FOA 3/8/16 – Start of the Civil War “In doing this there needs to be no bloodshed or violence, and there shall be none unless it be forced upon the national authority. The power confided to me will be used to hold, occupy, and possess the property and places belonging to the Government and to collect the duties and imposts; but beyond what may be necessary for these objects, there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere.” - Abraham Lincoln The paragraph above is a small part of Lincoln’s inaugural address/speech. Remember, 7 states have seceded or left the Union at this point Lincoln is taking over a country that seemed to be splitting apart. 1. What promise does Lincoln make? 2. What action could happen that could force Lincoln to use force/violence?

Wants to avoid secessionism over the slavery issue. No spread of slavery in West. Believes in popular sovereignty. Supports protecting slavery.

Lincoln wins the election! Southern voters did not affect the outcome of the presidential race at all. Interestingly, Lincoln’s name was not even on the ballot in ten southern states. Northerners outnumbered southerners and outvoted them!

The seven states that had seceded held a convention in Montgomery, Alabama. There, the southern states formed a new nation. They called themselves the Confederate States of America.

Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was named the first president of the Confederacy. Most southerners felt confident they had made the right choice to leave the United States. They believed the Founding Father’s would have stood on their side of the debate. They quoted from the Declaration of Independence saying, “it is the right of the people to alter or abolish” a government that denies the rights of its citizens. Lincoln, they believed, would deny white southerners their right to own slaves.

In his Inaugural Address, President Lincoln assured Americans that he had two goals: Maintain the Union Avoid WAR! On the first goal, preserving the Union, Lincoln would not compromise. Seceding from the Union, he said, was unconstitutional. Lincoln believed that his duty as President was well defined, he must at all costs preserve the United States of America.

Fort Sumter and the Start of the Civil War

Before Lincoln took office, the Confederacy had begun seizing federal forts in the South. Fort Sumter is the most famous of these forts. It is a manmade island only 2.4 acres in size, located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. It is named after South Carolina native and Revolutionary War general Thomas Sumter. The fort had been under construction, (the outer walls had only been completed) when South Carolina seceded from the Union in 1860.

By April 1860, Confederate troops controlled nearly all the forts, post offices, and other federal buildings in the South. U.S. Major Robert Anderson occupied the unfinished Fort Sumter and held his ground so the Confederates could not occupy it. Major Anderson was told by the Confederacy to surrender Fort Sumter. He refused, and by March 1861, there were over 3,000 southern militia troops surrounding his garrison. 

Fort Sumter guards the mainland of Charleston South Carolina. The Union held only three forts off the Florida coast and Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Fort Sumter was important to the Confederacy because it guarded Charleston Harbor.

Lincoln knew that Anderson and his men were running out of supplies Lincoln knew that Anderson and his men were running out of supplies. He faced a difficult decision. Should Lincoln let the Confederate take over the fort? (which was federal property owned by the United States)? If he did, he would appear weak and send a message that states had the right to leave the Union. On the other hand, if he sent troops to hold the fort, he might start a civil war and lose the support of the eight slave states that had not seceded from the Union.

If you had just been elected President of the United States, and the first month on the job you realize your actions toward Fort Sumter could start a civil war, what would you do?

Lincoln decided to notify the governor of South Carolina, Francis Pickens, that he was going to ship food to the fort, but promised not to send troops or weapons. He made his statement clear, that he intended to send three unarmed ships to re-supply Fort Sumter.

Governor Pickens consults with Jefferson Davis about the 3 supply ships arriving. Jefferson declares that any attempt to resupply the fort would be seen as an act of war and orders an attack on Fort Sumter before the ships can arrive. Confederate General Beauregard opens fire on Fort Sumter on April 12th. After a 34-hour exchange of artillery fire and with no fresh supplies, Anderson had no choice but to surrender the fort on April 13th. 

When Confederate troops shelled Fort Sumter, people in Charleston had gathered on their rooftops to watch. No one knew at the time that they were witnessing the beginning of a bloody civil war that would last four terrible years. AKA- This is the beginning of the Civil War!