Chapter #20:Girding for War: The North and the South – Big Picture Themes
1. After Ft. Sumter started the war, keeping the border states were Abe’s top concern. These were slave states that hadn’t left the nation. Throughout the war, Abe would make concessions to “keep them happy.” The border states never left.
2. All along the South felt that England would help them. The idea was that King Cotton’s dominance would force the English into helping the Southerners. This never happened, largely because Uncle Tom’s Cabin had convinced the English people of slavery’s horrors.
3. The North had the advantage in almost every category: population, industry, money, navy.
4. Both sides turned to a draft, the nation’s first. The draft was very unpopular and many riots broke out.
IDENTIFICATIONS:
Election of 1860
Alters America more than any other election in history. It was between Lincoln, Breckinridge, Bell, and Douglas. Lincoln won, with 180 of the electoral vote, Douglas got 12, Breckinridge got 72, and Bell got 39.
William Seward
Abraham Lincoln's secretary of state.
Edwin M. Stanton
He was bad tempered, but named as Lincoln's Secretary of War.
The Alabama
A major crisis in Anglo -American relations…the building of commerce raiders. Not warships because they left their shipyards unarmed and picked up their guns elsewhere. The Alabama escaped in 1862 to Portuguese Azores and took on weapons and a crew from 2 British ships that followed it. It had confederate flags but was manned by Britons and never entered a confederate port. It burned yankee merchantmen. Destroyed in 1864 by a union cruiser. The main issue was of British -built confederate raiders.
Emancipation Proclamation
The slaves in the confederate states were declared "forever free", but not those of the border were allowed to keep their slaves. It was a moral cause, a reason to fight. Also it made sure no one goes against the north. Sep. 13, 1862.
Trent Affair
The first major crisis with Britain, in 1861. A union warship on the high seas north of Cuba stopped a British mail ship and the Trent forcibly removed 2 confederate diplomats going to Europe.
Merrimack and Monitor
The biggest Confederate threat to the Union. It threatened to break the Union blockade, but the Monitor arrived in time to fight the Merrimack to a standstill, and the Confederate ship was later destroyed by the South to "save" it from the North.
Anaconda Plan
A Union plan to block all of the Confederates' resources, strangling (like an anaconda) them economically by taking over water ways with the navy. Winfield Scott called for blockade of southern coast, capture of Richmond, capture of Mississippi River, and to take an army through the south.
Border States
States that was between the North and the South. Bordering the North: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri. They were slave states, but did not secede. Lincoln uses morality and methods of persuasion to persuade border states.
Appomattox
the Virginia town where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in 1865. And thus ending the Civil War.
Election of 1864
During war, Lincoln almost didn't get reelected. War democrats supported him, but peace democrats didn't. The republicans joined the war democrats and proclaimed to be a union party. Lincoln was against McClellan.
GUIDED READING QUESTIONS:
The Menace of Secession
1.What practical problems would occur if the United States became two nations?
The north and the south were physically next to each other, it couldn't separate. Questions arose: What share of the national debt would the south take on? what portion of the federal territories should the confederate states be allowed? How would the fugitive slave issue be resolved? The underground railroad? European nations would be delighted of the conflict because they would benefit in America's weakness.
South Carolina Assails Fort Sumter
Know: Fort Sumter, Col. Robert Anderson
2.What action did Lincoln take that provoked a Confederate attack on Fort Sumter? What effects did the South's attack have?
Lincoln notified the SC's that they would send an expedition to give provision, not reinforcement, he promised no weaponry or men. But the Confederates, Carolinians, thought that the Union naval force sent to do Lincoln's bidding was dangerous and attacked the Union and Fort Sumter. The south's actions caused a rallying of morale with cries of "Remember Fort Sumter" and "Save the Union", it gave the North a reason to fight.
Brothers' Blood and Border Blood
Know: Border States, Billy Yank, JohnnyReb
3.How did the border states affect northern conduct of the war?
Lincoln had to rely on moral suasion and methods of dubious legality. Lincoln declared publicly that he was not fighting to free blacks, he was fighting to save the union. With these sentiments, he successfully kept the border states away from the arms of the south. Families would go against one another, like Lincoln's brothers in laws, etc.
The Balance of Forces
Know: Robert E. Lee, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson
4.What advantages did the South have? The North?
The south could fight defensively behind interior lines, they didn't have to win the war, they just had to win its independence. Also, fighting on their own soil, the south had incentive to not let the north pass and to keep innocent loved ones away from the bloodshed. The south had all the good generals, some of the most talented like Gen. Robert E. Lee and Thomas stonewall jackson, who was a master of speed and deception. Also, southern commoners were born to fight, managing horses and guns from childhood and their rebel yell was used to strike fear in enemies. The north's greatest strength was the economy, and they had good transportation. The north had about 3/4 of the nation's wealth and railroads. The north also controlled the sea with it's superior navy and used it to choke off southern supplies and to shatter southern morale. The north also used its navy to get supplies from Europe. The north had a larger reserve of manpower, including immigrants.
Dethroning King Cotton
Know: King Cotton, King Wheat, King Corn
5.Why did King Cotton fail the South?
He failed them because he had been so lavishly productive in the prewar years of 1857-1860. Enormous exports of cotton had given Britain all it needed. When Britain was in the cotton famine, the union sent over cotton and food captured from the south. King Wheat and King Corn were more powerful.
The Decisiveness of Diplomacy
Know: Trent, Alabama
6.What tensions arose with Great Britain during the Civil War?
The Trent affair was one, in 1861. A union warship on the high seas north of Cuba stopped a British mail ship and the Trent forcibly removed 2 confederate diplomats going to Europe. Another was the confederate ship manned by Britons, the Alabama.
Not warships because they left their shipyards unarmed and picked up their guns elsewhere. The Alabama escaped in 1862 to Portuguese Azores and took on weapons and a crew from 2 British ships that followed it. It had confederate flags but was manned by Britons and never entered a confederate port. It burned yankee merchantmen. Destroyed in 1864 by a union cruiser. The main issue was the idea of British -built confederate raiders.
Foreign Flare-Ups
Know: Laird Rams, Napoleon III, Maximilian
7.What other circumstances led to serious conflict with Great Britain during the Civil War?
In 1863, the Laird rams were dangerous, and if it got to the south, the south probably would have sunk the north. Napoleon III took advantage of AM's preoccupation and dispatched a army to occupy mexico city. Maximilian did something similar.
President Davis Versus President Lincoln
Know: Jefferson Davis, States Rights, Abraham Lincoln
8.Describe the weaknesses of the Confederate government and the strengths of the Union government?
The confederate: its constitution could not logically deny future secession to its constituent states. States' rights were damaging.
The Union: had a prestige of a long-established gov, financially stable and fully recognized everywhere. And lincoln was very rallying.
Limitations on Wartime Liberties
Know: Habeas Corpus
9.Give examples of constitutionally questionable actions taken by Lincoln. Why did he act with arbitrary power?
He proclaimed a blockade, arbitrarily increased the size of the federal army, directed the secretary of the Treasury to advance $2 million without appropriation or security to 3 private citizens for military purposes, suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus so anti unionists could be arrested, and supervised voting in the border states. He acted with arbitrary power for the good of preserving the union and he believed it wouldn't continue after the war.
Volunteers and Draftees: North and South
Know: Three-hundred-dollar-men, bounty jumpers
10.Was the Civil War "a rich man's war but a poor man's fight?" Explain.
Yes, in the north, there were 300 dollar men, who paid $300 to hire substitutes or be exempt from joining the army. The poor had no choice but to fight for the rich. In the south, the same could be done; also, slaverowners with 20 or more slaves could be exempt and so the poorer felt they had to fight to save a rich man's slaves.
The Economic Stresses of War
Know: Income Tax, Morrill Tariff Act, Greenbacks, National Banking Act, inflation
11. What was the effect of paper money on both North and South?
In the north, it fluctuated with the fortunes they had. Customs duties were choked off by the union and so runaway inflation occurred as southern presses printed it.
The North's Economic Boom
Know: "Shoddy" Wool, Elizabeth Blackwell, Clara Barton, Dorthea Dix
12. Explain why the Civil War led to economic boom times in the North?
New factories grew and raised prices but the manufacturers and businesspeople benefited. Yankee sharpness. using bad materials, false advertising, high prices. The sewing machine. Women got jobs, clerks and seamstresses. More than 400 women posed as men to go with their loved ones to war, others became spies, nurses, etc.
A Crushed Cotton Kingdom
13. Give evidence to prove that the war was economically devastating to the South.
The south claimed only 12% of national wealth after the war. southern income to 2/5 of the northern level. Transportation collapsed, economic cannibalism. Window weights were melted down into bullets, gourd replaced dishes, pins were loaned with reluctance because of its scarcity. Some women cut off their long hair to try to sell it abroad.
Chapter #21:The Furnace of the Civil War – Big Picture Themes
1. The North thought they could win in a quick war. After they lost at Bull Run, the quick-victory approach seemed to have been a mistake. A northern loss on “the Peninsula” at Richmond reinforced that this would be a long war.
2. The South started the war winning. Turning point battles, which the North won, took place at (a) Antietam just before Lincoln’s “Emancipation Proclamation”, (b) Gettysburg which effectively broke the South’s back, and (c) Vicksburg which helped the North control the Mississippi River.
3. Lincoln won a hard-fought reelection in 1864. He did so by starting the “Union Party” made of Republicans and pro-war Democrats and on the simplicity of the slogan, “You don’t change horses midstream.”
4. General Sherman marched across Georgia and the South and reaped destruction. And the South began to lose battle after battle. These events drove the South to surrender at Appomattox Courthouse.
IDENTIFICATIONS
Draft riots of 1863
In July.In the north, after the Battle at Gettysburg. Mobs of Irish working-class men and women were on the streets for 4 days until fed troops stopped them. They hated the idea of being drafted to fight a war to help slaves who would compete with them for jobs. The riot hung/killed several AfAms and burned down black homes, businesses, and even an orphanage. It was the bloodiest riot in American history.
Charles Frances Adam
U.S. minister to England during the Civil War.kept pressure on the British government to pay for destroyed shipping.
Sherman's March
March to sea that caused destruction to the south. They ate off the and destroyed what they didn't use. A march to destroy all supplies and resources. Was the beginning of total warfare. Broke southern morale, destroyed towns on the way to Savannah.
Clement L. Vallandigham
Denounced war, was imprisoned and banished to South. Returns to Ohio illegally.
An anti-war democrat, called lincoln a dictator or "king abraham". Prominent copperhead who was an ex-congressman from ohio.
Andrew Johnson
Of the Union party, War Democrats & Republicans. Southerner from tennessee, Lincoln's v.p. Became president. Opposed radical republicans who passed reconstruction acts over his veto. First u.s. president to be impeached, he survived the senate removal by only one vote.
John Wilkes Booth
An american stage actor who assassinated abrahamlincoln at ford's theatre in washington, d.c.
C.S.S. Alabama
A confederate ship that got weapons and crew from Britain, but never sailed into a Confederate base, a loophole that helped the South. Built in Britain and wreaked havoc on Northern shipping until it was finally sunk in 1864.
National Banking Act
Used to create the sale of government bonds and to establish a uniform bank note currency. The system could purchase government savings bonds and money to back the bonds. Made during the Civil War and was the first real step taken toward a unified banking system since jackson killed the BUS.
Union Party
All the Republicans and the war Democrats. Excluded the copperheads and peace Democrats. Formed out of fear of the republican party losing control. It was responsible for nominating Lincoln.
GUIDED READING
Bull Run Ends the "Ninety Day War”
Know: Bull Run, Stonewall Jackson
1. What effect did the Battle of Bull Run have on North and South?
North: Dispelled all illusions of a quick war and caused the northerners to buckle down for a long one. Set the stage for a war for the abolitionist ideal of emancipation.
South: won. inflated an already dangerous overconfidence. many deserters, some to display trophies, some thought the war was over. Enlistments fell off. preparations for a protracted conflict slackened.
"Tardy George" McClellan and the Peninsula Campaign
Know: George McClellan, Peninsula Campaign, Robert E. Lee, "Jeb" Stuart, Seven Days' Battles, Anaconda Plan
2. Describe the grand strategy of the North for winning the war.
Total war. Plan had 6 parts: slowly suffocate the South by blockading its coasts, liberate the slaves and undermine the South's economic conditions, cut the Confederacy in half by seising control of the Mississippi river, cut the south into pieces by sending troops through Georgia and the Carolinas, decapitate it by capturing Richmond (its capital), and try everywhere to engage the enemy's main strength and to grind it into submission.
The War at Sea
Know: Blockade, Continuous Voyage, Merrimac, Monitor
3. What was questionable about the blockade practices of the North? Why did Britain honor the blockade anyway?
It was never completely effective and was sievelike at the outset. Britain recognized it as binding and warned its shippers that they ignored it at their peril; Britain didn't want to tie its hands in a future war by insisting that Lincoln maintain impossibly high blockading standards.
The Pivotal Point: Antietam
4. Why was the battle of Antietam "...probably the most decisive of the Civil War?"
The north got Lee's battle plans but when they won, McCellan didn't follow the surrendering and fleeing confederate soldiers. Jefferson Davis was never again so near victory as he was on that day; the british and french governments were on the verge of diplomatic mediation with the south. It was the long awaited victory Lincoln needed for his Emancipation proclamation.
A Proclamation Without Emancipation
Know: Emancipation Proclamation, Butternut Region
7. The Emancipation Proclamation had important consequences. Explain.
Thousands of slaves went to the Union armies, and stripped the plantations from their work force. It foreshadowed the end of slavery. It fundamentally changed the nature of the war because it effectively removed any chance of a negotiated settlement. Many union soldiers were angry, they volunteered for the union, not for slaves. Desertions. The north had a stronger moral cause.