UNIT 5, CH 14

The military and political goals of the Civil War brought major changes to American social, economic, and cultural life because the Union increasingly viewed victory and emancipation as inseparable. As the war progressed, policies like the Emancipation Proclamation, the enlistment of Black soldiers, and the use of total war transformed the conflict from a fight to preserve the Union into a struggle to destroy slavery and remake Southern society. The demands of large-scale warfare also expanded federal power—through conscription, suspension of habeas corpus, and new national currencies—reshaping citizens’ relationship with the government. Meanwhile, the South’s defeat, destruction of its infrastructure, and collapse of the slave-based economy forced profound social and economic restructuring. Together, these military strategies and political decisions permanently altered the nation’s laws, labor systems, and ideas about freedom.

Abraham Lincoln

16th U.S. president who led the Union during the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War

Crittenden Compromise

Last-minute 1860 plan to stop secession by protecting slavery in territories south of the Missouri Compromise line; rejected by Lincoln

Robert E. Lee

Top Confederate general who commanded the Army of Northern Virginia

George McClellan

Union general known for cautious strategies; later ran against Lincoln in 1864

total war

Strategy that targets not only enemy armies but also civilian resources that support war

draft (conscription)

Government requirement for citizens to serve in the military; used by both Union and Confederacy

habeas corpus

Legal protection against unlawful imprisonment; suspended by Lincoln during the war

King Cotton

Southern belief that European nations would support the Confederacy because of their dependence on Southern cotton

greenbacks

Paper money issued by the Union government during the Civil War to finance the war effort

“contrabands”

Escaped enslaved people who reached Union lines and were considered “seized enemy property”

Radical Republicans

Faction in Congress that pushed for abolition, harsh punishment for the Confederacy, and expanded rights for freedpeople

Emancipation Proclamation

1863 order by Lincoln freeing enslaved people in Confederate-held territory; made the war about ending slavery

Ulysses S. Grant

Union general who led the army to victory and later became president

scorched-earth policy

Military tactic of destroying crops, buildings, and infrastructure to weaken the enemy’s ability to fight

War and Peace Democrats

Northern Democrats split: “War Democrats” supported the Union effort; “Peace Democrats” (Copperheads) opposed the war

William T. Sherman

Union general known for his “March to the Sea” and use of total war

“hard war”

Union policy allowing destruction of Southern property that supported the Confederate war effort

March to the Sea

Sherman’s 1864 campaign from Atlanta to Savannah, devastating Southern infrastructure and morale