11.2 American Civil War

The American Civil War, a defining conflict of the Modern Period, stemmed from deep-rooted tensions between North and South. Economic differences, debates over states' rights, and the issue of slavery created an irreconcilable divide that led to armed conflict.

Key figures like Lincoln, Lee, and Grant shaped the war's course through military and political leadership. Major battles such as Gettysburg and Vicksburg, along with evolving strategies and tactics, determined the conflict's outcome and its lasting impact on American society.

Causes of the Civil War

• Explores the complex factors leading to the American Civil War, a pivotal conflict in the Modern Period
• Highlights the deep-rooted tensions between North and South that culminated in armed conflict
• Demonstrates how economic, political, and social issues intertwined to create an irreconcilable divide

Economic differences

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• Industrial North vs agricultural South created divergent economic interests
• Tariff policies favored Northern manufacturing while hurting Southern cotton exports
• Northern focus on free labor contrasted with Southern reliance on slave-based economy
• Banking and currency systems varied between regions, causing financial tensions

States' rights vs federal power

• Debate over the balance of power between state and federal governments intensified
• Nullification crisis of 1832 highlighted states' attempts to override federal laws
• Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 exacerbated tensions over state sovereignty
• Southern states argued for the right to secede from the Union

Slavery and territorial expansion

• Missouri Compromise of 1820 attempted to maintain balance between free and slave states
• Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 led to violent conflicts over slavery in new territories
• Dred Scott decision of 1857 further polarized the nation on slavery issues
• John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859 escalated tensions and fears of slave revolts

Key figures and leaders

• Examines the influential individuals who shaped the course of the Civil War
• Highlights the military and political leadership that emerged during this critical period
• Demonstrates how personal ideologies and strategies influenced the war's progression

Union commanders

• Ulysses S. Grant led successful campaigns in the Western theater
  • Captured Vicksburg, splitting the Confederacy
  • Later appointed General-in-Chief of all Union armies
• William Tecumseh Sherman conducted the "March to the Sea" through Georgia
• George McClellan initially led the Army of the Potomac but was criticized for his cautious approach
• George Meade commanded Union forces to victory at the Battle of Gettysburg

Confederate generals

• Robert E. Lee served as the primary military leader of the Confederacy
  • Defended Richmond and led the Army of Northern Virginia
  • Masterminded several victories including the Seven Days Battles
• Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson excelled in the Shenandoah Valley Campaign
• James Longstreet served as Lee's "Old War Horse" and key strategist
• Nathan Bedford Forrest pioneered innovative cavalry tactics

Political leaders

• Abraham Lincoln guided the Union through the war as President
  • Issued the Emancipation Proclamation
  • Delivered the Gettysburg Address, redefining the war's purpose
• Jefferson Davis served as President of the Confederate States of America
• William Seward acted as Lincoln's Secretary of State, managing foreign relations
• Salmon P. Chase oversaw Union finances as Secretary of the Treasury

Major battles and campaigns

• Analyzes the key military engagements that shaped the course of the Civil War
• Illustrates how battles in different theaters impacted the overall war effort
• Demonstrates the evolution of military tactics and strategies throughout the conflict

Eastern theater

• First Battle of Bull Run (1861) shattered illusions of a quick war
• Peninsula Campaign (1862) saw McClellan's failed attempt to capture Richmond
• Battle of Antietam (1862) became the bloodiest single-day battle in American history
  • Provided Lincoln the victory needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation
• Battle of Gettysburg (1863) marked the turning point of the war in the East
  • Pickett's Charge resulted in devastating Confederate losses

Western theater

• Battle of Shiloh (1862) shocked both sides with its unprecedented casualties
• Siege of Vicksburg (1863) secured Union control of the Mississippi River
  • Cut the Confederacy in half, isolating its western territories
• Battles for Chattanooga (1863) opened the gateway to the Deep South
• Atlanta Campaign (1864) dealt a severe blow to Confederate morale and resources

Naval operations

• Union blockade of Southern ports (Anaconda Plan) strangled Confederate trade
• Battle of Hampton Roads (1862) saw the first clash of ironclad warships
  • USS Monitor vs CSS Virginia (Merrimack) revolutionized naval warfare
• Admiral David Farragut's capture of New Orleans (1862) secured the lower Mississippi
• CSS Alabama's commerce raiding disrupted Union merchant shipping worldwide

Military strategies and tactics

• Examines the overarching military approaches employed by both sides during the Civil War
• Illustrates how technological advancements influenced battlefield tactics
• Demonstrates the adaptation of military strategies to the changing nature of warfare

Union's Anaconda Plan

• Devised by General Winfield Scott to slowly strangle the Confederacy
• Involved a naval blockade of Southern ports to cut off trade and supplies
• Aimed to control the Mississippi River, splitting the Confederacy in two
• Combined with a land offensive to capture key strategic points
• Initially mocked but proved effective in the long term

Confederate defensive approach

• Focused on defending vast territory with limited resources
• Relied on interior lines of communication for rapid troop movements
• Sought to wear down Northern resolve through prolonged resistance
• Attempted to secure foreign recognition and support (particularly from Britain and France)
• Conducted limited offensive operations (Antietam, Gettysburg) to influence Northern politics

Technological advancements

• Widespread use of railroads for rapid troop and supply movement
• Telegraph communications improved command and control
• Rifled muskets increased range and accuracy of infantry fire
• Ironclad warships revolutionized naval warfare
• Observation balloons provided aerial reconnaissance capabilities
• Introduction of repeating rifles and early machine guns (Gatling gun)

Home front during the war

• Analyzes the social, economic, and cultural changes on both sides during the Civil War
• Illustrates how the war effort transformed daily life for civilians
• Demonstrates the evolving roles of different social groups in supporting the war

Northern society and economy

• Industrial production expanded to meet wartime demands
• Draft riots in New York City (1863) highlighted social tensions
• Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1862 established agricultural and mechanical colleges
• Rise of war profiteers and new industrial magnates
• Increased government involvement in the economy through bonds and paper currency

Southern society and economy

• Blockade runners attempted to maintain trade with Europe
• Food shortages and inflation led to bread riots in major cities
• Impressment of slaves for military labor strained the plantation system
• "King Cotton" diplomacy failed to secure European intervention
• Confederate government struggled with centralization and states' rights issues

Women's roles

• Expanded participation in the workforce, filling jobs left by men
• Organized aid societies to support troops with supplies and medical care
• Served as nurses in military hospitals (Clara Barton, Dorothea Dix)
• Managed farms and businesses in the absence of male family members
• Some women served as spies or disguised themselves as soldiers (Sarah Emma Edmonds)

African Americans in the Civil War

• Examines the pivotal role of African Americans in shaping the course and outcome of the Civil War
• Illustrates how the conflict transformed the legal and social status of Black Americans
• Demonstrates the agency and contributions of African Americans to the Union war effort

Emancipation Proclamation

• Issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863
• Declared slaves in rebellious states "forever free"
• Did not apply to border states or Union-controlled areas of the Confederacy
• Shifted the war's focus to include ending slavery as a Union goal
• Encouraged enslaved people to escape to Union lines and join the war effort

Black soldiers and sailors

• United States Colored Troops (USCT) formed in 1863
• Over 180,000 Black men served in the Union Army
• Faced discrimination in pay, equipment, and assignments
• Participated in major battles (Fort Wagner, Petersburg, Nashville)
• Black sailors served in the Union Navy from the war's beginning
• Suffered harsher treatment if captured by Confederate forces

Contraband camps

• Established to house formerly enslaved people who fled to Union lines
• Provided basic necessities and some education to residents
• Served as recruitment centers for Black soldiers
• Created challenges for Union commanders in managing large refugee populations
• Laid groundwork for future Freedmen's Bureau efforts

International dimensions

• Analyzes the global context and impact of the American Civil War
• Illustrates how foreign powers influenced and were affected by the conflict
• Demonstrates the war's role in shaping international relations during the Modern Period

European powers' involvement

• Britain and France considered recognizing the Confederacy
• Trent Affair (1861) nearly led to war between Britain and the Union
• British shipyards built commerce raiders for the Confederacy (CSS Alabama)
• Russian fleet's visit to New York (1863) signaled support for the Union
• European volunteers joined both sides (Polish, German, Italian)

Diplomacy and foreign relations

• Union efforts focused on preventing European recognition of the Confederacy
• Confederate diplomats attempted to secure loans and military aid abroad
• Seward's firm handling of the Trent Affair avoided international escalation
• French intervention in Mexico complicated U.S. foreign policy
• Union victory strengthened the Monroe Doctrine in the Western Hemisphere

Economic impact abroad

• Cotton shortage in Europe led to the "Cotton Famine" in British mill towns
• Increased demand for Egyptian and Indian cotton reshaped global markets
• European investors purchased Union bonds, tying their interests to Northern victory
• Disruption of American grain exports affected global food prices
• War's end led to a surge in European immigration to the United States

End of the war

• Examines the final stages of the Civil War and its immediate aftermath
• Illustrates how the conflict's conclusion set the stage for the Reconstruction era
• Demonstrates the challenges of reunification and the war's lasting impact on American society

Appomattox surrender

• General Lee surrendered to General Grant on April 9, 1865
• Took place at Appomattox Court House, Virginia
• Grant offered generous terms to Confederate soldiers
  • Allowed them to keep their horses and personal weapons
  • Paroled soldiers rather than imprisoning them
• Marked the effective end of major Confederate resistance
• Other Confederate armies surrendered in the following weeks

Lincoln's assassination

• John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln on April 14, 1865
  • Attack occurred at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.
• Part of a larger conspiracy to decapitate the Union government
• Vice President Andrew Johnson and Secretary of State Seward also targeted
• Lincoln died the next morning, throwing the nation into mourning
• Booth was hunted down and killed, co-conspirators were tried and executed

Reconstruction beginnings

• President Johnson implemented a lenient Reconstruction policy
• Radical Republicans in Congress pushed for stricter measures
• Freedmen's Bureau established to assist former slaves and war refugees
• Black Codes enacted in Southern states to restrict African American rights
• Debate over readmission of Confederate states to the Union intensified
• 13th Amendment ratified, officially abolishing slavery throughout the United States

Legacy and impact

• Analyzes the long-term consequences of the Civil War on American society and government
• Illustrates how the conflict reshaped the nation's political and social landscape
• Demonstrates the war's enduring influence on American culture and identity

Constitutional amendments

• 13th Amendment (1865) abolished slavery and involuntary servitude
• 14th Amendment (1868) granted citizenship and equal protection under the law
  • Overturned the Dred Scott decision
  • Laid groundwork for future civil rights legislation
• 15th Amendment (1870) prohibited denial of voting rights based on race
• Collectively known as the Reconstruction Amendments
• Dramatically altered the federal-state relationship and expanded civil rights

Social and cultural changes

• Emancipation of four million enslaved people transformed Southern society
• Women's rights movement gained momentum from wartime experiences
• Industrialization and urbanization accelerated in the North
• Western expansion continued with the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad
• Rise of veteran organizations (Grand Army of the Republic, United Confederate Veterans)
• Growth of public education and literacy rates across the nation

Memory and commemoration

• Lost Cause ideology emerged in the South to romanticize the Confederate cause
• Decoration Day (later Memorial Day) established to honor war dead
• Monuments and memorials erected in towns and cities across the country
• Civil War literature and art shaped popular understanding of the conflict
• Reunions of Union and Confederate veterans fostered reconciliation
• Ongoing debates over the war's causes and meaning continue to shape American politics