Unit 5: The Outbreak of the Civil War

Unit 5: The Outbreak of the Civil War By Neil Hammond Millbrook High School

The Election of 1860: Democrats • Democrats Split • Douglas (popular sovereignty) • Breckenridge (slavery anywhere) • Did some Southern radicals want Lincoln to win?

The Election of 1860: Republicans • At the heart of Republican policy was stopping the expansion of slavery, but they had other policies: • Homesteads • Tariffs • Transcontinental railroad

The Election of 1860: Secession • Upon Lincoln’s election, seven southern states seceded from the union • These states seized all federal property in their boundaries. Fort Sumter became the spark that set off the war.

The Collapse of Compromise • Impending bloodshed spurred frantic attempts to compromise. The most promising was the Crittenden Compromise suggested by Henry Crittenden of KY. • Extending the 36 30 line • States could enter or join the union as free or slave states, but federal protection of slavery would exist South of the line EVEN if a territory voted to be a free one.

The Proposed Crittenden Compromise

The Two Constitutions • The two constitutions were virtually identical, but three major differences existed: • 1. Slavery was protected • 2. tariffs were unconstitutional • 3. The president was limited to one six year term

Lincoln’s Inaugural Address • Stressed peace • Union was PERPETUAL • The USA intended to hold on to property in the Southern states

The Election of 1860: Fort Sumter • Fort Sumter in South Carolina was one of the few military forts not taken by the Confederacy, but its supplies would not last forever. Lincoln informed Jefferson Davis that he intended to resupply the fort. When the Confederacy attacked Lincoln declared a state of rebellion and called for 75000 volunteers.

The Upper South Secedes • After Fort Sumter and Lincoln’s response, four more Confederate states seceded.

Lincoln’s Inaugural Address • The four states of the Upper South added a lot to the Confederacy • The Border States became crucial. • Lincoln suspended Habeas Corpus and locked up hundreds of potential Confederates

Advantages / Disadvantages • Military Tradition • Advantage = South • 2/3 of military officers were from the South • More Southerners were comfortable with firearms • Many rode horses • Lots of Northerners who fought were immigrants, who had little initial experience

Advantages / Disadvantages • Navy • Advantage = North • Most ships stationed in the North • Most ship building yards in the North • The North had many more merchant ships

Advantages / Disadvantages • Population • Advantage = North • North 22 million • South 9 million • Slaves not used to fight

Advantages / Disadvantages • Industry • Advantage = North • 90% of factories in North

Advantages / Disadvantages • Food production • Advantage = North • Both sides produced impressive amounts of food, but the North found it easier to disrupt the South’s transportation • And the North had more acreage

Advantages / Disadvantages • Finances • Advantage = North • North controlled national treasury • Union could expect continued revenue from tariffs • Many Northern banks held reserves of cash that they used to purchase government bonds • Concern about the North’s ability to win the war led to people withdrawing their money from banks, who then struggled to buy bonds • To overcome this the Republicans passed the Legal Tender Act of 1862. This act created a national currency NOT tied to gold or silver. The dollars were known as greenbacks because of their color.

Advantages / Disadvantages • The South struggled • Planters in debt • Fewer banks, fewer reserves, fewer bonds • Northern blockade strangled trade • By the end of the war the Confederacy implemented new taxation…it also printed lots of money, which led to inflation.

Political Divisions in the North • Republicans: • Abolitionists wanted the war to be about slavery • Lincoln and others fought to PRESERVE THE UNION • Democrats • War Democrats – supported war but opposed ending slavery • Copperheads – opposed the war

Conscription Divides the North and South • 1862 Militia Act, which provided for conscription IF a state could not get enough volunteers • Democrats opposed this, and riots broke out in several Midwest Democratic states • Lincoln enforced the laws by suspending Habeas Corpus, justifying his actions because deserters from the military were shot

Weaknesses of the Confederate Government • States’ rights meant that many politicians opposed any expansion of central power • Many politicians opposed Southern conscription when it was introduced in 1862 • Like Lincoln, Davis suspended Habeas Corpus

Diplomacy • USA – wanted European powers to stay neutral • Confederate States – wanted Great Britain and France to intervene • Britain and France wanted to see evidence that the Confederacy could win the war before they would commit to recognizing the Confederacy

Diplomacy: The Trent Affair • In 1862 two Confederate diplomats were on a British Ship. A US navy ship stopped the ship and arrested the diplomats • The British threatened war and the diplomats were released

Technology • 1. conoidal bullets • 2. telegraph • 3. balloons • 4. ironclads

Technology And Tactics • Napoleonic Tactics • March in tight formations • Fire lots of shots • When close enough charge with bayonets • Defenders used trenches and had more accurate rifles

South’s Strategy • Theory: fight a defensive war…like the colonists in the Revolutionary War • Reality: Southern honor often saw soldiers take the offensive and charge…Robert E Lee invaded the North twice, looking for a BIG victory on Northern soil

Anaconda Plan • Blockade Confederacy • Control Mississippi River

Unit 5: The Outbreak of the Civil War