The Civil War
Feb 24, 2016
The Civil War
CIVIL WAR
• 1861- 1865• The Union was the northern states –
Yankees• The Confederate was the southern states-
Rebels
Causes of the Civil War
• SLAVERY• Sectional Differences
Sectional Differences - NORTH
• Land not as fertile, farmers – but not with large plantations
• Used slaves until 1800’s• After 1800’s work came from immigrants
– less expensive to hire than to buy a slave
Sectional differences - NORTH
• Developed economy• Created environment where normal
concept was free workers hired out for wages than slaves working
• Strong in Protestant religion- valued moral strictness, economic independence and efforts to improve ones self.
Sectional differences - NORTH
• Protestants disapproved of slavery• Thought is was an embarrassment to a
republic dedicated to liberty and freedom
Sectionalism - SOUTH
• Land very fertile – long growing season• Large plantations• Tobacco and then cotton • 1500-1860 slave labor in the south• By 1860’s- FOUR million black slaves
had labored in the south
Events leading to CIVIL WAR
Compromise of 1850Kansas- Nebraska Act
Dred Scott Case
Compromise of 1850
• Slave trade to continue but prohibited slave trade in Washington D.C.
• California admitted to union as free state• New territories could decide if free or
slave state• Fugitive Law
Fugitive Law
• If a slave escaped from the south, they were to be returned to the North
• Abolitionists disobeyed fugitive slave law and created Underground Railroad
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe on of the most effective attacks on fugitive slave trade
Kansas- Nebraska Act
• 1854 Act created territories of Kansas and Nebraska
• Gave rights to people to decide if going to be a free or slave state – process known as “popular sovereignty”
•
Kansas- Nebraska Act
• Kansas was the first test• Majority voted against slavery• Proslavery forces refused to accept
decision – led to violence• 1861 Kansas admitted as free state
Dred Scott
• In 1857 Missouri slave – Dred Scott sued for his freedom
• He and his master moved from Missouri to a free state and then a free territory
• Scott claimed he was a free man since he lived in places where slavery were not recognized
Dred Scott
• Chief Justice Roger B. Tuney said Scott , a black man, was NOT a citizen, therefore did not have the right to sue in US court.
• Chief Justice also said federal government could not exclude slavery from territories
• This angered Northerners because they thought it opened territories to slavery.
Political Happenings
Republican Party
• Established in the North – 1854• Opposed slavery and its extension into
territories
Democrats
• Split in 1860 into Northern and Southern Democratic parties due to issues of proslavery and antislavery
Abraham Lincoln
• Won all Electoral in free states except New Jersey
• He received 4 of the 7 electoral votes there• Less than 40% of popular vote
Succession Begins
• Dec. 1860 South Carolina• Jan. 1861 Mississippi, Florida, Alabama,
Georgia, and Louisiana• Feb. 4, 1861- these states formed the
Confederate States of America• Jefferson Davis from Mississippi was
elected president of Confederacy in 1861• March 2, 1861 Texas
Start of Civil War
• Confederates fired on Fort Sumter, Charleston, South Carolina on April 12, 1861
• Fort surrendered next day • April 15 – Lincoln called for Union troops
to regain the fort• South saw it as declaration of war
More States leave
• Virginia• Arkansas• North Carolina• Tennessee
Confederate States
• Alabama• Arkansas• Florida• Georgia• Louisiana• Mississippi• North Carolina
• South Carolina• Tennessee• Texas• Virginia
Union States• California• Connecticut• Delaware• Illinois• Indiana• Iowa• Kansas• Kentucky• Maine• Maryland• Massachusetts
• Michigan• Minnesota• Missouri• New Hampshire• New Jersey• New York• Ohio• Oregon• Pennsylvania• Rhode Island• Vermont• Wisconsin
Results of War
• 620,000 Soldiers died • Union = 360,000• Confederacy = 260,000• One-half of all deaths caused by disease• South was destroyed• Bitterness between North and South
Results of War
• Yankee ideals of hard work, education, and freedom helped encourage the development of United States as modern, industrial leader