The Secession Crisis

The Withdrawal of the South

After Lincoln’s election and inauguration as President, southern states started to immediately succeed. South Carolina was first, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. The first military conflicts broke out at Fort Sumter when South Carolina tried to claim it, but Union forces held strong.

• Confederate States of America: a new “nation” formed by seven succeeded states in the South

• Fort Sumter: a military fort in the harbor of Charleston, garrisoned by a small force under Major Robert Anderson, one battle sight of the Civil War

The Failure of Compromise

Many politicians and leaders tried to prevent full-blown war. One such example was the Crittenden Compromise, which proposed reestablishing the Missouri Compromise line and extending it westward to the Pacific. It failed, and many politicians didn’t see eye to eye on how to address the impending crisis. Abraham Lincoln did his best to make clear that any succession would be insurrectionary, and prepared for conflict that would arise from the secessions.

Debating the Past: The Causes of the Civil War

Many historians argue over whether slavery was the only, or even the principal cause of the Civil War. Some argued that there was an “irrepressible conflict” between the North and the South, as neither side would budge on the issue of slavery, but also were vastly diversified in lifestyles and economic growth/systems.

The Opposing Sides

The North’s complex and interconnected industrial system was able to manufacture almost all fo the North’s own war materials, while the South had almost no industry at all. Railroads were also extremely useful for the North, while the South’s were deteriorating and in virtually complete collapse by 1864. However, Southern armies fighting on their home territory had the advantage of knowing the land. English and French connections to the South through cotton trade also gave them hope of being recognized internationally as a separate country.

Billy Yank and Johnny Reb

Most Civil War soldiers were volunteers, and therefore entire companies and regiments could be made up of men from the same town or ethnic group. In the beginning of the war, they were undersupplied and a little disorganized in the sense that there were no official uniforms, with soldiers wearing variations of blue and red coats. Union soldiers generally saw themselves fighting to restore the Union and preserve American democracy. Eventually, it also became a cause to end slavery. Confederate soldiers rarely had proper military training and tended to serve with soldiers from the same area. Southerners saw themselves as protectors of “sacred American values,” defending the states rights to secede and defend slavery as one would their property.

The Mobilization of the North

Economic Nationalism

The unchallenged Republican party in the North helped instate nationalism and expansion of the North during the Civil War. Public land owned and sold by the government was used to fund education. High tariffs were imposed that benefited domestic industries. Congress made a final push to complete the transcontinental railroad. A new national banking system was created and standardized American currency.

• Homestead Act: permitted any citizen or prospective citizen to purchase 160 acres of public land for a small fee after living on it for five years

• greenbacks: the nickname for printing paper currency, which was backed not by gold or silver and simply by the credit of the government, controversial at the time

Raising the Union Armies

The Union had to raise its army mostly from scratch at the start of the Civil War. A new voluntary system of recruitment was produced in 1861, but wasn’t effective as the initial enthusiasm for the war died out. By 1863, Congress had to pass a national draft law. This angered many people, and riots in places such as New York city broke out as a result of the draft.

• conscription: the “draft,” or forced military service by the government

Wartime Politics

Lincoln would not be easily controlled by other distinguished politicians around him, and understood his own party’s weaknesses by allowing representation of every faction of party and people in his cabinet. He often took the Constitution as a guideline more than a rule, sending troops to battle without asking Congress for a declaration of war, and sidestepping other legalities that previous President’s would’ve hesitated to do. Where support for the war in the North was growing scarce, Lincoln instated martial law, strict dissenter rules, suspended habeas corpus, and promoted pro-war propaganda and media.

• George B. McClellan: Democrat nomination for president in the 1864 election, lost to Lincoln

The Politics of Emancipation

Many members of the Republican party were split on controversial issues. “Radical Republicans,” wanted to use the Civil War to abolish slavery immediately and completely. “Conservative Republicans” opted for a policy that would placate the slave states to remain in the Union. However, support for the complete abolish of slavery gained traction quickly over the start of the war. Several Confiscation Acts were passed and Black soldiers could fight for the Union prior to the Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation was monumental in the sense that it was the first legal document clearly and irrevocably establishing the war was being fought to eliminate slavery, and that slavery could even be abolished by the government.

• Confiscation Acts: passed by Congress in 1861, declared all slaves used for “insurrectionary” purposes in the war would be considered freed

• Emancipation Proclamation: Lincoln’s declaration in 1863 that all enslaved people would be forever free in both the Confederate states

• Thirteenth Amendment: added to the Constitution in 1865, it abolished slavery in all parts of the U.S.

African Americans and the Union Cause

Initially, only a small amount of Black people were able to fight in the war for the Union. However, after the Emancipation Proclamation, Black enlistment increased rapidly and the Union army started actively recruiting African American soldiers and sailors in both the North and parts of the South. While they were essential to the war effort, they weren’t always treated as such, often being assigned menial tasks behind the front lines and having higher mortality rates when exposed to arduous hours in unsanitary conditions.

Women, Nursing, and the War

During the war, women took over positions vacated by men as teachers, salesclerks, office workers, mill and factory hands, and nursing especially. By the end of the war, women were the dominant force in nursing. While male doctors met this with some resistance, the Sanitary Commission placated them by characterizing nursing as a profession where women used the “maternal, nurturing roles” they often assumed as wives and mothers.

• United States Sanitary Commission: an organization civilian volunteers that mobilized large numbers of women to serve as nurses in field hospitals

The Mobilization of the South

The Confederate Government

The Confederacy created their own constitution, almost identical to the U.S.’s. A few key differences included the explicit acknowledgment of the sovereignty of the individual states, and that abolition of slavery would be virtually impossible. The leaders of the seven seceded states met in Montgomery to name their leaders and set up a running government. Unlike Lincoln, Davis instituted a strict regard for legal and constitutional requirements, which rarely provided strong national leadership. Problems with federal vs states rights were intensified by the extreme support for states and vehement opposition for federal actions to support the war.

• Jefferson Davis: the provisional president of the Confederacy

• Alexander H. Stephens: the provisional vice president of the Confederacy

Money and Manpower

Financing the Confederate war effort was extremely difficult with the creation of their new and unstable government. In 1863, their congress was able to enact an income tax, but it produced only 1 percent of the government’s total income. The Confederacy also had little success with borrowing money and issuing bonds. They also couldn’t muster enough volunteers for their military, enacting a Conscription Act in 1852 that subjected all white men the ages of 18-35 to military service for three years. Eventually, support and manpower for the war died down, leaving the confederacy with intense war fatigue by the end of the Civil War.

Economic and Social Effects of the War

When the Union created a blockade around Confederate ports that reduced the sale of cotton outside the region and overseas by nearly 95 percent, the South redoubled its effort to diversify its economy. It expanded crops, bolstered the textile industry, and made armaments and wartime provisions. While production in the North grew over the period of the Civil War, production in the South declined by more than a third. Enslaved people escaped from Confederate army camps often to try cross the border into the North. Social pastimes such as baseball also became popular on both sides. Women also had to take up new jobs and roles as a result of vacancies left by men in the war, which was especially hard for Black women.

Patterns of Popular Culture: Baseball and the Civil War

Baseball became an increasingly popular and patriotic pastime during the Civil War for both Union and Confederate soldiers. It was seen as a common equalizer for all classes and ethnic groups, who could go down to watch a game and take part in “the great American pastime.” During the war, many Union army officials encouraged it, hoping it would keep up the soldiers’ morale.

Strategy and Diplomacy

The Commanders

Abraham Lincoln was extremely successful as the Union’s commander in chief, as he recognized the North’s material advantages and made a clear objective for his armies to destroy the Confederate armies’ ability to fight. However, Lincoln had trouble finding a General fit for the job. Initially, he appointed George B. McClellan, then Henry W. Halleck, finally settling on Ulysses S. Grant. In the South, the Confederate President Davis had less success creating an effective central command system for the Confederate military. One of Davis’s biggest downfalls was the fact that he didn’t share control of his military strategy with anyone, thus weakening it and lessening his chances of victory.

• Ulysses S. Grant: appointed General of the Union in 1864 during the Civil War, eventually became 18th President of the United States

• Robert E. Lee: general for the Confederacy during the Civil War, Jefferson Davis’s principal military advisor

The Role of Sea Power

The Union’s naval power gave it an overwhelming advantage in the war. The blockade it began in the first few weeks of war kept Confederate ports closed off, greatly reducing the economic ability of the South. The Union navy also joined forces to attack several Confederate strong points by river, and the South had no official navy to defend against them.

Europe and the Disunited States

The gap between the diplomatic skills of the Union and Confederacy became a decisive factor in the war. England and France initially had sympathy for the Confederacy, as their imported cotton was valuable, and they liked the idea of a weakened United States. However, antislavery groups in England kept them from declaring any position on the matter. Eventually, no European nation offered diplomatic recognition, financial support, or military aid to the Confederacy. No nation wanted to antagonize the U.S. unless they were sure of the Confederacy’s victory, and the South never came close to securing such confidence.

Campaigns and Battles

The Technology of War

In some respects, the Civil War was the bloodiest war in modern times. Much of what happened on the battlefield to cause such casualty and destruction was due to new technology that transformed the nature of combat. Armaments, the revolver and repeating rifle were introduced, and advances in iron and steel technology greatly improved cannons and artillery. This also changed the nature of fighting, going from “civilized” battles to more chaotic attacks similar to guerrilla warfare. Hot-air balloons, ironclad ships, the railroad, and the telegraph were also important technologies that advanced the Civil War like the world had never seen before.

The Opening Clashes, 1861

The first major battle of the war was fought in northern Virginia, where a Union army of over 30,000 men with a slightly smaller Confederate army stationed thirty miles away. General McDowell did his best to disperse the Confederate army, however their backup troops arrived just in time to fend the Union army off. The Union ended up retreating in disorganized surprise and chaos, blowing their first battle and morale, while the South saw it as a sign of many victories to come. General George B. McClellan was able to “liberate” the anti-secession mountain people of western Virginia during the start of the Civil War, creating West Virginia which would be admitted as a state in 1863.

• First Battle of Bull Run: aka the First Battle of Manassas, where General McDowell almost succeeded in dispersing Confederate forces, but was ultimately fought off by the Southerners under General P. G. T. Beauregard

The Western Theater

Eastern military operations eventually fell into a long and frustrating stalemate. Turning toward the west, the first decisive operations of the Union’s army occurred in 1862. The Union used their strong navy and water access to take over New Orleans in 1862, and attacked and seized Fort Henry and Fort Donelson with their ironclad ships.

• Shiloh: a battle that took place in Shiloh, Tennessee in 1862, between General Grant’s Union forces and Generals Beauregard and Johnston’s confederate forces, and after receiving 25,000 reinforcements the Union was able to scrape by a victory

The Virginia Front, 1862

The most important land taken and battles fought took place on the eastern front, especially Virginia which was a border state between the North and the South. In the spring of 1862, General McClellan set off with 100,000 men to attempt to take over the capital of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia. This plan was stopped by advances made by General Thomas J. Jackson heading towards Washington. Other battles on this front included the Battle of Seven Days, the Second Battle of Bull Run, and the battle of Antietam Creek.

• Thomas J. (“Stonewall”) Jackson: a famous Confederate army General, won many battles for the Confederacy and was notorious for his escapes of captures from the Union army

• Antietam: a Creek near the town of Sharpsburg where General Lee was able to station Confederate forces and fought brutally with Union forces under General McClellan, eventually Southern armies retreated

The Progress of the War

Many Northerners blamed the military stalemate during the first years of the Civil War on timid and incompetent Union generals. However, another contributing factor to the drawn-out conflict was that it was not a traditional war, but one where the Confederacy could survive only if the Union quit fighting. The strength, size, and power of the Union over a prolonged period of time was what gave them the advantage and the ability to run the Confederacy into the ground.

1863: Year of Decision

In the Battle of Chancellorsville, Stonewall Jackson attacked the Union along with General Lee. This didn’t gain the Union much traction, however victories in the west were supporting the Union’s cause. Ulysses S. Grant captured Vicksburg on the Mississippi River, and along with other Union captures of important strongholds along the river, were able to take complete control of the Mississippi and effectively cut the seceded states in two. The Battle of Gettysburg was another notable victory that permanently weakened Confederate armies and morale.

• Gettysburg: battle in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, that resulted in a huge victory for the Union and is seen as a turning point in the Civil War

The Last Stage, 1864-1865

By early 1864, President Lincoln appointed General Ulysses S. Grant as the chief of all the Union armies. Grant planned two attacks or “campaigns” during the year, one in Virginia and one in Georgia. General William T. Sherman was successful in capturing Georgia strongholds, burning and plundering land on his way through Georgia. Grant, however, faced bigger troubles attempting to capture Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capitol and stronghold. Eventually, Confederate forces were completely decimated and worn out that they could no longer hold the capitol, giving the Union control of it and effectively ending the Confederacy, and the Civil War itself.

• William T. Sherman: a Union general who commanded and fought in the Civil War, won important battles in the South and captured Georgia, made his notorious “March to the Sea”

• Appomattox Court House: site in Virginia where General Lee met with General Grant to officially surrender Confederate forces at the end of the Civil War

Conclusion

Comprehension Questions

1. Assess the advantages of the North and those of the South at the beginning of the Civil War. How did the advantages of each side change over the course of the war?

2. How did the Confederate government differ from the federal government of the United States?

3. How did the war affect the lives of women in the North and in the South?

4. Compare Lincoln and Davis as heads of government and commanders in chief.

5. Why did Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation, and what were its effects?