AP U.S. History

Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War (1861-1865)

I. Final Blows and Last Attempts at Unity

A. Election of 1860

The Election of 1860 featured Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, in

a multicandidate race against Democrats John Breckinridge and Stephen

Douglas, as well as Unionist John Bell. However, the election evolved from a

national election into a sectional election. Lincoln gained almost unrivaled

support in the North and a large portion of the West, but was excluded from

many southern ballots, where the other three candidates split support.

Because the South’s support was divided, it left Lincoln to gain a large

enough majority from his northern support to gain the Presidency, which

also gave the South their final justification for secession, as they had finally

been completely split from the North.

Though the Republicans has successfully captured the Presidency, they did

not have control of either the House or Senate, nor did they have a majority

in the Supreme Court, all of which would make abolishing slavery practically

impossible for the party.

B. Crittenden Compromise (1860)

The luring violent tensions between the North and South spurred last minute

Congressional compromises, with the most hopeful coming from Senator

James Henry Crittenden of Kentucky. The last minute compromise by

Crittenden hoped to facilitate the South’s anger enough to avoid a civil war

from erupting. The compromise featured amendments to the Constitution

that would prohibit slavery in all territories above the 36° 30’ lines, however

south of the line, slavery would be given federal protection in all existing, and

future territories. Also, regardless of popular sovereignty, slavery supporters

would be given full rights in southern territories, as long as they were

territories. As well, states could now enter the Union with or without slavery,

at the discretion of the territory.

Despite being the only compromise with the slightest chance of succeeding,

Lincoln flatly rejected the scheme, citing his election based on a platform of

prohibiting the extension of slavery

C. South Carolina and Southern Secession (1861)

South Carolina was adamant about following up on its threat to secede from

the Union following the election of the “Illinois baboon”, which set off a chain

reaction of secessions throughout the deep South. Four days following the

election of Lincoln, the legislature unanimously voted to convene a special

convention where, in December of 1860, it voted unanimously to secede

from the Union. In the six weeks that followed, an additional six states from

the lower south seceded from the Union, though slightly less united. Later,

another four joined in, which brought the total number of seceded states to

eleven. The main reasons the southern states seceded was to prevent

Lincoln and the Republicans from attempting to abolish slavery, but it also

gave the South an opportunity to establish banking, shipping and trade

systems that were independent of the North.

The first seven states that seceded met in February 1861, and established

their own government called the Confederate States of America. As their

president, the Confederacy elected Jefferson Davis, a Senator from

Mississippi who, as a former cabinet member, had extensive experience in

both military and administration, though he suffered from chronic poor

health.

The current president at the time of the secessions, James Buchanan, was

criticized for not holding the Union together by sheer force, and though the

Constitution gave him no power to do so, he did believe the secessions to be

illegal. Buchanan also did not use force to keep the states in the Union for two

reasons; one, because the small, standing army of the United States was both

scattered, and needed to keep the Indians in control in the West, but also

because the North still believed there was a slight chance for reconciliation.

D. Fort Sumter (1861)

The issue of the divided Union came to the forefront when it came to the

issue of federal forts in the south. As the southern states left the Union, they

took with them United States arsenals, mints and other public buildings that

fell within the borders, with only two prominent forts remaining in the South

when Lincoln took office. The more important of the two forts, Fort Sumter,

was located in South Carolina and contained only 100 men. The fort, running

low on supplies it needed to remain in federal control, forced Lincoln to

choose a course of action, all of which were bad. If no supplies were sent, the

commander at the fort would have no choice but to surrender, however if he

sent reinforcements, North Carolina would most undoubtedly attack back,

for they could not lose their most important Atlantic seaport. In the end,

Lincoln decided to notify the South Carolinians that an expedition would be

sent with provisions for the fort, however the Carolinians interpreted this as

reinforcements, and the Union naval force as an aggressive act. In April of

1861, the Carolinians opened fire on the fort, which surrendered after thirty-

four hours of bombardment.

The assault, while greeted with jubilance in the South, changed the attitude of

the North, who now became more accepting of engaging the South in battle.

With this, Lincoln quickly assembled a militia and established a blockade of

seaports in the south. In response to the sudden outbreak of war, Virginia,

Arkansas and Tennessee all left the Union and joined the fellow southern

brethren in the Confederacy, establishing Richmond, Virginia as the capital of

the Confederacy.

II. The War: Key Concerns and Strategies

A. Explain the value of the Border States

The only remaining slave states at the beginning of the war were the crucial

border states; Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware (West Virginia

was added to this group later when it broke off of Virginia in mid-1861

B. “King Cotton” diplomacy

The Confederacy strongly counted on receiving foreign intervention and aid,

especially from Britain, who largely depended on southern cotton for their

textile industry. However, their “King Cotton” failed them mainly because in

the immediate years before the war, Britain had developed a large surplus in

exported cotton, and when the need for cotton arose, Lincoln had introduced

his slave-emancipation policy. The Union sent to England captured cotton

from the South, which, along with increased cotton production from Egypt

and India, helped to relieve the cotton famine in England. Also, England was

largely depended on wheat and corn supplies from the North, and if they

broke through the northern blockade to get cotton from the South, they

would lose their two most important imports.

C. The Anaconda Plan

The North devised a plan to establish a naval blockade to the main Southern

ports involved in cotton shipping, though their small navy limited them. The

blockade allowed Britain, experts on blockades, to profit greatly through the

practice of blockade running, supplying the Confederacy with weapons in

exchange for cotton and large profits. The North, angered with Britain’s

actions, closed off more ports, ending the blockade running. They also began

the seizure of British ships that carried arms to the Confederacy, which

finally caused the British to stop.

The Confederacy was also aggravated by the blockade and began

development of an ironclad battleship, which they used to destroy the Union

ships employing the blockade. This prompted the production of ironclad

ships in the north also, which ended the practice of wooden warships, and

effectively ended the North’s Anaconda plan from being executed

successfully.

III. Homefront Government

A. Describe 2 problems that hindered the Confederate government

The Confederacy, plagued in its infancy by both a poor economy and a weak

constitution, was hindered in its ability to effectively fight the Union. The

North had large advantages over the South in terms of wealth and

population. The Confederacy lacked both supplies, which were extremely

expensive, but also the southern government did not have any money with

which to purchase them. The government tried to raise income by selling

bonds and raising taxes, but the Southerners opposed direct taxation and the

taxes raised little money. The Confederate dollar diminished in worth,

ultimately being worth only about 2 cents.

The Confederacy was also limited by their weak constitution, which

consisted of many things similar to that of the Union’s. However, when

Confederate President Jefferson Davis tried to establish a strong central

government, the strong pro-states rights southerners fought against him. One

of the main problems was that the Confederacy had no way to ensure that the

states within the South would not turn on them and secede later. Some

states, such as Georgia, even began threatening to secede from the

Confederacy and the Constitution would not have been able to prevent from

happening.

B. Lincoln’s Homefront Moves (explain Lincoln’s logic and its implications for

Presidential power)

1. Suspension of habeas corpus and ex parte Merryman (1861)

Because Congress was not in session at the outbreak of the civil

war, Lincoln took it upon himself to take action in order to

preserve the Union. He suspended the write of habeas corpus, so

that anti-Unionists could be swiftly arrested. The action went

against the ruling of Ex parte Merryman in which Chief Justice

Roger Taney ruled that the president could not suspend the

privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, nor could he authorize

anyone to do it. Congress most likely approved many of the “right-

handed” actions taken by Lincoln during the Civil War because of

the war.

2. Martial law in Maryland and Missouri and ex parte Milligan (1866)

After the large majority of the South seceded, Lincoln and the

Union shifted their focus to preventing the rest of the border-

states from seceding. In Maryland, Lincoln declared martial law

and sent troops into the state. Maryland seceding to the South

could cut Washington, D.C. off from the North, and Lincoln’s

actions in the state helped end grumblings of secession.

However, the decision to establish martial law in Maryland had

questionable legal ramifications. In ex parte Milligan, the Supreme

Court ruled that the practice of military courts conducting trials

upon non-military citizens in unconstitutional while civilian courts

are still functional.

C. New York City Draft Riots (1863)

At the early outbreak of the war, soldiers in the North were mostly gained

through volunteers. Yet, as the number of volunteers dwindled, Congress

passed a federal conscription law, a first on the nationwide scale for the

United States. However, the conditions of the law were horrible unjust to the

lower classes. The wealthy could substitute someone to go in their place, or

purchase an outright exclusion, which angered those who could not afford

the fee. The draft was extremely unpopular in the strongly democratic north,

and violent riots erupted. In New York, most notably, anti-black Irish-

Americans rioted against Lincoln and the draft, burning, looting and pillaging

for several days. Many people died, and several blacks were lynched. The

riotous feeling was seen throughout the North in the form of several, smaller

riots.

IV. Economics

A. Morrill Tariff (1861)

In early 1861, after enough of the antiprotection Southerners had seceded,

Congress was able to pass the Morrill Tariff Act, which overruled the low

Tariff of 1857. The Act increased the existing rates a mild 5 to 10 percent,

which brought the rates up comparable to the previous Walker Tariff, though

the rates were increased even more as the war drove prices up. The

increased rates were implemented as a way to both raise addition revenue

for the North, but also to protect the manufacturers from internal taxes.

Because the manufactures benefited the most from the tariff, and the

manufacturers were mostly Republican, protective tariffs began to be

associated with the republicans.

B. National Banking Act (1863)

One of the most significant financial land marks of the Civil War, the National

Banking Act, passed by Congress in 1863, was designed partly to increase the

sale of government bonds, which provided large boosts to revenue, but also

to establish a standard bank-note currency to replace the depreciate “rag

money”. Banks that would join the National Banking System could purchase

government bonds, and then issue paper money that was backed by the

bonds. The first attempt as unifying the national banking system since the

B.U.S. was killed by Jackson, the National Banking System flourished for forty

years before becoming the Federal Reserve System.

C. Morrill Act (1861) and Homestead Act (1862)

The Morrill Act, passed easily after the Southern states seceded, sparked an

enormous growth to higher education. The act gave large grants of public

lands to states in support of education, on which many states formed “land-

grant” colleges, which later became state universities.

The Homestead Act, which was originally vetoed in 1860 by President

Buchanan, was finally passed in 1862 after southern secession. The Act

promoted the settlement of open land rather than revenue from selling it.

The act allowed up to 160 acres of land to be purchased for a small sum of

$30. The Act helped small farmers and families acquire land without also

acquiring large amounts of debt as well. However, the act did have some

negatives; the land was frequent to droughts, and large parts of the land

eventually ended in the hands of corporations.

V. The War

A. Foreign Affairs

1. Trent Affair (1861)

One of the first crises with Britain during the Civil War came in the

form of the Trent Affair. In late 1861, a Union warship patrolling in

the seas North of Cuba stopped British steam ship, the Trent, and

forcibly removed two Confederate diplomats headed for Europe.

The British were greatly angered by the action, so much so that

war preparations began. Troops were sent to Canada and the

London Foreign Office wrote an ultimatum declaring for the

release of the prisoners and an apology. The slow

communications, however, allowed both sides to cool down, and

eventually, Lincoln released the prisoners, wanting to fight only

one war at a time.

2. The Alabama (1862-64)

The Alabama ignited another major issue between Britain and

America. The Alabama, a commerce-raider vessel built by Britain

for the Confederacy, left England and became armed in Portugal.

The British manned ship patrolled European waters, capturing

Union ships, which helped the British shippers in competition with

the Union, but also angered the Union, who were forced to remove

ships from their southern blockades to defend against the

Alabama. The Alabama avoided challenges from the Union until

1864 where it accepted a challenge from a Union cruiser and was

quickly destroyed.

The Alabama brought up the issue of England’s interference in the

war. Britain and the Union both saw the implications of Britain

supplying the Confederacy instead of remaining neutral, which

they made attempts at after the Alabama incident. Despite their

efforts, most of the Confederate raiders were made by the British,

which hurt American merchant marines and made the British

enemies of the North.

3. Archduke Maximilian (1863-64)

Taking advantage of American preoccupation, Emperor Napoleon

III dispatched a French fleet to seize control of Mexico City in

1863. In the following year, he made Austrian Archduke

Maximilian as Emperor of Mexico. Napoleon was breaking the

Monroe Doctrine by both sending the army and enthroning

Maximilian, gambling that the disunited Union would not be

powerful enough to employ the Doctrine. However, when the war

ended in 1865, U.S. Secretary of State made plans to go south to

enforce the Doctrine, causing Napoleon to flee Mexico and

Archduke Maximilian to be killed later in 1867.

B. Early Eastern Battles

1. First Bull Run (1861)

The first battle of the Civil War, Bull Run took all thirty thousand

militiamen and moved them towards Richmond, capital of the

Confederacy. Though ill prepared, Lincoln directed the force to

attack a smaller Confederate army stationed at Bull Run, with the

hopes that a Union victory would show the superiority of the

Union, and maybe even lead to the capture of Richmond. Though

initially the battle was in favor of the north, a sudden surge of

Confederate reinforcements caused the Union troops to flee. The

Southern victory brought Stonewall Jackson to the forefront as a

strong leader, but also led to a decrease in southern military

enlistment. The battle also foreshadowed that the war would be

fought over slave emancipation, not just to save the Union as

Lincoln initially professed.

2. George McClellan’s tactics in the Peninsula Campaign (1861-62)

New hope was given to the Union forces when George McClellan

was given command of the Army of the Potomac, the major Union

force near Washington. Though a brilliant strategist and military

man, he never believed his troops to be prepared and never took

action. After given firm orders from Lincoln, McClellan decided to

take a water-borne approach to Richmond, which is located on the

peninsula formed by the James and York rivers, giving the

encounter its name: the Peninsula Campaign. McClellan captured

Yorktown on his journey to Richmond, but was stalled when

Lincoln diverted his anticipated reinforcements to attack

Stonewall Jackson. While at this juncture, McClellan was attacked

by Robert E. Lee, and was driven back to sea, forcing the Union to

retreat, and Lincoln to abandon McClellan as the head of the

Potomac Army.

The Peninsula Campaign was a tragic loss for the Union, however,

had McClellan captured Richmond, the war would have ended, but

it would have done little to end the terrible institution of slavery.

3. Antietam (1862)

After having success against Union forces at Richmond and the

Second Battle of Bull Run, General Robert E. Lee entered Maryland

with the hopes to strike a blow that would entice both foreign aid

and attract the still indecisive Border States to the Confederacy.

The statesmen did not respond, and eventually a battle broke out

at Antietam Creek. McClellan, newly restored by Lincoln, fought

Lee back easily with his battle strategy in his hand, forcing him

back across the Potomac. Though a Union victory, Lincoln’s hopes

for McClellan fell short again, which lead to his firing. The army,

however, showed a vast improvement in power, which prevented

foreign intervention and gave Lincoln the needed boost to

introduce his Emancipation Proclamation.

4. Chancellorsville (1863)

After the dismissal of McClellan, Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker

assumed control of the Union forces, and led them into battle at

Chancellorsville in Virginia. In the battle, Confederate General

Robert Lee divided his troops, sending Stonewall Jackson to attack

the Union flank. Though successful, Jackson was wounded in the

assault, and died a few days later. After the victory, Lee set his

sights directly for an invasion of Pennsylvania.

5. Gettysburg (1863)

Lee’s plan to invade Pennsylvania was yet another attempt to

attract foreign aid in the war, but also it would strengthen the

peace movement in the north. General George Mead, several days

before the battle, replaced Hooker as head of the Union forces. In

the short battle, the Union forces claimed a hard fought victory,

due to both their larger size, but also because of the failure of

General George Pickett’s charge. The Union victory ended the

Confederate cause, and ultimately was the beginning of their

defeat.

C. Western Battles

1. Ulysses Grant’s role in Kentucky and Tennessee (1861-62)

After his initial resignation to avoid court-marshal, Ulysses S.

Grant returned to the military where he established his fist victory

in Tennessee. After brutal fighting, Grant successfully captured

Forts Henry and Donelson. His victory was crucial, securing

Kentucky more closely to the Union, but also opened the gateway

to Tennessee and Georgia.

2. Impact of Shiloh (1862)

Attempting to capitalize on his Tennessee victories, grant next

made an effort to capture the major railroad junctions in the

Mississippi Valley, but was foiled at the Battle of Shiloh. The force

of the Confederate forces in the west showed it would be a hard

fought war on the western front.

3. Vicksburg (1863)

Vicksburg, located on the Mississippi, was the most important

southern lifeline to western supplies. General Grant, who now

controlled the forces attacking Vicksburg, displayed great skill and

daring, winning his hardest fought campaign of the war. With his

victory, Port Hudson soon fell, severing the “spinal cord” of the

Confederacy.

The back-to-back victories in Gettysburg and then Vicksburg made

Mississippi trade routes available to Northern states, especially

Ohio, who had been struggling economically due to Confederate

control of the River. The victories also ruled out foreign

intervention for the Confederacy, strengthening foreign support of

the North and weakening it for the South.

D. Slavery and Politics

1. Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

a. Examine the causes, clauses and Lincoln’s logic

Lincoln used the victory at the Battle of Antietam to

launch the initial Emancipation Proclamation. He believed

that the Union at that time was strong enough to support

his words. His Emancipation Proclamation of 1863

essentially freed the slaves in all rebellious states, that is,

states that were not part of the Union or a Border State.

Lincoln claimed his document to be an “act of justice”, but

because he had no authority to free the slaves in the

Confederacy, turned out to be more in the spirit of justice.

However, after hearing of the Emancipation

Proclamation, many slaves took it upon themselves to set

themselves free.

b. Effects of, and reactions to, the Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation received mixed reviews

among people. Some abolitionists were pleased and

praised Lincoln, while people in the border-states

questioned his honesty since his initial claims were that

they war was not about slavery. Support for the war in

the North fell because they were opposed the “abolition

war”, they were fighting for the Union, not to free some

slaves. The south strongly protested against the

proclamation, and even gained mild support from

European Aristocrats. Ultimately, it became clear that the

war would not come to a peaceful settlement, but would

be fought violently to the end.

2. Copperhead Democrats

With the death of Democratic leader Stephen Douglas, the

Democratic Party split into several smaller groups. Peace

Democrats became known as Copperhead Democrats named

after the poisonous snake. The openly anti-war and

therefore, anti-Lincoln, -draft and –emancipation party

became popular in the Ohio Valley. Congressmen Clement L.

Vallandigham, famous Copperhead from Ohio, was known for

being a great speaker, but also for making trouble. Convicted

for speaking treasonously, he was sent to the Confederacy,

however refused to go and instead ran for Ohio governor in

Canada. Despite his loss, he returned to Ohio where he

continued to criticize Lincoln and the war.

3. Election of 1864

The Republican Party, afraid of a loss, joined forces with the

War Democrats to make up the Union Party. Lincoln’s

renomination initially met hostility, it died down enough for

Lincoln to secure the party nomination. Lincoln chose

running mate Andrew Johnson, previous slave owner and

War Democrat, who helped attract support from both War

Democrats and Border States. The Democrats chose General

McClellan, once commander of the Union army, to run against

Lincoln.

Early on, it seemed as if Lincoln’s defeat was looming,

however a series of Union Triumphs in the war, including the

capture of Mobile, Alabama and Atlanta sparked new life into

the party. With the help of the Union soldiers’ votes, Lincoln

was reelected in 1864, ending the last hope of the south to

win the civil war.

E. Final Events

1. Sherman’s March to the Sea (explain tactics)

Union General William Sherman, given the task of conquering

Georgia, first captured Atlanta, burning it to the ground. He next

moved his forces to Savannah were he destroyed a 60-mile stretch

on the way. Troops under Sherman’s command burned buildings,

destroyed railroads and stole from Confederate families. The

Sherman strategy included destroying Confederate supplies while

weakening the troops on a personal level, which interfered with

their focus on the war. The tactic became know as “Shermanizing”

and proved a successful practice in the south, saving more lives

than were lost.

2. Wilderness Campaign (1864)

Shortly after being recruited by Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant led a

group of troops from the North south to Richmond. During the

early summer, Grant and Lee fought a series of battles in the

Virginia Wilderness, which later became known as the Wilderness

Campaign. During the campaign, roughly fifty thousand men were

killed. In one battle, Cold Harbor, Grant sent Union troops into

battle, and within minutes, thousands were dead. Peoples’ opinion

of the campaign was low, citing the extreme bloodiness and

casualties, however, both Lincoln and Grant believed that if it took

twice as many of your men to win the war, then that is what was

necessary.

3. Appomattox Courthouse (1865)

After several months of fighting at Cold Harbor, the Confederates

tried to establish peace and negotiate terms with Lincoln and the

Union, however neither side could come to an agreement

concerning concessions. The fighting continued until mid 1865

when the North was finally able to successfully capture Richmond,

where they found General Lee at Appomattox Courthouse. General

Lee and General Grant from the Union met to discuss the terms of

the Confederate surrender, where Lee gave much to the North,

marking the Union’s official victory in the Civil War. As the war

came to a final close, Lincoln, Grant and many Unionists

recognized the importance of reestablishing a united United States

once more.

4. Lincoln’s Assassination (1865)

Five days after General Lee’s surrender, Lincoln, attending a show

at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, was assassinated by fanatically

Pro-Southern actor John Wilks Booth. The timing of his

assassination was pivotal, as his tragic death helped to erase

memories of his faults, and enhanced nobler qualities. The initial

response to his death in the south was met with jubilation by

some, however, as time passed, the south realized that Lincoln’s

kindness and moderate beliefs would have helped to buffer the

wrath of the victors in the north. Andrew Johnson, vice-president,

assumed the presidency, and began to rebuild the nation.