CIVIL WAR

Cause of the Civil War

Part 1

Abraham Lincoln here, and I am going to tell you about the journey that brought us to the Civil War.

Pre- Civil War

The pre–Civil War years (1820–1860, or the “antebellum years”) were among

the most chaotic in American history—a time of significant changes that took

place as the United States came of age. During these years, the nation

was transformed from an underdeveloped nation of farmers and

frontiersmen into an urbanized economic powerhouse. As the industrialized North and the

agricultural South grew further apart, five major trends dominated American

economic, social, and political life during this period.

1stMarket Revolution

“First, the Market Revolution—the shift from an agricultural economy to one based on wages and the exchange of goods and services—completely changed the northern and western economy between 1820 and 1860. After Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin and perfected manufacturing with interchangeable parts, the North experienced a manufacturing boom that continued well into the next century. Cyrus McCormick’s mechanical mower-reaper also revolutionized grain production in the West. Internal improvements such as the Erie Canal and the Cumberland Road, combined with new modes of transportation such as the steamboat and railroad, allowed goods and crops to flow easily and cheaply between the agricultural West and manufacturing North. The growth of manufacturing also spawned the wage labor system”

http://www.sparknotes.com/history/american/precivilwar/context.html

Urbanization

Second, American society urbanized drastically during this era. The United States had been a land comprised almost entirely of farmers, but around 1820, millions of people began to move to the cities. They, along with several million Irish and German immigrants, flooded northern cities to find jobs in the new industrial economy. The advent of the wage labor system played a large role in transforming the social fabric because it gave birth to America’s first middle class. Comprised mostly of white-collar workers and skilled laborers, this growing middle class became the driving force behind a variety of reform movements. Among these were movements to reduce consumption of alcohol, improve prisons and insane asylums, improve education, and ban slavery. Religious revivalism, resulting from the Second Great Awakening, also had a large impact on American life in all parts of the country.

3rdPolitical Struggles

Third, the major political struggles during the antebellum period focused on states’ rights. Southern states were dominated by “states’ righter’s”—those who believed that the individual states should have the final say in matters of interpreting the Constitution. Inspired by the old Democratic-Republicans, John C. Calhoun argued in his “South Carolina Exposition and Protest” essay that the states had the right to nullify laws that they deemed unconstitutional because the states themselves had created the Constitution. Others, such as President Andrew Jackson and Chief Justice John Marshall, believed that the federal government had authority over the states. The debate came to a head in the Nullification Crisis of 1832–1833, which nearly touched off a civil war.

4thSlavery Debate

Fourth, and closely tied to the states’ rights issue, was the debate over slavery—the most divisive issue the nation had yet faced. Between 1820 and 1860, more and more northerners came to realize the horrors and injustices of slavery, while southerners grew increasingly reliant upon it to support their cotton-based economy. Northerners did not necessarily want social and political equality for blacks; they sought merely their emancipation. The debate in politics centered primarily on the westward expansion of slavery, which southern elites saw as vital to the survival of their aristocratic social and economic order. Others vehemently opposed the expansion of slavery outside the South. The debate was critical in the Missouri crisis, the annexation of Texas, and after the Mexican War.

5thWestward Expansion

Finally, the issue of westward expansion itself had a profound effect on American politics and society during the antebellum years. In the wake of the War of 1812, many nationalistic Americans believed that God intended for them to spread democracy and Protestantism across the entire continent. This idea of “manifest destiny” spurred over a million Americans to sell their homes in the East and set out on the treacherous Oregon, Mormon, Santa Fe, and California Trails. Policymakers capitalized on public sentiment to acquire Florida and Oregon and declared war on Mexico in 1846 to seize Texas, California, and everything in between.

What Next….

Ultimately, these trends irreconcilably split the North from the South. The Market Revolution, wage labor, improved transportation, social reforms, and growing middle class of the North all clashed with the deep-seated, almost feudal social hierarchies of the South. Each successive debate on slavery and westward expansion drove the regions further apart until finally, in the 1850s, the North and the South were two wildly different places, culturally, socially, and economically.

NORTH

Abe Lincoln

Ulysses Grant

SOUTH

Jefferson Davis

Robert E. Lee

Abraham Lincoln was President of the United States during the Civil War from 1860-1865. He was born in a log cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky, on February 12, 1809. When he was president he was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Union Army, which is the highest-ranking military officer. He appointed generals to command his troops. In 1863 he issued the Emancipation Proclamation which declared that all slaves in the Confederate States would be free. This helped end slavery in the United States. The same year he gave a great speech called the Gettysburg Address at a cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. He wanted to honor all the soldiers who had lost their lives in the war. Many people thought he was a great president, but some people did not like his views on slavery. President Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth at a theater in Washington DC. This was only five days after the South surrendered to end the Civil War.

Ulysses S. Grant was the leader of the Union Army. He had all the qualities President Lincoln wanted for the commander of his army. Grant fought very hard and was very stubborn in battles. He did not like to be defeated.Grant was trained at the Military Academy at West Point, New York. During the Mexican-American War he was a second lieutenant in the army. In 1854 he went home to his family. When the Civil War began and the North began losing so many battles, Grant joined the Army for a second time. He was an excellent military leader because of his training and skill. General Robert E. Lee, The leader of the Confederate Army had to surrender to General Grant in 1865. Later General Grant became president of the United States twice. People remember him as a great war hero. They felt he did more as a leader of the army than what he did as president.

Jefferson Davis was the President of the Confederate States of America. He was also Commander - in - Chief of the Confederate Army. He was a colonel in the United States Army during the Mexican-American War. He was Secretary of War and also a United States Senator.Jefferson Davis was born in the South and grew up on a cotton plantation. When he was 16 years old he went to the Military Academy at West Point. The training he received at the military school helped him to become a great military leader and is one of the reasons the Confederates won so many battles at the beginning of the Civil War.

Robert E. Lee was the South's greatest general during the Civil War. He graduated from West Point Military Academy and became a colonel in the army before the Civil War began. He was from Virginia and decided to fight on the side of the Confederates even though President Lincoln asked him to be commander of the entire Union Army. General Lee wanted to fight for the South and remain loyal to his home state.General Lee was a fierce fighter and helped his soldiers win many battles at the beginning of the Civil War. But the Union Army was bigger and stronger. Lee felt he had to surrender to the North to stop so many of his soldiers from being killed.

A civil war is a war between different groups of people who belong to the same country.  The American Civil War was fought between the North (Union states) and the South (Confederate states). It lasted from 1861-1865, triggered by the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860.  Lincoln wanted to end slavery and keep the Union together.  

The conflict between the North (the Yankees) and the South (the Rebels) started because of their different ways of living.  The North wanted the South to give up their farms, build factories, and abolish slavery.  Congress treated the slaves as personal property and would not take away rights of ownership.  

Thus, America began the conflict that would take the lives of more than 620,000 of its citizens and injure more than 375,000.  Most of the battles took place in the South and the recovery from the destruction took many years. 

AlabamaArkansasFloridaGeorgia

Louisiana

MississippiNorth CarolinaSouth Carolina

TennesseeTexas

Virginia

AlabamaArkansasFloridaGeorgia

Louisiana

MississippiNorth CarolinaSouth Carolina

TennesseeTexas

VirginiaBorder slave states that remained loyal to the Union:

Delaware      Kentucky      Maryland      Missouri(Western counties of Virginia refused to secede from the Union)

North South

ECONOMIC

DIFFERENCES

factories, favored taxes that protected them from foreign

competition

_____________________

money not plentiful, but developing

large plantations, opposed taxes that would raise

prices and hurt sales to New England states

________________________________________________________

prospered from farming tobacco & cotton

CULTURAL

DIFFERENCES

Freedom for Slaves

_________________

urban society, people held jobs

Depended on Slavery

______________________

Lived in small villages and on farms.

CONSTITUTIONAL DIFFERENCES

Strong central government wanted

the nation to stay together

State’s rights important (Secession)

• Attempted Compromises: The Missouri Compromise (1820), kept a

voting balance of a slave state (Missouri) and a free state

(Maine).  Compromise of 1850, California was a free state, Southwest

territories would decide about slavery.  Kansas-Nebraska Act, popular

sovereignty decided the issue of slavery in the state.

• Republican Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated President on March 4,

1861.

• Southern states feared there would be no new slave states.

• Southern leaders thought their power in the House would decline as

free states joined

• Southern states wanted the right to declare any national law illegal.

• Northern states wanted the national government's power to be

supreme over the states.

Secession Events

Abraham LincolnPresident of the U.S.Opposed slavery (Emancipation Proclamation)Believe the U.S. was one nation, not individual states

Ulysses S. GrantGeneral of the Union army that defeated General Robert E. Lee

Frederick DouglassFormer slave who escaped to the North and became an abolitionist

 

Robert E. LeeLeader of the Army in Northern VirginiaOffered the Union command, but chose not to fight against VirginiaOpposed secession, but didn't want to force unityUrged Southerners to accept defeat and reunite

Jefferson DavisPresident of the Confederate States

Thomas "Stonewall" JacksonOne of the most skilled Confederate generals, from Virginia

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On April 12, 1861 at 4:30 A.M. the first shot hurtled over Fort Sumter, at the entrance to the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.  This was the beginning of the Civil War.  Union troops, were forced to leave the fort the following day.  The U.S. flag was not raised again at Fort Sumter until February 18, 1865.  The fort was not of military importance, but a symbol to both sides. 

The First Battle at Bull Run (1861) was the first major battle.  It was suppose to be the shortest and the end to the brand new war. Volunteer soldiers lined-up in colorful, clean uniforms waiting for the event to begin. People with picnic baskets sat on the hillsides as the troops battled. After ten hours of fighting, 900 soldiers lay dying as the Union troops retreated to Washington. 

Known as the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Shiloh caused more than 23,500 men to be killed or missing.  From this important battle, General Grant knew that the South would not be pushovers. 

The Battle of Antietam (1862) saw General Lee lead the Confederate troops into the North.  The battle was not a decisive victory for either side.  This battle led to the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation by President Abraham Lincoln. 

On July 3, 1861, Lee’s troops fought against General George Mead’s army at the Battle of Gettysburg.  This was the turning point in the war.  Meade lost 70% of his men, but 4,000 Confederate soldiers were captured. 

From December 1862 to July 1863, the Battle of Vicksburg was fought in Mississippi.  This Union victory split the Confederacy in two, with the North controlling the Mississippi River.  Grant’s soldiers were starving and low on ammunition when General Pemberton surrendered.

• The Emancipation Proclamation, in January, 1863, made

"freeing the slaves" the focus of the war.  Many freed

slaves joined the Union.  

• In the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863,

Abraham Lincoln said the Civil War was to preserve a

government "of the people, by the people, and for the

people."

• General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S.

Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865, ending

the Civil War.

• Lee said of the terms that Grant had written, "You have

been very generous to the South."

Communicating with the Soldiers

Most Civil War soldiers did not travel before they joined the army.  The Blue

and Gray soldiers were homesick for their families.  The only way they could contact

each other was by letter writing.  Each day, 90,000 letters passed through

Washington, D.C., even more through Kentucky.  Soldiers used lead pencils, because pens and ink were very rare.

African Americans fought in both armies.  The Confederacy used slaves as naval

crew members and soldiers and the Union enlisted them early in the war.  African

soldiers did not have equal pay and were discriminated against while serving in

segregated units.  Robert Smalls, a sailor and later an honored Union naval captain went on to become a Congressman after

the war ended..

Sullivan Ballou Letter to his Wife

July the 14th, 1861 My very dear Sarah: The indications are very strong that we shall move in a few days - perhaps tomorrow. Lest I should not be able to write you again, I feel impelled to write lines that may fall under your eye when I shall be no more. Our movement may be one of a few days duration and full of pleasure - and it may be one of severe conflict and death to me. Not my will, but thine 0 God, be done. If it is necessary that I should fall on the battlefield for my country, I am ready. I have no misgivings about, or lack of confidence in, the cause in which I am engaged, and my courage does not halt or falter.

Pretend that you are a soldier fighting or serving in the Civil War.  Write a letter home to a friend or loved one.  Tell how the war is affecting you and the soldiers around you.  

Extra, Extra, Read all About it….

Put together a Civil War newsletter, alone or with a partner to share with your classmates.

Extra, Extra, Read all About it….

Include the following information:

1. Catchy Caption

2. Dedicate a section for describing the Battle that you are focusing on. (include date and location)

3. Dedicate a section to 4 Important Dates and a brief description of what happened on those dates

4. Dedicate a section for “Words from a Soldier” where you can write what soldiers may be feeling

Procedures

Civil War Timeline

1. Pick a Civil War event card to research

2. Using the Internet and the Library books that I have provided you are going to research your EVENT

3. Write a short summary to explain your event. You will type this up while at the Computer Lab.

4. Find a picture of the event that you would like to draw and draw it for your final project.

1860

Abraham Lincoln is Elected into office

Project Layout…

At the top of the construction paper that will be provided to you, you will write the DATE, and EVENT

that occurred.

Underneath that you will but you illustration of the EVENT.

Below that you will have the typed summary.

1860Lincoln elected

to office

In November of 1860, Lincoln was Elected into the Presidential Office. This was not accepted freely by the Southern States. South Carolina Seceded from the Union a month

Later. This was the start of the Civil War.

For Research you can try these sites:

HELPFUL WEBSITES

1. 1820 Missouri Comprimise

2. 1831 Nat Turner’s Slave Rebellion

3. 1847 Fredrick Turner The North Star

4. 1847 Dred Scott Sues for Freedom

5. 1849 Harriet Tubman Escapes

6. 1850 Compromise

For Research you can try these sites:

HELPFUL WEBSITES

7. 1852 Sojourner Truth Speaks at Convention

8. 1852 Uncle Tom’s Cabin is Published

9. 1854 Kansas Nebraska Act

10.1858 Lincoln/Douglas Debates

11.1860 South Carolina Secedes from Union

12.1861 Fl, Ga, Al, Tx, La, Ms Secede from the Union

For Research you can try these sites:

HELPFUL WEBSITES

13.1861 Confederate States are formed

14.1861 Abraham Lincoln becomes President

15.1861 Confederate Troops fire on Fort Sumter

16.1861 Union & Confederate Army need Volunteers

17.1861 Battle of Bull Run

18.1863 Emancipation Proclamation

For Research you can try these sites:

HELPFUL WEBSITES

19.1863 Battle of Vicksburg

20.1863 Battle of Gettysburg

21.1863 Lincoln gives the Gettysburg Address

22.1864 Sherman’s March to the Seas/Savannah Falls

23.1865 Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House

For Research you can try these sites:

HELPFUL WEBSITES

24.1865 Abraham Lincoln Assassinated

25.1865 Freedman’s Bureau Established

26.1865 13th Amendment added to the Constitution

27.1868 14th Amendment added to the Constitution

28.1870 15th Amendment added to the Constitution

29.1877 Reconstruction Ends

Activities Links

Writing Activities

Timeline of Events

Treasure Hunt

Backdrops:

- These are full sized backdrops, just scale them up!

- Can be Copy-Pasted out of Templates for use anywhere!

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