Course of Civil War Standard 3.2

Standard 3.2 Summarize the course of the Civil War and its impact on democracy, including the major turning points; the impact of the Emancipation Proclamation; the unequal treatment afforded to African American military units; the geographic, economic, and political factors in the defeat of the Confederacy; and the ultimate defeat of the idea of secession.

Secession Problems Secession challenged democracy. A minority of Americans determined to leave the Union because they were dissatisfied with the outcome of the 1860 election. Southerners feared that the new administration would force them to grant freedom to their slaves.

War President Lincoln pledged to preserve the Union and democracy. Confederates fired on federal troops stationed at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor and the Civil War began.

Civil War The course and outcome of the Civil War depended upon the economic resources of the North and the South the geographic factors that influenced strategy the military and political leadership that influenced public support

The Union had far greater economic resources industrial capacity miles of railroad tracks manpower a navy

Confederacy The South depended on: the power of King Cotton their trading relationship with Great Britain to provide the manufactured goods and ships that they lacked However the Union’s strategy to blockade southern ports disrupted this trade throughout the war

The North’s offensive strategy was based on geography Union strategy The North’s offensive strategy was based on geography included splitting the South at the Mississippi River taking the capital at Richmond [Anaconda Plan]

The South’s strategy was: Confederacy strategy The South’s strategy was: mainly to seek support from Great Britain defend their region until such aid was obtained Or the North tired of the war effort

Course of Civil War Confederate forces invaded the North twice in an effort to gain foreign support and hasten the end of the war were repulsed at Antietam and defeated at Gettysburg. Initially the South enjoyed advantages in both military leadership and geography

Course of Civil War (cont.) They were able to effectively move their men and materiel via railroads between battle fronts in the east and the west under the effective leadership of Robert E. Lee. Southerners were also more familiar with their home terrain

Leadership Advantages The North, however, had the advantage in political leadership Jefferson Davis was not able to get the states of the Confederacy to effectively work together to pursue the war effort Abraham Lincoln was able to articulate the purpose of the war as the preservation of the Union and “government of the people, by the people and for the people” and to retain sufficient public support to continue the fight despite initial military defeats

Lincoln politics Lincoln also demonstrated his political skills by his handling of the issue of emancipation of the slaves Lincoln initially hesitated to free the slaves because he feared this would undermine the unity of the North by antagonizing the border states When emancipation was announced, it was promoted as a ‘military measure’ against the Confederacy However, the Emancipation Proclamation was also a diplomatic and political document

Lincoln politics (cont.) By making a goal of the war the liberation of slaves, Lincoln made it impossible for the British, whose population was strongly opposed to slavery, to continue to support the Southern war effort By announcing his intention to issue the Emancipation Proclamation in the fall and not making it effective until the first of the year, Lincoln gave the South a last chance to make peace and keep their slaves

Emancipation proclamation the Emancipation Proclamation did not immediately free the slaves It did not attempt to free slaves in the regions under Union control or in the border states Only states in rebellion on January 1, 1863 were commanded to free their slaves and Confederates were not likely to obey the President of the United States

Emancipation proclamation (cont.) However, as the slave population got wind of proposed emancipation, they increasingly ran to Union lines and freedom Slaves were freed as their homeland was captured by Union forces Finally, freedom for all slaves was formally legalized by the Thirteenth Amendment at the end of the war

African-Americans join the fight The Emancipation Proclamation allowed African Americans to enlist in the United States army as a war measure With the help of abolitionists, several African American units were formed most notably the 54th Massachusetts regiment that led a gallant but futile attack on Fort Wagner in Charleston Harbor

Effects disproving myths about capability and race While African American soldiers served with distinction, they served in segregated units under the command of white officers They were poorly supplied and paid less than white soldiers

Civil war key battles Fort Sumter Bull Run/Manassas Antietam The first shots of the Civil War were fired here. Bull Run/Manassas First battle of the Civil War, showed everyone involved that the war would not be short. Antietam Repelled Lee’s attempt at a Northern invasion Gave Lincoln the ‘victory’ he needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation

Civil war key battles Vicksburg Gettysburg Atlanta Grant got Lincoln’s attention here (future head general job!) Effectively cut the South in half Gave the Union control of the Mississippi river Gettysburg Last major offensive by the South The Gettysburg Address was given by Lincoln after battle, which gave a ‘slavery’ focus to the war effort. Atlanta Sherman’s capture of Atlanta helped Lincoln win reelection Signaled the ‘end of the road’ for the South militarily

Finishing the war President Lincoln effectively exercised his power as commander in chief and eventually found the right general to win the war Lincoln was frustrated by his generals until he named Ulysses S. Grant, who had been successful at Vicksburg in cutting the South in half at the Mississippi River, as commander of northern forces.

Finishing the war (cont.) Grant changed the strategy to ‘total war’ William Tecumseh Sherman’s ‘March to the Sea’ and Grant’s unrelenting attacks and siege at Petersburg strained the dwindling economic resources and manpower of the South and brought surrender at Appomattox Courthouse

War’s outcomes The outcome of the Civil War had a profound impact on the course of democracy preserving the Union while at the same time liberating an enslaved minority The idea of secession was based on the principle that a majority in one region (Southern slave owners) could deny rights to a minority (slaves) at the same time claim their minority rights would be violated by the decision of the national electorate

War’s outcomes (cont.) While the Union defeated the Confederacy on the battlefield and the federal courts ruled secession to be null and void, the idea of states’ right upon which secession was based was never defeated Indeed the argument of states’ rights emerged in the civil rights era and the Confederacy continues to be revered in some segments of southern society