The Civil War
A Nation Divided
“Free or not to be free, that is the question”
THE CAUSES OF THE WAR
• The dispute over slavery and whether it
would be allowed to spread westward
dominated politics in 1850’s.
• The debate became very bitter and
emotional.
The Debate in Congress
• Congress had to decide if slavery would be
allowed in the territory acquired from
Mexico.
• In the Compromise of 1850, Congress
sidestepped the issue. It declared that the
people in the new territories would wait to
decide about slavery until after they applied
for statehood.
Kansas Nebraska Act -1854
• A law called the Kansas-Nebraska Act
passed, giving the people of Kansas and
Nebraska the right to vote on the issue. This
area had been previously closed to slavery
by the Missouri Compromise. If a majority
voted for slavery, it would be legal to take
slaves into the region. Most southerners
were happy with this decision!
There Will Be Blood
• Violence erupted in the Kansas territory as
pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions
flooded into the territory in effort to
influence the state status (free/slave)
• This period of civil disorder is known as
Bleeding Kansas -1856-1861
• *Foreshadowed Civil War
Violence in the Senate - 1856
• The conflict over the issue of states rights
and slavery spilled over onto the senate
floor as Northern Senator Charles Sumner
was attacked and beaten by Southern
Senator Preston Brooks.
• Northerners detested Brooks
• Southerners sent Brooks new canes.
The Missouri Compromise
Republican Party
• In 1854, the
Republican party was
formed. Its major goal
was to stop the spread
of slavery and keep it
out of the western
United States.
• Southerners feared that
Republicans would win control of
the federal government and use
this power to abolish slavery
where it already existed! If slavery
ended in the South, they believed
the economy would be ruined.
STATE’S RIGHTS
• The Southern point of view
was that each state has the
right to determine whether or
not to follow federal laws.
• They said the
nation had been
formed when
states chose
freely to join the
United States
therefore they
had a right to
leave.
• They applied this states’ rights view
to slavery. They said that the federal
government had no right to pass
laws keeping slavery out of any state
or territory.
• If the federal government passed a
law restricting slavery, the state
could leave the Union.
John Brown
Harper’s Ferry
• In 1859, an
abolitionist named
John Brown led a raid
on Harper’s Ferry, VA.
He hoped to seize
army supplies there to
lead a slave revolt.
His attempt failed and
he was hung.
Brown’s fort
• The people of the South
became very fearful after
Brown’s raid. Many white
southerners believed that
most people in the North
supported Brown.
• **Southern militias
mobilized
• In the national election
of 1860, Abraham
Lincoln, a Republican,
was elected President
with < 40% of the vote
(how?)-To leaders in
the South, Lincoln’s
election was
unacceptable.
The South Responds
The Republican Party had no
support in Texas or in the South.
As a result of Lincoln’s victory,
South Carolina became the first
state to secede.
The War Begins
• The Confederacy started seizing federal
forts in the South claiming the United
States was a “foreign threat.”
Fort Sumter
• When South Carolina seceded, the 85
federal troops stationed there retreated to
Fort Sumter out in Charleston harbor where
they were quickly surrounded by
confederate troops.
• Getting rid of these federal troops became a
priority for the confederate army.
Fort Sumter
• The federal troops at Fort Sumter were very
low on supplies (food). Lincoln had asked
permission to send them food, but was
denied.
• Fort Sumter was important to the
Confederacy because it guarded Charleston
harbor.
• On April 12, 1861
the Confederates
asked for the fort’s
surrender. The
Union army refused
and the
Confederates
bombarded the fort.
• On April 13, 1861 the union commander surrendered. The fort
was nearly destroyed but no one was injured!
• The only casualty was a Union horse.
• This is considered the opening engagement of the Civil War.
Torn by War
1861-1865
Preparing for War
• Each side was convinced of the justice of their cause.
Southerners believed that they had the right to leave
the Union. They called the conflict the War for
Southern Independence or the War of Northern
Aggression.
• Northerners just as firmly believed that
southerners had betrayed their country by
seceding. People in the North felt that they
had to fight to save the Union.
• Lincoln had argued that the
constitution had formed a legally
binding union.
• Neither side was fully
prepared to fight a war. As the
two sides rushed to build
their armies, each side had its
advantages and
disadvantages.
Population
Industry Workers
Factories
South
North
Manufactured Goods
Railroad Track
Farmland
0
20
40
60
80
100
Southern Strengths
• Fighting a defensive war
• defending their homeland
• skills from Southern way of life
– hunting
– learned to ride horses and use guns
– military schooling
The South’s Weaknesses
• Few factories (guns, cannons, railroad
tracks, supplies)
• Few railroads to move troops and
supplies
• Railroads did not connect to one another
• Small population (more than 1/3 were
slaves)
Northern Strengths
• Large free population (4x more than
South)
• Many factories (made 90% of nation’s
goods)
• Railroads (had 70% of nation’s lines)
• Strong navy (used for blockades)
The North’s Weaknesses
• Military challenge
• Had to conquer a huge area
• Invading unfamiliar land
Terry’s Brigade
The Texas
Rangers
Texans Answer the Call!
• Thousands of Texans joined the Confederate
Army.
The Draft
• In April 1862 the Confederate Government
passed a draft. All healthy white males
between 17 and 50 had to serve.
• 60,000 Texans served in the Confederate
Army.
• 20,000 Texans died in the War.
Technology:
John Hood
• Some of the best
known Texas units
were Terry’s Texas
Rangers, Hood’s Texas
Brigade and Ross’
Texas Brigade.
Albert Sidney Johnston
• Johnston was the
highest ranking
Texan in the
Confederate
army. He was
killed at the
battle of Shiloh.
The Union planned on taking control of the
Mississippi River and cutting the Confederacy
in two.
[Sullivan's Island,
S.C. Wreck of
blockade-runner
near the shore
• To cripple the South’s
economy, the Union navy
would blockade ports in
the Confederate states.
• No ships could come in or
out!
• “Texans! The
fighters from other
states had their
reputations to gain,
but the sons of the
defenders of the
Alamo had theirs to
maintain. I am sure
you will be faithful
to the trust” -Robert
E. Lee
Battles in Texas and the Southwest
Section 2
The New Mexico Campaign
• General Sibley led Texas forces into
northern New Mexico and claimed it and
Arizona for the Confederacy.
• The goal was to take control of the
Southwest from New Mexico to California
to gain gold, silver and Pacific ports.
Henry H.Sibley
• Sibley’s army was
weakened by disease,
lack of food and water.
• After a fierce battle at
Glorieta Pass, New
Mexico, Sibley’s army
was forced to retreat
back to Texas.
• The Union kept
control of the
Southwest.
Galveston Island
• The Union navy began to blockade Texas
ports in July 1861. Galveston was the
most important seaport in Texas and was
vital to the Confederacy. General John B.
Magruder was determined to take
Galveston Island for the Confederacy!
• On January 1, 1863, Magruder began his
attack. Converted steamboats attacked the
Union ships while forces crossed the mainland.
• The city of Galveston was again under
Confederate control!
USS Rattler, a small tinclad gunboat, led an active career on the Mississippi.
Sabine Pass
• Union leaders made plans to invade Texas
in the summer of 1863 through Sabine Pass.
• Sabine Pass was guarded by Fort Sabine
(Griffin). The fort was guarded by 40 men
known as the Davis Guards and 6 cannons.
They were led by Lt. Richard Dowling.
Civil War Navy
• On September 8, 1863, Union gunboats and
transports attacked Sabine Pass. Dowling and his
men held their fire until the Union gunboats were
close, then opened fire with the cannons.
Richard W.
Dowling
• In the short but
fierce battle, the
United States lost
about 65 soldiers,
two boats and several
men were captured.
• Dowling and his men
had a complete
victory for the
Confederacy.
Medals awarded
by Jefferson
DAvis
• The victory at Sabine
Pass excited the
people of Texas and
the South. Lt. Dowling
and his men were
given special medals
for their actions.
Sabine Pass
Monument
Battle at Palmito Ranch
• On May 12, 1865 Union and Confederate
troops collided at Palmito Ranch. The
Confederates were victorious.
• However they soon learned that
Confederate General Robert E. Lee was
forced to surrender a month earlier at
Appomattox.
• The Confederacy had already lost!
Confederate Surrender
• On April 9th 1865 Confederate General
Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General
Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse
in Virginia.
• 4 years of War, 630,000 lives lost, over
1,000,000 casualties.
• The nation must now focus on
reconstruction.
Appomattox