I. The Sumter Crises (April, 1861)
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What was Lincoln’s dilemma at Ft. Sumter, SC?
What approach did Lincoln settle upon?
What were the consequences of the attack?
Evaluate: To what extent was Lincoln
successful in dealing with the Sumter Crises?
5.10 Lincoln & the Union
To what extent was Abraham Lincoln effective in
dealing with the exigencies of war?
To what extent can Lincoln be called “The Great
Emancipator?”
II. The Border States
• Which states were Border States and why
where they important?
• How did the border states influence Lincoln’s
statements and actions?
The Border States—significance
• Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware (and in 1861,
“tear away” W. Virginia)
• Slave-holding states that might have seceded if Lincoln
had fired the first shot
• Contained white pop. nearly half entire Confederacy
• Industrialized—Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri would
nearly double manufacturing capacity of South
• Ohio River, Cumberland & Tennessee tributaries, were
key supply lines for the Confederacy (grain, gunpowder,
iron).
Lincoln’s policy toward the Border States
• Declared martial law in Maryland; sent in
troops to ML, W.VA, MO
• Declared publically: War to save Union, not
end slavery and emancipate blacks
III. Strengths & Weaknesses
• At the outbreak of the war, what advantages
did the South have and what advantages did
the North have?
• Evaluate: What advantage proved most
important to each side?
• What were the disadvantages of each side?
• Evaluate: Which disadvantage proved most
troublesome to each side?
Southern advantages
• Strategic: Could fight a defensive war; did not
have to win to earn independence
• Moral: fighting for self-determination,
preservation of way of life
• Military:
– Talented commanding officers (Lee, Jackson)
– Southern men “bred to fight”—rebel yell
• Economic
– King Cotton, one big farm
Southern disadvantages
• Economic
– Scarcity of factories
• Compensated by seizing federal weapons, ran blockades,
developed ironworks
• Still, shortages of shoes, uniforms, blankets
– Supply
• Fewer railroads, limited supply lines  food shortages
• Constitutional
– Borrowed heavily from Union w/one important defect:
could not deny future secession of constituent states
– At first, trouble getting states to fight outside their own
borders (GA especially belligerent)
Northern Advantages
• Economic
– Agrarian and Industrial
• ¾ the nation’s wealth; ¾ the nation’s 30k (m) railroads
– Supply
• Controlled the sea, traded grain to Europe for munitions and
supplies
• Demographics
– 22 million (vs. 9 million, including 3.5 million slaves)
– Heavy immigration: 800k from 1861-1865 made up
1/5 of Union forces
Northern disadvantages
• Military:
– Ordinary soldiers less experienced
– Commanding officers less brilliant (command by
trail-and-error)
IV. Foreign Support
• Why did the South believe they would be able
to enlist foreign intervention and why were
they unable to do so?
• What incidents threatened peaceful relations
between the Union and Britain?
Southern hope of foreign support
• South counted on European support
– European aristocrats sympathetic; people were not
(influence of Uncle Tom’s Cabin)
• South knew that Britain depending on cotton,
75% of total supply
– However, 1857-1860 Britain stockpiled a surplus; later
relied on Northern charity, blockade running,
Indian/Egyptian imports
– King Cotton defeated by King Grain and Corn
• McCormick’s mechanical reaper allowed North to relieve bad
British harvests
European conflicts—Britain
• Trent Affair (1861)
• Union warship forcibly removes two Confederate diplomats
from British mail steamer
• Lincoln: “One war at a time”
• Alabama (1862-1864)
• “Commerce raider” built in Britain and manned by Brits
exploited loophole by picking up guns in the Caribbean
• Captured 60+ (250 in all) Northern vessels, crippling the
merchant marine, before Charles Francis Adams convinced
Britain to cease production
• Laird Rams (1863)
• Minister Adams took a hard line: “this is war” if released
• Agreed to submit Alabama dispute to arbitration (ended up
paying $15/5 million)
European conflicts, other
• Canada
– Confederate raids vs. Irish “green shirt” raids (1866-1870)
– Dominion of Canada established in 1867
• France
– Napolean gambles on Southern victory, established “puppet”
Austrian archduke Maximilian as emperor of Mexico.
– Took a “French leave” in 1867; Maximillian deposed and killed
by firing squad.
V. Economic impact
• How did the war impact the economy in the
North and the economy in the South?
Northern fundraising
• Excise taxes on tobacco, alcohol
• First national income tax
• Customs duties via Morrill Tariff Act—moderate to high (key part of
Republican platform)
• Union “greenbacks” inadequately backed by gold, fluctuated with
every victory/loss
• Most significant fund-raiser: T-bonds through Jay Cooke and
Company
• National Banking System (1863) stimulated sale of bonds,
established common bank-note currency
• Northern factories (industrialization):
– First millionaire class, Captains of Industry
– war profiteering
– mechanical reapers
Southern woes
• Blockade and destruction: 30% of nation’s
wealth in 1860  12% (1870)
• Transportation (railroads) collapsed
Processing
• Evaluate: To what extent was President Lincoln
effective in dealing with the exigencies of the
war?
Activator
• Evaluate Lincoln’s wartime policies and
accomplishments:
Admirable/Effective
Policy
Navigating the Ft. Sumter
Crises
Dealing with the border
states
Protecting civil liberties
and upholding the
Constitution
Military strategy
Freeing the slaves
Preserving the Union
Problematic/Ineffective
Lincoln and the War
• Without Congress in session, boldly declared blockade
– (later upheld by Supreme Court)
• Increased size of federal army
– something only Congress can do (Art. I, Sec. VIII, para.12).
• (Congress later approved)
• Directed Treasury to advance $2 million to military
– only Congress can control the purse (Art. I, Sec IX, para7).
• Suspended Habeas Corpus:
– Held people in jail without proving just cause (violation of
Art. I, Sec. IX, para 2
• “Supervised voting” in border states—intimidated voters had
to pass armed troops to vote
• Shut down newspapers in Washington DC (violation of 1st
amendment)
• VI: To what extent were Lincoln’s
abridgements of civil liberties justified?
Doc Analysis A and B
• Close reading & Corroboration:
– Doc A:
• According to the quotation above, what does Lincoln
want the American people to do?
– Doc B:
• How much time passed between when Lincoln made
the quotation in document 1 and the one in document
2?
• According to document 2, why did Lincoln’s views on
race change from when he spoke in New York
(document 1)?
Doc Analysis C-E
• Close Reading & Corroboration
– Doc C:
• What does Lincoln describe as his main goal in fighting
the war?
• What does he say is his "personal" wish?
– Doc D:
• According to the Emancipation Proclamation, under
what circumstances would slaves be set free?
– Doc E:
• What is the main purpose of The Thirteenth
Amendment?
Processing
• To what extent should Lincoln be considered
“The Great Emancipator”?