Chapter 20 - Girding for War: The North and the South

Lincoln declared secession to be impractical due to the North and South not being geographically divided * Lincoln stated that secession would cause new controversies to rise, including national debt, federal territories, and the fugitive-slave issue

When Lincoln was elected, there were only 2 significant forts in the South that flew with the Union’s flag with one of the forts being was Fort Sumter, which needed supplies in order to support its men * Lincoln adopted a middle-of-the-road solution and told South that the North was sending provisions to Fort Sumter, not supplies for reinforcements
South Carolinians saw Lincoln’s solution as a sign of aggression and fired upon Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861
The attack on Fort Sumter gave Lincoln reason for an armed response * Virginia, Arkansas, and Tennessee all seceded after the attack on Fort Sumter

Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia were the Border States and the only slave states that hadn't seceded from the Union * The border states had the Ohio River which was vital to both the North and South
Lincoln’s official reason for war was to preserve the Union, not to end slavery as supporting an end to slavery would’ve most likely caused the pro-slavery border states to secede
The Five Civilized Tribes, the Cherokees, Creeks, Choctaws, Chickasaws, and Seminoles sided with the Confederacy

South had the advantage of fighting defensively on its own land * The South didn’t have to win to preserve the Confederacy, and instead it only had to fight to a draw
Lincoln offered Robert E. Lee the position of commanding the Northern army, with Lee turning down the job after his home state, Virginia seceded
North held ¾ of the nation’s wealth and ¾ of the nation’s railroad system and had nearly twice as large of a population as the South, partially due to more European immigrants arriving in the North

South counted on foreign intervention to help win the war
Common people of Britain & France supported the North, hoping to end slavery * British manufacturers depended on cotton from the South, but before the war, a surplus of cotton had developed in Britain, which allowed it to function without purchasing cotton from the South
In 1861, the cotton supply ran out and many British factory workers were laid off
As Union armies penetrated the South, they sent cotton to Britain

The ==Trent Affair== ==occurred in late 1861 with it consisting of a Union warship stopping the British mail steamer, the Trent, and removing 2 confederate diplomats heading to Europe== * Britain retaliated to the incident by sending troops to Canada, with the situation being resolved when Lincoln freed Confederate prisoners
British shipyards were producing Confederate commerce-raiders * British ships left their ports unarmed, picked up arms elsewhere, and captured Union ships

Two confederate warships were being built by a British shipyard, in 1863 * To avoid angering the North and potentially starting a war, London government bought the two confederate warships for the Royal Navy
The British established the Dominion of Canada in 1867 which was partly designed to strengthen Canadians against the possible vengeance of the United States
==Emperor Napoleon III of France== ==installed a French government in Mexico City in 1863==

Lincoln took several actions that had to normally be approved by Congress because Congress wasn’t in session when the war started
==Lincoln== ==initiated a blockade, increased size of the Federal army, directed secretary of Treasury to advance $2 million without appropriation or security to 3 private citizens for military purposes, and suspended the writ of habeas corpus==

==North== ==increased tariffs and excise taxes to financially support the war which created the first income tax==
Congress passed the Morrill Tariff Act in early 1861, after enough anti-tariff Southern members had seceded * The ==Morrill Tariff Act== ==was a high protective tariff that increased duties by 5 to 10 percent and was designed to raise additional revenue and provide more protection for Northern manufacturers==
The ==Washington Treasury== ==issued paper money with Greenback currency not being backed by gold, but instead being backed by the Union’s perceived credit== * The value of the greenback was constantly changing
Congress authorized the National Banking System in 1863 which was designed to stimulate the sale of government bonds and to establish a standard currency
Confederate government also issued bonds and raised taxes which forced the printing of blue-backed paper money that was subject to runaway inflation

Newly invented, labor-saving machinery allowed the North to expand economically
==Petroleum== ==was discovered in Pennsylvania in 1859 and led to a rush of people known as the “Fifty-Niners”==
==Homestead Act of 1862== ==provided free land to many people==
==Civil War== ==opened up many jobs for women that were originally occupied by men==
==U.S. Sanitary Commission== ==was organized by women to provide medical support to Union armies in the field==