What were the causes, key events, and effects of
the Civil War?
1861-1865
Standards
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SSUSH 9 The student will identify key events, issues, and individuals relating to the causes,
course, and consequences of the Civil War.
a.
Explain the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the failure of popular sovereignty, Dred
Scott
case, and John Brown’s Raid.
b.
Describe President Lincoln’s efforts to preserve the Union as seen in his second
inaugural address and the Gettysburg speech and in his use of emergency powers, such as his
decision to suspend habeas corpus.
c.
Describe the roles of Ulysses Grant, Robert E. Lee, “Stonewall” Jackson, William T.
Sherman, and Jefferson Davis.
d.
Explain the importance of Fort Sumter, Antietam, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, and the
Battle for Atlanta and the impact of geography on these battles.
Describe the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation.
f.
Explain the importance of the growing economic disparity between the North and the
South through an examination of population, functioning railroads, and industrial output.
Resources, Strategies, and Early Battles
Section 1
• How did each side’s resources and strategies
affect the early battles of the war?
• Vocabulary:
blockade
Robert E. Lee
Anaconda Plan
border state
Stonewall Jackson
George B. McClellan
Ulysses S. Grant
Shiloh
Resources, Strategies, and Early Battles
Union and Confederate Resources
Main Idea: As the Civil War began, each side possessed significant strengths and
notable weaknesses. At first glance, most advantages appeared to add up in favor of
the Union.
Confederate and Union Strategies
Main Idea: As the two sides prepared for war, Union and Confederate leaders
contemplated their goals and how they might go about meeting them. While
northerners hoped for a quick victory, southern strategists planned for a prolonged
war.
Early Battles of the Civil War
Main Idea: The Civil War started slowly. The first large battle did not take place until
three months after the firing on Fort Sumter. Ultimately, the conflict would span nearly
four years and stretch across much of the continent. Key early battles occurred at
such places as Bull Run, Shiloh, New Orleans, and Glorietta Pass.
Stalemate Develops in the East
Main Idea: While Union and Confederate forces squared off in the Mississippi Valley
and farther west, major fighting in the East focused on the state of Virginia. The
outcomes did not prove decisive for either side.
Civil War
War between the Northern (Union) and Southern
(Confederate) states
1861 - 1865
Southern Constitution
 Recognized states’ rights
and slavery
 Needed to build loyalty of
southerners
 Fewer resources than
North
Causes of the Civil War
• Regional differences between the industrial North
and the agrarian South
• Question of slavery in the territories
• Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act
inflame passions
• Abraham Lincoln is elected President
• Lower South secedes
• Confederacy attacks Fort Sumter
Differences
• North had urban, large
population; new
technology; more
railroads; telegraph;
factories
• South had more slaves
and cotton
Strengths of North
Twice the railroad tracks
Twice as many factories
Balanced economy between farming and industry
More money
North had a government, army and navy
2/3 of the nation’s population lived in the North
Strengths of South
Most officers were Southern (7 of the 8 military
colleges were in the South)
Defensive position
Fighting to preserve their way of life and right to
self-government
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Categorize
CHART
Union and Confederate Resources, 1861
TRANSPARENCY
Fighting the Civil War
Strategy of North
• Naval blockade of southern
ports ordered by Lincoln
• Would stop South from
shipping cotton to Europe
and from receiving
manufactured goods from
Europe
• Gain control of the
Mississippi River to divide
the South – proposed by
General Winfield Scott
• Anaconda Plan – Northern
newspapers name for the
plan
South’s Strategy
• Prepare and wait (wanted to go in peace); defensive
war; “All we ask is to be let alone.” President
Jefferson Davis
• War of attrition – wear down enemy; failed to
realize that the North had more resources; the
North will wage a war of attrition against the South
• Hoped for recognition from France and Britain;
Stopped exports of cotton; Europe turned to Egypt
and India; South lost money to buy guns and
supplies for the army
Border States
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Delaware
Maryland
Kentucky
Missouri
Lincoln avoids
slavery issue
Wartime Actions
Four slave states remained in the Union:
Delaware secure (few slaves)
Maryland: arrested disloyal representatives,
preventing a vote on secession
Missouri: supported uprising to overthrow proConfederate state government
Kentucky: Lincoln put state under martial law
Tactics and Technology
• Generals trained in European warfare of having
masses of troops charge
• New rifles and artillery were more accurate and
deadly; bullet shaped ammunition and rifling
• Artillery could fire shells and canisters
Shells: exploded in the air or when they hit
something
Canister: a shell filled with bullets
• Commanders were slow to change tactics
Telegraph
• Early form of electronic
communication
• Invented by Samuel F. B.
Morse in 1844
• Used a code of short and
long pulses of electricity
that represented the
alphabet
• Wires strung along the
railroad tracks
• North had more wire
No Help from Europe
No recognition (official acceptance of government)
Great Britain built privateers for the Confederacy
Europe decided to wait and see who would win
The First Battle of Bull Run
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July 21, 1861
General Irvin McDowell - North
General P.G.T. Beauregard - South
Railroad first used to move troops
Gen. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson refuses to give up
Sightseers, who are watching the battle, are caught
up in the stampede as the North flees
• Casualties: North 2900; South 2000
War in the West
• General George McClellen led Northern Army;
ordered to build and train the army
• General Ulysses Grant led Northern Army in the
West to try to seize the Mississippi River
Forts Henry and Donelson 1862
• Used gunboats and 15,000 troops
• Forts were in Tennessee and protected the
Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers and fell to Grant
• Nashville fell
• Grant moved farther south toward Mississippi River
with 42,000 troops to threaten Mississippi and
Alabama
Battle of Shiloh
March 1862
• General Johnston (South, 40,000 troops) attacked
Grant (North) at Shiloh
• Grant was reinforced by Buell and defeated
Johnston’s army, killing him
• 13,000 Northern to 11,000 Southern casualties
• Bloody battle proved that the South would not be
defeated soon
Mississippi River
April 1862
• Naval squadron under David Farragut seized New Orleans for
the Union and moved north
• He captured Baton Rouge, La and Natchez, MS
• Took Memphis, TN on June 6, 1862
• Only Vicksburg, MS and Port Hudson, LA remained for the
North to capture to split the Confederacy
Fighting in the Southwest
• Rich in gold mines
• Access to the Pacific and California
• New Mexico, 1862; Confederate troops defeated at Glorieta
Pass
• Native Americans split over which side to support
War in the East
• Monitor and the Merrimack
• Merrimack was wooden ship with iron plates bolted
on built by the Confederacy
• Merrimack damaged three wooden ships
• The North had built the Monitor
• Ships fought but neither did serious damage to the
other
• Wooden navies now obsolete
George B. McClellan
Peninsular Campaign
May 1862
• Confederates destroyed Merrimack to keep it from being
captured by the North
• McClellan was too cautious although an outstanding
organizer and strategist
• He moved the Army of the Potomac to a peninsula east of
Richmond; he delayed for a month; urged to attack by
Lincoln
• Heavy casualties in the Battle of Seven Pines; General Joseph
Johnston was wounded and Robert E. Lee took his command
Robert E. Lee
• Trained at West Point, he
takes command at the
Battle of Seven Pines
• Well liked by his troops
• Served as President of
Washington and Lee
University after the war
South Attacks
• Lee attacks McClellan in the Seven Days’ Battles;
McClellan retreats; South loses 20,000 men to the
North’s 16,000
• Second Battle of Bull Run: General John Pope put in
charge of Northern Army
• Jackson attacked from the rear and Lee from the
front, defeating Pope
• McClellan returns to command
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Recognize Sequence
African Americans and the War
Section 2
• How did the Emancipation Proclamation and the
efforts of African American soldiers affect the
course of the war?
• Vocabulary:
Contraband
Militia Act
Emancipation Proclamation
Antietam
54th Massachusetts Regiment
African Americans and the War
The Push Toward Emancipation
Main Idea: Pressures at home and abroad urged Lincoln to address the
issue of slavery. Abolitionists and their supporters were impatient with
Lincoln’s policies. Thus, Lincoln began
working on a plan for the emancipation of enslaved African Americans living
in Confederate states.
Emancipation at Last
Main Idea: On September 22, 1862, Lincoln declared the Emancipation
Proclamation, freeing all enslaved people in states still in rebellion after
January 1, 1863. It didn't apply to loyal border states or to places already
under Union control.
African Americans Join the Fight
Main Idea: With the Emancipation Proclamation, the Union moved from
allowing black troops to actively recruiting them. The Confederacy
considered drafting slaves and free blacks, but most southerners opposed
the enlistment of African Americans.
Contraband
 Seized possessions would be kept by the enemy; included
slaves
 Union generals declared slaves as contraband, refusing to
return them to their owners
 General John Frémont declared enslaved people under his
command in Missouri were free
 Used to build fortifications, etc.
 1863, used to fight South
Battle of Antietam
September 1862
• Lee invaded Maryland, hoping for European support
and a pro-Confederate uprising; hoped to get food
for his army
• McClellan delayed after getting battle plans of Lee;
Sept. 17, 1862
• 23,000 dead or wounded; Lee retreated to VA; As
Lee withdrew, McClellan did not attack; Lincoln had
victory
• Bloodiest day of war
CHART
Casualties at Antietam
Emancipation Proclamation
 Jan. 1, 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation
 It freed slaves in areas of rebellion against the government
 Did not apply to border states or places where the Union military was in
control
 “I, Abraham Lincoln, President of the United States, by virtue of the
power in me vested as Commander-in-Chief, of the Army and Navy of
the United States…as a fit and necessary war measure for suppressing
said rebellion…do order and declare that all persons held as slaves
within said designated States, and parts of States, are and henceforward
shall be free…”
The Emancipation Proclamation, January 1863
Effect of Emancipation Proclamation
Had little impact on slavery because it applied only
to Confederacy
Inspired southern slaves to escape to the protection
of Union troops
Encouraged African Americans to serve in the Union
army
The Proclamation and Lee’s defeat at Antietam
ended any chance that France and Great Britain
would intervene in the war
African American Soldiers
 By 1865 180,000 African
Americans had enlisted
 Served in all-black
regiments
 1863 54th Massachusetts
Infantry, under Colonel
Robert Gould Shaw
attacked Fort Wagner; half
of his men were lost
African American Soldiers
• 1862, North allowed African American soldiers to
fight
• Paid less than whites
• Endured racial prejudice
• 24 African American soldiers received the Medal of
Honor
TRANSPARENCY
African Americans in the Civil War
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Identify Supporting Details
Life During the War
Section 3
• How did the Civil War bring temporary and
lasting changes to American society?
• Vocabulary:
income tax
Copperhead
bond
habeas corpus
Homestead Act inflation
conscription
Clara Barton
Life During the War
The Home Front in the North
Main Idea: The war had a huge impact on northern industry. For example, the drop
in southern cotton production severely damaged the large cotton textiles industry.
At the same time, other industries boomed as demand for clothing, arms, and other
supplies spiked. To meet the demand, industry became more mechanized.
The Home Front in the South
Main Idea: The Civil War made great economic demands on the South as well. But,
unlike the North, the Confederacy lacked the resources to meet these demands. As
the war dragged on, the South seemed in danger of collapse.
The Life of the Soldier
Main Idea: Just fewer than half the eligible men in the Union and four out of five
eligible men in the South served in the military during the Civil War. Their
experiences mingled adventure, danger, comradeship and a sense of pride. They
also featured terrible hardships that would profoundly affect their lives.
Women and the War
Main Idea: Many women had long sought an active role in public life. The Civil War
offered them new opportunities to do so. Even women who did not choose new
roles often were forced to assume unfamiliar responsibilities.
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Compare and Contrast
Economy of North
Federal income tax; collected 3% on income above
$800
Internal Revenue Act of 1862: tax on certain items
such as liquor, tobacco, medicine, and ads
Reformed banking system and created national
currency: greenbacks (not backed by gold)
North’s Economy
Industry boomed
North had farms and factories to produce what it
needed
Women worked
Some products were shoddy and fell apart
Northern Draft
 1863, military service for white
males 20 to 45.
 Could pay $300 or hire a
substitute to serve
 Opposition to War
Riot over draft: 100 died in New
York City
-Copperheads (Democrats): said
freed slaves would take jobs of
whites
-13,000 imprisoned for opposition
INFOGRAPHIC
Troubles on the Home Fronts
TRANSPARENCY
Copperheads Threaten the Union
Politics in the North
Strained relations with Great Britain
North removed Slidell and Mason from British ship,
the Trent, and then had to free them
Demanded $19 billion for damages by privateers
from Great Britain
Republicans
 1862, passed Pacific Railroad Act: gave land and money to
companies for construction of railroad from Nebraska to
Pacific Coast
 Homestead Act: free land to people willing to settle it
 Raised tariff rates to protect northern industry
Writ of Habeas Corpus
Legal protection requiring that a court determine if
a person is lawfully imprisoned
Constitution allows suspension during a rebellion
13,000 Americans imprisoned without trial;
newspaper editors and elected state officials
Economy of the South
 Confederate government regulated commerce and railroads
 Farmers paid 10% of produce to war effort
 Income tax imposed
 Borrowed slaves for labor
CHART
Currency Depreciation
Draft
 Required military service
 Law required 3 years
service for white men from
18 to 35; later moved to 50
 Large slave owners
excused; wealthy hired
substitutes
Hardships of War
South slowly lost its labor force
South’s economy: food shortage
Men at war; women worked
Some planters refused to shift to food crops
Inflation due to labor shortage and lack of goods
Army deserters
Prison Camps
 Andersonville, Georgia
 Held 35,000 Northerners,
kept in a fenced open area
 100 died a day of starvation
or exposure
 Commander hanged later
Medical Conditions
 1 out of 4 soldiers died
 Women cared for sick
 Clara Barton: “angel of battlefield”
 Founded the American Red Cross
 Disease killed more than guns
 Sanitation was nonexistent
Women and the War
• Women took over
businesses, farms,
plantations
• A few women fought as
men or joined their
husbands in the camps
• Nursing began as a
profession
• Clara Barton traveled
with the Union army
• United States Sanitary
Commission