The American Pageant

Chapter 20

Girding for War: The North and the South,

1861-1865

Cover Slide

Themes• Theme: The North effectively brought to bear its

long-term advantages of industrial might and human resources to wage a devastating total war against the South. The war helped organize and modernize northern society, while the South, despite heroic efforts, was economically and socially crushed.

• Theme: Lincoln’s skillful political leadership helped keep the crucial Border States in the Union and maintain northern morale, while his effective diplomacy kept Britain and France from aiding the Confederacy.

CHAPTER SUMMARYSouth Carolina’s firing on Fort Sumter

aroused the North for war. Lincoln’s call for troops to suppress the rebellion drove four upper South states into the Confederacy.

Lincoln used an effective combination of political persuasion and force to keep the

deeply divided Border States in the Union.

?• Why would European great

powers welcome a civil war in the United States?

• war would weaken the power of the United States in the western hemisphere.  

• they could play the two nations off against one another in a game of balance of power. 

• their existing colonies would be safe against further American expansion. 

• they might more readily seize new colonial territory in the Americas.

?In 1861, many Northerners were

willing to allow Southern states to leave the Union until this happened:

• The South attacked Fort Sumter.

?Why did the Confederate batteries

fire on Fort Sumter?

• When it was learned that Lincoln had ordered supplies sent to the fort.

?How did Lincoln react to the attack

on Fort Sumter?

• Lincoln's decision on what to do about the situation at Fort Sumter in the first weeks of his administration can best be characterized as a middle of the road solution.

?Tell us how did Lincoln persuaded Border States to remain in the Union.

Which state was added, which made border states even more valuable?

Tell us about Lincoln’s position on saving the Union, Border States, and slavery.

• In order to persuade the Border States to remain in the Union, President Lincoln used legally dubious methods.

• The importance of the Border States became even greater when West Virginia was added to their number in 1861. 

• Lincoln's declaration that the North sought to preserve the Union with or without slavery revealed the influence of the Border States on his policies.

  

?What advantages did the Border

States offer?

  

• a large population. 

• a good supply of horses and mules. 

• valuable manufacturing capacity.  

• large navigable rivers.  

The Confederacy enjoyed initial advantages of upper-class European support, military

leadership, and a defensive position on its own soil. The North enjoyed the advantages of lower-

class European support, industrial and population resources, and political leadership.The British upper classes sympathized with the South and abetted Confederate naval efforts. But effective diplomacy and Union military

success thwarted those efforts and kept Britain as well as France neutral in the war.

Main Ideas

?

?During the Civil War the

Confederacy received support from this unexpected group from

Oklahoma. Who?

• During the Civil War, most of the Five Civilized Tribes in the Indian

Territory of present-day Oklahoma supported the

Confederacy.

?Which Indians supported the North? What did they get in return?

• In return for support from the Plains Indians during the Civil War, the Union waged war on them and herded them onto reservations.

?In order to achieve its independence, the Confederacy had to at least accomplish what great task.

• To achieve its independence, the Confederacy had to fight the invading Union army to a draw.

?What seemed to be the South’s advantage at the beginning of the war?

• The South seemed to have the advantage of more talented military leaders.

?Okay, give me some similar characteristics of both Union and Confederate soldiers.

• most soldiers had been farmers or farm laborers.  

• most troops were native born. 

• almost half were under the age of 22. 

• both shared a common commitment to patriotism.

?• Give us some distinct

characteristics of Confederate soldiers.

  

• jocular. 

• emotional. 

• religious.  

• bred to fight.

?• Okay, now give us some

distinct characteristics of Union soldiers.

• literate. • intellectual. • practical. • efficient.

?•Northern soldiers eventually became known for what?

•Discipline and determination.

?• How did the Union find effective high-level commanders?

•Trial and error.

?• What was the greatest hardship faced by soldiers during the Civil War?

•Disease.

?• Take 2• What was the South’s

greatest weakness during the Civil War?

• What was the North’s greatest strength during the Civil War?

2 for 1

•Its economy.

?• What caused much of the

hunger experienced by the Confederate soldiers?

•The South's rickety transportation system.

?• What was a supposed asset

for the South at the beginning of the Civil War that never materialized to its real advantage?

•Intervention from Britain and France.

?• Why did the South think Britain would come to its aid?

•Dependence on Southern cotton.

?• Give us one good reason

that the British did not try to break the Union blockade of the South during the Civil War.

•They feared losing Northern grain shipments.

?• What happened that almost

sparked war between the U.S. and Britain during the Civil War?

•The Trent affair, involving the removal of Southern diplomats from a British ship.

?• So, the U.S. relations with Canada during the war were hot, warm, or cold?

•During the Civil War relations between the Union and Canada were at times very poor.

?•What was Alabama and what did it do?

•Confederate commerce-raiders

such as the Alabama proved effective against Union shipping.

?• So, guess what. Some people

throughout the world thought this would be a great time to take advantage of the situation. What were the Frenchies up to and what rule did they break? What happened?

• Napoleon III attempted to install Maximilian on the Mexican throne

• This was a clear violation of the Monroe Doctrine.

• France abandoned its attempt to control Mexico when the United States threatened to force France to leave.

?•Who was Lincoln’s minister to Britain?

• America's minister to Britain, during the Civil War, under President Lincoln was Charles Francis Adams.

• During the Civil War, diplomacy for the Union and the Confederacy was critical for both.

Lincoln’s political leadership proved effective in mobilizing the North for war, despite political

opposition and resistance to his infringement on civil liberties. The North eventually mobilized its

larger troop resources for war and ultimately turned to an unpopular and unfair draft system.

Northern economic and financial strengths enabled it to gain an advantage over the less-

industrialized South.

Main Ideas

Main Ideas

The changes in society opened new opportunities for women, who had contributed significantly to the war effort in both the North and South.

Since most of the war was waged on Southern soil, the South was left

devastated by the war.

?•The Southern cause was weakened by what political concept?

• States' rights.

• As president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis did not exercise the arbitrary power wielded by Abraham Lincoln because of the South's emphasis on states' rights.

?•So, the great politician Jefferson Davis. How did he handle public opinion?

•Jefferson Davis defied rather than was led by public opinion.

?• Why were the problems that Abraham Lincoln experienced as president less prostrating than those experienced by Jefferson Davis?

• Partly because the North had a long-established and fully recognized government.

?• In Lincoln's attempts to

preserve the Union, what questionable actions did he commit? 

 

• proclaimed a blockade of the Southern ports. 

• increased the size of the federal army. 

• suspended the writ of habeas corpus. 

• advanced federal funds to private citizens without authorization.

?• Tell us about the Northern economy, banking, and opportunities for women during the Civil War.

• The Union's establishment of a new national banking system, the National Banking System, was the first significant step toward a unified banking network since 1836.

• As a result of the Civil War, the Northern economy greatly expanded its industrial and technological productivity.    

• During the Civil War, women in the North had new opportunities opened to them in industry.

?•What happened to the South’s wealth during the Civil War. Just the numbers please.

?• Possessing 30 percent of

the national wealth in 1860, the South claimed only 12 percent in 1870. 

?•Why are we so lucky to be here:

•Instead of here?

• The End