List #20
*Causes of the Civil War
CAUSES
OF THE
CIVIL WAR
NORTHERN
VIEWPOINT
SOUTHERN
VIEWPOINT
1. State’s Rights must be protected
2. Slavery essential to Plantation
Economy
3. High tariffs hurt ability to
trade agricultural goods (cotton)
4. Agricultural economy
5. Culturally the South was more
rural, few public school made
education a privilege for the
wealthy, very family-centered
but very classist society
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*Northern and Southern Advantages and Disadvantages Leading Up to the Civil
War
Northern Advantages
Southern Advantages
1. Superior leadership of A. Lincoln
1. Outstanding Generals (66% of U.S.
2. Larger population - 23 million
Army officers fought on the side of
3. Military power
the South)
Army – 2+ million soldiers
2. Strong military tradition in Southern
Navy – 671 ships
Culture
4. Industrial power
3. Fighting to preserve way of life
5. Greater wealth
4. Fighting on home ground
6. 75% more Railroads than South
5. Very skilled with guns and horses
7. 66% more farm acreage
8. Controlled shipping in North
America
Northern Disadvantages
Southern Disadvantages
1. Weak motivation/Far from home
1. Weak leadership of J. Davis
2. Unagressive officers
2. Severe inflation, not enough money
3. Long supply line
3. Small population – only 9 mil
4. 3,500 mile long enemy coastline
including slaves
5. Large amount of land to conquer
4. Fewer factories and supplies
6. European aide to the Confederacy
5. State’s Rights philosophy created
1. Strong National Government needed
2. Opposed Slavery because they
feared job competition
3. High tariffs are needed to
protect industry
4. Business and Industrial Economy
5. Culturally the North was more
urban, education was more
available, easier to meet people
from different backgrounds
lack of unity needed for war effort
6. Military lacked enough soldiers and
there was no real navy
*Civil War, 1861- 1865 – The war between the Union (North) and the Confederacy (South).
Slavery was ended in the United States when the Union won.
*Ulysses S. Grant – Union general during the Civil War who forced the surrender of Robert E.
Lee and his Confederate forces at Appomattox Courthouse in 1865, ending the Civil War.
*Battle of Vicksburg – Battle fought in Vicksburg, MS. The Union, led by Grant, defeated the
Confederate forces, and gained control of the Mississippi R. winning Grant a promotion from
President Lincoln to lead the Union Army.
*Battle of Gettysburg – battle in southern Pennsylvania between Union forces and
Confederates, led by Robert E. Lee. Lee hoped that a Confederate victory in the North would
help the South receive aide from Europe, but after a bloody battle in which many soldiers on
both sides died, Lee lost and was forced to retreat back into Virginia.
*Gettysburg Address – speech made by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 to dedicate
Gettysburg Cemetery, where many soldiers had died in the Battle of Gettysburg.
*Fort Sumter – federal fort in South Carolina that was the site of the first shot in the Civil War.
*Robert E. Lee – Confederate general in the Civil War, he surrendered to Grant at Appomattox
Courthouse in 1865.
*Confederate States of America – government formed by the states that had seceded from the
Union during the Civil War.
*Jefferson Davis – President of the Confederate States of America.
*Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address – 1865 speech by Lincoln in which he expressed hope
for a speedy end to the war saying, “With malice towards none; with charity for all;…let us
strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to do all which may
achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace.”
John Wilkes Booth – actor who shot Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theater
*Abraham Lincoln – 16th president of the United States, he is considered by some to be the
greatest president of the United States. He was assassinated in Ford’s Theater on April 14,
1865, five days after the end of the Civil War.
*13th Amendment – Constitutional amendment that banned slavery throughout the nation.
*14th Amendment – Constitutional amendment that gave citizenship to all people born in the
United States (except Native Americans).
*15th Amendment – forbade any state from denying African-American males the right to vote.