The American Civil War Begins
description
Transcript of The American Civil War Begins
The American Civil War Begins
Fill in the blanks on the handout as we go through the notes.
Presidential election of 1860
In 1860, Stephan Douglas and Abraham Lincoln ran against each other again, this time for president.
Lincoln had become well known from their debates about slavery.
This time, Lincoln won, becoming the 16th president.
Southern States secedeLincoln received no support in the South
because they believed he wanted to end slavery. Since there were so many more people in the North, he won the election anyway.
As soon as Lincoln won the election, the South started to secede. This means the South split from the Union. They no longer wanted to be part of the United States.
Supporters of secession based their arguments on the idea of states’ rights. They said they had voluntarily joined the union, so they could leave when they wanted.
Confederate States of America On December 20, 1860, South
Carolina became the first state to secede.
They were followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
The eleven states that had seceded formed the Confederate States of America.
They named Jefferson Davis as president.
They wrote a new Constitution which made slavery legal.
Civil WarA civil war is a war between people of the same country.
There have been many civil wars, but one of the worst happened in America.
The American Civil War was fought to keep the South from leaving the Union.
Slavery was the major issue that separated the North from the South.
The Civil War began at Fort Sumter.
Fort Sumter was in the South, and the Union had a hard time defending the fort.
There were 23 states in the Union (North) at the beginning of the war.
There were 11 states in the Confederacy (South) at the beginning of the war.
Coordinated and balanced economy vs. distorted, agriculture-based economy
• NORTH• 23,000,000
population• Industrial economy• 109 manufacturing
plants• 22,000 miles of
railroad• 90% of industrial
power
• SOUTH• 9,000,000
• includes 3.5 M slaves
• Agricultural economy• Exports, not
food.• 31,000
manufacturing plants
• 9,000 miles of railroad
• mostly export crops (cotton, tobacco) so food was scarce
North’s AdvantagesThe North some many advantages. They had many more people and also had more factories, which could be used to make weapons
The Union also had many more miles of railroad tracks.
South’s AdvantagesThe South’s main advantage was that they were
fighting at home.This would mean that they would be closer to
their supplies.They also would fight harder because they were
protecting their homes.The Confederacy also had superior generals and
better trained soldiers.The South was also being supplied by England at
the beginning of the war. England wanted to keep trading for the South’s cotton.
Battle of Bull RunOne of the first battles of the war was
the Battle of Bull Run. The North realized after this battle that
the war would not be easy and would not be over soon.
New WeaponsMany new weapons were used during the Civil War.
One of these weapons was an ironclad ship. An ironclad ship was a ship with iron plates on it to protect it from cannon fire.
Other new weaponsDeadlier cannons
and bulletsMore accurate
rifles
Battle of AntietamFirst time the Confederacy invaded Northern territory was the Battle of Antietam.
It was bloodiest battle day in United States history. 23,000 men lost their lives that day.
The Union army stopped the Confederate army. This “victory” by the Union gave President Lincoln the chance to announce the abolition of slavery in the South.
Declared that all slaves should be set free in the Confederacy.
It also allowed blacks to serve in the Union army and navy.
South ignored the Emancipation Proclamation, but it did change to focus of the war to the issue of slavery.
Emancipation Proclamation
Women in the Civil WarWomen on both
sides worked during the war. Many became nurses. The most famous nurse from the Union was Clara Barton.
She also helped organize the American Red Cross.
The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
90,000 Union soldiers fought 75,000 Confederate soldiers.
More than 50,000 men were killed or wounded in the battle.
The Union won the battle.
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the war. The Confederacy would never invade Union territory again.
Gettysburg AddressAfter the Battle of Gettysburg, President Lincoln went to the battlefield to dedicate a cemetery in honor of all those who had died.
Lincoln spoke for two minutes, but his speech became very famous.
It is called the Gettysburg Address.