • Some Northerners want to fight for union, others wanted to let the South go its own way. • The South suffered from too much democracy. • Southern citizens often refused to pay taxes, or provide slaves and supplies to the Confederate army. • Some Southern states even threatened to secede from the Confederacy.

15. Economic Policies • Confederates didn’t exploit the Union blockade before it tightened. • Unwillingness to tax citizens • Confederacy didn’t promote manufacturing • Refused to free slaves for military service

16. Wealth • More people means more money. • More manufacturing means more money ($1.7 billion in the North vs. $1.56 million in the South) • Most banks were in the North.

17. Established government • Confederacy began with neither a national government nor constitution • Lincoln’s leadership

18. Military tradition & leadership • More of the most experienced and able commanders were from the South. • Most Southern men could ride and shoot well. • The South had always had a military school tradition.

19. An established navy • Nearly all shipyards were in the North. • Most naval officers were Northerners. • The Union would be able to blockade the Confederate coastline.

20. Diplomacy and Foreign Policy • Union Secretary of State William Seward was an able diplomat. • US-Britain relations were very good in 1861. • The Union had many trade ties w/Britain. • European countries were opposed to slavery.

21. Location • Most battles would have to be fought in the South. • Confederates would have knowledge of the land. • Southerners would be close to their supply lines.

22. Motivation • Northern reasons for fighting (preserving the Union) were indistinct. • Southerners fought to defend their homes and way of life.

23. Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

24. 8. What were the strengths of the Union when the war began? • More people and factories • Talented generals • Strong public support • An established navy • An established gov-ernment • Better motivation Choose ALL that are true!

25. 9. What were the Confederacy’s strengths at the beginning of the war? • An established navy • Military tradition and leadership • Defensive strategy • More railroads • Better motivation • Good relations with foreign countries • Presidential leadership Choose ALL that are true!

26. The Union Strategy • General Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan

27. The Union Strategy • General Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan • A naval blockade of the South’s coastline

28. The Union Strategy • General Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan • A naval blockade of the South’s coastline • Union to split the Confederacy in two by gaining control of the Mississippi River

29. The Union Strategy • General Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan • A naval blockade of the South’s coastline • Union to split the Confederacy in two by gaining control of the Mississippi River • Capture Richmond, the Confederate capital • One drawback –it would take time to work.

30. The Confederate Strategy • At first, a defensive strategy • No need to invade or conquer your enemy: just survive until Northerners grew tired of the war and accept Southern independence • Use “king Cotton” to gain foreign assistance

31. The Confederate Strategy “King Cotton” referred to cotton’s importance to the South and to the world’s economy.

32. ‘King Cotton’ was withheld from the market as a way to win foreign support. The Confederate Strategy

33. The Confederate Strategy Unfortunately for the Confederacy, European nations had surplus cotton in their warehouses.

34. The Confederate Strategy Unfortunately for the Confederacy, European nations had surplus cotton in their warehouses. Most did not want to get involved in a foreign war.

35. The Confederate Strategy Unfortunately for the Confederacy, European nations had surplus cotton in their warehouses. Most did not want to get involved in a foreign war. Britain had begun cultivating cotton in its colonies in India.

36. The Confederate Strategy As the war went on, the South began to take the offensive, hoping to wreck Northern morale.

37. Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

38. 10. Why did the Confederates believe that they would be helped by Britain? • They could increase cotton production as a form of bribery to foreign textile-producing nations. • They portrayed themselves as victims of Northern aggression and brutality. • They could withhold cotton from world markets, and force France and Britain to aid the Confederate cause. • They were lending money to foreign governments in an attempt to buy their assistance.

39. 11. What were the three parts of the Union’s Anaconda Plan? • Withhold factory goods from Britain until we have their help in the war • Naval blockade of the South's coastline • Capture of the Confederate capital city • Union control of the Mississippi River • Reliance upon European aid Choose ALL that are true!

40. Battle of Bull Run • To take Richmond, the railway center of Manassas, southwest of Washington, D.C., would have to be taken first. • July 21, 1861, Union forces clashed with Confederate forces near a little creek called Bull Run.

41. Battle of Bull Run General Irvin McDowell led Union forces against Confederates commanded by General Pierre Beauregard.

42. Battle of Bull Run The battle was confusing, due to the smoke, the noise, and the similarities in flags and uniforms that day.

43. Battle of Bull Run At first, Union troops outnumbered the Confederates and had the upper hand.

44. Battle of Bull Run Fresh Confederate troops arrived by railroad, and the tide of battle began to turn.

45. Battle of Bull Run Eventually, the Union troops broke ranks and fled all the way back to Washington, D.C.

46. Battle of Bull Run • The Confederate victory thrilled the South and many in the South thought the war was won. • Lincoln sent the 90-day militias home and called for a real army of 500,000 volunteers for three years. • It was beginning to look like it would be a long war.

47. Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

48. 12. How did Lincoln react after the Battle of Bull Run? • He replaced General Meade with Ulysses S. Grant. • He considered resigning from the presidency. • He called for 500,000 volunteers to enlist for three years. • He issued the Emancipation Proclamation.