located in Charleston Harbor, only Union fort left in South; Lincoln "provisions" but not "reinforces" the fort; South attacks on April 12, 1861; Union lost fort, but united in spirit
B. Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina Secede
after Fort Sumter, these four states joined South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas; now eleven seceded
C. Border States
Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri did not secede; might have if North had fired first shot; if they had seceded, the South might have won; Lincoln said war was to save the union, not antislavery, to keep border states from seceding
D. Northern Advantages at the War�s Beginning
good economy with farms and majority of the nation�s industrial capacity; three-fourth�s of nation�s wealth; greater transportation system; control of the sea with greater navy; more population (22 million to 9 million); immigration (800,000 during the war arrived in the North); established government; foreign diplomacy
E. Southern Advantages at the War�s Beginning
defensive war on their own territory; did not have to "win" the war to win independence, could fight to a draw; advantage in morale; had the most talented officers (General Robert E. Lee); ordinary Southerners were bred to fight
F. The Death of King Cotton
South counted on Britain to enter war on their side because of cotton shortages (before the war the South produced 75% of Britain�s cotton); but British had stockpiled cotton before due to enormous surpluses from the South; northern wheat and corn had bountiful harvests during the war and shipments to Britain caused the British to side with the North
G. Foreign Diplomacy
Trent affair-late in 1861, Union ship captured British vessel Trent and removed two Confederate diplomats, Britain talked of war, but Lincoln released the prisoners; Confederate commerce- raiders, like the Alabama, captured over 250 Union ships, were built in Britain, after harsh warning from Union, Britain apologized and stopped ship production
H. President Lincoln
superior leader to Jefferson Davis; had advantage of established government that was financially stable and recognized at home and abroad; was a genious at leading public opinion
I. President Davis
struggled with the duties of civil government and military operations of the South; the Confederate government was hampered by the states� righters; since it was created by secession, it could not deny future secession
J. Wartime Liberties
Lincoln increased the federal army and proclaimed a blockade (which are things only Congress is allowed to do under the Constitution); he suspended the writ of habeas corpus (so anti- Unionists could be arrested); he ordered "supervised" voting in the Border States to make sure they wouldn�t secede; he justified these actions by saying that he was trying to save the Union and would stop after the war
K. Volunteers and the Draft
volunteers made up the Northern armies at first, but a draft was required beginning in 1863; rich boys could hire a substitute or pay $300 to avoid being drafted; riots broke out in New York City in 1863 when Irish-American mobs protested the draft; the South had to go to a draft a year earlier (April 1862) because of less population
L. Northern Economy
much better than southerners; to pay for war, excise taxes increased, income tax started, and customs receipts; Morrill Tariff Act (1861) increased tariff duties; Treasury issued greenbacks ($450 million worth); sale of bonds was number 1 money-raiser; National Banking System (1863) standardized currency; wartime prosperity, new factories and machines, technology like mechanical reaper; profiteers put profits before patriotism; Homestead Act (1862) encouraged western pioneers
M. Southern Economy
harder financial times than in North; blockade lessened revenue from tariff duties; sold bonds and increased taxes to pay for war; runaway inflation in the South; crippled after the war
II. The Civil War
A. Bull Run
Northern yankees marched out of Washington to Bull Run on July 21, 1861; decisive victory by "Stonewall" Jackson�s Confederates; Northern defeat caused North to realized it would not be a short war and to organize for the task; Southern victory caused Southern overconfidence and the feeling that the war would soon be over
B. The Pennisula Campaign-McClellan vs. Lee and Seven Days� Battles
Union General George McClellan was overcautious, finally decided to attack Richmond by coming in from Chesapeake Bay, took Yorktown and was in sight of Richmond; but then Confederate General Lee launched a counterattack (Seven Days� Battles) from June 26 to July 2, 1862; McClellan retreated and campaign failed; Lee�s victory was ironic because if Richmond was lost in 1862, the Union would have been restored with little change to slavery; now the war would last many more years and the South would be totally destroyed
C. Northern War Strategy
six points-1. southern naval blockade, 2. liberate slaves and destroy Southern economy, 3. seize control of Mississippi River, 4. send troops through Georgia and Carolina, 5. capture the capital of Richmond, 6. destroy the enemy�s main strength
D. The War at Sea-Northern Blockade and Monitor vs. Merrimack
blockade started leakily, but then Northern navy concentrated on principal Southern ports; doctrine of "ultimate destination"/"continuous voyage"-Union ships captured British freighters in West Indies because their supplies were ultimately going to the South; Merrimack (So.) fought the Monitor (No.) on March 9, 1862, first battle of ironclads, fought to a draw
E. Antietam
General Lee destroyed Union forces (General John Pope) at Second Battle of Bull Run (August 29-30, 1862); emboldened by success, Lee thrust into Maryland, he hoped a victory in Northern territory would encourage foreign intervention and bring the Border States to the South; on September 17, 1862, at Antietam, McClellan halted Lee and forced him back across the Potomac River; this Northern victory stopped the threat of foreign intervention for the South once and for all
F. Emancipation Proclamation and Blacks
January 1, 1863, President Lincoln declared that slaves in rebellious Confederate states were "forever free"; this was to free slaves and strengthen moral cause of the Union; this improved the Union�s diplomatic position; even after the Proclamation, most Southern black slaves did not revolt or help Northern armies; many blacks in the North were enlisted in the Northern army in the later years of the war
G. Fredricksburg and Chancellorsville
General Burnside replaced McClellan as commander of Union forces after Antietam; at Fredricksburg, Virginia, on December 13, 1862, he launched an attack at General Lee; Lee crushed Burnside�s army; Burnside was then replaced by "Fighting Joe" Hooker; at Chancellorsville on May 2-4, 1863, Lee�s army defeated Hooker�s, but in the attack "Stonewall" Jackson was killed
H. Gettysburg
after Lee�s two victories in Virginia, he moved into Northern terrritory; at Gettysburg on July 1-3, 1863, Lee�s 76,000 men clashed with 92,000 Union troops under General Meade; after failure of Pickett�s Charge, the Southern troops lost; Gettysburg was "high tide of the Confederacy"�last real chance to win the war, from then on the Southern cause was doomed
I. Western Battles-Tennessee and Mississippi
Ulysses S. Grant captured Fort Henry and Fort Donelson on the Tennessee and Cumberland Rivers in February 1862; these victories kept Kentucky in the Union; when Grant tried to move south, beaten back by Southern forces at Shiloh on April 6-7, 1862; David Farragut sailed up the Mississippi River and captured New Orleans for the North; Grant moved south and captured Vicksburg on July 4, 1863; with these two victories the North took control of all of the Mississippi River; Northern victories of Vicksburg and Gettysburg (1 day apart) helped North turn the tide and keep out foreign intervention for the South
J. Sherman�s March Through Georgia
after Grant�s victories at Chattanooga in November 1863, General William Sherman could move through and invade Georgia; he first captured and burned Atlanta in September 1864; seized Savannah in December 1864; moved north into South Carolina and took Columbia in February 1865; Sherman practiced "total war" and destroyed anything and everything; his purpose was to destroy supplies going to the Southern army and to break southern morale
K. Election of 1864
Lincoln vs. McClellan; Democrats divided into 3 factions: War Democrats (support Lincoln and war), Peace Democrats (against Lincoln and war), Copperheads (extreme Lincoln/war haters); Republicans join with War Democrats to form Union Party; with recent Northern military victories, support for Lincoln increased and he won the election (212 to 21-electoral votes); with Lincoln�s election, the South could not hope for victory and the ending of the war by the Northern Democrats
L. Grant�s Virginia Campaign and Lee�s Surrender
Grant, with 100,000 men, moved through Virginia toward Richmond in May-June 1864; clashed with Lee�s forces; most terrifying fighting of the war; campaign lasted for almost a year, with huge casulties; but because the North had many more men, Lee was forced to surrender at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865
M. Lincoln Assassinated
on April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated in Ford�s Theater in Washington by John Wilkes Booth; because of his sudden death, Johnson was now President; this was bad for the South, because Lincoln would have used moderation in Reconstruction and protected the South from the Northern radicals
N. Aftermath of the Civil War
over 600,000 men killed, 400,000 seriously wounded; direct cost of war was $15 billion; because North had won, the Union was preserved, the extreme states� righters were defeated, the ideas of nullification and secession were crushed; Northern victory proved that democracy could survive
III. Reconstruction
A. The South After the War
the whole Southern plantation system had collapsed; Southern economic and social structure were destroyed; cities were ruined, transportation was shut down, and agriculture was crippled by the war; emancipated blacks set up schools and churches to protect their newly-won freedom
B. The Freedmen�s Bureau
created by Congress on March 3, 1865; designed to cope with the problems of integrating former slaves into society; helped blacks survive as free people with food, medicicine, money, education
C. President Johnson
born into poverty in North Carolina; taught himself to read and write; intelligent and devoted to the Constitution; but he was a misfit, a Southern who did not understand the North, stubborn and hot tempered
D. Black Codes
laws made by Southern states after the Civil War to keep blacks down as a subservient labor force to whites; virtually reenslaved the blacks, gave blacks no more rights other than no slavery; blacks were no better off after the war than before it
E. Presidential Reconstruction
before the war ended, Lincoln came up with "10 percent" plan-when 10% of a southern states� voters took an oath of allegiance to the U.S. that state would be readmitted to the Union; Lincoln believed the Southern states had never formally withdrawn from the Union and so they could rejoin easily; President Johnson agreed with Lincoln�s plan; once states had "10 percent" plan, repudiate Confederate debt and secession, and ratify slave-freeing 13th Amendment, then they could be readmitted; announced on December 6, 1865, that the Southern states had satisfied these conditions and Union was restored
F. Congressional Reconstruction
in response to 10 percent plan, passed the Wade-Davis Bill in 1864; it required 50% take the oath (not 10%) and provided stronger safeguards for emancipation; insisted that the Southern states had seceded and given up their rights; did not allow Southern congressmen to return to Congress; feared that South would have more political power after the war (slaves counted as 3/5 before the war, now was a full person, so more Southern votes in Congress); passed the Civil Rights Bill in March 1866 (protected black rights as citizens); 14th Amendment-civil rights to freedmen, disenfranchised certain Confederates, repudiated Confederate debt
G. Congressional Elections of 1866
President Johnson tried to make a series of public speeches, but he only won votes for the opposition; Republicans now had 2/3 majorities in both houses of Congress
H. Radical vs. Moderate Republicans
radicals, led by Thaddeus Stevens, wanted to keep the South from regaining political power and use federal power to change Southern social and economic structure; moderates wanted a quick return to the Union
I. Military Reconstruction
Reconstruction Act passed on March 2, 1867; divided South into five military districts policed by Union soldiers; Southern states forced to reorganize their governments; but when soldiers left, the states quickly fell into Democratic control, "Redeemer" governments kept the Black Codes; solid South�voted Democratic
J. 15th Amendment
ratified in 1870; gave blacks the right to vote
K. Ex parte Milligan
Supreme Court case, 1866; ruled that military courts could not try civilians when civilian courts wer open, even during wartime
L. Women�s Rights Rejected
women suffragists, like Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, wanted women to be included in the 15th Amendment with blacks; but they were not
M. The Ku Klux Klan
white supremacist group, founded in Tennessee in 1866; used violence to keep blacks from voting or getting power; Congress passed Force Acts in 1870-71 to stop this lawlessness; but intimidation had already been done
N. Johnson�s Impeachment
Republicans in Congress wanted to get President Johnson out of the way so they could pass Reconstruction laws; devised a plot to impeach him; passed Tenure of Office Act in 1867; when Johnson broke this law by dismissing Secretary of War Stanton, the House voted 126 to 47 to impeach him; tried in the Senate in May 1868, was not removed by margin of one vote; if he had been removed, this would have weakened the executive branch of the government
O. Seward�s Purchase of Alaska
in 1867, Secretary of State William Seward purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million; critics called it "Seward�s Folly" because Alaska was supposedly "furred out" by the Russians and would be of no use; but later, it turned out to have priceless natural resources
P. Reconstruction in the South
blacks now had freedom and the vote, but they were still oppressed by the Black Codes; many sharecroppers were little better than slaves; but radical governments passed much desirable legislation that provided badly needed reforms
Q. The End of Reconstruction
Reconstruction left much hatred in the South against the North; Reconstruction only gave limited freedom and equality to blacks, it would take many more years; the South became a Democratic stronghold for nearly 100 years after the Civil War; Republicans lost interest in Reconstruction before their goals were achieved; Reconstruction was formally ended by the Compromise of 1877, and blacks were left without true equality
