The American Civil War

The Civil War

• Civil War is a war between the people living in the same country

• For the United States the war was between people living in the South and people living in the North– North vs South– The Union vs The Confederacy States of America

• Took place from 1861 - 1865

The Union vs Confederate States of America

Three Stages (parts) of the American Civil War

• 1. Growing unrest– The two sides begin to not like each other

• 2. The War– Fighting takes places– Many battles

• 3. Reconstruction – Reforming the United States– Putting the country back together

Growing Unrest

• Time period before Civil War • The North and South were having a hard time

getting along• The North and the South disagreed with each

other • Divided on many issues– Could not agree on many things

Events that the North and the South

to not like each other

• The Missouri Compromise• The Compromise of 1850• The Fugitive Slave Act• Uncle Tom’s Cabin• The Kansas-Nebraska Act• The Dred Scott Decision• John Brown’s Raid• The Election of Abraham Lincoln

The War

• The Southern States seceded (left the United States of America)

• Named their new country the Confederate States of America

The South fired upon (shot) at the Union fort called Fort Sumter in South Carolina – This event started the war

Artist panting of firing on Fort Sumter Fort Sumter today – it is a museum

Fought in two theaters (parts of the country)

– The East and the West– Most fighting done in the East– During the first two years the union was most

successful in the West

Western Eastern

• Fought between the two armies– The Army of the Potomac was the name for the

Northern Army– The Army of Virginia was the name for the

Southern Army

Blue uniforms Grey uniforms

The Soldiers

Billy YankNorthern Soldier

Johnny RebSouthern Soldier

Strengths and WeaknessesNorth South

Strengths •More factories•More people•Larger extensive Railroad system•Greater food production

•First rate generals – at beginning of the war•Highly motivated soldiers fighting for their way of life•Fighting on home grounds•Shenandoah Valley

Weakness •Fighting on “foreign” soil•Not the best generals – at first

•Little to no industry•Small population•Limited railroad system•Lacking in food production

Important Battles1. Battle of Manassas

2. Battle of Antietam

3. Battle of Gettysburg

5. Appomattox Court House

4. Battle of Vicksburg

Sherman’s March to the Sea

Battle of Manassas/Bull Run

• First battle in the Civil War• Called the Picnic Basket Battle

Antietam

• Battle fought in Maryland in 1862• Bloodiest battle in the Civil War• Lincoln Issued the Emancipation Proclamation– Free all slaves living in states still in rebellion

against the Union– Gave the Union its

second goal – free theslaves

Gettysburg

• Three day battle in Pennsylvania in 1863• Turning point of the war• The North is going to start to win the war

Vicksburg

• Union defeats the Confederacy• Union controls Mississippi River• South is cut into two parts

Sherman’s March to the Sea

• Union General Sherman walked his men from Atlanta Georgia to Savannah Georgia

• Destroyed everything the Confederate Army could use to fight the war

Appomattox Court House

• Appomattox Court House• Confederate General Lee surrendered to

Union General Grant

Strategy for Fighting the War

• North– Goal: Keep the country together– Capture the city of Richmond, Virginia (South’s

capital)– Anaconda Plan

1. Blockade the Southern coast – the South would not be able to get weapons and supplies it needed to fight the war

2. Divide the South into two parts by control the Mississippi River. This way the South would be spilt in two and would not be able to use the river to move supplies

3. Invade the South – Union troops would invade the South to force them to surrender

• South– Goal: Win their independence– War of Attrition (wear down the North)

1. Make the war last as long as possible2. Capture the Washington DC3. Get help from foreign nations

I am so tired. I am worn down from

this war.

Reconstruction

• Now that the war is over how is the country going to be put back together?

• How are the Southern states going to rejoin the United States of America?

• What was going to happened to the slaves who were now free?

Important People

President Abraham Lincoln

• President of the United States of America during the Civil War

• Great Leader

General Ulysses S. Grant

• General of the Union Army during the Civil War– Army of the Potomac

General Robert E Lee

• General of the Army of Virginia• Hero in the South

William T Sherman

• Union General• Lead the “March to the Sea”• Total Destruction

John Wilkes Booth

• Famous actor • Killed Abraham Lincoln after the war• At Fords Theater