Civil War CCS

10/11/2012 Dutton-5 Venkat Muthukumar, Horacio Gatian, Imran Murtuza

VS.

Causes:
1. Sectionalism: Sectionalism refers to the different types of economies, customs, and social structures between the Confederate states and the Union. The Union had a more industrialized economy, it was mainly an urban area, and slavery was no longer practiced as a main source of production. The Confederate states were mainly a rural area, where slavery was still used and the Confederate states were not as industrialized as the Union. 2. Mexican Cession: The Mexican Cession is the territory won by the United States from Mexico in the Mexican-American War. The territory included California, New Mexico, and Texas. The Mexican Cession represents the available space that could become available for slave owners to cultivate their appropriate crops. The Union argued that the new territory should get to decide for itself on whether they would allow slavery. 3. State Rights: The debate over which powers rightly belonged to the Federal government or the States became a problem when the Confederate states argued that slavery was property and that they should be able to take it anywhere in the country. the problem began when southerners needed to move somewhere else for any given reason, and if the state was a freed state, that would mean that the slave was now a free men. This angered the Confederate states and gave them yet another reason to fight. 4. Slavery: Slavery is known to be the major cause of the American Civil War. The Confederate states were fighting to retain the power to own slaves, and in order for them to do so, they must become independent. The Union had said that slavery was no longer allowed in the United States and so the Union fought to end the Confederate rebellion and end slavery in the United States. 5. Election of Abraham Lincoln: The election of Abraham Lincoln in the elections of 1860 was the moment when the confederate states decided to secede from the Union. Even though Lincoln never intended to start a war, he had previously made a speech were he stated that he did not want slavery

to expand. And so if Lincoln was to become President, the Confederates felt as if they only had one option, to secede. 6. Abolitionist Movements: The Abolitionist Movements were becoming more influential in the United States around the 1830s but mainly in the Northern states. One of the major abolitionist authors was Harriet Stowe, and her famous novel Uncle Toms Cabin. This was a very useful tool of abolitionist because the readers reacted with horror and anger towards the slave owners. 7. Confederate Goals: The Confederate forces were fighting to retain its power to hold slaves as property. They were also fighting to become independent because they disagreed with the decisions that President Lincoln would make. The Confederate were just trying to retain their way of life and maintain their slaves. 8. Union Goals: The Union forces were not fighting to end slavery; they were fighting to reunite the United States of America. The Union viewed the Confederates decision of secession as betrayal in form of a rebellion and the Union then set out to end the rebellion. 9. Lincolns policy: In Lincolns inaugural speech, he stated that under the Constitution the act of secession is illegal. Lincoln had no intention to invade the Confederate states, Lincoln wanted a peaceful solution. He also never intended to abolish slavery, but to maintain it and stop it from expanding into new territories. 10. Fugitive Slave Act of 1850: The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed in September 18, 1850 by the United States Congress. This was part of the Compromise of 1850 and one of the most controversial acts. Under the act, all runaway slaves captured would be returned their respective masters. This act increased the efforts of abolitionist against slavery, and also increased the activity of the Underground Railroad.

Characteristics:
1. In January of 1861 the south seceded from the union, because Abraham Lincoln, a clear opponent of slavery, was elected as president. Soon the 11 states that seceded formed the Confederate States of America. 2. In April 1861 president Lincoln wanted to send supplies to Fort Sumter, but South Carolina ordered Robert Anderson to surrender when he got there. He refused initially and on April 12 the Civil War began with shots fired on the fort. Fort Sumpter was eventually surrendered to South Carolina. 3. In July 1861 the main general Winfield Scott chose to advance on the south before the troops were ready. Initially the attack on Manassas was successful, but when the Confederate reinforcements came the troops were forced to retreat back to washington. This was the first battle of Bull Run. 4. Also in July 1861 the Union formed a blockade on the coast of confederate borders, and it had made a significant difference. However the South retaliated by constructing smaller vessels that were able to outmaneuver Union vessels. 5. In the early months of 1862 Abraham Lincoln issued a full blown out war order that allowed the Union to launch aggressive actions against the Confederacy, but General McClellan ignored this order, which ended up costing him supreme command. Instead he was given command of the Army of Potomac. 6. In April 1862 at the Battle of Shiloh also known as the landing of Pittsburgh, the Confederate forces attacked Union forces under the command of Ulysses S. Grant. The troops were almost defeated, but when reinforcements arrived the Union troops dominated the battlefield forcing the Confederate forces to retreat. However the casualties on both sides were massive. 7. Also in April 1862 General McClellan led his troops out from Northern Virginia and began the Peninsular Campaign.His troops occupied Yorktown, but at Williamsburg the Confederate forces prevented McClellan from meeting the central part of the Confederate Army, so instead he waited for reinforcements. 8. In May 1862 the Confederate General Thomas Stonewall Jackson assailed Union forces causing them to retreat across the Potomac, which resulted in the Union forces rushing to protect Washington D.C.

9. On May 31, 1862 the Confederate army attacked the federal forces at Seven Pines, and coming very close to defeating them, but Union reinforcements saved them. Also due to the Confederate Commanders ill situation after the battle, Robert E. Lee became the Commander of the Army of North Virginia. 10. In July 1862 there was a seven days battle(June 26-July 2) in which the Confederate and Union forces fought a series of battles: Mechanicsville, Gaines Mill, Savages Station, Fraysers Farm, and Malvern Hill. After these battles the COnfederates were forced to withdraw to Richmond, which ended the Peninsular Campaign, 11. In September 1862, the Battle of Sharpsburg also known as Antietam occurred. This was the most bloody battle of the war, and there was no clear winner, but since General Lee withdrew to Virginia, McClellan was considered victorious. This battle gave Lincoln the opportunity to give his preliminary Emancipation Proclamation which essentially would free all slaves. 12. At the Battle of Fredericksburg in December 1862 marked the turmoil of deciding the major general, because McClellans slow movement of forces coupled with General Lees escape and confederate raidings, cost McClellan his role, however the man who replaced him, Ambrose Burnside was of little help marked by his numerous losses against the Confederate forces at Fredericksburg; consequently Burnside was replaced by General Joseph Hooker. 13. In the early months of 1863 Abraham Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation saying that all slaves were free, and later on passed the Conscription Act which made all men between the ages of 20-45 liable to be called for military service. However there was a loophole in that you could pay yourself out of military service which was viewed as unjust to the poorer citizens. 14. In May 1863 at the Battle of Chancellorsville General Hooker attacked General Lees army, however General Lee surprised the Union army by splitting his forces and attacking the Union forces in three places causing an almost complete defeat. The Union army withdrew across the Rappahannock river. 15. In the Vicksburg Campaign in May 1863, General Grant won several battles around Vicksburg, essentially seizing the city, causing the Confederate General, John Pemberton to surrender. This resulted in the Confederacy to be split in two, because the Union had control of the Mississippi river.

16. From June to July of 1863 the Gettysburg Campaign occurred. It was when General Lee defeated Union troops at Winchester, Virginia and continued up north forcing General Hooker to follow him, and eventually resigned. He was replaced by General Meade. On July 1, there was a major encounter between the Confederate and Union forces at Gettysburg. General Meade and his troops won, but General Lee was able to retreat back to Virginia. The Battle of Gettysburg is known as the high water mark of the Confederacy, because they had lost all chances of foreign aid and recognition. Also President Lincoln dedicated a portion of the battlefield as a national cemetery, and gave the Gettysburg Address. 17. From September to December of 1863 at the battles of Chickamauga and Chattanooga the Confederate army maintained control of the battlefield, but the Union forces eradicated Confederate troops from Chattanooga. Also General Burnside was successfully able to defend Knoxville form Confederate troops. 18. In May 1864 met and fought in the wilderness for three days in which General Lee inflicted the most damage and would have won if he had replacements like the newly promoted general Grant had. 19. From May 1864 to the June of 1864, General Grant relentlessly attacked General Lee at the Spotsylvania Courthouse and at Cold Harbor. Despite winning at Cold Harbor General Lees army never truly recovered from General Grants continuous attacks, and this was the last victory of the war for General Lee. Also General Grant tried to siege Petersburg but epically failed and caused a 10 month siege and the loss of thousands of lives. 20. In August and November of 1864 Union General Sherman defeated both General Johnston and the man who replaced Johnston, General Hood. General Sherman continued onto to the sea through Georgia. 21. Over the course of November and December 1864, the Union Army captured Fort Monroe by force, Fort McAllister by storming it, and completely repulsed General Hood in the most complete victory of the war. 22. In January and February of 1865 the South as a shortage of food and supplies due to effective blockades, which allowed for General Sherman to just obliterate anything in his path from Georgia though South Carolina. Yet Confederate President Davis wanted to hold a peace conference with Lincoln, but demanded Southern Independence which was swiftly rejected by Lincoln. So the conference never occurred. 23. On March 25, 1865 General Lee attacked General Grants forced but failed and evacuated the confederate capital Richmond, Virginia.

24. Finally on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered at the Appomattox Courthouse and Lees ment were sent home. However on April 14, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Boothe, who was later shot by a union soldier, and by the end of April and May the remaining confederate troops were defeated, along with Davis being captured in Georgia, thus completely ending the war.

Significances:
1. Changes in South: After the north won the war produced about 1.03 million casualties. The war destroyed most of the wealth that was in the south. The income per person dropped less than 40% than the North. Southern influence in the US federal government, previously considerable, was greatly diminished until the latter half of the 20th century 2. Reconstruction Era: This was the era right after the civil war and is the transformation of the southern states. Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson were presidents at the time. Republicans try to block the moderate approach, impose harsh terms, and upgrade the rights of the Freedmen. The south set out to transform the society by setting up a free labor economy. 3. Thirteenth Amendment: This amendment officially outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude. It was the first of the three reconstruction Amendments that were made after the Civil war. Lincoln thought that the emancipation proclamation was seen as temporary. It didnt make the slaves free in the southern states, this amendment made it official. 4. Reconstruction Amendments: These are the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments of the US constitution. It was during the reconstruction era (1865-1870), five years after the Civil war. It is also referred to as civil war amendments. The thirteenth amendment abolished slaver, the fourteenth gave equal protection to everyone under the law and the fifteenth Amendment granted voting rights to any race or color. 5. Emancipation Proclamation: An order issued to the executive agencies of the US by President Abraham Lincoln. It said that all slaves in confederate territory to be free forever. This did not outlaw slavery and didnt make the freedmen citizens. 6. Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in Fords Theater. He was the first president to ever be assassinated in US. He was killed by John Wilkes Booth. There was a big conspiracy in to revive the confederacy. 7. Jim Crow Laws: Local laws in the US that mandated the segregation in public. It was separate but equal society. The separation led to conditions that tended to be inferior to those provided for whites systematizing a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages. Northern segregation was generally with patterns of segregation in housing enforced by covenants, bank lending practices, and job discrimination, including

discriminatory union practices for decades. It was applied more in the Southern States. 8. Black Codes: These laws were in effect after the civil war and limited the human right and civil liberties of blacks. The Black Codes is used most often to refer to legislation passed by Southern states at the end of the Civil War. It was to control the labor, migration and other activities of newlyfreed slaves. 9. Radical Republicans: American politicians part of the Republican Party from 1854 to the end of Reconstruction in 1877. These people were opposed during the war by moderates and conservative faction by Abraham Lincoln. They strongly opposed slavery during the war and after the war. They demanded harsh policies for the former rebels, and emphasizing civil rights and voting rights for Freedmen. 10. Cotton Trade Decline: Cotton had been shipped all over the world before the war started. During the war, the North had blockaded the South. The South had not been able to get much cotton out past the blockade. Countries that had bought cotton from the South were now buying it from other countries.