Unit 1. Civil War

Sectionalism: Loyalty towards your section or state rather than the union.

For example: Southerners to the South and East Northerners to the Northeast.

Industries and Economies in each Section

Northeast

A very industrial section with many factory workers and factories.

  • Factories

  • Manufactured textiles (clothes), iron wares and machinery.

Northwest

Mostly occupied by independent family farmers

Provided the crops to the rest of the union, Northeast and the South, this is why they are called the Bread Basket of the U.S.

  • Grain

  • Wheat

  • Oats

  • Livestock

South

Made up of plantations and plantation owners, and were the advocates and reliant on slavery

*Also were reliant on trading with other countries such as Europe

  • 1/3 of the population made of slaves

  • Cotton

  • Sugar

  • Tobacco

  • Cash crops

Tariffs: Tax on imported goods

Opinions in Each Section

The South disliked any policies or acts that delved into stronger federal government control or limitations on state government.

Additionally, the South liked any plan that meant they could get more land or make more money with plantations.

  • North liked tariffs because people would have more stuff locally manufactured than overseas goods.

  • South disliked tariffs because they traded with outside countries and they wanted to get cheaper goods from their trade partners

  • North liked stronger federal government policies because they would help stimulate industry growth.

  • South disliked stronger federal government because they feared loss of control and changing their way of slavery.

Sides in Country

Pro-Slavery

They believed that African Americans were not on equal footing and should not be treated as humans.

  • Justified it by saying that northern factory workers suffer harsher conditions

  • There would be an “anti-White“ rebellion if you set all the slaves free

Anti-Slavery

They believed African Americans should be treated as human beings, and not be subjected to cruel mistreatment.

Prominent Abolitionists

Abolitionists: People who wanted the system of slavery to be gone.

  • Harriet Tubman (Underground Railroad: helped slaves escape).

  • Frederick Douglas (Poet and Author: informed the public off slaves’ mistreatment)

  • Sojourner Truth (“Ain’t I a Woman”: Advocate for African American and Woman rights)

  • Harriet Beecher Stowe (Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Told the world of the mistreatments and cruelty towards slaves)

Secession

States receding from the Union after Abraham Lincoln won the electron of 1860. The receding states were called the Confederacy.

  • South Carolina first, then 6 states after

Westward Expansion: After gaining or founding new territories in the West, the question of if slavery should be allowed or not came up.

  • Northerners were against slavery in the new West territories.

  • Southerners wanted the new territories to be slave states because then they could still have some control of the Senate and federal government.

Compromise of 1820

  • Missouri admitted as Slave State

  • Maine admitted as Free State

States and territories above 36*30 N line (Missouri Line) would be Free

States and territories below would be Slave States

Trying to make both sides balanced and happy

Wilmot Proviso (1846)

Failed bill that tried to ban slavery in Mexico territories that the U.S. won in the Mexico-American War.

Ostend Manifesto

Popular sovereignty was used to decided if the territories gained from the Mexico-American war would be slave or free states.

Compromise of 1850

  • California admitted as Free state

  • Banning of sale of slaves in Washington D.C.

  • The Fugitive Slave Act was enforced in the North (return fugitive slaves if found to owners)

Popular sovereignty was enforced in the Mexican territories to gauge whether it should be a free or slave area.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

  • Split Kansas into Kansas and Nebraska

  • Republican Party formed in response to the extension of slavery

Popular sovereignty was used in Kansas and Nebraska and whether it should be a slave or free state.

Dred Scott Decision (1857)

  • Dred Scott sued for his freedom for years all the way to the Supreme Court and was denied

  • Set free 2 months after case by owner

Supreme Court found that African Americans were property and not human beings, so they could not sue or enjoy civil rights.

  • They also determined federal government could not take away a person’s property and could not interfere with slavery.

Freeport Doctrine

A doctrine that wanted slavery to be banned in local communities despite the Dred Scott decision

John Brown Raid (1859)

An attempt by John Brown, a radical abolitionist, to raid an armed arsenal

  • He killed pro-slavery persons

  • Was captured and hanged later

  • No slave joined his cause because he was so extreme

States’ Rights

South

  • Strong Support for State Rights

The South viewed states’ devotion to the Union as optional and could secede when they wanted to because they were the ones who signed the Constitution willingly.

North

  • Had a Stronger Support for Federal Government

They viewed the devotion to the union as obligatory because everyone signed the Constitution as “We the people“, so they were all one once they signed.

Election 1860 & Cause of War

Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, won with 39% of the votes because the Democrats were divided.

  • South Carolina immediately seceded from the Union

  • 6 Other States followed

  • Seceded States formed the Confederate and nominated Jefferson Davis as their president.

Cause of War:

Confederate soldiers fired on supplies rowing into the port of Fort Sumpter.

  • Lincoln tried to calm white Southerners by saying he wouldn’t take away their slaves

  • 4 States Seceded after War Broke out

Lincoln’s #1 Goal was to Preserve the Union.

North vs South

North Specs

Had more resources and funding

  • More People

  • The Navy

  • Factories to make weapons

  • Resources

  • Railroads and pathways

South Specs

South had more drive and experienced generals

  • Less People

  • Experienced Generals

  • Fighting for their way of life

Strategies

The North used the Anaconda Plan by General Winfield Scott: Use the ships to block the South from outside help and imports and take control of the Mississippi River.

The South used King Cotton: Trade off the cotton they produced for outside help from Britain and France. Britain and France ended up stopping help once they knew of the cause.

Emancipation Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln released the “Emancipation proclamation” to free all slaves living in rebelling states.

*He left slaves in border states alone because the border states were not rebelling

  • Ex-Slaves fought for his cause

  • Made him look good to outside countries

Battles

Generals for Union

  • William Sherman

  • Winfield Scott

  • Ulysses S. Grant

Generals for Confederacy

  • Robert E. Lee

  • Stonewall Jackson

Gettysburg - Winfield Scott

General Winfield Scott vs Robert E. Lee

This turning point in the war in favor of North

Vicksburg - Ulysses S. Grant

General: Ulysses S. Grant

Gave control of the Mississippi to the North

March to the Sea “Scorched Earth” - William Sherman

General: William Sherman

Sherman and his soldiers marched around the South and burned everything in his path

  • Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox (Court) not long after

Consequences

  • Major loss of life (600,000+) and property

  • Abolition of Slavery

  • Strengthened Federal governemnt

  • Union preserved

  • Confederacy disbanded

  • Jefferson Davis sent to death