The Civil War, 1861-1865 Some historians refer to

it as the “Second American Revolution”

Deaths of 620,000 men

4 million slaves freed

Accelerated industrialization modernization

The War Begins In his inaugural address,

Lincoln assured southerners he would not interfere with slavery

He also said no state had the right to break up the Union

Ft. Sumter, SC: April 12, 1861

Use of executive power Lincoln acted in unprecedented ways, without the

approval of Congress:

1.) calling for 75,000 volunteers to put down the “insurrection”

2.) Authorized spending for the war 3.) Suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus

(Constitution says that the write of habeas corpus “shall not be suspended, unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it”)

4.) Use of martial law in pro-Southern areas

Since Congress was NOT in session, Lincoln acted completely on his own

Advantages

NORTH- Population- Navy- Economy (85 % of

factories and goods, 70% of RRs and 65% of farmland)

- Government

SOUTH- Fighting a defensive war- Military leaders- Move troops/supplied

shorter distances- Long, indented coastline

Union Strategy Blockade southern ports

(the Anaconda Plan)

Divide Confederacy into two by taking control of the Mississippi River

Raise and train army of 500,000 to take Richmond

Major Battles First Battle of Bull Run Second Battle of Bull

Run Antietam – forestalls

foreign intervention into war!

Shiloh Fredericksburg Vicksburg Gettysburg Chancellorville

Antietam

Confederate dead by a fence on the Hagerstown road, Antietam, Maryland, photo by Alexander Gardner, September 1862. The Battle of Antietam was one of the most costly of the Civil War.

Union Soldiers

Union soldiers in trenches, Petersburg, Virginia, 1864. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Railroads

Bridge on the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, rebuilt by Union engineers. Railroads became important strategic resources—and targets—during the Civil War.

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (B8184-B185)

Monitor vs. Merrimac Confederacy build the

ironclad, the Merrimac (a former Union ship that was captured and renamed the Virginia)

The Union built its own ironclad, the Monitor

Five hour battle in 1862 Fought to a draw Revolutionizes the

future of naval warfare

Emancipation Proclamation Lincoln decided to use his

powers as commander in chief to free all the slaves in states then at war with the Union

“Military necessity” Encouraged the border

states to emancipate their slaves with compensation to the owners

Issued after Battle of Antietam

As of Jan 1, 1863, slaves in rebellious states are free

African-Americans in the War African-Americans did

serve in the war Free men and runaway

slaves Segregated all-black

units 54th MA (Glory)

Turning Point - Gettysburg Lee invades the north –

summer of 1863 Hoped to capture a key

northern city or destroy the Union army

July 1- 3 50,000 casualties Disastrous for Lee and

the south and they never regained the offensive

Ulysses S. Grant Appointed commander

by Lincoln in early 1864

Fought a war of attrition

Forced Lee’s army to constantly fight and retreat

Civil War ended up becoming a “total war”

Election of 1864

End of the War Hunger in the South Grant outflanking Lee Fall of Richmond on April

3, 1865 Confederate govt.

wanted peace, Lincoln said he wanted Union restored

Lee surrenders at Appomatox (VA) on April 9, 1865

Grant was respectful towards Lee and his troops

Appomatox Court House

Federal soldiers at Appomattox Court House, Appomattox, Virginia. Photograph by Timothy H. O’Sullivan, April 1865.

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-B8171-7169 DLC)

Assassination of Lincoln April 14, 1865, John

Wilkes Booth, a southern sympathizer, shot and killed president Lincoln in Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.

Booth was eventually chased by Federal troops and died under disputable circumstances

Assassination of Lincoln

Library of Congress Washington, D.C. mourned its assassinated president, Abraham Lincoln, with a solemn parade (left). The Ford Theater, where Lincoln was assassinated, also commemorated the event with funeral bunting (right).

Effects of the Civil War Republicans gain more power in Washington, D.C. In wartime, governments tend to be more concerned with

prosecuting the war than with protecting citizens’ constitutional rights (suspension of the write of habeas corpus)

13,000 arrested and not told why (held without a trial) Many Democrats saw Lincoln as a dictator/tyrant First draft (conscription) Federal government’s authority increases over the states

(political dominance of the North) Modernization and industrialization Slavery abolished (13th Amendment) National Banking System Growth of the Economy

Effects of the Civil War

Library of Congress Charleston, South Carolina, lies in ruins following the war between the states.

Women and the war Absence of millions of men led women to take a greater

responsibility at home Operated farms and plantations, and took factory jobs Nurses and volunteers Women’s Rights Movement gains some momentum

End of Slavery The group in society most profoundly changed by the

war was African-Americans 13th Amendment frees 4 million people Still face economic hardship and political oppression Segregation and discrimination will continue in the

South and the North Devastation of southern economy