Civil War

1. Civil War WJIS 5th Grade Georgia Standards

2. Historical Understandings • SS5H1 Explain the causes, major events, and consequences of the Civil War.

3. Georgia Standards • SS5H1a. Identify “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry and explain how each of these events were related to the Civil War.

4. Uncle Tom’s Cabin • In 1852, a novel written by abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe made a tremendous impact on the anti-slavery movement in America. Uncle Tom’s Cabin told a story about the shocking treatment of slaves by a cruel slave owner. It became extremely popular and was even made into a play. This book was related to the Civil War because it turned many people against slavery. • Harriet Beecher Stowe & Uncle Tom's Cabin

5. Harpers Ferry, Virginia • Another abolitionist named John Brown wanted to help slaves by giving them guns to rebel against their masters. In October 1859, Brown and a group of men took over a government gun storage facility in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. (It is now located in West Virginia.) Local soldiers surrounded the area but Brown refused to surrender. Two of his sons died in the fighting, and Brown was wounded. Brown was later put on trial, found guilty, and hung for his crime. John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry was related to the Civil War because it showed that people were willing to use violence to stop slavery. • John Brown's Raid • Harpers Ferry

6. Georgia Standards • SS5H1b. Discuss how the issues of states’ rights and slavery increased tensions between the North and South.

7. Disagreements Divide the Country • As the United States grew in the 1800s, clear differences showed up between the North and South. The differences were: • Cultural- how the people of the two regions lived their lives • Economic- how they earned their money • Constitutional- how they looked at the U.S. Constitution. • Causes of the American Civil War • Causes of the Civil War

8. States’ rights • Two important issues increased tensions between North and South. They were states’ rights and slavery. States’ rights was a constitutional issue. Many Southerners believed that states should have final authority over the federal government. For example, if a state did not like a law passed by the federal government, that state did not have to obey it.

9. States’ rights • Northerners believed that the federal government had final authority over the states. The North believed that the nation was a union of states that could not be divided.

10. Slavery • Slavery was a cultural and economic issue.The South was an agricultural society. Slaves were used to plant and harvest the South’s most important crop – cotton. Northerners wanted to abolish slavery because they felt it was wrong. Southerners resisted, saying that the abolition of slavery would destroy their region’s economy.

11. Georgia Standards • SS5H1c. Identify major battles and campaigns: Fort Sumter, Gettysburg, the Atlanta Campaign, Sherman’s March to the Sea, Appomattox Court House.

12. The War Begins • After Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, many Southern states seceded from the Union. The Southern states formed the Confederate Army. Soldiers from the North were known as Union troops.

13. Fort Sumter • Confederate forces wanted to take over Fort Sumter, South Carolina. They began firing on the fort on April 12, 1861. The Civil War had begun! • Union troops at Fort Sumter were low on food and ammunition. After hundreds of shells struck the fort and fire threatened to cause an explosion, the Union troops surrendered. On April 14, the Union troops withdrew from the fort. Not a single person was killed in the battle. • Fort Sumter and the Civil War

14. Battle of Gettysburg • The Battle of Gettysburgwas the turning point in the Civil War. From July 1 to July 3, 1863, Confederate General Robert E. Lee fought to hold on to the small town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The larger Union Army overwhelmed his troops and won the battle. Both sides experienced terrible losses of life. This Union victory left the South with no chance of winning the Civil War. • Gettysburg Address • The Battle of Gettysburg

15. The Battle of Gettysburg • President Lincoln visited Gettysburg in November 1863. He made a speech at a ceremony dedicating part of the battlefield as a cemetery. This speech is called the Gettysburg Address. Even though it was less than three minutes long, it is one of the most famous and inspiring speeches in American history. • Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

16. Atlanta Campaign • The War Moves into Georgia! The year of 1864 brought bad times to the South, especially Georgia. Union General William Tecumseh Sherman’s Atlanta Campaign brought death and destruction. He moved his army south from Tennessee into Atlanta, fighting Confederate soldiers along the way. When the Union troops finally took over Atlanta, they set the city on fire. Sherman's Letter- Atlanta Campaign

17. Sherman’s March to the Sea • In November 1864, Sherman’s troops left Atlanta. They split into two groups and headed to Savannah on the Atlantic coast. This journey is called the “March to the Sea.” Along the way, Union troops destroyed homes, stores, crops, bridges, and railroad tracks. Sherman was trying to crush any fighting spirit left in the South. • Sherman's March to the Sea

18. Sherman’s March to the Sea • Sherman’s army reached Savannah just before Christmas. Sherman sent President Lincoln a telegram presenting the city as a gift. He then headed into South Carolina and continued his path of destruction.

19. Appomattox Court House • By April 1865, the Confederate Army was suffering. Many soldiers were sick and starving, and their clothes were in rags. On April 9, General Lee surrendered the Southern forces to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in the town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. Instead of celebrating, most soldiers on both sides quietly returned home. • Appomattox Court House • Appomattox Court House Website

20. Georgia Standards • SS5H1d. Describe the roles of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, and Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson.

21. When Two Great Minds Collide • Abraham Lincoln and Robert E. Lee were two men who were very powerful in the time leading up to and during the Civil War. These two men represented very different views of the nature of the United States. With their Positions as leaders and their differences in opinion, conflict was bound to happen.

22. Abraham Lincoln • As a Civil War leader, Abraham Lincoln: • Was President of the United States, elected in 1860 • Opposed the spread of slavery • Issued the Emancipation Proclamation • Was determined to preserve the Union – by force, if necessary • Believed the United States was one nation, not a collection of independent states • Wrote the Gettysburg Address that said the Civil War, which began in 1861, was to preserve a government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” • John Wilkes Booth assassinated him in Ford’s Theatre. • Abraham Lincoln

23. Robert E. Lee • As a Civil War leader, Robert E. Lee: • Was the leader of the Army of Northern Virginia • Was offered the command of the Union forces at the beginning of the war, but chose not to fight against Virginia • Opposed secession, but did not believe the Union should be held together by force • Urged Southerners to accept defeat at the end of the war and reunite as Americans when some wanted to continue fighting • Surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House. • Robert E. Lee

24. Think About It • Robert E. Lee was an officer in the United States Army before the Civil War began. He was offered the command of the Union Army to help end the rebellion in the South. However, the state of Virginia seceded, so Lee felt it was his duty to defend his native Virginia. If Virginia had remained a member of the Union, do you think Robert E. Lee would still have commanded the Confederate Army?

25. Ulysses S. Grant • Ulysses S. Grant was head of the Union Army that defeated Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army. Many historians say that he was the most capable of all the Union generals. He was a master of military strategy. President Lincoln said of Grant, “I can’t spare this man – he fights.” • Ulysses S. Grant

26. Jefferson Davis • Jefferson Davis was president of the Confederate States of America from 1861 – 1865. He had a strong faith in the Southern cause and wisely appointed Robert E. Lee to lead the Confederate Army. Unfortunately, Davis clashed with Southern leaders and was blamed by many of them for the Southern defeat in the Civil War. • Jefferson Davis

27. Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson • Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson was a skilled Confederate general from Virginia. He earned the nickname “Stonewall” during the Battle of First Bull Run. A general saw him bravely facing the enemy and said, “There is Jackson, standing like a stone wall.”

28. Georgia Standards • SS5H1e. Describe the effects of war on the North and South.

29. The Effects of War • The Civil War affected both the North and South. The South experienced the most hardships because the Civil War battles were fought on Southern soil. As the war wore on, many soldiers were killed or injured on both sides, but the Southern forces were especially hard hit. The Confederate Army lost so many men that young teenage boys began to join the Army later in the war.

30. The Effects of War • The loss of men was felt on both sides. Families in both the North and South faced serious financial problems due to the deaths of husbands and fathers who had earned the family’s income before the war.

31. Effects of War • Diseases also became a deadly problem for both sides. For every soldier who died of a battle wound, two died from disease. Many soldiers came from isolated farms where they had not been exposed to many diseases. In the crowded camps of the Army, germs spread like wildfire. Mumps, measles, diarrhea, and smallpox struck thousands.

32. Effects of the War • By the end of the war, much of the South had been devastated. Railroads, industries, homes, and farms had been destroyed. Thousands of people had lost everything they owned. Most of the South faced a long rebuilding process. In contrast, parts of the Northern economy prospered during the war. Farmers produced more crops to feed the soldiers, and industries grew to provide military supplies.

33. The American Civil War • The Civil War Review