The End of the War and the
Aftermath
Unit 7, Lesson 4
Essential Idea
• The Civil War ended with Union victory,
greatly impacting the future of the United
States.
War Atrocities
•
•
•
•
•
•
War Atrocities
Crimes against humanity were committed during the Civil War
1. Massacre at Fort Pillow
Confederate troops captured a Union fort containing black soldiers
Many Confederates viewed black Union soldiers as stolen property
Confederates executed over 300 captured black soldiers instead of treating
them as prisoners of war
Military Prisons
• 2. Andersonville Prison
• Andersonville was a
Confederate war prison
holding 45,000 Union
prisoners
• The prison was overfilled and
poorly supplied with food and
water
• Over 13,000 prisoners died of
starvation and disease
Sherman’s
March to the Sea
• Event:
• Sherman’s March
to the Sea
• Location:
• Georgia, South
Carolina, North
Carolina (Western
Theater)
• Results:
• Union victories
Sherman Destroys
Atlanta
• Details:
• After success in Tennessee,
General Sherman targeted Atlanta
• Atlanta was a vital railroad hub for
southern trade
• Sherman captured and burned
over ONE THIRD of the city
Sherman “Makes Georgia Howl”
• Sherman then began his
“march to the sea,”
marching troops to the
Atlantic Ocean (Savannah)
• “Total war”—unrestricted
fighting and destruction,
not limited to soldiers or
battles
• Sherman’s men destroyed
factories, farms, homes,
livestock, fields, roads, and
railroads
Sherman’s Destruction
• Sherman’s path
of destruction
was 60 miles
WIDE
• After reaching
the coast,
Sherman turned
north and
destroyed at
least 12 cities in
South Carolina
Sherman’s March to the Sea
• Significance:
• Sherman’s defeat of Atlanta boosted northern morale again since an end to
the war was in sight
• Sherman’s path of destruction further divided the Confederacy
• “Total war” destroyed the southerners’ homeland, breaking the
Confederate will to keep fighting
• Sherman’s March
Election of 1864
• Event:
• Election of
1864
• Location:
• Union states
• Results:
• Lincoln
reelected
Election of 1864
• Details:
• Lincoln expected to lose since the
war was unpopular
• Ex-general George McClellan ran
against Lincoln
• Lincoln wanted to finish the war
and end slavery everywhere
• McClellan would end the war,
which may have let the
Confederacy be independent and
keep slavery
• Lincoln’s Reelection in Doubt
• After Sherman captured Atlanta,
northerners saw the war as
winnable and reelected Lincoln
Election of 1864
• Significance:
• Lincoln could finish the
war with a Confederate
surrender
• Lincoln saw his
reelection as a
mandate to end slavery
EVERYWHERE
• Lincoln began pushing
for a 13th amendment
to abolish slavery
• Lincoln Reelected
Battle of Appomattox Court House
• Event:
• Battle of
Appomattox
Court House
• Location:
• Virginia
(Eastern
Theater)
• Results:
• Union victory
Battle of Appomattox Court House
• Details:
• Lee continued to
lose to Grant in
Virginia
• Lee was forced
to retreat and
the Union
burned
Richmond
•
Lee Surrenders
• Lee’s escape was cut off at Appomattox Court House,
and he decided to surrender to Grant
• Grant terms of surrender were generous; he let
Confederates return home with no charges of treason
Battle of Appomattox Court House
• Significance:
• With Lee’s surrender,
the war was over
• The Union won and
the United States
was preserved
• Grant’s terms of
surrender showed
the Union desire to
reconcile with the
South quickly
• Lee Surrenders and
the War Ends
Impact of the Civil War
• Impact #1:
• Preservation of the Union
• The war prevented the South from seceding and it reunited the
states
Impact of the Civil War
• Impact #2:
• Supremacy of Federal Power
• The war established the FEDERAL government as supreme over
STATES
• Nullification and secession was no longer issues since the war
forcibly stopped them
Civil War Laws and Amendments
• With southern states not participating in the federal government,
Congress passed laws and amendments benefiting the North, the
West, and blacks
• Laws Benefiting the North:
• Morrill Tariff Act—high protective tariff that funded the Union
military and protected northern businesses from foreign
competition
Civil War Laws and Amendments
• Laws Benefitting the
West:
• Homestead Act—
established sale of cheap
land in the West (160
acres for $10)
• Morrill Land Grant Act—
helped create
agricultural and technical
colleges to teach skills
needed in the West
• Pacific Railway Act—
authorized building a
northern
transcontinental railroad
Civil War Laws and Amendments
• The “Civil War
Amendments:”
• 13th Amendment—
abolished slavery
nationwide
• 14th Amendment—
established black
citizenship and
equality (equal
protection under the
law?)
• 15th Amendment—
established black
suffrage
Impact of the Civil War
• Impact #3:
• Growth of Industry
• Federal policies supported the industrial and business growth after the Civil
War
• Post-Civil War America saw another industrial revolution and the rise of big
business
Impact of the Civil
War
• Impact #4:
• Accelerated Westward
Expansion
• Federal policies promoted
westward expansion
(Manifest Destiny) after the
Civil War
• Americans poured
westward, leading to
increased conflict with
Native Americans
Impact of the Civil
War
• Impact #5:
• Abolition of Slavery
• Abolition started in the
South with the
Emancipation Proclamation
• The 13th Amendment
would soon abolish slavery
EVERYWHERE
• The 14th and 15th
Amendments would
establish the rights of free
blacks
Impact of the Civil War
• Impact #6:
• Devastation of
South
• The Anaconda
Plan, “total
war,” and
abolition of
slavery
devastated
the southern
economy and
culture
The Death Toll