Introduction to the Civil War
1861-1865
The regimental colors of the 19th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment were
damaged in battle during the American Civil War.
The Civil War
Who was involved?
#1 The Confederate States of America
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The Civil War
Who was involved?
#2 The Union (Free States & Territories)
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The Civil War
Who was involved?
#3 The Border States
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The Civil War
“I hope to have God on my side but I have to
have Kentucky” -- Abraham Lincoln
Why were the Border States so important?
•Important geographically
Why were the Border States so unusual?
•Slave states that stayed with the Union
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The Civil War
How did they fight?
Total War – organization of all
the resources (people and
products) of a country towards
the war effort
•The resources of enemy
civilians are fair targets in total
war (ex. Farms, food, etc)
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Question:
Are governments ever justified in
targeting civilians (non-soldiers) in
wartime?
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Advantages and Disadvantages:
North
South
•Population:
22 million
•Population:
9 million
•4 million men of
combat age
•1.2 million men of
fighting age
•3.5 million slaves
North has the advantage in population
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Advantages and Disadvantages:
North
South
•Economy:
100,000 Factories
•Economy:
20,000 factories
•70,000 miles of
Railroad
•9,000 miles of
Railroad
•$190,000 in bank
deposits
•$50,000 in bank
deposits
North has the advantage in industrial power
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Advantages and Disadvantages:
North
South
•Armed Forces:
•Armed Forces:
mostly drafted soldiers with overly better trained soldiers & better
cautious officers
leadership
•More soldiers
•African Americans - 10% of
Union forces
•Strong navy
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•No real navy
North has the advantage in # of soldiers, but
South in the quality of soldiers & generals
Advantages and Disadvantages:
North
•Government Strong wellestablished
government
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South
Government Weak government,
most power given to
states
North has a stronger government, better able to direct
resources (people & products) towards the war
Advantages and Disadvantages:
North
South
•Motivation: Preserve •Motivation: Preserve
the union
way of life
•Later - free the slaves
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Who has the advantage in motivation? You
decide.
Goals:
North
South
Anaconda Plan
1. Defend existing territory
1. Blockade the South
2. Gain recognition of
Confederacy as
independent nation
2. Divide - Split the
Confederacy by gianing
control of the Mississippi
River
3. Conquer - remaining
parts
Whose goals would be easier to reach?
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Anaconda Plan
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Leaders:
Abraham Lincoln:
“A House divided against
itself cannot stand” -- A.
Lincoln
•Little political experience
(served 1 term in the House
of Representatives)
•Strong reputation for
honesty, temperance, jokes
and storytelling
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Leaders:
Jefferson Davies:
“All we ask is to be left
alone” -- J. Davies
•West Point graduate,
Colonel in MexicanAmerican war, Secretary of
war, & Senator from Miss.
•Not a popular president,
especially with big fans of
state’s rights
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Who has the
advantage in
leadership?
Northern Commanders
George G. Meade
Joseph Hooker
George McClellan
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Irwin McDowell
A. E. Burnside
Northern Commanders
Ulysses S.
Grant
-- “When in doubt,
fight” U.S. Grant
•Son of an Ohio tailor &
drunken failure until the Civil
War
•Reputation for boldness,
resourcefulness,
&persistance
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Southern Commander
Robert E. Lee
“It is a good thing war is so terrible;
else we should grow too fond of it” - R.E. Lee
•Brilliant southern gentleman
from one of country’s oldest
families
•Offered command of Union
armies
•Family plantation occupied early
in the war and turned into
Arlington National Cemetary
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Who has the advantage in Commanders?
Thinking Questions:
(Don’t write: Just think!)
Is it more important to have strong
generals or strong civilian
leadership in a war?
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So how did it begin?
Fort Sumter:
Where?
•Fort Sumter lies in the harbor of Charleston, S.C.
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So how did it begin?
Fort Sumter:
Why?
•When Lincoln enters office, fort is
running out of food
What?
•Lincoln can either defend the fort and
risk war or abandon it and look weak in
the eyes of the South
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So how did it begin?
Fort Sumter:
So...
•Lincoln sends unarmed vessel with food,
giving the governor of S.C. plenty of
warning
•S.C. attacks anyway and Lincoln asks
for Northern volunteers
•This attack on the Union probably helps
him keep many of the border states
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Fort Sumter
Battle of Fort Sumter (April 12, 1861)
Confederates demanded that Fort Sumter surrender
Union troops refused
Confederates opened fire
April 13 – Union surrendered
Started the 4 year war
4 more states join the Confederacy
after the Battle of Fort Sumter