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The Civil War & Reconstruction
A Divided Nation
The South Secedes
Causes• States Rights • The Compromise of 1850• The Kansas-Nebraska Act
1854• Lincoln-Douglas Debates
1858 (House Divided Speech)• Both Houses of Congress
controlled by the North. • The Presidential election of
1860. ( Lincoln’s Election)
Effects• South Carolina fears a
northern-controlled government will act against slavery and secedes from the Union.
• Several other slave states follow South Carolina’s lead and form the Confederate States of America.
The South Secedes
• The rest of the Lower South follow (Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas)
• Soon the states of Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas also secede bring the total to eleven.
Confederate States of America
• In Feb. 1861, The Confederate States of America was formed.
• Jefferson Davis was chosen as it’s first president.
• When Lincoln officially became president Mar. 4, 1861 he promised not to touch slavery where it already existed if it would preserve the Union
The War Begins • Confederate leaders demanded
that all federal forts in the south surrender.
• April 1861, Lincoln tried to resupply the forts by sea.
• Confederate leaders ordered General Beauregard to take Fort Sumter, by force if necessary.
• When Major Anderson refused to surrender, Confederate forces in Charleston attacked the fort with artillery for two days. (Apr. 12-13, 1861)
The War Begins
• On Apr. 14 1861, Major Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter.
• The attack on fort Sumter marked the beginning of the Civil War.
• Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers for 90 days.
The War Begins
Union Advantages• Population was four times
the size of the non-slave population in the south.
• Large industrial base.• Better transportation
systems. (railroads)• Larger better equipped
army.
Southern Advantages• The South’s war goals were
simple (Left alone/Slavery)• The South would fight a
defensive war. • Better army officers.
(Robert E. Lee) • Foreign dependence on
southern cotton. (expected military aid from British/French)
Tactics and Technology
• Both sides still used Napoleonic tactics. (taught at West Point)
• Both sides used rifled muskets which increased their range.
• Civil War artillery used exploding shells.
• The Telegraph allowed officers to communicate with leaders.
Tactics and Technology
Confederate War Strategy• The Confederate states
planned to fight like Washington during the Revolution.
• Trade space for time. (retreat when necessary)
• Strategy of attrition: wear out a stronger foe by lengthening the war.
Weaknesses of the Plan • Governors, Congressmen, and
the public demanded that every part of the Confederacy be defended.
• Small Confederate armies were positioned throughout the south.
• Temperament of the southern people. (believed 1 southerner could whip 10 Yankees).
• Refused to fight a defensive war.
Tactics and Technology
Union War Strategy• “The Anaconda Plan”• The plan’s goal was to
surround the Confederacy and strangle it into submission.
• The Union Navy would set up a naval blockade to prevent foreign aid.
• Capture the Mississippi River and cut the South in half.
• Capture the Confederate capital of Richmond , Virginia.
Early War Victories
• July, 1861, Bull Run, Manassas, Virginia (first land battle)
• Apr. 1862, Shiloh, Tennessee (opened water route south)
• Although the Union army in the West was winning, the Union army in the East was suffering defeat after defeat. (Poor generalship)
Early War Victories
• Defeats in the East hurt Northern Morale. • General Lee decided to take the offensive and
lead his army into Maryland. • The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest day of
the Civil War. (Sept. 17, 1862)• It was considered a Union victory only because
General Lee was forced to retreat back to Virginia.
• Casualties combined exceeded 23,000
The Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam
The Fighting Continues • Emancipation Proclamation• The proclamation enabled
many blacks to serve in the Union Army.
• The high water mark for the Confederacy was the Battle of Gettysburg.
• The Army of Northern Virginia (Southern Army) never really recovered from the defeat.
• Lincoln issues the Gettysburg Address.
The War Ends • By 1864, with victory in hand
Congress issued the Thirteenth Amendment.
• The Thirteenth Amendment officially outlawed slavery in the United States.
• April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
• On 3 May 1865, General Johnston surrendered the remainder of the Confederate Army in North Carolina.
The Cost of War
• In four years of fighting 600,000 Americans were dead, 2% of the population.
• The Southern infrastructure was almost totally destroyed.
• The war destroyed much of the wealth that had existed in the South.
• Southern influence in the US federal government was severely weakened.