CHAPTER 14 Two Societies at War 1861–1865 James A. Henretta Eric Hinderaker Rebecca Edwards Robert O. Self America’s History Eighth Edition America: A Concise History Sixth Edition CHAPTER 14 Two Societies at War 1861–1865 Copyright © 2014 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

1. Consider Timothy O’Sullivan’s image of dead soldiers at Antietam, Maryland. In your opinion, what did O’Sullivan hope to convey to the newspaper-reading American public with this and other battlefield photographs? (Answer: Image juxtaposes the tranquility of life in an agricultural community—the house, fencing, and wagon wheels—with the consequences of the war; showed the American public the horrible reality of war and death.)

I. Secession and Military Stalemate, 1861–1862 A. The Secession Crisis 1. The Lower South Secedes 2. The Crittenden Compromise I. Secession and Military Stalemate, 1861–1862 A. The Secession Crisis 1. The Lower South Secedes – South Carolina (SC) seceded first in December 1860, fearing a Lincoln presidency would end slavery; fire-eaters in the Deep South called on their states to hold conventions to consider following SC; MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, and TX followed by February; declared Confederate States of America (CSA) with Jefferson Davis as president. Buchanan did not act decisively; claimed federal government lacked authority to restore the Union by force. 2. The Crittenden Compromise – President asked Congress to act; Senator Crittenden (KY) proposed: 1) constitutional amendment to protect slavery from government interference where it already existed (approved), 2) expand the Missouri Compromise line to the CA border, banning slavery north of line but allowing it to the south (rejected by Republicans who feared it would unleash new imperialist adventures by proslavery forces to gain land beyond the borders, such as Cuba); Lincoln’s inaugural address in March 1861 called the Union “perpetual” and secession illegal.

1. Describe this image of the Alabama Secession flag 1. Describe this image of the Alabama Secession flag. What types of traditional American imagery did it borrow? (Answer: Flag shows the Goddess of Liberty at the center, holding a flag with a single star that reflects Alabama’s status as an independent republic. The Goddess of Liberty was a traditional American symbol, often used in images that symbolized America. The star was also traditional.) 2. What does the flag reveal about the reasoning behind Alabama’s decision to secede? What did Alabamians think they were achieving through secession? (Answer: The flag’s use of the Goddess of Liberty suggests that the people of Alabama believed they were seceding from the Union in order to protect their own liberty. The phrase “independent now and forever” indicates that Alabamians did not see secession as a threat or a way to achieve leverage, but as a new status that they intended to maintain. Perhaps the goddess’s clasp on an unsheathed sword indicates Alabamians’ willingness to use military force to protect their liberty and maintain their independence.)

I. Secession and Military Stalemate, 1861–1862 B. The Upper South Chooses Sides 1. Union responds 2. Middle and border states I. Secession and Military Stalemate, 1861–1862 B. The Upper South Chooses Sides 1. Union responds – Northerners joined the war effort quickly; OH was asked to provide 13 regiments and supplied 20; northern Democrats supported Lincoln (including Stephen Douglas); Lincoln called for 75,000 militiamen to serve for 90 days. 2. Middle and border states – Decision of these states was crucial; the eight border and middle states accounted for two-thirds of the whites in the slaveholding states; VA sided with Confederacy as did AK, TN, and NC; in northwestern VA, yeomen broke away and became part of Union (admitted in 1863 as WV); DE and MO sided with Union; MD was occupied and secured by Unionists who seized the state’s government; negotiation kept KY in Union. 7

I. Secession and Military Stalemate, 1861–1862 C. Setting War Objectives and Devising Strategies 1. Union Thrusts Toward Richmond 2. Lee Moves North: Antietam 3 The War in the Mississippi Valley I. Secession and Military Stalemate, 1861–1862 C. Setting War Objectives and Devising Strategies 1. Union Thrusts Toward Richmond – Lincoln rejected General Winfield Scott’s strategy of peaceful persuasion through economic sanctions and a naval blockade; instead, he insisted on an aggressive military campaign to restore the Union; hoped a quick strike against the Confederates at Richmond would end the rebellion; attack at Manassas (Bull Run) led to panic among Union soldiers who retreated; Union enlisted a million more men to serve for three years in the new Army of the Potomac; in 1862, General McClellan launched major assault, but Confederates fought back; war continued and Richmond was still secure. 2. Lee Moves North: Antietam – CSA General Lee went on the offensive; routed Union troops in Second Battle of Bull Run (1862); headed north into western MD; delays on the Union side kept Lee moving towards Antietam Creek (MD); horrible Union casualties and savage warfare; battle at Antietam on September 17, 1862 remains bloodiest day in U.S. military history: 4800 dead and 18,500 wounded (3000 of whom later died); because of Lee’s retreat, Lincoln claimed a victory, but problems continued. 3. The War in the Mississippi Valley – Union had success in the Midwest gaining the Tennessee and Mississippi rivers; Union naval forces commanded by David G. Farragut struck the Confederacy from the Gulf of Mexico; captured the South’s financial center and largest city, New Orleans (took control of 1500 plantations and 50,000 slaves); workers on some plantations looted their owners’ mansions; others refused to labor unless they were paid wages. Union victories significantly undermined Confederate strength in the Mississippi River Valley.

II. Toward Total War A. Mobilizing Armies and Civilians 1. The Military Draft 2. Women in Wartime II. Toward Total War A. Mobilizing Armies and Civilians 1. The Military Draft – Initially, patriotic fervor filled both armies with eager volunteers; however, death toll discouraged enlistment and both sides soon needed draft. In April 1862, Confederate States of America imposed first draft in U.S. history: existing soldiers would serve duration of war, and men ages 18-35 would serve three years (increased to age 45 in September 1862). South’s draft had two controversial loopholes: for every 20 slaves supplied, one white man would be exempt; secondly, men could hire substitutes. Union taxed those who refused to serve or sympathized with the CSA; suspended habeas corpus and imprisoned about 15,000 southern sympathizers without trial; northerners could provide a substitute or pay a fee not to fight; Enrollment Act of 1863 in the North led to immigrants refusing to serve; New York City had draft riots (Irish and German workers) in which black workers were lynched and harassed; 1861 U.S. Sanitary Commission established in NY to aid in the care of soldiers on the battlefield and in Union hospitals; so much death created new industries (ex: embalming) and cultural rituals. 2. Women in Wartime – Approximately 200,000 women volunteered for the Sanitary Commission and the Freedman’s Aid Society; nursed family members; worked as paid nurses, clerks, and factory operatives; Dorothea Dix named superintendent of female nurses. Women took over farm tasks; filled jobs in schools and offices; worked as spies, scouts, and soldiers (in disguise).

II. Toward Total War B. Mobilizing Resources 1. Republican Economic and Fiscal Policies 2. The South Resorts to Coercion and Inflation II. Toward Total War B. Mobilizing Resources 1. Republican Economic and Fiscal Policies – The North’s economy was far superior to that of the South: more output, two-thirds of railroads, and two-thirds of population. Southerners hoped to trade cotton for much needed supplies. Congress enacted a neomercantilist program of government-assisted economic development; imposed high tariffs, offered “free land” to farmers through the Homestead Act (1862), closed local banks, and forced the states/people to accept federal charters and regulations; made plans for a transcontinental railroad. Industries grew to feed/clothe the soldiers. Union spending increased dramatically; Legal Tender Act of 1862 introduced “greenbacks” (paper currency). 2. The South Resorts to Coercion and Inflation – CSA left economic matters to state governments in the beginning; eventually had to build and operate shipyards, armories, and textile mills; commandeered food, coal, iron, copper, and lead; reluctant to tax slaves and cotton; paid 60 percent of its war costs by printing paper money, which led to massive price inflation and food rioting. 13

1. Describe the central action of this image 1. Describe the central action of this image. (Answer: Two women prepare a horse-drawn cart for a journey; two children are seated at the back of the cart full of furniture; men and children stand nearby.) 2. What does this image teach us about the lives of American women during the Civil War? (Answer: The military service of men left women with all familial and economic responsibilities; here women are packing up and moving the family on their own, a level of independence that would have been unacceptable in peacetime; southern women were vulnerable to the hardship as the war forced families off of their plantations.)

III. The Turning Point: 1863 A. Emancipation 1. “Contrabands” 2. The Emancipation Proclamation III. The Turning Point: 1863 A. Emancipation 1. “Contrabands” – Abolitionists began to demand emancipation as part of war effort; slaves who escaped to Union armies called “contrabands of war”; Confiscation Act of 1861: authorized seizure of property used to support the rebellion; Radical Republicans worked for legislation that would end slavery in the rebellious states and outlaw slavery in the federal territories. 2. The Emancipation Proclamation – Lincoln initially rejected emancipation as a war aim, but in August 1862, he publicly linked black freedom with the preservation of the Union; slavery could continue in those states that had not rebelled (MD, MO) and areas occupied by Union armies (parts of TN, western VA, southern LA); Lincoln called emancipation an “act of justice.”

III. The Turning Point: 1863 B. Vicksburg and Gettysburg 1. The Battle for the Mississippi 2. Lee’s Advance and Defeat III. The Turning Point: 1863 B. Vicksburg and Gettysburg 1. The Battle for the Mississippi – General Grant sought to split the Confederacy in two; achieved the surrender at Vicksburg, MS; took regions of Louisiana; slaves began deserting region Gulf of Mexico. 2. Lee’s Advance and Defeat – Gettysburg, PA, July 1863; Union victory was hard won; after three days, there were 28,000 CSA deaths and 23,000 Union deaths; last effort by the CSA to invade the North; increased the power of Republican Party and its supporters.

IV. The Union Victorious, 1864–1865 A. Soldiers and Strategy 1. The Impact of Black Troops 2. Capable Generals Take Command 3. Stalemate IV. The Union Victorious, 1864–1865 A. Soldiers and Strategy 1. The Impact of Black Troops – Many northern whites were initially offended by blacks fighting for the Union. Emancipation Proclamation changed public thinking on this issue; northern whites now accepted that blacks would fight and die for the cause. In 1863, the 54th Massachusetts Infantry’s heroic and costly attack on Fort Wagner (SC) was critical in changing perspective on black soldiers; discrimination was widespread, but changes to pay were achieved. 2. Capable Generals Take Command – General Ulysses S. Grant (March 1864) implemented President Lincoln’s new strategy; Grant focused not just on battles but on mobilization against southern society (disruption); ordered two major offensives: Grant personally took charge of the Army of the Potomac and set out to destroy Lee’s forces in Virginia, and he ordered General William Sherman to invade Georgia and take Atlanta. 3. Stalemate – Psychological toll of fighting was enormous on both sides; as morale declined, soldiers deserted; trench warfare and scorched-earth campaign revealed desperation to end the war.

IV. The Union Victorious, 1864–1865 B. The Election of 1864 and Sherman’s March 1. The National Union Party Versus the Peace Democrats 2. The Fall of Atlanta and Lincoln’s Victory 3. William Tecumseh Sherman: “Hard War” Warrior 4. The Confederate Collapse IV. The Union Victorious, 1864–1865 B. The Election of 1864 and Sherman’s March 1. The National Union Party Versus the Peace Democrats – Republican Party supported Lincoln for reelection, demanded the surrender of the CSA and called for end to slavery; Republicans called themselves the National Union Party; Democrats did not want emancipation, but they were split into two camps over war policy. 2. The Fall of Atlanta and Lincoln’s Victory – After taking control of Atlanta, Lincoln promised the war would continue; National Union Party labeled Peace Democrats “copperheads” (poisonous snakes); Lincoln won; 1864 Maryland and Missouri changed their state constitutions and called for emancipation. 3. William Tecumseh Sherman: “Hard War” Warrior – Commanded the Union Army of the Tennessee; moved South with his army, demolishing whatever was in their path; many CSA soldiers were demoralized and abandoned; treated as a savior by Georgia’s black population; issued Special Field Order No. 15, which set aside 400,000 acres for the use of freedmen; invaded South Carolina and met up with General Grant in North Carolina to fight General Lee. 4. The Confederate Collapse – Class resentment among the CSA weakened the Confederacy; desertions increased; Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.