Preparing for War

Lesson 11-1

Preparing for War Objectives:

The Main Idea

The attack on Fort Sumter led both the North and the South to prepare for war in earnest.

Reading Focus

• How did the fall of Fort Sumter lead to war?

• Why did many northerners and southerners eagerly rush to war?

• Why was the loyalty of the border states important, and how did Lincoln obtain it?

• What were the Union and Confederate goals and strategies for the war?

Review

• Who was U.S. president during most of the Civil War?

• What advantages did the North have over the South at the outset of the Civil War?

• What was the primary cash crop in the South when the southern states

seceded from the Union?

Bell Ringer

Robert E. Lee was born into one of America’s most respected families. His father had fought in the Revolutionary War and was a delegate to the Continental Congress. A cousin of Robert’s signed the Declaration of Independence. Robert E. Lee graduated first in his class from West Point and became a successful army officer. Although Lee was devoted to the Union, he was also loyal to hishome state of Virginia. When Virginia seceded, Lee followed his loyalty, leading a Confederate army against his former commander in chief.

The Fall of Fort Sumter

• Crisis at Fort Sumter

– Commander Robert Anderson sent the message to Lincoln that Confederate leaders were demanding surrender or would attack.

– Low on supplies, Fort Sumter remained in Union hands. The fort was very symbolic to both sides.

– Lincoln would not surrender the fort, but would send food and other nonmilitary supplies.

– Jefferson Davis would decide whether to attack and go to war or allow the symbol of federal authority to remain.

• The attack on the fort

– Davis ordered a surprise attack before the supplies could arrive.

– On April 12, 1891, the Confederate artillery opened fire on the fort, and an outgunned Fort Sumter surrendered the next day.

The Rush to War

Response in the North

• Lincoln calls for 75,000 volunteers

• 90 days’ service to put down the rebellion

• Lincoln’s political enemy Stephen Douglas supports the action, “There can be no neutrals in this war, only patriots—or traitors”

• Northerners rush to enlist

Reaction in the South

• With call for volunteers, the eight remaining Union slave states now forced to choose a side

• Union slave states refused to provide troops to fight against fellow southerners

• Confederate states ready to call up men

• First Virginia, then Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina secede

Analyzing Primary Sources

The men with the bayonetsand swords represent theConfederate army

Border States

• Border States– Slaveholding states that remained in the Union and formed the border with the

Confederacy

• Delaware– Had few slaves and most people believed they would stay in the Union

• Martial Law– Rule by the military

The Border States Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, & Missouri

Maryland critical—Washington, D.C., at risk surrounded by Confederate territory. Martial law declared and new elections held to ensure pro-Union state legislature

Missouri important—strategic access to the lower Mississippi River. Divided loyalties but never enough secessionist support to withdraw from the Union

Kentucky necessary—the Ohio River border left the Union open to the threat of invasion. The governor refused to take sides, but the state sided with the Union after Confederate troops invaded in September 1861.

These divided loyalties meant citizens fought on both sides.

Goals and Strategies

Union Goals

• Needed to be carefully defined

• War could not center around the dispute over slavery—border states pushed to secede

• Fight for patriotic reasons—to save the Union

Confederate Goals

• South wanted to be left alone with slavery unchanged

• Prepared to defend themselves against invasion

• Felt northerners would soon tire of war and withdraw

• Last less than 90 days

Goals and Strategies

The North’s

Strategy

• Larger population = more available soldiers

• With more factories, could produce war supplies

• General Winfield Scott’s plan—slowly seal the South off from the rest of the world—Anaconda plan

• Blockade ports & control the Mississippi

• Newspapers pushed “On to Richmond,”

• War of attrition- fight until other side gives up

• Ardent support for the cause made up for lack of resources

• Fighting for freedom and their homeland—¾ of the population did not hold slaves

• They were convinced of their military superiority— many army officers were southerners.

The South’s Strategy

Goals and Strategies

Southerners were convinced that France and Great Britain wanted a guaranteed supply of cotton and counted on this cotton diplomacy as a foreign-policy tool.

The Confederacy embargoed cotton to force the issue of recognition as an independent nation when the English and French hesitated.

Cotton diplomacy failed for many reasons: - The British resented the attempt at blackmail. - Southern cotton was stockpiled from the year before. - Higher prices encouraged other countries to grow the crop. Both sides continued to try to gain/block foreign involvement throughout the conflict.