Civil War Overview
History M25 - Dr. Krister Swanson - Moorpark College
Election of 1860 Splits a Nation
- Lincoln’s election: 7 states secede, 4 more when he calls for
troops, (CSA, confederacy, south)
- Question of secession difficult for “upper south”
- 4/61- SC fires on Ft. Sumter (belongs to them now)
- Northern advantages (population, manufacturing, wealth, RRs, navy)
- Southern advantages (leadership, cause, defensive war over large
area)
Mobilizing for War
- Both sides sell bonds & tax
- South has trouble regulating currency (prints $$$ to fund war
effort)
- South must build factories
- Sheer number of troops becomes an issue (conscription on both
sides)
The Fighting Begins
- Union believes they’ll win easily
- South stirred to action by “Yankee aggression”
- 7/61 - South wins first battle at Bull Run
- War goes well for South early, defensive war, fighting for a
cause, good leadership
Two Wars of 1862:
- West: Grant gains control of KY & TN, rallies at Shiloh, and
navy wins at New Orleans (goal is control of the Mississippi)
- East: McClellan moves on Richmond, gets shut down by Johnston
& Lee, wusses out, retreats, and then...
- 9/62- Antietam: Lee invades MD, bloodiest single day, Lee turned
back but McClellan does not chase
Lincoln looks for leadership
- 12/62- Burnside attacks Lee at Fredricksburg, “slaughterpen”
- 1/1/63- Emancipation Proclamation: Slaves in rebellious states
are now “forever free” - makes CW a moral crusade
- 4/63- Hooker launches 3 pronged attack at Chancellorsville, gets
outflanked and retreats
South at War
- Union blockade forces total makeover of economy
- Conscription & later impressment into service
- Poor bear hardships “rich man’s war & a poor man’s fight”
- Slavery ultimately disintegrates in the face of war
North at War
- Republicans push economic programs (currency, bank, etc.)
- Lincoln suspends Habeas Corpus to arrest those criticizing the
war & avoiding draft
- Women take over farms and jobs
- Dems charge Draft & Emancipation are unconstitutional
- 1863: Draft Riots – stirred up by poverty & racism
- Turning Point: 7/4/1863
- Gettysburg - Lee heads north, Huge losses for South, turned away
from DC
- Vicksburg - Union gains control of Mississippi after long siege,
Grant then heads east
The War Drags to an End
- March, 1864: Grant in charge - war of attrition starts
- Sherman’s March: 60 mi. wide path of destruction through Georgia,
then he heads north, meanwhile...
- Grant starts bloody campaign towards Richmond
- Election of 1864: Dems thought dissatisfaction might bring victory
- They divide between “War” and “Peace” factions, then war turns in
Reps favor and Dems are done
- Battered into submission, South quickly collapses
- April 9, 1865: Lee surrenders, South left w/ major problems
Basic Civil War Timeline
Fort Sumter
Bull Run (Manassas)
Antietam
Emancipation Proclamation
Gettysburg
Vicksburg
Sherman’s March
Surrender at Appomattox
Civil War Study Guide
Causes
Course of Key Events/Fighting
Key People, Places, and Ideas
Outcomes