Civil War Study Guide

What started the war?

Attack on Fort Sumter (April 12, 1861)

• Confederate forces fired on a U.S. military fort in South Carolina, prompting Lincoln to call for troops

Lincoln’s Goals at the Start of the War

Primary Goal: Preserve the Union.

• He did not initially aim to end slavery

• Wanted to stop secession and maintain federal authority

• Emancipation became a goal later, as the war evolved

Union Plan

Anaconda Plan

• Naval blockade of Southern ports

• Control of the Mississippi River

• Split and suffocate the confederacy economically

Confederacy Plan

Fight Defense war

• Wear down Northern will to fight

• Seek foreign recognition (especially Britain/ France)

Union Advantages

• Larger population

• More factories and railroads

• Strong Navy

• Stable Government

Union Disadvantage

• Less experienced generals early on

• Had to conquer and hold Southern territory

Confederate Advantage

• Fighting on familiar land

• Strong military leaders (Lee, Jackson)

• High morale early in the war

Confederate Disadvantage

• Smaller population

• Weak industrial base

• Limited resources

• No Navy

Border States

Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri

• Slave state that did not secede

• Important: Strategic location and resources

  • Lincoln worked hard to keep them in the Union

Emancipation Proclamation Causes

• War dragging on

• Needed to weaken the confederacy

• Prevent foreign support for the south

Emancipation Proclamation What it did

• Freed enslaved people only in the Confederate State

• Did not free slaves in border state

Emancipation Proclamation Effect

• Turned the war into a fight against slavery

• Allowed African Americans to join the Union army

• Hurt Southern labor system

• Strengthened Northern and moral cause

Union Funding of the War

• Income tax

• war bonds

• Legal Tender Act (paper money/ greenback)

• Tariffs

Confederacy Funding of the War

• Printing Money - massive inflation

• Loan and bonds

• Taxes (less effective)

Union Home front problems

• Draft Riots

• Inflation

• Opposition to war

Confederacy Home Problems

• Food shortages

• Inflation

• Deseration

• Poor transportation and supply system

Lincoln’s Restriction on Civilians

• Suspended habeas corpus

• Allowed military trials of civilians

• Arrested suspected Confederate sympathizers

Why did Lincoln restricted a lot on the Civilians?

• Maintain order

• prevent rebellion and sabotage

• Keep border states loyal

Roles of women

• Took over farms and businesses

• Worked in factories

• Served as nurses (Clara Barton)

• Spies and aid workers

Roles of African Americans

• Served in the Union army (USCT)

• Worked as laborers, cooks, teamsters

• Pushed the war toward emancipation

Lasting impacts Political

• Federal government power increased

• End of secession

• Reconstruction amendments (13th, 14th, 15th)

Lasting impacts Economic

• South devastated

• North industrialized faster

Lasting impacts social

• Slavery abolished

• Continued racial inequality

• Changes in labor systems (sharecropping)

Homestead Act (1862)

Free land to settlers in the West

Militia Act (1862)

Allowed African Americans to serve in the army

Legal Tender Act (1862)

Issued paper money (greenbacks)

Antietam

Bloodiest single-day battle; led to Emancipation Proclamation

Gettysburg

Turning point in the East; Confederate losses

Vicksburg

Union gains control of Mississippi River

March to the Sea (Sherman)

Total war; destroyed Southern infrastructure

Appomattox Court House

Lee surrendered to Grant; war effectively ended.

Military General Union

• Ulysses S. Grant

• William Tecumseh Sherman

• George McClellan

• Philip Sheridan

Military General confederacy

• Robert E. Lee

• Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson

• Jefferson Davis (political leader)

• J.E.B. Stuart