The Civil War

The Attack on Fort Sumter

Confederate forces bombarded a Union Fort in Charleston harbor; deceptive first battle of the Civil War but there were no casualties

What was Lincoln’s response to the Attack on Fort Sumter?

Lincoln called for troops to put down the rebellion in SC and the upper South seceded

Why did the border states of Maryland and Kentucky stay in the Union?

Maryland — Lincoln suspended habeas corpus and declared martial law to keep the states from seceding; surrounds DC and if it seceded the Union would have to move its capital

Kentucky — initially attempted neutrality; following a failed Confederate invasion the state completely sided with the Union and accepted military assistance

Economic advantages/disadvantages of the Union:

Advantages — controlled over 90% of the nation's industrial output and factories; more than 20,000 miles of railroad track compared to the Confederacy's 9,000 miles

Disadvantages — federal expenses rapidly outran revenue; difficult to secure loans early in the conflict

Economic advantages/disadvantages of the Confederacy:

Advantages — European reliance on Southern cotton; primarily fighting a defensive war to protect its borders; relative operational costs lower

Disadvantages — heavily dependent on imports; Union's naval blockade choked off the South’s ability to export cotton to Europe; struggled to collect taxes

Political/military advantages/disadvantages of the Union:

Advantages — constant resupply of weapons, ammunition, uniforms, and boots; population of roughly 22 million - lots of manpower; successful naval blockade in the South; already established administrative framework and functioning Congress

Disadvantages — operated deep in enemy territory - cut off from local support and their vital supply lines; lost most of their experienced generals to the Confederacy; border state politics and Copperheads

Political/military advantages/disadvantages of the Confederacy:

Advantages — only needed to defend its borders and force the North to abandon its war aims; fought primarily in their own territory; highly trained officers

Disadvantages — manpower deficit; build an army and a navy from scratch while actively engaged in a major conflict

Social/cultural advantages/disadvantages of the Union:

Advantages — population of roughly 22 million - lots of manpower; immigration from Europe; higher literacy rates and more established public school and university systems

Disadvantages — population was not universally united behind the war effort (Copperheads); massive desertion rates—over 200,000 men; working-class whites feared economic competition from freed slaves

Social/cultural advantages/disadvantages of the Confederacy:

Advantages — highly unified in its support for the Confederacy and then institution of slavery; enslaved labor force

Disadvantages — fewer than 9 million people (with nearly 4 million enslaved); drafted nearly three-quarters of its white military-aged men, leaving too few individuals at home to farm the land or run local governments; largely alienated from European powers

Which side—the Union or the Confederacy—was in a better spot to win the war?

the Union

What role did new technology plan in the war? Who did this give an advantage to and why?

Rifled muskets, the Minié ball, railroads, the telegraph, and ironclad warships — all fundamentally altered traditional military strategies

This technology vastly favored the Union because they had the factories and shipyards to mass-produce everything

Why did the Confederacy believe Great Britain would support them? Why didn’t they?

Because they relied heavily on Southern cotton exports.

Great Britain did not help because they were against slavery and did not want to support the Confederacy in any way

Why was the Battle of Antietam an essential victory for the Union? What would likely have happened had they lost?

As a result, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation; also it ensured that the Confederacy would not be receiving foreign support. If the Union had lost then Great Britain might have joined the war effort to help the Confederacy

What was the Emancipation Proclamation and what did it do? Who did it not apply to?

A presidential decree that officially declared "all persons held as slaves" within the rebelling Confederate states to be free

It did not apply to the border states, Union-occupied territories, and Northern states

How did the Emancipation Proclamation change the war?

1. Purpose - preservation vs. liberation — made the war explicitly about slavery

2. Great Britain — ensured that foreign powers would not intervene

3. African-American troops - Massachusetts 54th. — African American troops could enlist; more manpower for the Union

Why did Lincoln consider Vicksburg to be the key to winning the war? Why was it so important to control the Mississippi River?

Controlling the Mississippi would split the South in half and sever their supply lines.

Why was the Battle of Gettysburg such an important turning point for the war?

It was the last Confederate offensive of the war; they would never launch another attack on the Union

Why was it essential that the Union keep control of Chattanooga?

It served as a supply and communications base for Sherman’s 1846 March to the Sea

What was Sherman’s strategy during his “march to the sea”? What was he trying to do to the South?

His strategy was to destroy everything in his path and completely destroy the South’s economy and infrastructure

scorched-earth campaign

What were the terms of Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House? Why was it important that Grant offered generous terms?

parole and amnesty, retention of property, keeping their animals, and providing food ration.

Grant offered generous terms because he wanted a quick end to the Confederate rebellion.

How did the Civil War change the United States socially?

abolishing slavery, fundamentally altering gender roles, creating deep regional divides, and resulting in immense loss of life

How did the Civil War change the United States politically?

abolition of slavery through the Thirteenth Amendment, established the citizenship and voting rights of Black Americans through the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, and shifted the balance of national political power away from Southern agrarian elites to Northern industrial interests

How did the Civil War change the United States economically?

abolishing the system of enslaved labor, devastating the South's agrarian wealth, and accelerating Northern industrial capitalism