Civil War Unit Study Guide

What were the differences between the North and South?

• South promoted and benefited from slavery while North didn’t

• North had more economic gains while the South had materialistic gains

• The South threatened and attempted to secede while the North fought against them.

How did slavery contribute to sectional tensions?

• Slavery existed in the South and was generally outlawed in the North

• Depending on the state, they would either be pro slavery or anti slavery

  • It was difficult to have a country half slave half free

• Tensions: South angry because people tried to limit expansion of slavery to the West; North relied on industrial labor and South relied on slave labor on plantations.

Election of 1860

• Runners: Abraham Lincoln, Stephan Douglas, John C. Breckinridge, and John Bell.

• Despite having no electoral votes from the South, Lincoln won the election due to Northern support.

Which state seceded first, and why?

• South Carolina

• Claimed that the government (during Lincoln’s presidency) violated its rights by not protecting slavery

What was the Confederate States of America? (include all seceded states)

• President: Jefferson Davis

• States: Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, Virginia, and Georgia

What event began the Civil War?

• Although Lincoln claimed he wouldn’t attack seceded states (unless attacked first), he sent unarmed supply ships to the South.

• Confederates attack FORT SUMTER

• Union surrendered 2 days later but declared war

  • Leading to the Civil War beginning

Anaconda Plan

• Blockade southern parts and cut them off supplies

• Take control of Mississippi River to split the South

• “Strangle” South into surrender

Why was maintaining control of the Mississippi River so important to the Union?

• Gaining control would prevent the South from being able to transport goods and supplies for the war.

• It would split the South in half, straining the South economically and in battles.

Battle of Bull Run

• Generals: Union - Grant / Confederate: Johnson & Beauregard

• First attack on Richmond

• Inexperienced troops on both sides

• Result: Surprising Confederate victory over larger forces

Battle of Antietam

• Generals: Union - McClellan / Confederate: Lee

• Lee invades North hoping Britain and France would help after he wins

• Bloodiest single day battle in US history

• Union victory

• Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation following the battle

Battle of Gettysburg

• Generals: Union - McClellan  Confederate: Lee

• Lee invaded Pennsylvania after winning a battle against 2-1 odds

• Pickett's Charge - Confederate marched right in to Union firing

• Turning point of war

• Union victory (53,000 total casualties)

Battle of Vicksburg

• Generals: Union - Grant / Confederate: Pemberton

• Last major Confederate city on Mississippi River

• Grant outmaneuvered the enemy & starved them into submission

• Result: Union victory, Confederacy is split in half

Battle of Appomattox Court House

• General Lee had been besieged in Richmond since 1864

• In April, 1865, he evacuated the city & tried to escape South. Grant cornered him by blocking his escape routes.

• The Confederate government dissipated & used the scorched earth policy (burning resources to leave nothing for the Union to take)

Emancipation Proclamation

A policy issued by President Lincoln that declared all slaves in rebelling states free if they joined the war effort on the Union’s side

Gettysburg Address

• A 2 minute (264 word) speech given by President Lincoln at Gettysburg to dedicate the new Union Cemetery

• Lincoln dedicated the speech to those who died in the war effort, to the creation of the country, and called for peace and freedom

• November 19, 1863

Total war and Sherman

• In 1864, Union General Sherman destroyed Atlanta (railroad center): split Confederacy.

• Total War: Destroyed plantation fields, supplies, railroads, factories, & southern ability to keep fighting

• Result = Success, shortened war

Terms of surrender

• North claimed victory & granted the following terms:

  • Confederacy will have basic needs met (food/supplies)

  • Confederates can return home with personal property & horses/mules

  • Lee accepted conditions & surrendered the main Confederate Army.

African Americans during the war

• Many were divided on if even fighting for the war would be worth it and grant them freedom

• Initially, they could not participate in the war effort

• When they were able to fight in the war, they were treated unequally and faced prejudice, but defied expectations

• By the end of the war, 180,000 African Americans fought in the war

Role of women during war

• Took on some of the roles of men 

• Supported the war effort by being nurses.

• Managed businesses and worked in factories

Assassination of Lincoln

• He was assassinated watching a play at Ford’s Theatre in Washington DC by Confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth

• North was devastated and shocked

• South was ecstatic and happy