Civil War

Learning Objectives

• Analyze how industrial technology and new military tactics transformed the Civil War into the first modern war.
• Describe the political, military, and social factors that caused the Civil War to evolve from a war to preserve the Union into a war to end slavery.
• Explain how specific military and political turning points altered the direction and outcome of the Civil War.
• Discuss how wartime Reconstruction plans and final wartime events exposed unresolved conflicts over slavery, citizenship, and national reunification.

The First Modern War

Focus Question

• Why is the Civil War considered the first modern war?

The Secession of Southern States (1860-1861)

The Two Combatants

• The American Civil War is referred to as the first modern war due to:
    - Mass armies equipped with industrial weapons.
    - Astronomical numbers of casualties.
• Comparing Union and Confederacy:
    - Union had a larger population and surpassed the Confederacy in
      - Manufacturing capacity
      - Railroad mileage
      - Financial resources
    - The Union was tasked with invading and conquering a fiercely motivated enemy with few recruits who had prior military service.

The Technology of War

• Advances in technology played a crucial role in the Civil War:
    - Railroads were used to transport troops and supplies efficiently.
    - Ironclad ships represented significant naval advancements.
    - The telegraph facilitated rapid communication.
    - A revolution in arms manufacturing introduced the modern rifle.
    - Elaborate trench systems were established, contributing to increased casualties, totaling about 750,000 dead.

Military Strategies

• Each side attempted to maximize its advantages:
    - The Confederacy adopted a defensive strategy under General Robert E. Lee.
    - Initial challenges faced by Lincoln's generals, including:
      - Narrow military vision
      - Untrained troops
    - Early strategy included attempts to recapture Richmond, ultimately leading to the policy of emancipation.

The War Begins

• The First Battle of Bull Run marked a significant engagement, resulting in a chaotic retreat of Union soldiers, after which George McClellan assumed command.
• Following this, months of military inactivity ensued.

The Theatres of War

The Eastern Theatre

• Key battles included:
    - Seven Days' Campaign (June 1862)
    - Second Battle of Bull Run where Confederates emerged victorious.
    - Battle of Antietam, known for its heavy casualties (4,000 dead in one day), which forced Lee to retreat.

The Western Theatre

• Ulysses S. Grant’s early victories in the West, noting that Union momentum stalled after early victories in Tennessee and New Orleans.

The Coming of Emancipation

Focus Question

• How did a war to preserve the Union transform into a war to end slavery?

The War and Emancipation

• At the outset, Lincoln emphasized the ideological differences between the North and South, asserting that slavery was irrelevant to the conflict.
• Initially, Lincoln worked to maintain loyalty among border slave states and garner broad Northern support for the war effort.
• The Crittenden Resolution reflected a policy that ignored slavery.
    - However, as enslaved individuals fled to Union lines, the necessity for addressing slavery grew.
    - Enslaved people themselves pushed for emancipation as the war's primary goal, providing support to the Union in terms of labor and crucial information.

Steps Toward Emancipation

Steps Toward Freedom

• The significance of slavery in the Southern economy catalyzed a growing acceptance of emancipation in the North, transcending even abolitionist and Radical Republican circles.
    - Lincoln proposed gradual emancipation in border states and revived the idea of colonization.
• Lincoln recognized emancipation as a political and military necessity by summer 1862 due to:
    - Inadequate military success
    - The belief that emancipation would enable former slaves to fight against the Confederates
    - Shifting Northern public opinion
    - Concerns regarding foreign relations

The Emancipation Proclamation

• Signed on January 1, 1863, the proclamation:
    - Did not liberate enslaved individuals in the border states or areas under Union control.
    - Declared enslaved individuals in Confederate territories to be free, conditional upon Union military victories.
    - Represented a significant turning point in Lincoln's perspective regarding slavery.

Black Combatants

Enlisting Black Troops

• The Emancipation Proclamation facilitated the enlistment of Black men in the army.
• By war’s end, hundreds of thousands of Black men had served, predominantly comprising emancipated slaves.

The Black Soldier

• Service in the military served as a liberating experience, positioning Black men as community and political leaders.
• In the navy, Black sailors experienced fewer segregation issues and received equal pay.
• Conditions in the army were harsher; Black soldiers faced segregation, initially received lower wages, and were often relegated to non-combat roles.
• Military service paved the way for demands for equal citizenship in the postwar period.

Turning Points of the War

Focus Question

• What were the military and political turning points of the war?

Key Battles and 1864

• Throughout the third and fourth years, the war's outcome remained uncertain.
• Significant battles:
    - Battle of Gettysburg: An attempted Confederate invasion of the North, resulting in the largest battle ever fought on North American soil, culminating in a Confederate defeat.
    - Battle of Vicksburg: Following failed assaults, Grant initiated a successful siege, granting the Union control over the entire Mississippi Valley.

The Year 1864

• Grant launched a war of attrition in Virginia, leading to an exceptionally bloody month characterized by high casualties.
• Daily combat contributed to a momentous shift in modern warfare.
• This period also saw the lowest morale among Northern citizens during the war.
• Lincoln was reelected, ensuring the war would continue until the Confederates' surrender.

Women and the War

Economic Changes

• The war brought significant changes to financial policies:
    - Increased tariffs and new taxes, including the first income tax.
    - Printed millions in paper currency.
    - Standardized national currency.
    - Economic policies favoring manufacturing, railroad executives, and financiers.
    - Expansion of federal government power and size.

Women's Involvement

• Northern women seized wartime labor opportunities, entering various new jobs, including clerical roles in the federal government.
• Hundreds of thousands engaged in fundraising and other organizational roles, notably in Sanitary Fairs.
• Many postwar women's rights leaders leveraged their wartime experiences to advocate for expanded rights in the public sphere.

Rehearsals for Reconstruction

Focus Question

• What were the most important wartime “rehearsals for Reconstruction”?

The Politics of Wartime Reconstruction

• **Lincoln’s Ten-Percent Plan:
    - Proposed restoration of rights and property to nearly all white southerners following a loyalty oath (excluding enslaved individuals).
    - Established that once 10% of voters took the oath, they could elect a new state government that must abolish slavery.
• Wade-Davis Bill:
    - Introduced by Radical Republicans, it required a majority of white Southern males to pledge allegiance to the Union and establish equal rights for Blacks.
    - It was clear that slavery was abolished, but no consensus emerged on what should replace it.

The War Hastens to a Conclusion

Victory at Last

• Significant events leading to the conclusion of the war:
    - Sherman’s March to the Sea
    - Ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery.
    - Union troops captured Richmond in April 1865.
    - The Confederate surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, marked the official end of hostilities.
    - Lincoln’s assassination shortly thereafter signified a tragic conclusion to the leadership during the war.

Summary

• The Civil War, characterized by industrial technology, mass armies, and unprecedented casualties, became the first modern war.
• Originally a conflict aimed at preserving the Union, it evolved due to military necessity and the actions of enslaved people into a war against slavery.
• Key military and political turning points shifted the momentum towards the Union, ensuring the Confederates' eventual defeat.
• Wartime Reconstruction efforts exposed unresolved conflicts regarding freedom, citizenship, and the future reunification of the nation after the war.