Chapter 11 Review

THE CIVIL WAR AND ITS IMPACT ON THE UNITED STATES

Chapter 11 Review

Lincoln and the Dilemma at Ft. Sumter

On the day of Lincoln’s inauguration, Ft. Sumter was surrounded by Confederate troops and under threat of attack.

If Lincoln surrendered, he would look weak while legitimizing the Confederacy as a nation. This would also make his administration look weak. If he fired first, he may force the remaining slave states to secede from the Union, and look like the aggressor.

Lincoln instead chose to send in “food for hungry men,” supplying soldiers at the fort, and forcing Jefferson Davis to act.

Lincoln was forced to make a decision, all of which could lead to disastrous conclusions.

Bull Run & Shiloh

July 21st, 1861, was the first major bloodshed of the war. 30,000 Union soldiers stumbled upon a large group of Confederate soldiers encamped by Bull Run Creek in Virginia.

The North realized that the war would last longer than a single battle, and the Southern morale was greatly boosted.

While camped at a small church called Shiloh in TN, Grant’s troops were ambushed by thousands of Confederate troops. He was forced to retreat, but regrouped, was reinforced, and charged back in to push the Confederates out of the area.The North and South realized that scouts, trenches, and fortifications were necessary. Also, the war was going to be long and bloody. 25,000 troops died in this skirmish

Lincoln & Slavery

Lincoln viewed slavery as a corrupt system, as well as being immoral, but did not feel ending slavery was the reason for the war. It was rather to save the Union.Lincoln had to be cautious in his approach on the issue of slavery, since border states that remained in the Union may be pushed to secede if Lincoln outright abolished slavery.

Lincoln found an ingenious way of dealing with the issue through his constitutional powers as President. Since slaves helped the Southern war effort, Lincoln argued that the Union could seize and emancipate Confederate slaves.The Proclamation had several impacts on the war. First, it bolstered the moral view of the North in the war, while causing the South to fight harder to maintain their way of life.Secondly, it opened the Union army to enlistment for blacks, who by the end of the war would make up 10% of the 2million troops.

Social & Economic Effects of the Civil War

The largest toll the war took was in lives. With 620,000 causalities and 350,000 injured, the war took away more lives than any war in America’s history.

The effect of 2.6 million men being away from homes and businesses for 4yrs also changed the economies in each region.In the North, the industry boomed and large-scale commercial agriculture took off due to the need for time saving machines that women and children used on the farms.

In the South, the economy was devastated. The plantation society fell throughout the war and the land was ravaged. After the war, the South only held 12% of the nations wealth and lost most of its workforce.

20yrs after the war, the nation’s federal budget was heavily balanced towards paying off the $3.3 billion debt from the war and the veteran pensions.

Lincoln: A Model President

Fort Sumter was Lincoln’s first decision as president, and the way in which he handled the situation showed him as a tactful and clever president. During the war he expanded the powers of both the president, and national government through the suspension of the Writ of Habeas Corpus, institution of the income tax, and the use of conscription.

He also delicately handled the slave issue, since he feared that the Union slave states may secede if he abolished slavery outright. He also justified the Emancipation Proclamation in an ingenious fashion; slaves are property, therefore they can be seized.Lincoln became the “Great Emancipator,” in his final push for the 13th Amendment.

He was able to find the balance between being a stern leader and a compassionate president.

Reminders

Chapter 11 Test will be on Tuesday!!!

PREWRITE the essay, to not do so is blowing an opportunity to score better on the test.

Research Papers final deadline is on Friday the 16th. Presentations begin the 26th at the start of each class.

Leave the room better than you found it and have a great day!