The document discusses key events and decisions during the American Civil War that affected its outcome. It describes Abraham Lincoln facing a dilemma on whether to reinforce or abandon Fort Sumter, which led to the start of hostilities. Jefferson Davis chose war after ordering an attack on the fort. The battle of Fort Sumter united the North and saw four years of bloody conflict between the Union and Confederacy.

2. Evaluate how political and military
leadership affected the outcome of the
Civil War.

3. Think of a crisis situation in which someone had
to make a tough decision.
Think of a current political event which has
occurred that led to a tough decision

4. 7 southernmost states that had seceded formed
the Confederate States of America on Feb. 4th,
1861
Soldiers immediately began taking over federal
installations in the states
By the time of Lincoln’s inauguration on March
4th only 2 southern forts remained in Union
hands
More important was South Carolina’s Fort
Sumter, on an island in Charleston harbor

5. President Lincoln received an urgent dispatch
from the fort’s commander, Maj. Anderson
Confederacy was demanding that he surrender
or face an attack, and his supplies of food and
ammunition would last 6 wks. the most
Lincoln faced a dilemma. If he ordered:
the Navy into Charleston harbor he would be
responsible for starting hostilities which might
prompt the other slave states to secede
the fort evacuated, he would be treating the
Confederacy as a legitimate nation angering the
Republican Party, weakening his administration,
and endangering the Union.

6. Lincoln’s plan: not abandon or reinforce: send
“food for hungry men”
Now, Jefferson Davis faced a dilemma
Nothing- damage the image of the Confederacy as
a sovereign independent nation
Ordered an attack on Ft. Sumter- turn peaceful
secession into war
Davis chose war
4:30 am- April 12th, Confederate batteries
thundered away
South Carolinians bombarded the fort with
more than 4,000 rounds before Anderson
surrendered

8. Why did Jefferson Davis Answer: He was afraid
choose to go to war? that some Southern
states might rejoin the
Union

9. News of Ft. Sumter’s fall united the North
Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to serve
for 3 months
Response was overwhelming- In Iowa alone,
20x the states quota rushed to enlist
April 17th, VA unwilling to fight against S.
States seceded
VA was the most heavily populated state in
the South and the most industrialized
[ironworks and navy yard]
May- Arkansas, Tennessee and N.C. followed
Western counties of VA seceded from VA to
become West VA in 1863
MD, Delaware, Kentucky and Missouri
remained in the Union, but many citizens
fought for the Confederacy

11. Northern and Confederates
alike expected a short,
glorious war
Soldiers left for the front with
bands playing and crowds
cheering
Both sides felt that right was
on their side.

13. Samuel “Sam” Rush Watkins (June 26, 1839 – July
20, 1901) was a noted Confederate soldier during
the Civil War. He is known for his memoir Company
Aytch: Or a Side Show of the Big Show, often
heralded as one of the best primary sources about
the common soldier's Civil War experience.

14. Union Confederate
Enormous advantages in King Cotton [& profits on the
resources world market]
More fighting power A strong military traditions
More factories Highly motivated soldiers
Greater food production defending their homeland
More extensive railroad system South had a tradition of local
Lincoln- a decisive yet patient and limited government- so
leader, skillful at balancing there was resistance to the
political factions centralization of government
necessary to run a war
Several S. governors refused to
cooperate with Confederate
government because of their
assertion of states’ rights

15. Contrast the strengths of Answer: The North had
the North & the South. more resources such as
fighting power, factories,
and railroad lines. The
South had cotton profits,
good generals, and the
motivation of defending
its homeland.

16. Union Confederate
3 part plan: Mostly defensive
1. The Union navy would blockade S. leaders encouraged their
Southern ports, so they could generals to attack- and even to
neither export cotton nor import invade the North- if the
much-needed manufactured
goods opportunity arose.
2. Union riverboats and armies
would move down the Mississippi
River and split the Confederacy in
2
3. Union armies would capture
the Confederate capital at
Richmond, VA
Anaconda plan- n. a three-part
strategy by which the Union
proposed to defeat the
Confederacy in the Civil War.

17. 1st major bloodshed- July 21st
1861
30,000 inexperienced Union
soldiers strode towards the
Confederate capital Richmond,
100 mi. from D.C.
Came upon equally
inexperienced Confederate army
Lincoln commanded Gen. Irvin
McDowell to attack
Battle was like a seesaw
Confederates held on led by Gen.
Thomas J. Jackson.
Confederate reinforcements
arrived and won for the south
Union troops panicked and
retreated to capital

18. Gen. Thomas J. Jackson- January
21st, 1824- May 10th, 1863
Received nickname from a
general who shouted: “There is
Jackson standing like a stone
wall”
1 of the best-known Confederate
commanders
Accidently shot by Confederate
pickets at the Battle of
Chancellorsville [May 2nd, 1863]
Survived but lost an arm and died
of complications from
pneumonia 8 days later

19. In D.C., ladies and gentlemen
put on their best clothes and
brought food and iced
champagne to observe the
first encounter of the war
When the Confederates
forced the Union to retreat,
the Northerners were blocked
by the carriages of the
panicking civilians
After the disaster, no one in
the North predicted that the
war would be over after just
one skirmish
Confederates were too
exhausted to follow and storm
D.C.
Confederate morale soared

20. How did Southerners Answer: Morale improved
react to the outcome of and Confederates
Bull Run? thought the war was over.

21. Lincoln responded by calling
for the enlistment of 500,000
men to serve for 3 yrs. Instead
of 3 mos.
3 days later- called for an
additional 500,000 men
Appointed General George
McClellan to lead the new
Union Army encamped near
D.C.
Drilled this Army of the
Potomac
Western army began to fight
for control of the Mississippi

22. Feb. 1862, Union army
invaded W. Tennessee
Head by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
In 11 days, captured 2
Confederate forts that held
strategic positions on
important rivers
Ft. Henry- Tennessee River
Ft. Donelson- Cumberland
River
Informed S. commander: “no
terms except unconditional
and immediate surrender can
be accepted”

23. (April 27, 1822 – July 23,
1885)
Rumpled, failed at
everything in civilian life
Farmer
Bill collector
Real estate agent
Store clerk
Was brave, tough, and
decisive military
commander
Called- “Unconditional
Surrender” Grant

24. Late March, 1862
Grant gathered troops by a small
church in Shiloh [TN] close to
Mississippi border
April 6th, thousands of yelling
Confederate soldiers surprised
Union forces
Many Union troops shot while
making coffee, some died still in
their blankets
Grant reorganized, ordered
reinforcements, counterattacked
at dawn
Midafternoon, Confederate army
in retreat

25. Grant learned to:
Send out scouts
Dig trenches
Build fortifications
¼ of the 100,000 troops were
killed, wounded or captured
Battle was a draw
Large impact on war
Confederates failed to hold on
to its Ohio-Kentucky frontier
Part of the Union plan- take
the Mississippi and split the
Confederacy might succeed

26. What did the battle of Answer: The war would
Shiloh show about the produce an unexpectedly
future course of the Civil high number of
War? causalities; also, the
North would probably
win, since it had nearly
split the Confederacy.

27. As Grant moved towards the Mississippi, a Union flet of 40 ships
approached the river’s mouth is Louisiana
Commander was 60 yr old David G. Farragut- assigned to seize
New Orleans, the Confederacy’s largest port
April 24th, Farragut ran his fleet past 2 forts in spite of booming
enemy guns and fire rafts heaped with burning pitch
5 days later, the U.S. flag flew over New Orleans
Next 2 mo., Farragut took control of Baton Rouge and Natchez
If Union captured all major cities along the lower Mississippi, TX,
LA, AK, TN would be cut off
Only Port Hudson, LA, and Vicksburg, MS stood in the way

28. Ironclads New Weapons
Ship could splinter wooden ships Inventions:
Withstand cannon fire Rifle- more accurate then muskets
Resist burning and could load quicker
Grant used 4 ironclad ships when he Minié ball- soft lead bullet more
captured Fts. Henry & Donelson destruction
March 9th 1862, 2 ironclads- N. Primitive hand grenades
Monitor & S. Merrimack sunk fought Primitive land mines
March 8th 1862- Merrimack attacked
3 wooden Union warships- sinking 1,
burning 2 and driving 3 away
Monitor arrived and engaged
Battle was a draw, wooden ships era
over

30. What advantages did Answer: Ironclads were
ironclad ships have over fire-resistant and stronger
wooden ships? than wooden ships.

31. How did technology Answer: More accurate
affect military strategy weapons ended reliance
during the Civil War? on unprotected infantry
charges and started the
use of trench warfare.
Ironclad ships made
wooden navies obsolete.

32. Both the Union and Confederate
armies had soldiers who were
under 18
Union soldier- Arthur MacArthur
became a Col. at 19
5% of Confederates were 17 or
younger
Some as young as 13
1.5% for the Union
These #s don’t count those that
ran away to follow each army
without officially enlisting

33. As the campaign in the west progressed & the Union navy
tightened its blockade of the Southern ports- plan 3 [capture the
capital] faltered
Problems:
Gen. McClellan- excellent administrator & popular, was too
cautious
Would not move to Richmond without 270,000 troops
Complained of only 2 bridges across Potomac- not enough
for orderly retreat just in case
N. papers mocked his daily bulletins of “all quiet on the
Potomac”
Lincoln commented he would like to “borrow McClellan’s army if
the general himself was not going to use it”

34. Contrast Grant and Answer: Grant was
McClellan as Generals decisive, aggressive, and
did not give up in spite of
setbacks. McClellan was
indecisive and reluctant
to attack.

35. Grant = bull dog
He looks to Abraham Lincoln and boasts, "I'm bound to take it." Grant refers
to the city of Richmond, here represented by a doghouse, in which cowers
Confederate president Jefferson Davis. Davis
At far left a dwarf-like McClellan asks the president, ". . . don't you think you
had better call the old dog off now. I'm afraid he'll hurt those other dogs, if he
catches hold of them."
Lincoln :"Why little Mac thats the same pack of curs, that chased you aboard
of the Gunboat two years ago, they are pretty nearly used up now. I think its
best to give the old bull dog full swing to go in and finish them!"
Lincoln refers to McClellan's failure to counterattack during the Battle of
Malvern Hill in 1862.

36. The poem was based on newspaper reports of "all is
quiet tonight", which was based on official telegrams
sent to the Secretary of War by Major-General George
B. McClellan following the First Battle of Bull Run.
Beers noticed that the report was followed by a small
item telling of a picket being killed. She wrote the
poem that same morning, and she read it in
September 1861.

37. After waiting all winter, McClellan finally went in
the spring of 1862
Transported the Army of the Potomac slowly
toward the Confederate capital
Encountered an army commanded by Gen.
Joseph E. Johnston
After a series of battles, Johnston was
wounded, and command of the army passed to
Robert E. Lee

38. (January 19, 1807 – October 12,
1870)
Modest, willing to go beyond
military textbooks in his tactics
Opposed secession
Declined an offer to head the
Union army and sided with VA
Determined to save Richmond
Fought in the 7 Days’ Battles
[June 5th to July 1st, 1862]
Confederates had fewer soldiers
and suffered higher casualities
Determination & unorthodox
tactics unnerved McClellan that
he backed away from Richmond
& headed down the peninsula to Lee in 1838
sea

39. Lee moved against the enemy’s capital
August 29th & 30th, his troops won a resounding victory at the 2nd
Battle of Bull Run
Few days later crossed the Potomac into Union MD
McClellan had a stroke of luck
A Union corporal exploring a meadow found a copy of Lee’s army
orders wrapped around a bunch of cigars
Plan revealed Lee’s and Stonewall’s armies were separated
McClellan acted aggressively and ordered men after Lee
Sept. 17th, creek- Antietam
Bloodiest single day battle in American history
26,000 casualties, as many as in War of 1812
Instead of pursuing the battered Confederates, McClellan did nothing
Battle was a standoff, but the S. lost a qtr. Of the men
November 7th, 1862- Lincoln fired McClellan characterized as having
“the slows”

41. For each month listed below, create a
newspaper headline summarizing a key Civil
War battle that occurred. Write your headlines
in a chart like the one shown:
1861
Month: Headline
- April
- July
1862
Month: Headline
- February
- April
- September

42. 6.1.12.A.4.b

43. Recall a time when two of your friends were
angry at each other. How did it make you feel?
What, if anything, did you do to resolve the
situation?

44. # of economic factors made
Britain no longer dependent on
S. cotton
Accumulation of a huge
cotton inventory just before
the outbreak of war
New sources of cotton in
Egypt and India
Northern wheat and corn
replaced cotton as an
essential import when
Europe’s crop failed
“Old King Cotton’s dead and
buried”
Britain decided that neutrality
was the best policy- for awhile…

45. Fall of 1861, an incident to test neutrality occurred
Confederate government sent 2 diplomats- James Mason & John
Slidell in a 2nd attempt to gain support from Britain and France
Travelled aboard a British merchant ship, The Trent
Captain Charles Wilkes of the San Jacinto stopped the Trent and
arrested 2 men
British threatened war against the Union & dispatched 8,000
troops to Canada
Lincoln freed the 2 prisoners, publicly claiming that Wilkes acted
without orders
Britain was as relieved as the U.S. to find a peaceful way out of
crisis

46. South struggled in vain
to gain foreign
recognition, abolitionist
feeling gew in the North.
Some N. believed that
just winning the war
would not be enough if
slavery was not
permanently settled
Although Lincoln disliked
slavery, he did not
believe that the federal
government had the
power to abolish where
it already existed

47. Horace Greeley urged
Lincoln in 1862 to
transform the war into an
abolitionist crusade
Lincoln replied that
although it was his
personal wish that all
men could be free, his
official duty was different
As the war progressed,
Lincoln did find a way to
se his constitutional war
powers to end slavery

48. Just as he could order the Union
army to seize Confederate The Proclamation did not free
supplies, he could also authorize any slaves immediately b/c it
the army to emancipate slaves
only applied to areas behind
Emancipation offered a strategic Confederate lines, outside
benefit
Union control
Abolitionist movement was
strong in Britain and would Proclamation was a military
discourage Britain from action aimed at the states in
supporting the Confederacy rebellion
January 1st, 1863- the It did not apply to Southern
Emancipation Proclamation- territory already occupied by
[n. an executive order issued Union stroops nor to slave
by Abraham Lincoln on states that had not seceded.
January 1, 1863, freeing the
slaves in all regions behind
Confederate lines] was issued.

50. In what ways was the Answer: It allowed free
Emancipation blacks to enlist in the
Proclamation a part of Union army, helped
Lincoln’s military persuade Britain not to
strategy? support the South, and
added moral inspiration
to the Northern cause.

51. Proclamation did not have much practical
effect, it had symbolic importance
Gave the war a high moral purpose by turning
the struggle into a fight to free the slaves
Great Britain- guaranteed that they would not
help the Confederacy
Free blacks welcomed the section of the
Proclamation that allowed them to enlist in the
Union army
Regular army previously refused to take them

52. Northern Confederacy
Not everyone in the North Confederates reacted to the
approved Proclamation with outrage
Democrats claimed it would Jefferson Davis called it: “the
only provoke war by most execrable [hateful]
antagonizing the South measure recorded in the history
Union soldiers accepted it of guilty man”
grudgingly saying they had no Made the Confederacy more
love for abolitionists or African determined than ever to fight
Americans to preserve its way of life
They agreed to support it if it Confederacy knew if they lost,
would reunify the nation its slave-holding society would
Union knew that it could win perish
only by completely defeating
the Confederacy
Turned the war into a fight to
the death

53. What effect did the
Emancipation
Proclamation have on the
war?
Answer: It increased the
size of the Union Army
and hardened the
Confederacy’s position. It
thus intensified the
conflict, making
compromise unthinkable.

54. February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865
Born to illiterate parents
Childhood- “absolutely nothing to
excite ambition for education”
Educated himself
Worked as a rail-splitter,
storekeeper, surveyor before
teaching himself law
In Europe people were fixed in the
station through birth
In U.S.A. Lincoln was free to
achieve whatever he could
Described the nation as “the last
best hope on earth”

55. June 3, 1808 – December 6, 1889
Named after Thomas Jefferson
Born in KY, raised in MS
Graduated from West Point
Served in the army, then became a
planter
Senator- 1846, 1856- resigned when
MS seceded
Election as Pres. of Confederacy
dismayed him
Wife Varina wrote: “I thought his
genius was military, but as a party
manager he would not succeed.”
Davis had poor relations with
Confederate leaders
They put their state welfare above
the Confederacy

56. Mary Todd-Lincoln Varina Howell-Davis
December 13, 1818 – July 16, May 7, 1826 – October 16, 1906
1882 "the South did not have the
While the Civil War dragged on, material resources to win the war
Southerners scorned her as a and white Southerners did not have
traitor to her birth, and citizens the qualities necessary to win it;
loyal to the Union suspected that her husband was unsuited for
her of treason. political life; that maybe women
were not the inferior sex; and that
perhaps it was a mistake to deny
women the suffrage before the
war."

57. Union Confederacy
Some Confederate sympathizers in N.
Davis first denounced Lincoln’s
Baltimore crowd attacked a Union
regiment a week after Ft. Sumter suspension of civil liberties
Lincoln sent federal troops to MD However, 1862- suspended
Enacted habeas corpus- n. a court order habeas corpus in the
requiring authorities to bring a prisoner Confederacy
before the court so that the court can Lincoln’s actions dramatically
determine whether the prisoner is being expanded presidential powers
held legally.
during wartime and set a
Used to deal with dissent in other states
precedent in U.S. history
13,000 arrested, held without trial- most
released quickly Currently some presidents cite
Seized telegraph offices to prevent war or “national security” as a
subversion reason to expand the powers of
Chief Justice Roger Taney declared the executive branch
Lincoln went beyond constitutional
ruling, Lincoln ignored this
Copperheads- n. a Northern Democrat
who advocated making peace with the
Confederacy during the Civil War.

58. What actions did Lincoln Answer: He used federal
take to deal with dissent? troops to deal with
unrest; suspended
habeas corpus in some
states; ordered the arrest
of suspected Confederate
sympathizers; took
control of some telegraph
offices.

59. Title: Downfall of the Idol of
‘76' Year: 1863 Creator: Matt
Morgan, Fun, London
Description: A Paper effigy of
American liberties in
Revolutionary War garb is being
burned by actions supposedly
taken by the Lincoln
administration – Emancipation,
the Draft, and Suspension of
Habeas Corpus. President Lincoln
crouches in front, saying: “I’mll
warm yer! Your old Constitution
won’t do for U.S.!”

60. Both armies originally relied on volunteers
Heavy casualties and widespread desertions led to conscription
Conscription- n. the drafting of citizens for military service.
Confederacy passed a draft law in 1862
Union followed in 1863
Confederate law drafted all able-bodied white men [18-35] [1864 changed
to 17-50]
Those who could afford to were allowed to hire substitutes
Exempted planters who owned 20 or more slaves
Poor Confederates howled that “it was a rich man’s war but a poor man’s
fight”
90% of eligible Southern men served in the army
Union law- white men 20-45 for 3 yrs.
Allowed draftees to hire substitutes
Provided commutation, $300 fee to avoid conscription
46,000 draftees went, 92% of 2 million soldiers were volunteers
180,000 of them were African America

61. 1863- NYC was ready to explode
Poor people crowded in slums, crime and disease ran rampant,
and poverty was ever-present
Poor white workers, especially Irish immigrants thought it was
unfair that they should fight a war to free slaves
White workers feared Southern blacks would come North and
compete for jobs
When officials began to draw names, angry men complained
4 days- July 13th-16th, mobs rampaged through the city.
The rioters wrecked draft offices, Republican newspaper offices,
homes of antislavery leaders
Attacked well-dressed men, African Americans
Federal troops ended the melee, more than 100 persons lay
dead