Chapter 11- The Civil War

An Introduction & OverviewWhy did the war matter? We fought the Civil War. So

what?What (besides ending slavery) historical impact has it

had on the country?

Let’s Not Mince Words“War is cruelty and you cannot refine it,” Sherman had told Atlanta’s mayor after ordering the civilian population expelled from the occupied city. But “when peace does come, you may call on me for anything. Then will I share with you the last cracker.” Until then, though, “we are not only fighting hostile armies, but a hostile people, and must make old and young, rich and poor, feel the hard hand of war.”

- McPherson, James M. (1988-02-25). Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era (Oxford History of the United States) (p. 809). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition.

Let’s Not Mince Words“We cannot change the hearts of those people of the South, but we can make war so terrible . . . [and] make them so sick of war that generations would pass away before they would again appeal to it.”

- Ibid.

Some BasicsUS population – 31,443,341 (approximately 4 million of whom were slaves)Union had approximately 22 million peopleBeginning of the war – Union Navy had 90 ships, 48 of which had no crewsEnd of the war – U.S. Navy was largest in world at 671 warships.Union ended the war with more people than when it began.United States had largest army in the world.

Some Basics• ¼ of Confederate white men of

military age died.• 2/3 of assessed Southern wealth

vanished during war.• 2/5 Southern livestock killed.• Prior to war, Southern per capita

income (including slaves) was about 2/3 of the Northern average – after the war was 2/5

• By the end of the war: “Let us recruit an army of slaves, concluded [General] Cleburne, and ‘guarantee freedom within a reasonable time to every slave in the South who shall remain true to the Confederacy.’”• Cleburne’s idea was not well-received

Chapter 11- The Civil War

• Slavery became unconstitutional.

• Death of secession.

• 620,000 total deaths−360,000 Northerners−230,000 Southerners−Number of deaths were

as many as killed in every other American war through Vietnam

Chapter 11- The Civil War

Before the war: – only federal institution most people used was the post office.After the war:- Income tax- Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to collect it- Draft (conscription) Army- National currency- National banking system- first social welfare agency (Freedman’s Bureau)

Chapter 11- The Civil War

11 of first 12 amendments limited the power of the federal government

- “Congress shall not…”

6 of the next 7 expanded federal power at the expense of the states

- “Congress shall have the power to enforce this article.”

Chapter 11- The Civil War

Major shift in power from the South to the North

1789 – 1861: 72 years

In those 72 years, a slaveholder from a state that would join the Confederacy was president for 49 of them.

Supreme Court always had a Southern majority

Of 36 Speakers of the House, 24 were Southerners

Chapter 11- The Civil War

After the war:

No Southerner elected president for 100 years

Only 5 of 26 Supreme Court appointees in next 50 years were Southerners

Not one Southern Speaker of the House in next 50 years

Chapter 11- The Civil WarWhich region was the oddball? North or South?

Most of the world resembled the South in 1861:- Most societies had an unfree or quasi-free labor force- Most societies were predominantly rural, agricultural- Most societies had an aristocracy- Most societies had high illiteracy rates- Most societies were based on family networks

Chapter 11- The Civil WarPositive and negative

liberty

Negative Liberty – the liberty of being free from something

Positive Liberty – the liberty to do something, requires some kind of power

Tension between the two ideas will plays a very important role

Chapter 11- The Civil War• “The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty,

and the American people, just now, are much in want of one,” said Lincoln on that occasion. “We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name— liberty.” Lincoln went on to illustrate his point with a parable about animals. “The shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat,” he said, “for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as a liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty, especially as the sheep is a black one. Plainly the sheep and the wolf are not agreed upon a definition of the word liberty; and precisely the same difference prevails to-day among us human creatures, even in the North, and all professing to love liberty.”

Chapter 11- The Civil War

Supplementary material from:McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The

Civil War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.