WARTIME LEADERS: ABRAHAM LINCOLN VS JEFFERSON DAVIS

T O M S C U L L E Y A N D M AT T VA R I A N

PRE-CIVIL WAR: LINCOLN

Served in the Illinois state legislature for 4 terms and in the House of Representatives in 1846.

Ran for Senator of Illinois in 1858 and was defeated by Stephen Douglas, who previously held the position in the Senate.

Believed that slavery was evil and didn’t think that it should be spread to the territories. Also believed that African Americans were guaranteed “life, liberty, and justice.”

Won the 1960 Presidential Election.

After his victory, many southern states decided to secede from the Union in response to the election. The first state to secede was South Carolina on December 20, 1860.

PRE-CIVIL WAR: DAVIS

Went to college at West Point and settled upon a military career.

Fought in the Black Hawk War of 1832 and the Mexican War

Elected to Congress in 1845

Served as a US Senator for Mississippi for two terms, and served as the Secretary of War in between those terms

Resigned from the Senate when Mississippi seceded in 1861

Elected as president of the Confederacy, was disappointed because he wanted a high military command role

Believed in the use of slavery and its expansion into the territories

POSITIVESDavis Lincoln

Useful military and administrative experience

Appointed worthy generals (Robert E Lee)

Supported tough measures when necessary, promoted the Conscription Act which imposed martial law in areas threatened by Union invasion, supported the impressment of supplies, and urged high taxes (cotton and slaves)

Became a more public figure as the war went on, made several tours of the South

Very high effort to hold together the Confederacy

He was resilient, tenacity, honest, he had an unassuming style, and was deceptively simple.

He selected able man, delegated well, and gave those men who were successful free rain.

He had so much faith in the Unions and was willing to fight until the end to preserve it.

He kept in touch with public opinion.

His main goals during his presidency were focusing on military matters and race.

He felt no need to involve himself in things like economics.

As the commander in chief he embraced responsibility and believed he needed to use his powers to the best effect for the Union.

NEGATIVES

Davis Lincoln

Many say he lacked a good working relationship with his colleagues, fought with military commanders and leading politicians

Could not cement relationships, appointed no less than 4 Secretaries of State and 6 Secretaries of War

Indecisive; cabinet meetings often came to no conclusion

Criticized for exercising his powers too sparingly and failing to communicate effectively

Seen as too conservative

Before his presidency he had little administrative experience.

He had little to do with foreign matters.

He also had little to do with financial matter and economics. These were handled by members of his cabinet.

He was very incompetent in matters to do with the war.

CABINETSDavis Lincoln

Had a very close relationship with Judah Benjamin, who served as Chief Justice, Secretary of War, and State, was a brilliant lawyer and very influential to Davis

Benjamin, Stephen Mallory (Navy), and John Reagan (Postmaster General) severed from beginning to end

Usually stayed out of his Secretaries’ business, and only got involved in the War Department decisions

Most Secretaries were capable and government operations went smoothly, met frequently

James Seddon was the longest serving War Secretary, energetic and clear thinking

Lincoln did not bother with the cabinet too much. He used more individual meetings rather then seeing them all at once.

Lincoln’s right hand man, the person he would always go to first was Secretary of State Seward.

Secretary of war, Simon Cameron was corrupt and quickly replaced by Edwin Stanton once the war started.

The Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, served the country well for the war.

CONGRESSConfederate Union

Had a Provisional Congress (1861-1862), where the congressmen were selected by their state legislatures

2 elected Congresses (1862-1864,1864-1865) consisting of a House of Reps and a Senate

267 members, about 1/3 served in the US Congress

No 2- party system Many people started to oppose

the first Congress, which was seen in 1863 when almost 40% of the members were new and many opposed Davis

States rights was a big concern, but most state governments co-operated with Davis, they initiated most of the necessary legislation (declaring martial law and impressing slaves)

Authorized Davis to declare martial law in areas threatened by war and to suspend the right of habeas corpus to stop draft evaders

There was no longer any southerners in the congress so it was controlled by Republicans.

House of Representatives(105 Republicans, 43 Democrats, 28 Unionist)

Senate(31 Republicans, 17 Democrats)

Because of the amount of Republicans in congress they generally agreed with Lincoln and what he wanted.

Radical Republicans wanted Lincoln to prosecute the war more vigorously and end slavery faster.

FINANCING THE WARDavis Lincoln

Found it difficult to finance a long war, had few gold reserves and the Union blockades made it tough to sell cotton and raise tariff money

Taxes levied in 1863 (income, property, and profits) were unpopular and failed to bring in enough revenue

State governments that raised taxes were reluctant to send money to the federal gov.

States often borrowed money or printed it (state notes), which degraded inflation

Passed the Impressment Act (1863) which allowed the seizure of goods and the Taxation-in-kind Act which authorized government agents to collect 10% of all farmer produce

Treasury Secretary Christopher Memminger raised $15 million in bonds and stock, initially many buyers but when the battle turned against the west many stopped, forced to print a lot of paper money, along with individual towns, banks, and railroad companies

Prices in 1865 in the eastern Confederacy were 5,000 times more the 1861 prices

The Union had a way easier time financing the war then the Confederacy.

They had an established Treasury, gold reserves, and an assured source of revenue from tariffs.

Even with this the Union was not ready for war and their banking system almost collapsed.

Secretary Chase kept the treasury going well by raising loans and issuing bonds.

2/3 of the Union’s revenue was raised by loans and tariffs.

1/5 was raised by taxes. The first income tax in US

history, enacted in in 1861 imposed 3 percent tax on annual incomes.

ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE WAR

Confederacy Union

After 1861, officials intruded into almost every aspect of economic life

Regulations managed conscription, manufacturing, and transportation

The Ordnance Bureau- led by Josiah Gorgas, played a crucial role. High amounts of arsenals, factories, and gunpowder works by 1863

War Department assumed control of the South’s railway system

Companies were required to share spare parts, railroad schedules were regulated, and draft exemptions were issued to skilled railway workers

The Northern economy was able to ensure that Union armies were well equipped due to their abundant raw materials, ready capital and technological expertise.

The overall effect of the war actually benefited the economy because of the needs for goods for the war.

There were still some industries that were effected negatively by the war, like the cotton mills.