Five Reasons the Civil War is the First Total War

Confederacy or Union

1. Total Victory

• First war in which nether side would settle for anything but Total Victory– South was fighting for nothing less then total

secession– North was fighting for nothing less then to

keep the Union together– No compromises would be made

2. All Man Power, Money, Material Resources, and Minds

• First War in which everything went towards the war effort– Men– Money– Material Resources– Minds of the People

Men

– Some 600,000 men died during the war– Most American’s lost in a war in US history– Both sides draft men into the war

• South drafted boys between 18-35• North drafted boys between 20-45• Could pay someone to take your place

– $300

– Billy Yank and Johnny Reb– Army of the Virginia = South– Army of the Potomac = North

Billy Yank Johnny Reb

Material Resources

– North won in this area– North had wealth of coal and iron and the

ability to produce arms– North had railroads to get troops and supplies

to the battle front– North had a navy– Southern states keep their resources to

themselves for their own boys

Money• Both sides go into debt to fight the war• How to come up with the cash

North

1. Issued paper $$$ called green backs

2. Issued bonds

3. Taxes on certain goods

4. Income tax (ended in 1872)

South

1. Made cotton prices high to get more

cash

2. Personal contributions were

made

Minds of the People

• Vast majority supported their war efforts• Propaganda was used on both sides

– Lincoln called cartoonist Thomas Nast "our best recruiting sergeant

• Without the commitment of the people the war could not have been fought

• Lincoln suspends habeas corpus to deal with dissention– Remember only Congress has this power!

3. Civilian leaders

• First War in which civilian leaders played a key role in not only national policy during the war but also military policy as well

• Northern Leader = Abraham Lincoln• Southern Leader = Jefferson Davis• Lincoln choose able cabinet leaders and

had a good relationship• Davis choose poor cabinet leaders and

could not get along with them

Lincoln Davis

4. Grand Strategy

• First War that had a grand strategy for fighting the war from the moment the war began

North

Anaconda Plan

1. Blockade

2. Divide (take the Mississippi River)

3. Invade (march into the South

South

War of attrition

Get support from Europe

Winfield’s Scott Great Snake

5. Total Destruction

• First War that used tactics of Total Destruction to fight the war

• Destroy anything and everything your enemy could use

• Examples– Sherman’s March to the Sea– Grant’s siege of Vicksburg

Sherman Tearing up Rail lines

Geography Plays a Role• The Appalachian Mountains

– Divided the war into two fronts– Eastern and Western Theatre

• Rivers– If the North could control the rivers they could penetrate the

South• Mississippi River• Tennessee River• Cumberland River

• Shenandoah Valley– For the South

• Leads into the North• Feeds the Southern Army

• The Southern Coastline– Union would have to blockade the coast– Would also be a navy conflict

• Merrimac (South) vs Monitor (Union)• First battle of the Ironclads