Girdling for War: The North and South Chapter 20

After the attack on Ft. Sumter Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee also seceded from the Union (bringing the Confederate states to 11) Missouri, Kentucky, Delaware, Maryland (and later W. Virginia) became the “border states” The only pro-slave states to remain in the Union.

Brothers’ Blood and Border Blood To keep the border states from seceding, Lincoln made it clear: The war was about preserving and reuniting the Union, not about slavery Lincoln knew that the border states would almost double the manufacturing and transportation capability of the Confederacy if they seceded.

The Balance of Forces Southern Strengths Northern Strengths Had the advantage of fighting a defensive war on land that they were familiar with. Had much stronger military officers Robert E. Lee Stonewall Jackson An economy based on manufacturing 3x Larger population ¾ of the nation’s wealth ¾ of the nation’s railroads

Dethroning King Cotton The South counted on British intervention to win the war Most commoners in Britain supported the North, hoping to abolish slavery Partly because of Uncle Tom’s Cabin Most British diplomats and politicians secretly supported the south because of the cotton supply (Economics)

Why Did Britain Not Intervene for the South? 1857-1860 - Britain had built a large surplus of cotton The textile mills could function for a few years without needing to purchase cotton from the South Britain began to look for other sources of cotton (specifically India)

President Davis vs President Lincoln President Jefferson Davis was never popular with the people of the South All business Stubborn The head of an unproven form of government (Confederacy) President Lincoln Popular with the people of the North Obsessed with the war micro-managed generals (not a good thing) the head of an established government

Inherent Problems with the Confederacy The South had a built-in problem with its government it was a confederacy (loosely united confederation of independent states) It had the same weakness of the original U.S. Government (Articles of Confederation) The States had too much power over the federal government At any moment, any of the Southern states could secede from the Confederacy and become completely independent.

Limitation on Wartime Liberties Lincoln was able to make unconstitutional decisions during the war because the Constitution says the president has “War Powers” Increased the size of the Federal Army without Congressional approval (unconstitutional) Established a blockade of southern ports without Congressional approval (unconstitutional) Advanced money that was not apportioned by Congress (unconstitutional) Suspended habeas corpus (The right to “due process of the law”) Established “martial law” or military rule in Maryland to keep them from seceding. Because the constitution doesn’t explicitly define the “war powers” granted to the president, Lincoln was able to violate the constitution without impeachment.

Volunteers and Draftees By 1863 Due to the lack of Army volunteers, Congress passed the Enrollment Act of 1863 to build the size of the Army If a wealthy man got called in the draft, he could pay $300 for the government to find a replacement (usually an Irish immigrant) Most men could not afford to buy their way out of service. Many riots ensued as a result – the biggest being in New York

Economic Stresses of the War The North funded the war through tariffs and excise taxes. 1861- Congress passed the Morrill Tariff Act all the anti-tariff southern states had seceded Designed to increase revenue and provide protection for northern manufacturers The revenue from the tariffs funded the war effort.

The Homestead Act The Homestead Act of 1862 Signed into law by President Lincoln Provided 160 acres of free land to anyone who would move west and agree to settle on the land. Lincoln’s goal was to get the west populated with small, antislavery farmers before the war ended and the south was admitted back into the Union.

The Pacific Railway Act of 1862 Signed into law by Lincoln Commissioned the building of a transcontinental railroad that would span across the entire continent. Lincoln hoped the railroad would bind the Union economically, and speed up the settling of the west.

Economics of the War 1861 Washington Treasury begin to issue green-backed money The “greenbacks” fluctuated in worth because they were not backed by the federal gold supply The Confederates printed blue-backed money that inflated severely and became valueless by the end of the war.

By the end of the war (1865) The Northern economy had grown to a level that was never imaginable. Factories and railroads had built an infrastructure in the north that would turn the United States in to the world’s greatest industrial power. The Southern Cotton economy had been completely destroyed. Most of the South remained rural and poor until after World War 2 in the 1940s.

Women during the War Women helped considerably in health- related positions, especially on the battlefield. Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell was the first female medical doctor. Clara Barton (founder of the Red Cross) helped to revolutionize battlefield medicine.

The Civil War was the deadliest war in which the United States has ever been involved, because every casualty was an American. 600,000 battlefield deaths (Over a million died if you count later deaths due to infection or complications from battlefield injuries. There were tens of thousands of amputees after the war.

Politics During the War Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862 An executive order that free the slaves in all of the “rebellious states” Lincoln knew that freeing the slaves in the border states could cause them to join the south, so he made it very clear that this didn’t apply to the border states. The Emancipation Proclamation was a wartime measure, and was only in effect so long the war was going. After the Emancipation Proclamation, free blacks were allowed to join the Union Army, although their units were segregated and they were paid far less than their white counterparts.

Because the Emancipation Proclamation was a wartime executive order, and not a law, Abraham Lincoln knew the country needed to legally outlaw slavery before the war was over. To legally outlaw slavery, a constitutional amendment needed to be ratified. For an amendment to be ratified, 2/3 of both houses of Congress needs to approve, then ¾ of all of the states need to approve.

13th Amendment was passed in the waning months of the Civil War Lincoln’s administration knew that if an amendment wasn’t passed before the Southern states were readmitted, it would never get the approval of ¾ of the states. 13th Amendment was passed in the waning months of the Civil War This amendment is what legally abolished slavery in the United States.