From Secession to War
By the End of 1860, that which bound the Union together could not sustain the forces pulling the South from the North…
 The Second Party system of Whigs and Democrats collapsed
 The federal government had to deal directly with sectional issues
 The 1860 election convinced the South they had little power in the Union
I.
The Secession Crisis a.
The Withdrawal of the South i.
SC secedes 12/20/60 ii.
By Lincoln’s inauguration: MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, and TX iii.
Confederate States of America established
1.
Buchanan—no state can secede, but U.S. had no authority iv.
Confederates immediately seize federal property except:
1.
Fort Sumter—Charleston, SC—Buchanan refuses
2.
Fort Pickens—Pensacola, FL b.
The Failure of Compromise i.
Crittenden Compromise—John J. Crittenden of KY
1.
Reestablish Mo Compromise line to the west coast
2.
Southerners willing to accept—Republicans reject ii.
Standoff at Fort Sumter—Civil War begins
1.
Lincoln sends relief supplies to fort—unarmed
2.
Confederate govt. orders P.G.T. Beauregard to take fort
3.
Bombarded for 2 days (4/12-4/13)—U.S. troops surrender iii.
Four more slave states secede after Sumter
1.
VA, AK, TN, and NC—MO, KY, MD, DL (WV) remain c.
The Opposing Sides i.
North holds all material advantage over South
1.
Industrial capacity almost nonexistent in South
2.
Transportation system favors North ii.
Southern Advantages
1.
South fights a defensive war on familiar land/local support
2.
Southerners more committed to war
3.
French and English dependence on cotton?
II.
The Mobilization of the North a.
Status of the North i.
Considerable discord, frustration, and suffering ii.
Prosperity and Economic growth iii.
Republican Party unchallenged b.
Economic Nationalism i.
Development of the West (1862)
1.
Homestead Act—any citizen could purchase 160 acres
2.
Morrill Act—public acreage to states, finance education a.
Land-grant institutions—colleges and U’s (UofMN) ii.
Tariffs protect industries against foreign competition iii.
Transcontinental RR
1.
Union Pacific—Omaha
2.
Central Pacific—California

iv.
National Bank Acts of 1863-1864
1.
New national banking system established
2.
Banks could issue US Treasury notes as currency v.
Financing the war—3 major ways
1.
Levying taxes—goods and services, income
2.
Issuing paper currency—not backed by gold/silver
3.
Borrowing--$400 million in bonds c.
Raising the Union Armies i.
Prewar Army—16k troops, most in West
1.
Congress authorizes 500k volunteers—July ‘61
2.
Initial success, gives way to draft (3/63) $300 buyout
3.
Opposition to draft laws—widespread a.
New York City Draft Riots (7/63) i.
bloodiest riot in US history—racism d.
Wartime Leadership and Politics i.
Lincoln as president
1.
originally expected to be a figurehead of Rep. Party ii.
Bold use of Presidential powers—unconstitutional?
1.
Does not consult congress before using troops a.
A “domestic insurrection”
2.
Increased size of army without approval
3.
Proclaimed a naval blockade of South iii.
Opposition to Lincoln and war
1.
Peace Democrats (copperheads) iv.
Lincoln’s bold reaction to dissent
1.
Arrests of dissenters and suspension of habeas corpus
2.
“disloyal” practices were subject to martial law v.
Election of 1864
1.
Republicans suffer many losses in North a.
Broad coalition of war supporters—Union Party i.
Republicans and War Democrats
2.
Democrats a.
George B. McClellan—PA i.
Union General—Dems denounce war
3.
War weariness overcome by Union victories a.
e.g. Atlanta, Ga (9/64)—morale boosted
4.
Lincoln wins handily e.
The Politics of Emancipation i.
Slavery issue fractures Republicans
1.
Radicals desired immediate abolition a.
T. Stevens—PA, Sumner—MA, B. Wade—OH
2.
Conservatives advocate caution—border states? ii.
Momentum builds
1.
Confiscation Act (1861)—any slaves used to fight set free
2.
Slavery abolished in DC and western territories (Early ’62)
3.
2 nd Confiscation Act (1862) a.
slaves of “rebellious” set free b.
African-Americans could be conscripted to Union
4.
Emancipation accepted throughout North as war drags on iii.
Emancipation Proclamation—(1/1/63)

1.
Slaves inside the Confederacy freed a.
NOT border states or Union-controlled
2.
war about preservation of Union AND eliminating slavery
3.
Antislavery impulse gains strength a.
By end of war—MD, MO, TN, AK, LA end slavery iv.
13 th Amendment—(12/65) all U.S. land f.
African-Americans and the Union cause i.
# of soldiers increase sharply after E.P. ii.
eventually leads to active recruitment iii.
Some fighting units established
1.
54 th MA—Robert Gould Shaw—Glory iv.
Low status of African-American soldiers g.
Women, Nursing, and the War i.
Often replaced working men
1.
teachers, salesclerks, office workers, mills, factories ii.
Nursing sees huge female influx—nurturing roles
1.
Traditional gender roles reinforced iii.
War as opportunity to win support for their own goals
1.
National Women’s Loyal League (1863) a.
Abolition and women’s suffrage
III.
The Mobilization of the South a.
Confederate Government i.
Confederate constitution
1.
nearly identical to U.S.—sanctions slavery—states’ rights ii.
Jefferson Davis of MS as president—centrist, moderate
1.
Presides over divided South with no formal parties
2.
Most Southerners support war—some criticism iii.
State resistance to national authority b.
Money and Manpower i.
Attempts to raise funds have limited success
1.
state taxes, income tax, borrowing, bonds ii.
Paper currency’s use leads to disastrous inflation—9,000%-prices iii.
Raising an army
1.
Conscription Act—end of ’62, 500k soldiers in army
2.
Critical shortage during later stages of war a.
Attempt at authorization of 300k slaves c.
Economic and Social Effects of the War i.
Southern economic woes
1.
Northern markets cut off, naval blockade, labor crisis a.
Production of goods declines by 1/3
2.
Warfare destroys significant Southern landscape a.
Farmland, towns, RR
3.
Instability throughout South during war
4.
War widows find often employment
5.
Slavery harsher, though many escape to North
IV.
Strategy and Diplomacy a.
The Commanders i.
Abraham Lincoln as commander in chief
1.
generally successful—utilized North’s material advantage
2.
objective—destroy Con. army w/out focus on occupation

ii.
Initial problems with high commanders of Union army
1.
General Winfield Scott—former Mexican War hero
2.
George B. McClellan—from East Union army
3.
Henry W. Halleck—too cautious and defensive iii.
Ulysses S. Grant—shares Lincoln’s strategy
1.
enemy armies and resources as targets, NOT territory iv.
Committee on Conduct of the War—congressional committee
1.
constantly scrutinized war effort—Sen. Benjamin E. Wade v.
Jefferson Davis as commander in chief
1.
Primary strategist
2.
names Robert E. Lee—proper sharing of strategy? vi.
Lower levels of both armies share similar backgrounds
1.
i.e. West Point grads or Annapolis
2.
amateurs lead volunteer regiments—some success a.
usually community or social leaders b.
The Role of Sea Power i.
Two key roles of Union Navy
1.
Blockade of Southern coast—highly effective a.
Monitor (U.S.) vs. Merrimac (Con.)--ironclads
2.
Assistance to Union armies in the field a.
Most effective in the western theater ii.
South has no significant navy c.
Europe and the Disunited States i.
Diplomacy and the Secretaries of State
1.
Judah P. Benjamin, Confederacy
2.
William Seward, U.S.—skill is decisive factor ii.
Sympathy for Confederates near beginning of war
1.
Southern cotton
2.
U.S. economic strength iii.
Anti-slavery groups ensure formal neutrality of Eng. and Fr.
1.
had South been more successful militarily—recognition?
2.
U.S. angry—neutrality implies governmental equality? iv.
Trouble with Britain
1.
Trent Affair (late ’61) a.
U.S. navy stops British ship containing Confederate diplomats—arrest of diplomats b.
British call for release, reparations, apology i.
Lincoln bends
2.
Confederacy obtains aging British ships—violates neutrality