THE CIVIL WAR
1861-1865
Building Towards War
•
The Missouri Compromise (1820)
•
Expansionism
•
The Compromise of 1850
•
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin”
•
Kansas & Nebraska Act (1854)
•
Bleeding Kansas (1854)
•
Election of 1856/Buchanan’s Failed Presidency
•
Dred-Scott Decision (1857)
•
Election of 1860 – Abraham Lincoln becomes POTUS
Crittenden Compromise:
A Last Ditch Appeal
•Constitutional amendment to
protect slavery where it existed
•Extend Missouri Compromise
line
•Lincoln insisted Republicans vote
it down . . . Adamantly free-soil.
Senator John J. Crittenden
(Know-Nothing-KY)
Secession!: SC Dec. 20, 1860
Lincoln Delivers Inaugural Address
(March 1861)
- “One section of our country believes slavery is right,
and ought to be extended, while the other believes it
is wrong, and ought not to be extended.”
- “I . . . consider that in view of the Constitution and the
laws, the Union is unbroken; and to the extent of my
ability I shall take care, as the Constitution itself
expressly enjoins upon me.”
- “Plainly, the central idea of secession is the essence of
anarchy.”
Fort Sumter: April 12, 1861
Names for the Civil War
• The War between the States
• The War for Southern Independence
• The War for Southern Rights
• The Second War for Independence
• The War to Suppress Yankee Arrogance
• The War Against Slavery
• The War Against Northern Aggression
• The Yankee Invasion
• The War for Abolition
CHOOSING SIDES
The Confederate States of America
“Every man must be for the United States or against it, there can be no neutrals in this war, only
patriots – or traitors” –Stephen Douglas
• Lower South
(S. Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, & Texas)
• Upper/Middle South
(Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas)
• Border Slave
States (Maryland,
Delaware, Kentucky,
Missouri, & parts of VA
[West Virginia])
Importance of the
Border States for both
sides
-strategic
-resources
War Objectives
Lincoln & The North
-
-
-
Secession was an
attack on popular
government
Rejected Gen. W.
Scott’s plan for
economic sanctions & a
blockade – THE
ANACONDA PLAN
Lincoln insisted on an
aggressive military
strategy & a policy of
unconditional
surrender.
Lincoln’s Plan
• Blockade southern
ports to prevent
south from getting
much needed
supplies.
• Capture
Confederate capital
of Richmond.
• Divide the south in
half at the
Mississippi River.
War Objectives
Jefferson Davis & the
Confederate South
- “all we ask is to be left
alone”
- Believed they only needed
a stalemate to achieve
the goal of
independence.
Understanding Perspectives Activity
Advantages
Disadvantages
War in the East
Capture Richmond
The Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) 1861
10 min. Burns clip, beginning at 1:12:40
- Union defeat: McDowell replaced
- McClellan & The Army of the Potomac
- Aiming for Richmond vs. Robert E. Lee
- Cautious McClellanmistakes/trains
- Lee emboldenedDefeats union at
2nd Battle of Bull Run . . .
McDowell
McClellan
Lee Takes the Offensive
(AKA: “Mistake #1”)
Battle of Antietam
-Lee decides to invade the North—why???
(Ken Burns clip)
Single Bloodiest Day in US Military History
-Essentially fought to a draw, but Lee
was pushed back into VA
-McClellan again did not pursue a battered
Confederate army
-Revolving door of Union generals and a
stalemate in the East
*Lincoln declares Antietam a victory…
Emancipation Proclamation & Lincoln,
Slavery, and Race Reading
The War in the West
War in the West
Goal: Control the Ohio, Mississippi, & Missouri Rivers so as to:
a) divide the Confederacy
b) reduce the mobility of the southern army
General U.S. Grant –
Accomplishments:
1) Ft. Henry (Tenn. River)
2) Ft. Donelson (Cumberland River)
3) Seized critical RR lines
4) Battle of Shiloh: large # of casualties, but forced
South to surrender!
David Farragut – Naval Commander
- captured New Orleans (south’s financial center) 1862
The War in the West
Vicksburg
VICKSBURG - July 1863
• A major offensive in the west led by General
Grant—put city of Vicksburg under siege for 6
weeks.
• Accomplishments:
1)
2)
3)
4)
Established complete control of the Mississippi
31,000 prisoners
Cut off Arkansas, Texas, & Louisiana
Encouraged slaves to rebel & leave plantations
• As Vicksburg struggled to survive, Lee planned a
second Northern Invasion . . .
Invading the North: Gettysburg
Goals:
- Draw Union armies to the east to relieve the pressure on Vicksburg
- Give the Confed. a major victory to ensure continued support for the war;
maybe get the Union to call for peace??
• Lee moved North; Army of the Potomac moved south and met on July 1, 1863 at
Gettysburg.
--Day 1 & 2 are essentially draws—Union gains higher ground . . .
--Day 3Pickett’s Charge . . . (Burns clip)
• Battle of Gettysburg – Lee’s forces stood for three days, but the damage was too
devastating and retreated back to Virginia, never to regain
the offensive..BUT GENERAL MEADE DIDN’T PURSUE LEE!!!!
Gettysburg Address
Changing Northern Leadership
•
March 1864 – Lincoln FINALLY appoints Grant leader of Union forces
•
Why?
1) both agree to advance simultaneously against all major
Confed. armies.
2) Grant knew how to fight a modern war using technology and
total war strategy.
3) Grant was willing to
accept heavy casualties –
nicknamed “the butcher”
•
Grant & Gen. William
Tecumseh Sherman
two-front campaign
-GrantLee/Richmond
-ShermanAtlanta/South
– Army of the Potomac=115,000 men
– Confederate Army-75,000
The Virginia Campaign
Part I of the Two-Headed Monster
• Grant advanced towards
Richmond
• Lee remained defensive;
suffering great
casualties.
• North suffered more
casualties than the
South.
• Essentially a stalemate
and the election of 1864
was approaching . . .
•
•
•
•
Election of 1864
Lincoln’s hopes for re-election depended upon recent Union
victories.
Sherman’s campaign was underway
Republicans still supported Lincoln and
a) Demanded unconditional surrender
b) Called for a constitutional amendment to abolish
slavery
Reps. temp change name to “National Union Party”
– Lincoln -(Pres)
A. Johnson (Tenn) - VP
• Democrats were again split.
• Peace democrats wanted to end war NOW.
• War democrats wanted to keep fighting.
• General George McClellan, privately a war dem, pledged to end
the war and was chosen as the nominee.
Meanwhile…
Sherman’s March Through the Confederacy:
Part II of the Two-Headed Monster
“We are not only fighting hostile armies, but a hostile people, and
must make old, young, rich, and poor, feel the hard hand of war”
Atlanta fell in September 1864—Savannah in mid-December
Sherman’s March Through the Confederacy
Political Impact:
- earns Lincoln a 2nd term
- border states & occupied
states begin emancipation
(Maryland, Missouri, Tenn,
Arkansas, & Louisiana)
- Military Impact:
- Confederates and Federals
begin to see the end in sight
Finishing off the Confederates
• Jan 31, 1865: 13th
Amendment
approved by
Congress
prohibiting slavery
throughout the US
• Feb.1865 –
Sherman invaded
S.C. and headed to
Columbia to punish
the secession state,
then met up with
Grant.
• April 1865 – Lee
abandoned
Richmond; Grant
cuts off escape
Appomattox Court House
April 9, 1865
U.S. War Deaths in Thousands
620
496
372
248
124
0
Rev
1812
Mex
Civil
WW I
WW II
Korean Vietnam
Iraq
Impact/Significance of the War
• 618,000 American dead (115,000 WWI,
318,000 WWII).
• End of slavery in the U.S.
•Issue of secession resolved (It’s not allowed!).
•Southern countryside devastated (culture
permanently altered).
•“Total warfare” further defined
(technologytrench warfare)
Lincoln’s Second Inaugural
March 1865