The document provides background information on the events leading up to the American Civil War from the 1840s through the start of the war in 1861. It discusses the growing political tensions around the issue of slavery and states' rights. Key events included the Missouri Compromise, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Lincoln's election in 1860, and Confederate states beginning to secede from the Union. The document also outlines some of the military advantages held by the North compared to the South at the start of the war, such as population, industry, naval capabilities, and transportation infrastructure. It describes the Union's initial naval blockade strategy against the Confederacy.

1. CHAPTER 4
THE CIVIL WAR
1861-1865

2. THE UNITED STATES IN 1840

3. Overseas trade
and immigration
were the focus of
maritime interests
in the 1840s.
Clipper Whaler
Packet

4. The issue of
slavery was
not of prime
importance to
the average
American of the
early 1800s.

5. The majority of Southerners were small
farmers who could not afford slaves
and
most Northerners were small farmers or
tradesmen who had never come into
contact with any slaves.

6. Slave trade had been illegal since 1820.

7. Southern
economy
depended
on slavery
to be
profitable
while
Northern
economy
was based on
commerce
and industry.

8. A Moral and
Commercial
Issue
Slavery

9. By 1850 only about a third of the national
population lived in the South. Southern
politicians had become alarmed at the loss
of political power in the House of
Representatives.
Total Population 1850

10. The South pressed for admission of
the
new states as slave states so that their
political power base would remain
Free States and Territories
Slave States
Territories Open to Slavery

11. It stipulated that a balance between
slave
and free states had to be maintained as
Closed to slavery by
Missouri Compromise
Open to slavery by
Missouri Compromise
Free states and
territories
Slave States
Missouri
Compromise of 1820

12. The Missouri Compromise of 1820
lasted until the Kansas-Nebraska Act
of 1854, which eliminated it and
made it possible for slavery to be introduced into any new
territory based on the decision of the residents.
Free state or territory
Slavery state or territory
Open to slavery by principle
of popular sovereignty.
Compromise of 1850
Open to slavery by principle
of popular sovereignty.
Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

13. SLAVERY DEBATES
Slavery became a major political
Stephen Douglas Abraham Lincoln

14. The threat to stop the spread of slavery
intensified in 1859 when John Brown raided
the Federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia
(now West Virginia) and called for a general
insurrection of Southern slaves.
West
Virginia
Harper’s Ferry
Virginia Maryland
Potomac
Shenandoah

15. Extremists on
both sides
became willing
to go to war to
ensure that their
views prevailed.
Against this
backdrop of
tension the
presidential
election of 1860
took place.
ARGUING ABOUT
SLAVERY

16. 1860
Presidential
Candidates
Abraham
Lincoln
Stephen
Douglas
John
Bell
John
Breckinridge

17. Election of 1860
Lincoln won the
election with just
40 percent of the
popular vote, and
no Southern
electoral votes.

18. December 1860
South Carolina Secedes
KY VA
NC
SC
GAAL
FL
TN

19. In January 1861, the Star of the West
attempted to enter the harbor of
Charleston to resupply Union troops
at Fort Sumter. She was fired on, and
she retreated out of range.
Star of the West
Fort Sumter, SC

20. Jefferson Davis
President of
Confederate
States of
America

21. Confederacy in
January 1861
TX LA
MS
AL
GA
SC
FL

22. Southern officers had to choose
between loyalty to their country
and ties to their homes.

23. Robert E. Matthew F. Maury

24. Most career enlisted sailors sided
with
the Union.

25. Southern militias
quickly took over
most forts in the
South.

26. The Civil War started
Fort Sumter

27. On 11 April 1861,
General
Beauregard
demanded that
Fort Sumter
Major Anderson
USA, garrison
commander,
refused.

28. April 12, 1861, first shots
Fort Sumter

29. On 15 April, President Lincoln called
for 75,000 volunteers for 3 months
to suppress the rebellion.

30. TX LA
MS
AL
GA
SC
FL
AR
TN NC
VA
W VA
Fort Sumter’s fall
contributed to
additional states
joining each side
of the conflict.

31. North
22 Million
2.5 Million
South
9 Million
1 Million
Population
In Uniform

32. North Advantages
Heavy Industry
Rail System
$331 Million in Exports
South Disadvantages
No Foundries or Metal Works
Transportation System
Only $31 Million in Exports

33. Naval Differences
North
Yes
Adequate
Small
South
None
Few
None
Shipyards
Seaman
Navy

34. The Confederacy had no navy at all
when the war began.
It tried to build naval ships and
armored
gunboats called ironclads for harbor
defense, and fought valiantly, but it

35. Covered or cased with iron plates,
as a ship for naval warfare; armor-
plated
A wooden warship of the middle
or late 19th century having iron or
steel armor plating
Ironclad

36. The South was dependent
on importation of food.

37. Because of the Union blockade, the
Confederacy was near starvation by
war’s end.

38. South’s Emotions and
Wishful Thinking
• Major war not expected
• North would quickly tire of casualties
and losses
• Unstable politics in the North
• Border states’ sympathies

39. THE BORDER STATES
MO KY DE
MD

40. The Border States
Maryland Delaware
Kentucky Missouri
While remaining in the Union, these
four states were at least partially
sympathetic to the Confederate
cause.
They supported both sides with

41. King Cotton
The South had no idea about the
economic demands of a modern
war.

42. The South believed that once the
Northern blockade cut off “King Cotton”
from British and French markets, it
would force these countries to help the
Southern cause for economic reasons.

43. Strengths of the South
• Officer corps • Vast territory
• Loyalty to cause

44. Comparison of North and South in 1860
Category North South
Population
Wealth Produced
Farm Acreage
Value of Crops
Railroad Mileage
Factories
Iron Production
Bank Deposits
71%
75%
65%
70%
72%
85%
96%
81%
29%
25%
35%
30%
28%
15%
4%
19%

45. Jefferson Davis
• Authorized
privateering
• Declared
embargo
on
cotton

46. • Began a naval
blockade of all
Southern ports
from Virginia
Capes to Texas
Abraham

47. A ship or person that
passes
through a blockade
Blockade Runner

48. Blockaded ports by the

49. Davis’ Miscalculations
• British and French observed
blockade.
• Europeans had huge inventories of
cotton.

50. • Began with 3 ships in
home waters to patrol
3,550 miles
• By December 1861,
had 264 vessels and
adequate blockade
of all major cotton
ports
Gideon Welles
Secretary of the Navy

51. Major Cotton Ports
Entrance to
Mississippi River

52. Naval Blockade
• Many types of
vessels were used
for the blockade.
• The crews had
little or no training.
Paddle Steamer
Whaling Ship
Tugs

53. Blockade Expansion by End of 1862
• Blockade depended upon coal and other supplies.
• Union established bases in Confederate territory.

54. Florida’s poor inland transportation,
coupled with the Union blockade,
deprived the South of essential salt
for preservation of food.

55. Union supply bases
in the South were
significant factors
in the victory.
Fort Pickens

56. • Responsible for
improved naval
ordnance
• Developed larger
smooth-bore guns
Commander
John Dahlgren

57. END OF PART
ONE