1. Course of Civil War
Standard 3.2

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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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

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

7. 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

8. 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]

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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.

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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