The Civil War 1861-1865
Essential Questions What underlying factors caused the Civil War? What specific events led to the outbreak of conflict? What were the contrasting visions of Lincoln and Jefferson Davis? What roles did individuals play in determining the outcome of the war?
Election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln Opposed slavery Northern & Southern Democrats chose separate candidates allowing Lincoln to win. Lincoln didn t campaign in the South. This election leads us into the CIVIL WAR! Republican Illinois 16 th President of United States
Election of 1860 When Lincoln won, Southerners were outraged. South Carolina immediately seceded from the Union. Soon after 6 other states followed including Texas.
Birth of the Confederacy The seceding states formed the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis was elected President of the Confederacy. 1 st Confederate capital was in Montgomery, Alabama. Later moved to Richmond, Virginia.
Jefferson Davis Inauguration The South illustrated - the idea that government rests upon the consent of the governed, and that it is the right of the people to alter or abolish a government whenever it becomes destructive of the ends for which it was established. The Southern states merely asserted a right which the Declaration of Independence defined o be inalienable. Davis emphasized that the South had no aggressive designs on the North. According to Davis, they had lawfully chosen to leave.
Lincoln s Inaugural Address He reassured Southerners that he would not interfere with slavery in the South. Warned that the Constitution was based on the idea that the Union of these states is perpetual and that no state can lawfully get out of the Union. He would do the utmost to preserve the Union, by force if necessary.
Firing on Fort Sumter A federal fort in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina Troops were running out of food and supplies and had no way to resupply once SC seceded. Lincoln refused to surrender the fort to preserve national unity. On April 12, 1861 Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter and the Civil War began.
After Fort Sumter War Begins On April 15, 1861, Lincoln asked each state to provide militia to help suppress the rebellion. This led 4 more Southern states to join the Confederacy, including Virginia. West Virginia was formed and stayed loyal to the Union.
Causes of the Civil War Sectionalism States Rights The Issue of Slavery Election of Abraham Lincoln Explain how each of these led to the Civil War?
Why do they fight? North - Union Fought to maintain national unity. Later fought to end the system of slavery. South - Confederate Fought to defend their independence and preserve their way of life, even though this included denying independence to others slavery. For the next 4 years, Americans were engaged in the bloodiest conflict in their history.
Advantages & Disadvantages North South Population 22 Million 6 Million free citizens Transportation Resources Leadership Naval Power Superior transportation system with more railroads, canals, ports, and roads. More factories and grew more food Abraham Lincoln & Ulysses S. Grant Powerful navy which blockaded Southern ports. Lacked a good transportation system. Primarily rural and agricultural. Produced mainly cotton and cash crops. Lacked manufacturing centers. Jefferson Davis lacked Lincoln s political skills. However, they appeared to have a superior military leadership early in the war. Generals Robert E. Lee & Stonewall Jackson Few war ships Although the North had superior wealth and resources, Southerners thought they had one very important advantage: they were fighting to defend their own way of life.
North s Wartime Strategies The Anaconda Plan Long-term strategy by General Winfield Scott was aimed at strangling the South. Lincoln ordered a naval blockade of the Confederacy. Have Union forces take control of the Mississippi River to split the south in two. Objectives: to prevent Southerners from receiving supplies from Europe to block exportation of cotton to prohibit importing war materials thwart the creation of a Confederate navy.
South s Wartime Strategies Although the North was stronger, Southerners were motivated to fight to uphold their way of life. Defensive strategy Robert E. Lee most respected military commander on either side. Lincoln wanted him in the North but his loyalty to Virginia led him to join the Confederacy.
Lincoln s Leadership Lincoln took all the steps he felt necessary to support the war effort, including i. conscription (required military service draft) ii. the naval blockade of the South iii. the use of paper money iv. military arrests of suspected rebels v. Firing generals
Early Campaigns In the early parts of the war, both sides hoped for a quick victory. Northerners hoped that by capturing the Confederate capital at Richmond, the war would be quickly over.
Battle of Manassas (Bull Run) July 1861 First Battle of Civil War Union army marched towards Richmond but was defeated. General Stonewall Jackson helped to force the Union army to retreat. Jackson was one of the best Confederate commanders in the war. General Stonewall Jackson
Battle of Antietam (Sharpsburg) Jefferson Davis & Robert E. Lee decided that the best way to end the war was to invade the North. In late 1862, Lee leads Confederate forces in Maryland to Antietam Creek. The bloodies single day of the war. 6,000 killed. Lee retreats, but Union forces don t pursue.
Major Civil War Battles
Emancipation Proclamation 1862 Lincoln believed he should free the slaves to preserve the Union. Lincoln uses the victory at the Battle of Antietam to announce the Emancipation Proclamation. This only freed the slaves in the rebelling states, not the loyal border states. Most controversial document in Lincoln s Presidency.
Reasons for the Emancipation Proclamation Prevent Britain and France from helping the South. Prevent Southern states from using black troops for combat. To keep border states from deserting the North from the South. End slavery and preserve the Union.
The Emancipation Proclamation declared: That on the first day of January, 1863, all persons held as slaves within any State or part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority, will recognize and maintain the freedom of such persons, and will do no act to repress such persons, [from] their actual freedom. Why was Lincoln so certain that he was doing right?
Effects of Emancipation Proclamation Disrupted the Confederacy s agricultural economy, as slaves fled plantations. Ended all chances of British or French intervention. They had been sympathetic to Confederate states which supplied them with cotton. The EP made the North look good and slavery was condemned by Britain and France.
Draft Riots The U.S. government passed a draft law requiring men to serve in the army. Unpopular in the North. Riots broke out in New York City protesting the law. They blamed African Americans for the draft.
War taking its toll on the South As the war continued, the South was slowly being strangled by the Northern naval blockade (Anaconda Plan). Southern cotton piled up on docks without being shipped. Union ships also captured Southern cities along the Mississippi River.
Battle of Gettysburg -- 1863 TURNING POINT IN THE WAR. Lee moved north in a bold attempt to cut of Washington, D.C. from the rest of the Union. Union and Confederate armies met at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. After 3 days of heavy fighting, Lee retreated. Lee s army suffered heavy casualties and was never again able to go on the offensive against the North.
Gettysburg Address Lincoln was invited to the battlefield of Gettysburg in 1863 to dedicate a cemetery to the Union soldiers who had died there. He gave his most famous speech and explained the meaning of the Civil War.
Battle of Vicksburg A 47-day siege. Union forces captured New Orleans and were making their way up the Mississippi River. Union General Ulysses S. Grant wanted to capture Vicksburg to divide the South in two and to trap the Confederate army. The day after Gettysburg, Vicksburg surrendered. Read 1 st paragraph on page 272
William Carney In 1863, Carney took part in an assault on Fort Wagner. This assault was one of the 1 st major battles in which the Union used black soldiers. For his acts of bravery, Carney became the 1 st African American to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Ulysses S. Grant takes command Lincoln was so pleased with Grant s success at Vicksburg that he placed him in charge of all Union forces. Unlike earlier commanders, his goal was total destruction of Confederate forces. He waged war on the economic resources of the South, which supported its army.
William T. Sherman March to the Sea Sherman and the Union army marched across Georgia from Atlanta to Savannah to further divide the Confederacy. His army lived off the land. They tore up railroads, cut Troops had few supplies and telegraph lines, and ate what they could seize. burned down farms, businesses, and villages in his March to the Sea.
Bazaar became the 1 st Hispanic-American to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Presidential Lincoln s chances for reelection appeared uncertain. Lincoln had become subject to widespread criticism for his handling of the war. Many blamed the failures of the Union of Lincoln. Others were outraged by the Emancipation Proclamation. George McClellan had been commander of the Union army at Antietam. Lincoln was able to win re-election in 1864.
Lincoln s Second Inaugural Address Lincoln s original ideas had shifted by his second term. At first he wanted to preserve the Union, now his focus was on the sin of slavery. Lincoln declared the South had been willing to make war on the Union rather than give up their slaves.
The War Comes to an End The devastation caused by the Union armies caused many Confederates to lose hope. General Lee slowly lost his army. In April 1865, Richmond (Confederate capital) fell to Union armies. Lee met Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Under the terms of the agreement, Lee and his army surrendered and were pardoned. The war was finally over.
Roughly 1,264,000 American soldiers have died in the nation's wars--620,000 in the Civil War and 644,000 in all other conflicts. It was only as recently as the Vietnam War that the amount of American deaths in foreign wars eclipsed the number who died in the Civil War.
Lincoln s Assassination Just weeks after the surrender Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, who thought Lincoln was a tyrant. Had Lincoln lived, he was prepared to forgive the South and to work together as Americans dedicated to a system of government based on liberty, equality, and unity. Lincoln died April 15, 1865 John Wilkes Booth
Reconstruction The years following the Civil War are called the Reconstruction Era. This is where the Nation put itself back together again.