Transcript Secession and War

Secession and War
Last Minute Attempts at Compromise
• John Critterdon of Kentucky proposes a
Constitutional amendment that would
guarantee slavery below the 36°30’N Latitude
• Southern leaders reject the plan. S. Carolina
becomes the first state to secede
The creation of the Confederacy
• By Feb 1861 Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi,
Alabama, Florida, and Georgia also seceded.
• Called themselves the Confederate States of
America
• Chose Jefferson Davis, a Senator from
Mississippi as their new President
Confederacy vs. the Union
Reason for Secession? Slavery
• (Do Note Write) Preamble to the S. Carolina Letter of Secession
The people of the State of South Carolina, in Convention assembled,
on the 26th day of April, A.D. 1852, declared that the frequent
violations of the Constitution of the United States, by the Federal
Government, and its encroachments upon the reserved rights of the
States, fully justified this State in then withdrawing from the Federal
Union; but in deference to the opinions and wishes of the other
slaveholding States, she forbore at that time to exercise this right.
Since that time, these encroachments have continued to increase, and
further forbearance ceases to be a virtue.
And now the State of South Carolina having resumed her separate and
equal place among nations, deems it due to herself, to the remaining
United States of America, and to the nations of the world, that she
should declare the immediate causes which have led to this act.
Declaration of Secession: Texas
• (Do Not Write)
The government of the United States, by certain joint resolutions, bearing date the 1st day of March, in
the year A.D. 1845, proposed to the Republic of Texas, then a free, sovereign and independent nation,
the annexation of the latter to the former, as one of the co-equal states thereof,
The people of Texas, by deputies in convention assembled, on the fourth day of July of the same year,
assented to and accepted said proposals and formed a constitution for the proposed State, upon which
on the 29th day of December in the same year, said State was formally admitted into the Confederated
Union.
Texas abandoned her separate national existence and consented to become one of the Confederated
Union to promote her welfare, insure domestic tranquility and secure more substantially the blessings
of peace and liberty to her people. She was received into the confederacy with her own constitution,
under the guarantee of the federal constitution and the compact of annexation, that she should enjoy
these blessings. She was received as a commonwealth holding, maintaining and protecting the
institution known as negro slavery - the servitude of the African to the white race within her limits - a
relation that had existed from the first settlement of her wilderness by the white race, and which her
people intended should exist in all future time. Her institutions and geographical position established
the strongest ties between her and other slaveholding States of the confederacy. Those ties have been
strengthened by association. But what has been the course of the government of the United States, and
of the people and authorities of the non-slave-holding States, since our connection with them?
Declaration of Secession: Mississippi
In the momentous step, which our State has taken of dissolving its connection
with the government of which we so long formed a part, it is but just that we
should declare the prominent reasons which have induced our course.
Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery - the
greatest material interest of the world. Its labor supplies the product, which
constitutes by far the largest and most important portions of commerce of
the earth. These products are peculiar to the climate verging on the tropical
regions, and by an imperious law of nature, none but the black race can bear
exposure to the tropical sun. These products have become necessities of the
world, and a blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization. That blow
has been long aimed at the institution, and was at the point of reaching its
consummation. There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates
of abolition, or a dissolution of the Union, whose principles had been
subverted to work out our ruin.
Reactions to Secession
• Members of military forced to choose
between serving states or serving Union
– Robert E. Lee, general that arrested John Brown
chooses to side with Virginia
– Some Northerners wanted to let South go, arguing
they were an embarrassment
– Many Southerners, especially in Appalachia,
where there are few slave owners, oppose
secession and offer to aid Union (leads to breakup
of Virginia)
President Responds
• Buchanan’s last act as President is to send a
letter to Congress to condemn secession, but
otherwise does nothing
• Lincoln must prepare response despite not
being President yet
– Offers South reconciliation if they will return: “We
are not enemies but friends…Though passion may
have strained, it must not break the bonds of
affection.”
Fort Sumter
• Lincoln vows to hold onto federal territory in
Southern States
• S. Carolina governor Francis Pickens gives
Lincoln ultimatum regarding Fort Sumter in
S.C., demands Federal troops pull out or be
fired upon
• Lincoln refuses, Confederate forces attack
Fort, outnumbered troops forced to surrender.
The Civil War is on.
Makeup of the Country
• The Union: Made up of the Northern States,
mostly New England, and the upper mid-west
• The Border States: This includes Maryland, D.C.,
Kentucky: Slave states that refused to secede.
Become the front lines of the War
• The Confederacy: Deep southern states, capital
in Richmond, VA.
• The Territories: Become a battle ground later in
the war as Confederate guerillas look for places
to strike.
Views about the War
• The South
– North’s heart wasn’t in the fighting, and a quick show of
force would quickly end the war
– Northern “wage slavery” sapped their desire to fight
– South had many battle tested generals and officers,
superior to any Union officer
– Southern control of the Mississippi River would give them
a major east-west advantage
– The South was fighting a defensive war, it knew its territory
– Most Southern citizens were trained in the use of arms and
outdoor living
Northern Opinions
• Initially Lincoln stayed away from the slavery
issue, arguing the war was to preserve the
Union.
– Most Northerners not willing at this point to die
over slavery
• Northern superiority in industry and manpower would make the war a short one.
• The attack on Fort Sumter was treason and
demanded a response.
Going into the War
• Overwhelming Northern superiority
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Balanced Economy
Railroads throughout for quick movement
Strong banking and finance, 4 to 1 advantage in capital
Advanced industry
Naval Supremacy
Merchant Marines
South had three major invasion routes: Tennessee River,
Mississippi River, Virginia Rivers
North advantages/disadvantages
• North
– Twice the army size
• But Poorly Led
– Controlled New Orleans, a strongly pro-Union city
• Had to defend it from Southern attack
– Had more states and territories
• Had to constantly worry about the border states, and
take steps to ensure they did not secede as well
South: Advantages/Disadvantages
• Fighting on their own terrain, which they knew
better than the North
• Superior Military leaders, all with real war
experience in the Mexican-American War
• Has to worry about slave uprising, desertion
• Has to cover far less land than the Union, as they
were fighting defensively
– But had 400,000 less men to do it with
• Major shortages of heavy equipment like cannons
– Have to quickly pick up the slack by building factories
in Atlanta
The crisis abroad
• Great fear that Britain or France would recognize
the South and come to their aid
• The Trent Affair:
– Cpt. Wilkes of the Union attacks and boards a British
ship RMS Trent and captures 2 Confed Diplomats
– British protest, leads to talk of war with Britain
– Lincoln scrambles to repair relations
– Eventually releases diplomats and disavows Wilkes’
actions
Northern Strategy
• The Anaconda Plan: Blockade- cut the south
off from Miss. River and Sea to ruin economy
• Confederates begin building swift ships called
blockade runners to beat the embargo
The first real battle
• The Battle of Bull Run
– 30,000 Union troops cross into Virginia, hope to
march to Richmond.
– Meet Southern force led by Beauregard
– “Yankee” forces fail to push back South thanks to
General Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson, a proslavery fanatic who holds the line
– South counter-charges, Northern troops panic and
flee
Battle of Bull Run
Reaction to Battle
• Audience comes from D.C. to watch: Flees
back to city in panic
• Army of the Potomac dissolves, D.C. left
vulnerable
• South decides not to pursue
– Southern papers predict a quick end to the war.
The Monitor vs. the Merrimack
Monitor vs. Merrimack
• Confederates seize Union Shipyards at Norfolk,
VA, including a prototype Ironclad ship, the
Merrimack, which they rename the Virginia
• Ship is immune to damage from wooden vessels
armed with cannon
• North quickly develops their own version, the
Monitor
• Two ships meet on March 9, 1862. After an hours
long fight, battle ends in a draw
• Makes wooden ships the world over obsolete
Early Northern Victories
• Battle of Cairo
– General Ulysses S. Grant seizes Cairo, Tenn. From
strong Confederate force
– Famously informed commander of Confed Fort
who asked for surrender terms
• “No terms except unconditional and immediate
surrender will be accepted”
• Became known as “Unconditional Surrender” Grant
– Cuts south off from much of Tennessee River
Ulysses “Unconditional Surrender”
Grant
Early Northern Victories: Shiloh
• Grant took 40,000 troops to attack major
railroad junction, near Shiloh
• Confederates led by Beauregard launch a
surprise attack on his troops
• Leads to two days of the most bloody fighting
of the war (20,000 casualties)
• Union saved by shelling from Union navy
• Grant goes on to take Memphis
Early Northern Victories: New Orleans
• Union Naval Commodore David Farragut uses
intimate knowledge of Miss. River to sneak a
Union Fleet past several Confederate Forts.
• Seizes and fortifies New Orleans before
Confederates can send reinforcements
• Remains in Union hands to the end of the war
• Cuts southern access to Miss. River from the
Gulf of Mexico
Early Union Defeats: The Peninsular
Campaign
• General McClellan chosen as new head of
Potomac Army
– Very slow, incompetent
– Eventually ordered by Lincoln to advance
• Slow march gives Lee plenty of time to
prepare
• At the Seven Days Battles, Lee’s calvary routs
union forces.
McClellan and Lee
Early Union Defeats: Second Bull Run
• McClellan ordered to attack the advancing
forces of General John Pope
• McClellan dithers, allowing Pope to dig in
• Once again, Northern forces flee after being
unable to uproot Southern defenses
The Battle of Antietam
• Jefferson Davis orders Lee on the offensive, hoping to
take Maryland, and D.C. to bring an end to the War
• McClellan tasked to lead 80,000 troops against him
• Despite finding Lee’s battle plan, McClellan almost fails
to beat him
• Antietam becomes single bloodiest day of the war
(6,000 dead 17,000 wounded in a matter of hours).
Lee forced to retreat, McClellan fails to purse
• Lincoln fires McClellan and replaces him with Ambrose
Burnside
The Emancipation Proclamation
• Signed after Antietam
• Declared that all slaves held in rebelling states
were now free
• Only freed a few thousand slaves in Virginia
• Changed tenor of war: Made it a moral fight
to end slavery
• Slaves began mass-desertions to North