Girding for War: The North and
the South, 1861–1865
• Battles of the Civil War
– http://www.civilwar.org/resources/battles-of-thecivil-war-infographic.html#.T_XEKfV0n-I
Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address
March 1861
• Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the
Southern States that by the accession of a Republican
Administration their property and their peace and
personal security are to be endangered. There has
never been any reasonable cause for such
apprehension. . . . I do but quote from one of those
speeches when I declare that-• I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere
with the institution of slavery in the States where it
exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I
have no inclination to do so.
• But if destruction of the Union by one or by a part only
of the States be lawfully possible, the Union is less
perfect than before the Constitution, having lost the
vital element of perpetuity.
• It follows from these views that no State upon its own
mere motion can lawfully get out of the Union; that
resolves and ordinances to that effect are legally void,
and that acts of violence within any State or States
against the authority of the United States are
insurrectionary or revolutionary, according to
circumstances.
• I therefore consider that in view of the Constitution
and the laws the Union is unbroken, and to the extent
of my ability, I shall take care, as the Constitution itself
expressly enjoins upon me, that the laws of the Union
be faithfully executed in all the States.
p419
South Carolina Assails Fort Sumter
•
•
•
•
April 12, 1861
South Carolina opened fire on the fort
The garrison surrendered
Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 militiamen
• Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North
Carolina seceded
• Border States of Missouri, Kentucky,
Maryland, and Delaware remained in the
Union
– Later joined by West Virginia when it broke away
from Virginia
– Lincoln successfully used methods of dubious
legality
– In Maryland, he declared martial law
– Deployed Union troops to western Virginia and
Missouri
“If I could save the Union without freeing any
slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by
freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could
do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I
would also do that.”
-Abraham Lincoln to Horace Greeley, Aug.
1862
Map 20-1 p420
• Most of the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws,
Chickasaws, and Seminoles sided with the
Confederacy.
• Some Cherokees and most Plains Indians sided
with the Union.
p421
The Balance of Forces
• Southern advantages
– Could fight defensively; North had to invade South to
conquer it
– On its territory, the South would be fighting for selfdetermination and preservation of its way of life
– Talented military officers, such as Robert E. Lee
– Southern soldiers were skilled fighters
• Southern weaknesses
– Supply problems
– Transportation problems
• Northern Strengths
– North had both farms and factories
– Strong transportation network
– ¾ of the nation’s wealth
– Control of the seas
-could blockade the South
-ability to trade with Europe
-Large reserves of manpower
-22 million v. 9 million (including 3.5 million
slaves)
– Immigration provided manpower
Table 20-1 p425
Table 20-3 p431
p426
Table 20-2 p425
p422
p423
p424
Dethroning King Cotton
• Europe’s ruling classes generally sympathized
with the South
• Many average, working-class citizens, especially
in England, tended to sympathize with the North
• Various factors prevented England from openly
supporting the South, despite its desire for
southern cotton
– Had reserves of cotton
– Desired foodstuffs from Union
– Cotton growers in Egypt and India increased share of
world market
p427
The Decisiveness of Diplomacy
• Trent affair (1861)—
– Union warship in Cuban waters stopped British mail steamer,
Trent
• Took two Confederate diplomats bound for Europe
• Britons outraged
• Lincoln released two prisoners because not want to face two wars and
same time
• Alabama—
– Second major crisis in Anglo-American relations:
• Britain built Confederate commerce-raiders
– Confederate commerce-destroyers, chiefly British-built, captured over 250
Yankee ships
– Severely crippled American merchant marine
• Laird rams—two Confederate warships being constructed
by John Laird and Sons in Great Britain
– Designed to destroy Union wooden ships with iron rams
– Not released by Britain
Foreign Flare-ups
President Davis Versus President
Lincoln
p428
Limitations on Wartime Liberties
• Lincoln declared a blockade when war broke out
(upheld by Supreme Court)
• He increased the size of the federal army (a
Congressional power) (later approved by
Congress)
• He directed the Sec. of the Treasury to advance
$2 million to three private citizens for military
purposes
• Suspended the right to a writ of habeas corpus
• Federal officials ordered the suspension of
certain newspapers
Volunteers and Draftees: North and
South
• 1862 Confederate Congress instituted a draft
– Rich could hire a substitute
• 1863 Congress instituted a federal
conscription (draft) law for the first time
nationwide
– The rich could pay to avoid service
• Draft riot broke out in NY
• 90% of Union troops were volunteers
p430
p430
The Economic Stresses of War
• Excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol were raised
• Income tax levied for the first time
• Morrill Tariff Act- raised existing duties 5-10%
– Protective tariff became identified with the Republican
party
– Industrialists benefitted from the protectionism
• Gov’t printed “greenbacks” whose value fluctuated
• Gov’t borrowed money through the sale of bonds
• National Banking System authorized by Congress
(eventually replaced by the Federal Reserve System in
1913)
The North’s Economic Boom
• The victory of northern capitalism as a result
of the war ultimately contributed to the
emergence of the Industrial Revolution
• Manufacturers gained increased dominance
over American economic and political life
• New factories emerged as a result of
protective tariffs
• Manufacturers and businesspeople profited
from the war
• Millionaire class developed
• “Shoddy millionaires”- became wealthy
through unscrupulous profiteering (ie., using
shoddy wool)
• New laborsaving machinery such as the
sewing machine
– Standards “sizes” began to be used
• Mechanical reapers freed up labor and
produced huge quantities of grain (much of
which could be sold abroad)
• 1859- Discovery of petroleum led to the birth
of a new industry
– “Fifty-Niners” rushed to PA
Women and the War
• The war expanded opportunities for women
• “Government girls” worked for the gov’t in
D.C.
• More women entered industry (1:4  1:3)
• Some women helped near the front lines
• Other women organized bazaars and fairs to
raise money for relief efforts
• U.S. Sanitary Commission founded- organized
by Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell (America’s first
female physician)
• Clara Barton and Dorothea Dix transformed
nursing into a respected profession that
became a major sphere of employment for
women after the war
p432
p432
A Crushed Cotton Kingdom
• The South had 30% of the nation’s wealth in
1860, but only 12% by 1870
• The average southern income was 2/5ths that
of the North
• Transportation was devastated
p434