The American Civil War (1861–1865)

APUSH Notes — The American Civil War (1861–1865)

I. Core Causes of the Civil War

1. Constitutional Dispute

• States’ rights vs. national sovereignty

• Southern view: the Union was a compact among states → states could secede.

• Northern view (Lincoln): the Constitution bound the people, not states → secession illegal.

• Result: shift from “these United States” → “the United States” after the war.

2. Slavery as an Economic System

• Central issue was not morality, but whether slavery would expand and survive.

• South: plantation economy based on enslaved labor (cotton).

• North: industrial, wage-labor economy.

• Fear in the South: loss of political power if slavery did not expand west.

3. Sectional Tension

• Cotton tied the South to global markets, but industrial power lay in the North.

• Abolitionism growing, but secondary before 1861.

• Election of Abraham Lincoln (1860) triggered secession.

II. Secession and the Start of War

• 1860–61: Southern states secede → Confederate States of America formed.

• April 1861: Fort Sumter fired upon → war begins.

• Border states (MD, KY, MO, DE) stay Union → critical to Northern strategy.

III. Strengths and Weaknesses

Union (North)

• Population: ~20 million.

• Industry: 90% of U.S. manufacturing.

• Railroads: ~⅔ of total mileage.

• Resources: iron, coal, food production.

• Leadership advantage eventually under Ulysses S. Grant.

Confederacy (South)

• Population: ~9 million (⅓ enslaved).

• Strong military leadership, especially Robert E. Lee.

• Defensive war on home terrain.

• Weak central government due to emphasis on states’ rights.

IV. Military Strategy

Union Strategy

• Anaconda Plan (Winfield Scott):

  • Naval blockade.

  • Control Mississippi River.

• Shift to total war under Grant and William Tecumseh Sherman.

• Goal: destroy Confederate economy and will to fight.

Confederate Strategy

• Defend territory.

• Seek foreign recognition.

• Win decisive victories to force Northern surrender.

V. Major Turning Points (Know These)

• First Bull Run / Manassas (1861): Union defeat → long war confirmed.

• Shiloh (1862): Massive casualties → war of attrition.

• Antietam (1862):

  • Bloodiest single day.

  • Union strategic victory.

  • Enabled Emancipation Proclamation.

• Gettysburg (1863):

  • Lee’s failed invasion of the North.

  • Over 50,000 casualties.

• Vicksburg (1863):

  • Union controls Mississippi River.

  • Confederacy split in two.

• Atlanta & Sherman’s March (1864):

  • Destruction of Southern infrastructure.

  • Ensured Lincoln’s reelection.

• Appomattox Court House (1865):

  • Lee surrenders to Grant → effective end of war.

VI. Emancipation and African Americans

• Emancipation Proclamation (1863):

  • Freed enslaved people only in rebelling states.

  • War aim shifted to Union and freedom.

• ~186,000 African Americans served in Union Army.

• Slavery fully abolished by 13th Amendment (1865).

• Juneteenth (June 19, 1865): freedom announced in Texas.

VII. Civilian Life and Social Impact

Women

• Ran farms, businesses, plantations.

• Served as nurses, factory workers, spies.

• Expanded public roles → groundwork for women’s rights.

Native Americans

• Forced to choose sides.

• Divisions within tribes.

• Postwar westward expansion worsened conditions.

VIII. Casualties and Technology

• ~620,000–625,000 deaths (more than all other U.S. wars combined up to that point).

• Causes:

  • Rifled muskets + outdated tactics.

  • Disease and poor medical care.

  • Prison conditions.

• First “modern war”:

  • Railroads.

  • Ironclads.

  • Trench warfare.

IX. Leadership and Legacy

Lincoln

• Expanded executive power (e.g., suspended habeas corpus).

• Preserved Union.

• Reframed war as a struggle for democracy and equality.

• Legacy solidified after victory and assassination.

Gettysburg Address (Key Themes)

• Nation founded on liberty and equality.

• War tests whether democracy can survive.

• Soldiers’ sacrifice demands continued struggle.

• “New birth of freedom.”

• Government “of, by, for the people.”

X. Consequences of the War

The South

• Economy destroyed.

• Plantation system collapsed.

• Political power lost for decades.

• No foreign recognition achieved.

The Nation

• Federal power greatly expanded.

• Key wartime laws:

  • Homestead Act.

  • Morrill Land Grant Act.

  • Pacific Railway Act.

  • National Banking Act.

• United States confirmed as one indivisible nation.

XI. Grant–Lee Surrender (Appomattox)

• Grant offered lenient terms:

  • Parole, not punishment.

  • Soldiers keep personal horses.

  • Officers keep swords.

• Helped prevent guerrilla warfare.

• Set tone for Reconstruction (initially).

APUSH Thesis Line (Exam-Ready)