Disunion

Secession Southerners believed they had lost their political voice South Carolina Seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860 Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas = soon followed

Secession February 1861 Met in Montgomery Alabama Formed the Confederate States of America Drew up a constitution Protected and recognized slavery in new territories Jefferson Davis = President of Confederacy

Farewell to Union Many felt departure would be unopposed “All we ask is to be let alone” South = Golden opportunity Independent “Dixieland” Own Banking, Shipping, Trade Self Determination Felt they were doing nothing wrong

Secession April and May 1861 Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee seceded 11 Confederate states 4 remaining slave states Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri Buffer states

Menace of Secession Lincoln North Offensive South Defensive “No conflict unless the South provokes it” “Physically speaking, we cannot separate” Debt New Territories North Offensive South Defensive

Fort Sumter = South Carolina April 12, 1861 Lincoln’s inauguration = only 2 significant forts in South remained in Union hands Fort Sumter --- Charleston Harbor Fewer than 100 men Decided to neither abandon nor reinforce Only send in food Fall of Fort Sumter united the North Lincoln called for volunteer troops 75,000 militia Response overwhelming

Girding for War: The North and the South 1861-1865

Border Blood Richmond, Virginia = Capital Save the Union at all costs Border States Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, & W. Virginia Lincoln = Publicly announced not fighting to free blacks Save the Union at all costs Brother against brother

Balance of forces Union Confederacy Union and Confederacy were unevenly matched Union More people = 22 million More factories Greater food production More extensive railroad system = ¾ Economy = Greatest strength = ¾ nations wealth Controlled Sea = Blockade Confederacy “King Cotton” First-rate Generals Calvary / Foot soldiers Motivated Soldiers Economy = Greatest weakness

King Cotton British depended on South 1857 – 1860 75% of cotton supplies 1857 – 1860 Enormous exports of cotton = surplus in British warehouses Pinch did not come until mid war King Wheat – King Corn Reaper North – export huge quantities of grain

Decisiveness of Diplomacy Trent Affair = 1861 British mail steamer stopped Removed 2 Confederate diplomats bound for Europe Reluctantly released Britain = Chief naval base of Confederacy Alabama Confederate commerce-raiders Captures 60 Yankee Ships Laird Rams = 2 Metal ships Not released by Brits

Limitation on Wartime Liberties Neither side was completely unified North = Harbored thousands of Confederate sympathizers South = Had thousands of Union sympathizers Lincoln dealt forcefully with disloyalty and dissent Suspended the writ of Habeas Corpus Holds citizens without formally charging them with crimes Jefferson Davis also adopted practice Neither followed Constitution

Volunteers and Draftees North 1863 = Conscription Draft – forced men to serve in the army Led to draft riots in New York Pay your way out = $300 “Three-hundred dollars or your life” 90% of Union Troops were volunteers Bounties for enlistments = $1,000 Deserters

Cont. South “Rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight” 1862- year earlier than North “Cradle and Grave” Rich man could hire a sub = purchase exemption Slave owners = 20+ = exemption “Rich man’s war but a poor man’s fight”

Economic Stress North South Excise Tax Income Tax Greenbacks Bonds Tobacco and Alcohol Income Tax Greenbacks Inadequately supported by gold Value dropped = inflation Bonds National Banking system= 1863 Standard bank-note currency South Increased taxes Print blue backed paper money Runaway inflation

North’s Economic Boom North prospers during war Women’s war Industrial employment U.S. Sanitary Commission Trained nurses Clara Barton = Red Cross Dorothea Dix North prospers during war Manufacturers / Businessmen Mechanical reapers Homestead Act of 1862

Crushed Cotton Kingdom South Fought to the point of exhaustion Squeezed the average income Transportation collapsed Economic cannibalism Resourcefulness / Spirit “Northern Captains of Industry conquered the Southern Lords of the Manor”