The Civil War & Reconstruction (1860-1865)

Flashcards covering the key people, major battles, demographic statistics, and political acts of the American Civil War as presented in the lecture notes.

House Divided Speech

Abraham Lincoln's $1858$ US Senate campaign speech stating that a government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free.

Fort Sumter

The site of the first engagement of the Civil War in $1861$ where a Union garrison surrendered after Lincoln sent provisions.

Lincoln's Paramount Object

To save the Union, regardless of whether it meant saving or destroying slavery.

Union 1860 Total Population

$22,100,000$ ($71\%$).

Confederacy 1860 Total Population

$9,100,000$ ($29\%$).

Confederacy 1860 Slave Population

$3,500,000$.

Winfield Scott's 'Great Snake'

A Union military strategy depicted in maps alongside Sherman's March to the Sea.

Total War

A concept used by William T. Sherman meaning that all people, including civilians, must feel the 'hard hand of war.'

Emancipation Proclamation

Issued Jan 1, $1863$, declaring slaves in rebellious states free while leaving slavery untouched in loyal border states.

Johnny Reb

A term used to refer to a typical Confederate soldier.

Billy Yank

A term used to refer to a typical Union soldier.

Bull Run (1861)

A battle where the Union was forced to retreat, shocking Northerners out of complacency and boosting Southern morale.

Antietam (1862)

The bloodiest single day of the war which resulted in a Confederate retreat and the replacement of McClellan by Grant.

Vicksburg (1863)

The battle that gave the Union control of the Mississippi River.

Gettysburg (1863)

A bloody three-day struggle in Pennsylvania where more than $50,000$ people died.

Atlanta (1864)

A strategic victory where Sherman burned the city and destroyed infrastructure, helping Lincoln secure re-election.

Gettysburg Address

A speech by Lincoln in Nov $1863$ dedicating a battlefield as a final resting place and resolving that the nation shall have a 'new birth of freedom.'

Copperheads

The Copperhead Party who were in favor of a vigorous prosecution of peace with the South.

Clara Barton

A notable nurse during the Civil War, representing the increased employment opportunities for women.

Homestead Act

A law passed during the war that provided settlers with $160$ acres to move West.

Appomattox Courthouse

The location where General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, $1865$.

John Wilkes Booth

The man who assassinated Abraham Lincoln five days after the Confederate surrender.