The Civil War

"It is well that war is so terrible, else we should grow too fond of it."General Lee to General Longstreet

"War is cruelty. There is no use trying to reform it. The crueler it is, the sooner it will be over."

General William Tecumseh Sherman

Union Advantages

More manpower Factories Food production Railroads Political leadership

Confederate Advantages

“King Cotton” profits Capable generals Strong, military

tradition Defending their home

Fort Sumter: April 12, 1861 Generals Union: Anderson Confederacy: Beauregard

Confederate Victory

1st battle of the Civil War Lincoln will mobilize troops

1st Battle of Bull Run: July 20, 1861 Generals Union: McDowell Confederacy: “Stonewall”

Jackson

Confederate Victory

Both sides have inexperienced troops

This battle will earn Jackson his nickname “Stonewall”

Battle of Antietam: Sept. 17, 1862 Generals: Union: McClellan Confederacy: Lee

Union Victory or draw

Bloodiest single-day battle in US History

South lost 25% of it’s soldiers

Anaconda Plan Union strategy to

“suffocate” the Confederate States of America

1. Blockade Southern Ports2. Take control of the

Mississippi River to divide the South in two.

3. Capture the CSA’s capitol-Richmond

The Politics of War

Foreign Assistance Causes

Great Britain had little need for Southern cotton, since it possessed large inventory. Plus a failed wheat crop in England made the Northern Wheat crops essential. Britain’s also opposed slavery

Effects Great Britain remains

neutral

Lincoln’s Proclamation Causes

Lincoln’s desire to win the war

His need to discourage Britain from supporting the Confederacy

And his need to harm confederate war effort (slaves were being used to fight for the South)

Effects Lincoln issues the

Emancipation Proclamation.

Constitution Suspended Disloyalty & Dissent

among Confederate sympathizers in Maryland

Need to win war Protect Union Army

soldiers from Confederate sympathizers.

Lincoln suspends the writ of habeas corpus in the state of Maryland.

Conscription Causes

Heavy Casualties and massive desertions in the armies

Need to win the war with more soldiers

Effects Both the Union and

Confederate governments pass draft laws

Conscription

Forced military service; the draft

Would lead to class discrimination when the wealthy could pay to have someone serve in their place.

Plus there were exemptions such as workers needed at home and owners of 20 or more slaves.

Class Distinction: "A rich man's war and a poor man's fight..."

Causes Draft laws passed favoring

and protecting the wealthy. Lower class white workers were angered about fighting a war to free slaves who would then take over their jobs.

Low wages, bad living conditions, and high unemployment among the lower class stirred up a mob mentality and racism.

Effects In 1863, a riot

breaks out in New York City

Copperheads

A Northerner who advocated peace with the South

Life During Wartime

African-American Soldiers After the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863,

many African Americans enlisted. By the end of the war, they made up 10 percent of

the Union Army They were usually paid less and suffered many

kinds of discrimination. If captured by the Confederate soldiers, they were

returned to slavery or executed on the spot.

African American Soldiers (cont.) The Confederacy also considered drafting

slaves and free blacks in 1863, and again in 1864.

As the war dragged on, slaves refused to work or destroy property. So ran away to join the Union armies.

By 1864, the plantation system and the institution of slavery were crumbling

The War Affects Regional Economies

Southern Economy With slaves running away, the South’s workforce

declined. As a result, the South’s economy suffered.

Food became scarce and prices increased. In 1863, food riots broke out in some cities.

The Union blockade created shortages of other items including; salt, sugar, coffee, nails, needles, and medicines.

As a result, many southerners smuggled cotton into the North in exchange for gold, food, and other goods

Northern Economy The war caused the Northern economy to grow

rapidly. Factories produced supplies needed by the army,

but wages for factory workers did not keep up with prices. Some workers went on strike for higher wages

Due to the booming economy and rising prices, many businesses in the North made immense profits. This lead to corrupt practices—especially by businesses with government contracts

Greater involvement of women Both economies changed in another way:

greater involvement by women. Women replaced men in the factories and

on the farms. In the North, women also obtained

government jobs for the first time. They worked mostly as clerks.

Thank the Civil War To help pay for the

war, Congress decided to collect the nation’s first income tax.

This tax took a part of an individual’s earned income

Soldiers Suffer on both Sides

Soldiers Suffered on Both Sides… Life for soldiers on both sides was difficult. Many soldiers

suffered and died from wounds they received in battles. They also suffered from poor army food, filthy conditions, and disease.

Early in the war, some Northern women and doctors founded the United States Sanitary Commission to improve sanitary conditions for soldiers.

More than 3,000 women served as nurses during the war. Some, like Clara Barton, worked on the front lines. The Confederacy had many volunteer nurses, too.

Prisoners of War Camps The worst Confederate camp

was at Andersonville, Georgia. Prisoners were not provided with any shelter and was very overcrowded.

The North POW camps were not much better. They provided little or no heat for Confederate soldiers, resulting in thousands contracting pneumonia and dying.

The North Takes Charge

Chancellorsville May, 1863…The South

defeated the Union Army at Chancellorsville, Virginia.

Gen. Lee outmaneuvered Union Gen. Hooker and forced them to retreat

Stonewall Jackson was accidentally shot by his own men and had to have his left arm amputated. He died a few days later of pneumonia.

Lee invades the North After Chancellorsville, Lee

decided to press his advantage and invade the North.

He needed supplies and hoped a victory on Northern soil would tip the political climate to pro-Southern Democrats

The results however would prove to be the turning point of the war in the Union’s favor

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania (July 1863) Considered the most decisive battle and turning

point of the Civil War. Confederate soldiers looking for shoes run into

brigades of Union cavalry. Union soldiers take defensive positions surrounding the town and both sides send for reinforcements.

The Union Army defeated Lee’s troops after three days of fierce fighting. Each side lost more than 50,000 soldiers

Results of Gettysburg Three day battle produced staggering loses. Total

casualties were more than 30 percent. Union losses included 23,000 men killed or

wounded Confederate losses included 28,000 were killed or

wounded. Lee would continue to lead his men for another

two years, but the Confederacy would never recover from the loss at Gettysburg or the surrender of Vicksburg, which occurred the very next day.

Vicksburg General Grant

captured Vicksburg, Mississippi, for the Union.

As a result of the battle, the Union controlled the Mississippi River.

The Confederacy was split in two.

Gettysburg Address In November 1863, a

cemetery was dedicated at Gettysburg.

President Lincoln delivered a short speech known as the Gettysburg Address.

It honored the dead and asked Americans to rededicate themselves to preserving the Union.

Lincoln promised that “this government of the people, by the people, for the people” would survive

The Confederacy Wears Down Losses at Gettysburg and Vicksburg caused

Southern morale to drop The Confederate Army was low on food,

ammunition, and supplies. Soldiers began to desert. Some even joined the

Union Army. Southern leaders started fighting among each

other and the Confederate Congress accused President Davis of ineffective leadership.

Meanwhile…Lincoln appoints Grant commander of all Union armies Grant gave William Tecumseh Sherman

command of the military division of the Mississippi.

Both generals sought a total victory over the South. This meant conquering not only the South’s army and government but also its civilian population.

Lincoln Re-Elected to 2nd Term! Despite the Union’s

military success, Lincoln feared he would not be re-elected in 1864.

Many Northerners felt the war had gone on too long and caused too much destruction.

But news of Sherman’s victories helped Lincoln win a second term

Lincoln’s 2nd Inaugural Address "With malice toward none; with

charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds; to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just, and a lasting peace, among ourselves, and with all nations."

The End is Near By March 1865, it was

clear that the end of the Confederacy was near.

President Davis fled Richmond.

Generals Lee and Grant met in a Virginia village called Appomatox Court House and arranged the confederate surrender

It’s Finally Over Within a month, all Confederate resistance

collapsed.

After four long years, the Civil War was over!!!

The Legacy of the War

How did the Civil War change the nation? Politically

Economically

Socially

Political Changes After the Civil War, no state ever

threatened secession again The federal government became much

more powerful and a part of people’s everyday lives.

During the war, the federal government had passed conscription and an income tax for the first time

Economic Changes During the war, the federal government did much

to help businesses in the nation. It helped fund a national railroad system and passed the National Bank Act of 1863, which created a new national banking system.

The war widened the economic gap between North and South. The Northern economy boomed, while the Southern economy collapsed.

Social Changes The human cost of the war was huge. More than

600,000 soldiers died. More than 500,000 were wounded.

Nearly 10 percent of the nation’s population had served in the military, leaving their jobs, farms, and families.

African-Americans’ lives began to slowly improve—at least on paper due to the Thirteenth Amendment which abolished slavery everywhere in the United States.

Social Changes (cont.) After the war, military leaders in both the

North and South had to find a new direction for their lives.

Some turned their wartime experience to good. Clara Barton helped to start the American Red Cross.

Lincoln Assassinated!! Five days after the end of

the Civil War, President Lincoln was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre.

He was the first president to be assassinated.

Over 7 million mourners will turn out for his trip back home to Springfield, Illinois.

February 5, 1865 Presidential photo

taken of Lincoln Photographic plate

dropped Only one photo was

made from plate Bullet’s path