Facts about the Civil War continue to fascinate people of all ages, from kids to adults. The consequences of the Civil War can still be felt today, although it was fought 150 years ago.
Facts about the Civil War continue to fascinate people of all ages, from kids to adults. The consequences of the Civil War can still be felt today, although it was fought 150 years ago.
Lincoln, War, and the Slaughter of the American Working Class.docxsmile790243
Lincoln, War, and the Slaughter of the American Working Class
The American Civil War 1861-1865
The American Civil War is still, without doubt, the most traumatic experience in American History. Far more so than the American Revolution, the World Wars, and 9/11.
New estimates put the number of soldier deaths at 750,000 or above. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/science/civil-war-toll-up-by-20-percent-in-new-estimate.html
This does not include the many civilian deaths through disease, starvation, heartbreak, etc.
About 22 million lived in the North and 9 million in the South at the time of the war. There was about a 3.5 to 2.5 ratio of deaths North to South, but this means that the South lost a greater percentage of its population.
About 36,000 African American soldiers were killed.
In the following slides, we’ll recount the seminal events leading up to the war.
2
We can go back to the very foundations of the United States when the Fugitive Slave Clause (Article 4, Section 2, Clause 3) and the 3/5th Clause (Article 1, Section 2. Par. 3) of the Constitution effectively legalized slavery without explicitly mentioning slavery.
Also, Amendment 10 “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” leaves the issue of slavery and other legal, commercial, and social matters up to the states.
Arguments and ill feelings regarding these issues began almost immediately, and tensions almost led to violence in 1820 when the Missouri Compromise staved off revolt and kept the balance between slave state and free state representation.
Texas independence from Mexico followed by its attempt to join the U.S. created tensions before and after the delayed admission in December of 1845, during the Polk Administration.
Polk’s (murderous?) manipulation of international politics led to massive gains in U.S. territory. He gave Mexico little chance to a avoid war that resulted in the loss of the that nations northern half, and he negotiated for the acquisition and consolidation of the Northwest, completing the U.S. march to the Pacific.
This created all kinds of problems for the slavery balance. The Wilmot Proviso, which might have solved the problem, though admittedly in the non-extentionist favor, was rejected. When California asked to join the Union as a free state, it engendered yet another crisis. Half of the state was below the Missouri Compromise line. There was a call in Congress to split California into one free and one slave state.
Then Clay (again) proposed a compromise that delayed secession, but may have ensured it at the same time.
Battle of San Jacinto
April 21, 1836
1845
O’Sullivan
Popularizes Term
Manifest Destiny
Clays Compromise 1850
California Enters Union as a Free State
Territories to Have No Restrictions on Slavery
Enforce Fugitive Slave Law
No Slaves in D.C.
Recall from the last presen ...
2. Causes… President Lincoln wanted to stop the spread of slavery With the end of slavery, the south would suffer severe economic blows. The South feared racial equality. Southern states argued that free blacks and white men could not live together in peace. Corwin Amendment was introduced to stop the abolishment of slavery in the states that it already existed in.
3. Secession of the South. Seven states left the Union before Lincoln took office. These states took over what property fell within their boundaries with little opposition. As Southerners resigned their seats in the Senate and the House. On February 4th 1861, these seven states formally removed themselves from the Union to start a new government.
4. The Union and Confederacy. Twenty-three states remained loyal to the Union. Seven Deep South cotton states seceded by February 1861. These seven states formed the Confederate States of America (February 4, 1861), with Jefferson Davis as president, and a governmental structure closely modeled on the U.S. Constitution.
5. The War. On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was sworn in as President. Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, Fort Pickens and Fort Taylor were the remaining Union-held forts in the Confederacy, and Lincoln was determined to hold Fort Sumter. The battle for this fort was short and very bloody. Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers for 90 days. The war was thought to be short and quick, so the promise of swift victory was given to the volunteers.
7. Anaconda Plan and blockade Winfield Scott, the commanding general of the U.S. Army, devised the Anaconda Planto win the war with as little bloodshed as possible. The idea was to capture the Mississippi river and split the south in half. In May 1861, Lincoln enacted the Union blockade of all Southern ports, ending regular international shipments to the Confederacy.
9. Bull Run (Manassas), 1st battle July 21, 1861 Gen. McDowell leads 30,000 men against Gen. Johnston's 22,000 Southern troops in an attempt to crush the rebels and go "On to Richmond." South is vicarious as Union troops flee back to Washington. McDowell replaced by Gen. McClellan.
10. Emancipation Proclamation September 23, 1862 Lincoln announces that on 1/1/63, all slaves in the rebelling states would be free. Does not affect border states. This forces European nations that taking a side is a must.
11. Battle of Gettysburg July 1863. Over 165,000 soldiers participate in the largest battle in the Western Hemisphere. Approximately 50,000 total casualties for both sides.
12. General Lee surrenders April 9, 1865 Lee did not want to see his troops suffer anymore, so he surrenders. He is given generous terms to do so.
17. Work Cited Carroll, John. The American Military Tradition. Maryland: Lanham, 2007. Morris, James. American military history. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River, 2004.