The Civil War

THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

1861-1865

Secession of the South

• A. Reasons for secession – 1. Emotional--the North wants to establish black

rule in the South. Their goal is not equality, but the reversal of roles for the races.

– 2. Economic--the policies of a Republican president--protective tariffs, free homesteads in the west, etc.--will prevent the South from prospering.

• B. Northern reaction to secession – 1. Most opposed forcing the South to return to the

Union – 2. Pres. Buchanan refused to act when a federal

supply ship was attacked in Charleston Harbor in January 1861

– 3. Crittenden Compromise proposed the prohibition of slavery north of the Missouri Compromise line (36 30), but allowing it south of the line in addition to compensation to owners for runaway slaves

• C. Lincoln decided to employ force because the South was denying the democratic principle that formed the basis of the Union.– 1. Supplies are sent to Ft. Sumter in Charleston

Harbor (April 12, 1861) – 2. Confederates opened fire on the fort, starting

the war

The North and the South Compared

North's advantages over the South

• 1. Potential fighting and working force: 20 million citizens – a) Population: 2.5:1 – b) Free male population (ages 18-60): 4.4:1

• 2. Wealth produced: 3:1 – a) Factory production: 10:1 – b) Textile goods produced: 14:1 – c) Iron production: 15:1 – d) Coal production: 38:1 – e) Farm acreage: 3:1 – f) Draft animals: 1.8:1 – g) Livestock: 1.5:1 – h) Wheat production: 4.2:1 – i) Corn production: 2:1

Rating the North & the South

Rating the North & the South

• 3. Transportation--superior in every respect – a) Railroad mileage: 7:1 – b) Naval tonnage: 25:1 – c) Merchant ship tonnage: 9:1

Railroad Lines, 1860Railroad Lines, 1860

South's advantages over the North

• 1. Fighting a defensive war. Local support and familiarity with terrain

• 2. Positive goal: seeking independence • 3. Short communication lines and friendly

population• 4. United public in contrast to the North. Non-

slaveholders eager to volunteer to fight • 5. Experienced officer corps--many veterans of the

Mexican-American War joined the Confederacy • 6. Cotton (24:1 advantage over North)--necessary

for textile factories of England and France

Resources: North & the SouthResources: North & the South

The Union and Confederacy in 1861

The Union and Confederacy in 1861

Early Strategies of the Opposing Sides

North

• 1) Capture Richmond and force surrender • 2) Expel Confederates from border states • 3) Control the Mississippi River • 4) Blockade southern ports and stop cotton

shipments

Overviewof

Civil WarStrategy

:

“Anaconda”Plan

Overviewof

Civil WarStrategy

:

“Anaconda”Plan

South

• 1) Capture Washington, D.C. • 2) Control border states • 3) Gain England's support • 4) Expel Union troops from South

Northern Domestic Issues

Prosperity and expansion

• …the war provided a stimulant to Northern economic interests • 1. Homestead Act (1862)--160 acres of land virtually free to any

citizen willing to occupy it for five years • 2. Morrill Land Grant Act (1862)----30,000 acres of land for each

Congressional representative granted to each state. Proceeds of land sales to be used to finance public colleges

• 3. High tariffs passed to protect Northern industries • 4. Transcontinental railroad promoted with creation of federally

chartered corporations receiving free public lans and generous loans

• 5. National Bank Act (1863)--created national banking system. Stabilized currency and reduced confusing state bank note system

Financing the war

• 1. First income tax (1861): 3% on incomes above $800

• 2. Borrowing. $6.2 billion through the issuance of bonds

• 3. Greenbacks--paper currency not supported by specie reserve. Value fluctuated with success of Northern armies. Caused serious inflation problems

Raising the Union army

• 1. Lincoln issues call for 75,000 volunteers in 1861 to supplement 16,000 man army.

• 2. Although volunteer call succeeded at first, by 1863 Congress turned to a draft to fill units. States could avoid draft by filling quotas of volunteers. Draft opposed by Peace Democrats, laborers, and immigrants

• 3. Draft riots resulted in New York City in July 1863, causing hundreds of deaths, mostly of blacks

Men Present for Duty in the Civil War

Men Present for Duty in the Civil War

Immigrants

as a %of a

State’sPopulation

in1860

Immigrants

as a %of a

State’sPopulation

in1860

Lincoln's enormous political problems • 1. Seen as inexperienced and unfit, he was challenged

by members of his own cabinet, including Chase and Seward

• 2. Expansion of war powers – a) Call for troops to repress rebellion without declaration of

war – b) Arrest of unfriendly newspaper editors – c) Suspension of habeas corpus – d) Proclamation of naval blockade without Congressional

approval – e) 13,000 political opponents arrested for varying periods – f) Refusal to obey writ issued by Chief Justice Taney (Ex parte

Merryman)

Ex Parte Merryman

• John Merryman, of Baltimore county, Md., was arrested, charged with holding a commission as a lieutenant in a company avowing its purpose of armed hostility against the Government; with being in communication with the rebels.

• Writ of Habeas Corpus

Presidential Election of 1864

• a) Abolitionists urged the Republicans to choose a candidate who would wage total war against the South

• b) Lincoln chose Andrew Johnson as his running mate to attract "War Democrats" and formed the Union Party

• c) Democrats nominated McClellan and a platform which called for a truce and settlement with the South

• d) Lincoln once again won in the electoral college, but only had a 400,000 vote majority in the popular vote

Northern Foreign Issues

Relations with England

• 1. English support for the Confederacy – a) Upper class feared leveling effect of Union

victory on English society, felt socially close to the Southern plantation aristocracy, and needed cotton

– b) Some liberals and lower-class English favored the South, seeing the Civil War as a rebellion against Northern tyranny or as a struggle to preserve the Union

• 2. English support for the Union – a) Many English workers favored the North

because a Northern victory would mean emancipation of the slaves

– b) Others felt western wheat was more critical to England than Southern cotton

• 3. Trent Affair (November 1861)--American warships stopped a British ship and removed two Confederate diplomats. – a) Britain threatened war unless they were

released – b) Sec. of State Seward ordered the men released,

although Northern sentiment opposed backing down

Tensions between the North and GB:• A Br. ship. the Trent, was intercepted by the N.

on its way to GB from the S.; it was carrying S. "ambassadors"...the N. resented Br. interference, leading some to call for war; Lincoln simply defused the situation by releasing the ship and the southern "agents"

• GB had also sold several ships to the S., namely the Florida and the Alabama - they had sunk many n. ships

• A few southerners had managed to get into Canada, from which they launched several raids into the N.; this inc. a # of bank robberies in Vt. (the best known was the St. Alban's Raid)...some Northerners wanted to invade Canada as punishment

• this forced the Canada colonies to begin to consider a Confederation to protect themselves against the US...by 1867, GB agreed w/ the Canadian "Fathers of Confederation" (Canada had become an expensive hassle for the Br…)

Relations with France

• Union defeats in 1861 and 1862 convinced France that the South would win. – 1) Lincoln delayed both France and England's

recognition of the Confederacy by issuing the Emancipation Proclamation

– 2) France placed Archduke Maximilian on the Mexican throne in challenge to Monroe Doctrine

Major Battles and Events

Battle of Bull Run (1st Manassas),

July, 1861

Battle of Bull Run (1st Manassas),

July, 1861

The Battle of the Ironclads,

March, 1862

The Battle of the Ironclads,

March, 1862

The Monitor vs.

the Merrimac

The Monitor vs.

the Merrimac

War in the East: 1861-1862

War in the East: 1861-1862

Emancipation in 1863Emancipation in 1863

Blacks in the Military

• After the Emancipation Proclamation blacks began to join the Union Army• Initially they were only

used for manual labor• Eventually, Blacks saw

live combat• 54th regiment out of

Massachusetts

William Carney

The 54th Regiment attack on Fort Wagner, SC- July 18, 1863

Extensive Legislation Passed

Without the South in Congress

Extensive Legislation Passed

Without the South in Congress

1861 – Morrill Tariff Act

1862 – Homestead Act

1862 – Legal Tender Act

1862 – Morrill Land Grant Act

1862 – Emancipation Proclamation

1863 – Pacific Railway Act

1863 – National Bank Act

1861 – Morrill Tariff Act

1862 – Homestead Act

1862 – Legal Tender Act

1862 – Morrill Land Grant Act

1862 – Emancipation Proclamation

1863 – Pacific Railway Act

1863 – National Bank Act

The War in

the West, 1863:

Vicksburg

The War in

the West, 1863:

Vicksburg

The Road to Gettysburg: 1863

The Road to Gettysburg: 1863

Gettysburg – turning point• Lee realized that the South was in dire straits and decided that it was

crucial to attack the North on its own territory• July 1-3, 1863 - BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG, Pa.• Confed. bombardment; Union held firm• on July 3, General Pickett led 15,000 Confed. Troops across open fields

- Union mowed them down (= "Pickett’s Charge")• Lee was defeated and retreated to Virgnia• Gettysburg is the largest battle in the history of the Western

hemisphere.• It was the last time the South invaded the North.

Gettysburg CasualtiesGettysburg Casualties

Gettysburg Address• that from these honored dead we take increased

devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Abe Lincoln

Technology made Civil War . . .

The Monitor

More efficient and deadly

First metal ships in world!

• July 4, 1863 - another Union victory - VICKSBURG• won by U.S. Grant, cut South in 1/2 and gave the Union

control of Mississippi River• Grant was then given control of all Union armies

began a "scorched earth" policy to defeat the South• General Sheridan decimated Va.'s Shenandoah Valley• General Sherman given task of taking Atlanta; his "March

through Georgia" saw total destruction from Atlanta to Savannah

Sherman’s

Marchthroug

hGeorgiato theSea, 1864

Sherman’s

Marchthroug

hGeorgiato theSea, 1864

Presidential

Election of 1864

Presidential

Election of 1864

The Progress of War: 1861-1865

The Progress of War: 1861-1865

The Final Virginia Campaign:1864-1865

The Final Virginia Campaign:1864-1865

• April 3, 1865 - Grant took Richmond Va. - final blow to Lee's army

• Lee surrenders on April 9, 1865 at APPOMATTOX COURTHOUSE

• All Confed. troops forced to take an oath of loyalty to U.S.

• otherwise, terms of surrender were lenient • Lincoln didn't want a humiliated South and further

conflict• issue of states' rights now "solved"- fed. gov't had

asserted its status

After four bloody years of civil war, the South was defeated.

Over 620,000 military deaths during Civil War.

Casualties on Both Sides

Casualties on Both Sides

Civil War Casualtiesin Comparison to Other

Wars

Civil War Casualtiesin Comparison to Other

Wars

• POLITICAL / ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS• w/o Southerners in fed. gov't, many changes occurred that benefited the

North:• 1) Homestead Act passed by Congress in 1862 - encouraged W. expansion

w/o slavery - 165 acres given to anyone who would farm it 5 yrs.

• 2) Union-Pacific Railway was authorized - great trade potential, focused on the Northern States.

• 3) Tariffs were put in place to protect Northern industry

• 4) Congress established a single federal currency - same value in all states - known as "Greenbacks"

• 5) to cover war debts, Union gov't issued war bonds and intro'd income tax

• 6) in a further illustration of fed. gov't power, Lincoln's gov't restricted civil liberties so nothing would detract from Union war effort (suspended Habeas Corpus)- free press/ speech also interrupted

• 7) 1864 Election - only in Union- pitted Republican Lincoln against Democrat General McClellan Lincoln won easily, assuring that war will continue (N. Democrats wanted an end)

• EFFECTS OF CIVIL WAR• creation of a single unified country• abolition of slavery• increased power to fed. gov't – killed the issue of

states rights • U.S. now an industrial nation• a stronger sense of nationalism• w. lands increasingly opened to settlement• South was economically and physically devastated,

w/ the plantation system crippled...thus Reconstruction (rebuilding the U.S.) - but a deep hatred of the North remained...

Oh, I’m a good ‘old rebelNow that’s just what I am‘N for this Yankee nation,I do not give a damnI’m glad I fought agin’ herI only wish we’d wonI ain’t asked any pardonFor anything I’ve done.

Oh, I’m a good ‘old rebelNow that’s just what I am‘N for this Yankee nation,I do not give a damnI’m glad I fought agin’ herI only wish we’d wonI ain’t asked any pardonFor anything I’ve done.

I hates the Yankee nationAnd everything they doI hates the DeclarationOf Independence, tooI hates the glorious Union‘Tis dripping with our bloodI hates their strip’ed bannerI fit it all I could.

I hates the Yankee nationAnd everything they doI hates the DeclarationOf Independence, tooI hates the glorious Union‘Tis dripping with our bloodI hates their strip’ed bannerI fit it all I could.

I rode with Robert E. LeeFor three years, thereaboutGot wounded in four placesAnd I starved at Point LookoutI catched the rheumatismA-campin’ in the snowBut I killed a chance of Yankees And I’d like to kill some more.

I rode with Robert E. LeeFor three years, thereaboutGot wounded in four placesAnd I starved at Point LookoutI catched the rheumatismA-campin’ in the snowBut I killed a chance of Yankees And I’d like to kill some more.

Three hundred thousand YankeesA-stiff in Southern dustWe got three hundred thousandBefore they conquered usThey died of Southern feverAnd Southern steel and shotI wish they were three millionInstead of what we got!

Three hundred thousand YankeesA-stiff in Southern dustWe got three hundred thousandBefore they conquered usThey died of Southern feverAnd Southern steel and shotI wish they were three millionInstead of what we got!

I can’t take up my musketAnd fight ‘em now no moreBut I ain’t gonna love ‘emNow that is certain sureAnd I don’t want no pardonFor what I was and amI won’t be reconstructedAnd I do not give a damn!..

I can’t take up my musketAnd fight ‘em now no moreBut I ain’t gonna love ‘emNow that is certain sureAnd I don’t want no pardonFor what I was and amI won’t be reconstructedAnd I do not give a damn!..

Oh, I’m a good ‘old rebelNow that’s just what I am‘N for this Yankee nation,I do not give a damnI’m glad I fought agin’ herI only wish we’d wonI ain’t asked any pardonFor anything I’ve done.

Oh, I’m a good ‘old rebelNow that’s just what I am‘N for this Yankee nation,I do not give a damnI’m glad I fought agin’ herI only wish we’d wonI ain’t asked any pardonFor anything I’ve done.

I ain’t asked any pardon,

For anything I’ve done!!

I ain’t asked any pardon,

For anything I’ve done!!

Lyrics Written by:

Major Innes Randolph,

C. S. A.(1865)

Lyrics Written by:

Major Innes Randolph,

C. S. A.(1865)

Sung by:Hoyt Axton

From“Songs of the Civil

War”(Columbia Records)

Sung by:Hoyt Axton

From“Songs of the Civil

War”(Columbia Records)