North and South At War

1861-1865

Things You Need To Know North = United States, Union,

Federal – blue uniforms South = Confederate States,

Confederacy, Rebels – gray uniforms

The United States - 1861

1a. Lincoln, Fort Sumter, and War Aims

1861 – The South has seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America

Abraham Lincoln is president; his view: Secession is illegal The Confederate States of America is not a legitimate country but U.S. states in rebellion and

thus cannot be negotiated with

Lincoln felt that if the minority South were allowed to break up the Union, it would shatter the purpose of the Constitution and destroy the purpose of a free government.

Lincoln was adamant about not firing first; he didn’t want to be the aggressor in a war against his own people

The South relieved Lincoln of this worry when they fired first Fort Sumter – Fighting begins when Confederates fire upon a Federal fort in

Charleston, South Carolina in April 1861 containing Union soldiers who refused to leave – this begins the military engagement

1b. Lincoln, Fort Sumter, and War Aims

The war has begun – Lincoln calls up volunteers to put down the “Southern insurrection (rebellion)”

Soon after, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina secede – the Confederacy now has 11 states officially though it will claim 13 (Missouri and Kentucky)

Lincoln’s main concern was keeping the Union together, and he nearly lost the slave holding border states of Maryland, Kentucky, Delaware, Missouri, and West Virginia – He couldn’t risk them seceding too…

The border states were states that bordered the Union (North). Lincoln allowed them to keep their slaves in if they didn’t secede Lincoln stated that his war aim was to preserve the Union and not to

interfere with slavery. This appealed to the border states.

The United States - 1861

2. Balance of Forces Strengths of both sides

North – more troops, bigger population, more RR, had 85% of the nation’s industry, stable government, Abraham Lincoln

South – better military leadership, and easier strategy – they just had to defend their territory not invade

Union strategy had 3 parts 1) Blockade the southern coast – nothing goes in, nothing comes out 2) Take control of the Mississippi River and divide the South 3) Take the Confederate capital city of Richmond, Virginia

3a. Foreign Involvement How did Europe react to the war? 1) Aristocracy – The rich in Europe sided with the South;

they had disdain for American democracy and sided with Southern aristocracy

2) Masses – Europe’s working class people pulled for the North, the end of slavery, and the triumph of free popular government

3b. Foreign Involvement Though the Civil War was between Americans, diplomacy was

an important factor The South wanted help from Britain and France Lincoln needed to prevent that Britain came close to getting involved twice: 1) The Trent Affair – where a Union ship stopped an English

ship and removed two Confederate diplomats in late 1861 2) Britain also was willing to build ships for the Confederacy;

notably the Alabama, which conducted raids against Union ships until it was destroyed in 1864

4a. Lincoln and Liberties Abraham Lincoln (U.S.) vs. Jefferson Davis (C.S.A.) The best way to compare the two is to compare steel and iron. Both were strong but… Lincoln was like steel, flexible but firm when needed and still unbreakable Davis was like iron, strong but unwilling to bend Lincoln knew what to work around and what not to compromise on Because he saw the United States as in a state of rebellion, he used what

he called “emergency powers”, powers that were actually unconstitutional 1) Suspending habeas corpus – Lincoln suspended the right to not be

imprisoned w/o trial; throwing Northern supporters of the Confederacy in jail and keeping them there indefinitely

2) Lincoln also had editors of anti-war newspapers arrested and suspended their newspapers

Jefferson Davis President of the Confederacy

President Abraham Lincoln

4b. Lincoln and Liberties

Between the North and the South, the North had the most people to pull from when it came to drafting soldiers

Draft laws weren’t the fairest The war was a “rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight” North – Rich young men could send substitutes for themselves off to

the war; exemption could be purchased for $300 ($5,700 today) South – Slave owners of more than 20 slaves could claim exemption

from fighting the war.

5a. Economic Aspects of the War

The North was better able to pay for fighting the war. 1) Taxes and tariffs – The North relied on raising taxes and

tariffs to increase revenue while the South could never agree on a Confederate national tax or tariff

2) Bonds and Borrowing – With a larger population and economy, the North also benefitted from selling war bonds and borrowing

3) Printing Money – Both the Union and the Confederacy suffered inflation from printing paper money; the Union suffered a 80% inflation rate, but the South suffered a 9,000% inflation rate

5b. Economic Aspects of the War

After the war, the North and the South came out economically quite different:

1) North – A massive growth of factories during wartime led to a major economic boom.

2) South – the Union blockade and destruction of Southern property left the South in shambles.

Union vs. Confederacy

5b. Economic Aspects of the War

Women also played a part in the war The “caring professions” Clara Barton risked her life during the war to treat soldiers She transformed the nursing profession