Social Studies Civil War

Main cause of the Civil War

Slavery, which was the underlying issue behind states’ rights and sectional conflict

What event officially began the Civil War

The Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861

Fort Sumter

A federal fort in Charleston Harbor fired upon by South Carolina, starting the Civil War

Number of deaths in the Civil War

Approximately 660,000 soldiers

Union

The northern states that fought to preserve the United States

Confederacy

The southern states that seceded from the Union

Confederate States of America (CSA)

The government formed by Southern states that seceded from the Union

First state to secede

South Carolina

First Confederate president

Jefferson Davis

Reason Southern states seceded

The election of Abraham Lincoln and the issue of slavery

States that first seceded

South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas

Capital of the Confederacy

Richmond, Virginia

Border states

Slave states that remained in the Union (Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri)

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States of America

Confederate economy problem

Lack of industry and over-reliance on plantations

Confederate economic strategies

Printing money, issuing bonds, borrowing from foreign nations

Result of Confederate economic policies

Severe inflation and widespread poverty

Conscription

A military draft requiring men to serve in the army

Confederate conscription laws

Required men ages 17–50 to serve

How wealthy Southerners avoided the draft

Hiring substitutes or owning more than 20 slaves

Plantation exemption argument

Large plantations were needed to feed the army

Union advantages at start of war

Industry, railroads, navy, established government

Northern economy during the war

Expanded due to demand for war supplies

Inflation in the North

Present but far less severe than in the South

Abraham Lincoln

President of the United States during the Civil War

Lincoln’s wartime actions

Expanded federal power and restricted some civil liberties

Reason Lincoln was careful with border states

To prevent them from seceding

Anaconda Plan

Union strategy to blockade the South and cut off supplies

Creator of the Anaconda Plan

General Winfield Scott

Goal of the Anaconda Plan

To squeeze the Confederacy into submission

Naval blockade

Union effort to prevent Southern trade and resupply

CSS Merrimack

Confederate ironclad ship used in naval combat

USS Monitor

Union ironclad ship that fought the Merrimack

Battle of Hampton Roads

First battle between ironclad ships

Result of ironclad battle

Neither side won, but naval warfare changed forever

First major Confederate victory

Battle of Bull Run

Battle of Shiloh

Bloody battle where Union narrowly avoided defeat

Union generals at Shiloh

Ulysses S. Grant and William T. Sherman

George McClellan

Union general who built a large army but was overly cautious

Robert E. Lee

Top Confederate general and military leader

Battle of Antietam

Bloodiest single-day battle in U.S. history

Importance of Antietam

Led to the Emancipation Proclamation

Emancipation Proclamation

Executive order freeing slaves in Confederate states in rebellion

Date Emancipation Proclamation took effect

January 1, 1863

What the Emancipation Proclamation did NOT do

Free slaves in border states or Union-controlled areas

Main impact of Emancipation Proclamation

Changed the war goal to ending slavery

Black soldiers in the Union Army

Nearly 200,000 enlisted

54th Massachusetts Regiment

Famous African American Union unit

European reaction to emancipation

Refused to support or recognize the Confederacy

Why Europe avoided the Confederacy

Opposition to slavery

Battle of Fredericksburg

Confederate victory against Union forces

Battle of Chancellorsville

Major Confederate victory despite being outnumbered

Turning point of the Civil War

Battle of Gettysburg

Battle of Gettysburg

Deadliest battle in American history with over 51,000 casualties

Outcome of Gettysburg

Confederate retreat and end of Northern invasions

Battle of Vicksburg

Union victory that gained control of the Mississippi River

Importance of Vicksburg

Split the Confederacy in two

Ulysses S. Grant

Union general who led the North to victory

Grant’s military strategy

Relentless pressure on Confederate forces

Wilderness Campaign

Series of bloody battles led by Grant in Virginia

Fall of Richmond

April 1865

Sherman’s March to the Sea

Union campaign that destroyed Southern infrastructure

Goal of Sherman’s March

Cripple Southern war ability and morale

Lee’s surrender

April 9, 1865 at Appomattox Court House

Appomattox Court House

Site of Lee’s surrender to Grant

Election of 1864

Presidential election during the Civil War

Lincoln’s opponent in 1864

George McClellan

Why Lincoln won reelection

Union military victories in 1864

Freedmen’s Bureau

Agency created to help former slaves

Services of the Freedmen’s Bureau

Food, housing, clothing, and education

John Wilkes Booth

Assassin of Abraham Lincoln

13th Amendment

Abolished slavery in the United States

Reconstruction

Period of rebuilding the South after the Civil War

Main goals of Reconstruction

Reunite the nation and define rights of freedmen

Andrew Johnson

President after Lincoln’s assassination

Johnson’s Reconstruction plan

Lenient plan favoring quick Southern readmission

Black Codes

Laws limiting freedoms of freed African Americans

Radical Republicans

Group that wanted strict Reconstruction and rights for freedmen

14th Amendment

Guaranteed citizenship and equal protection under the law

Reconstruction Act of 1867

Placed the South under military rule

Martial law

Military control of civilian government

Reason Johnson was impeached

Violation of the Tenure of Office Act

Tenure of Office Act

Law requiring Senate approval to remove officials

Outcome of Johnson’s impeachment

Not removed from office by one vote

15th Amendment

Guaranteed voting rights for Black men

Major threat to Reconstruction

Ku Klux Klan violence and intimidation

Ku Klux Klan

White supremacist group opposing Reconstruction

Reason Reconstruction failed

Corruption, violence, lack of enforcement, and loss of support

Election of 1876

Contested election ending Reconstruction

Compromise of 1877

Removed federal troops from the South

Result of Reconstruction’s end

Loss of protections for freedmen

Long-term impact of Civil War

Expanded power of the federal government

Economic impact on North

Industrial growth and wealth

Economic impact on South

Widespread destruction and poverty