The civil war
I. C a u s e s
A. Political
1. The Constitution was somewhat complicit
a. 3/5 Compromise - people of color were NOT citizens, they were only
counted as 3/5 of a person in the U.S. Census
- Some U.S. Presidents not only owned slaves,
but Bought & Sold slaves
b. The “Other” Compromises - these only prolonged an inevitable fight
over the Slavery issue
- Missouri Compromise/Compromise 1850
2. States’ Rights - Southern States fiercely defended their own laws IF no
Constitutional laws existed restricting laws made by
the states
a. Nullification
b. Federalism, 9th & 10th Amendments (Reserve Clause)
3. Political Parties were VERY Regionalized
a. Republicans - North and West
- grew rapidly, more urban
b. Democrats - South and Central
- rather static in numbers, very rural
c. Electoral Votes were growing as new states were admitted, dynamic
B. Economic
1. Tariffs - tax on foreign/imported goods
a. PAID by ALL consumers
b. NEWER Northern manufacturers wanted these for trade Protection
c. OLD Southern Agricultural HATED Tariffs because when the Federal
Gov’t imposed them on Britain, France, Spain, et. al. . . .
- Britain, France, Spain, et al IMPOSED Tariffs on Cotton, Tobacco,
Indigo from the South, HURTING Plantations
2. Mississippi Trade - “The Frontier”
a. this RIVER was (and is today) the LARGEST inland transportation
conduit in the WORLD
b. people, goods, services move faster than almost anywhere else
c. slavery was acceptable/’necessary” to southerners
d. but slaves who wanted Freedom used the river to escape the South
e. the “Compromises” caused conflicts/lawlessness/violence in the
states adjoining the Mississippi
C. Cultural
1. North - more immigrants, more Catholics & Jews, more Colleges &
Universities (greater literacy)
a. more population (3:1/North States to South), more densely populated
2. South - not too many immigrants, huge numbers of Protestants,
less literate
a. more gun owners (2:1/South States to North)
b. most Southerners felt slavery was “necessary” and “acceptable”
II. Important Events
A. Dred Scott Decision 1857 - the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the lower
Court which stated Slavery was a legal
Institution
1. Scott was taken to Illinois & Wisconsin by his owner for 10 yrs.
2. Scott claimed he was free upon his return to Missouri
3. a slave born a slave, cannot be free just by living in a Free State
4. upheld the “Fugitive Slave Act”
B. Harper’s Ferry 1859 - a vigilante, violent raid/attack on a U.S. military
armory in Virginia (now, West Virginia)
1. John Brown, a Northern Abolitionist wanted to free slaves in Virginia
a. he wanted to incite a Slave Revolt
b. weapons were needed for the revolt
2. Colonel Robert E. Lee led the U.S. Army forces to crush the rebellion
3. Brown was captured, his sons were killed by the Army, Brown was
Hanged
C. Election of 1860 - 4 Candidates
1. Abraham Lincoln - Republican, Illinois - 180 Electoral Votes
2. Stephen Douglas - Northern Democrat, Illinois - 9 Electoral Votes
3. John Breckenridge - Southern Democrat, Kentucky - 76 Elect.Votes
4. John Bell - Union Party, Tennessee - 39 Electoral Votes
5. Lincoln received ONLY 40% of the popular vote
a. Lincoln was Anti-slavery, BUT he did not think that Congress could
outlaw slavery UNLESS there was a Constitutional Amendment
D. Secession - the act of withdrawing from a nation
1. South Carolina, in January 1861 (AFTER Lincoln’s election)
seceded
2. 10 other states in the South, followed
E. Confederate States of America formed, February 8, 1861
1. Jefferson Davis was elected President of the Confederacy
2. Fort Sumter attacked in Charleston Harbor on 4/12/1860 by
South Carolina’s militia
a. Artillery shelled the fort for many days, eventually it was
surrender to the Confederates
F. Robert E. Lee became the Confederate Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff (#1 General under Davis)
1. Lincoln tried to get Robert E. Lee to be his Chairman, but Lee
Stayed loyal to Virginia
G. Union/Northern Advantages Confederate/Southern Advantages
1. Greater Population/Army Size/ 1. Defense/Not Offense/”Home
New Weapon Technology Turf”- Easier to defend
2. Industrial Capacity - way MORE 2.“Gun Culture”/more southerners
Factories to pump out weaponry owned & used guns in their lives
3. Transportation - many more 3. Military Leadership - Better
Railroads/routes Generals - Brave, risk takers
4. Foreign Diplomacy/U.S. made 4. Morale - passionate defense of
sure to promote “righteousness” the South’s ways of life
5. Naval Superiority - controlled the 5. Cash Crop Trade - VERY
Coast & Mississippi Profitable
H. Suspension of Habeas Corpus - Imprisoning Suspected Spies
1. Habeas Corpus - “let them have the body” - the GOVERNMENT can
ARREST and DETAIN people CHARGED w/a crime
2. Lincoln suspended that Constitutional Right guaranteed ALL citizens
a. imprisoned ANY vocal, demonstrative person who was SUSPECTED
of spying for the Confederacy
I. Emancipation Proclamation - Announced September 22, 1862
- Enacted January 1, 1863
1. President Lincoln FREED ALL Slaves in the South
2. Reversing the Fugitive Slave Act – WHY THEN?
a. to stop Foreign Nations from aiding/supporting the Confederacy
J. Battle of Gettysburg - July 1-3, 1863 - the Turning Point of the Civil War
1. Lee, Longstreet, Pickett v. Meade, Buford, Doubleday
Confederate Union
2. Confederates invaded Southern Pennsylvania
3. 40,000 died over 3 days
4. Union Forces repelled the Confederates - Union Victory led to
Confederate withdrawal to Virginia
5. Gettysburg Address - the Union was fighting for the values upon which
The U.S. was based, Freedom and Equality
a. established “Thanksgiving” for being an American in November
K. African-Americans could fight in the Union Army
a. Massachusetts 54th fought in the South and helped to take back
Fort Sumter
III. E n d o f t h e C i v i l W a r (1865)
A. Appomattox Court House - Lee Met Grant to sign the armistice/ceasefire
1. the Confederacy Surrenders to the Union
2. Terms of Surrender for Confederates
a. Parole - No Criminal Charges, No taking up arms against Union again
b. Property - Keep their sidearms
c. Rations - military meals provided until return home
d. Transportation - FREE transportation home
e. Rifles/Artillery - turned into the Union Army/Navy
B. Assassination of Abraham Lincoln - April 14, 1865
1. John Wilkes Booth - Actor, Southern Sympathizer, murdered Lincoln at
Ford’s Theater (in Washington D.C.), during a play
a. along with 4 conspirators who similarly attempted murders of
the Vice President and Secretary of State
b. All of the other attempts failed
c. Booth was killed in a shootout with the Army in a barn in Virginia
10 days later
C. The Toll on the Republic
1. 2.3 million men (boys) fought in the war
a. 200,000 lost limbs
2. 800,000 soldiers died - MORE than the U.S. lost in the . . .
- Revolutionary War, War of 1812, Mexican-American War,
Spanish-American War, World War I, World War II, Korean War,
Vietnamese War, Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan War, Iraq War . . .
C O M B I N E D
3. $150 Billion (in 2020 $s) of lost property, equipment, machinery
4. Prices on nearly ALL goods and services ROSE due to shortages
5. Medical costs (including prosthetics) increased 500%
6. the U.S. Civil War was the WORLD’S FIRST MECHANIZED war
a. Machine Guns, Steam Engines/Railroads, Iron/Steel Ships,
Aeronautical Surveillance, Large Caliber Artillery, Submarines
D. Societal Incorporation (bringing into law more people/parties)
1. returning the states to the Union
2. Expanding Freedom, Citizenship & Voting
3. Temperance & Suffrage Movements