Transcript Civil War PowerPoints for Review.1

The American Civil War
A.K.A. “The Civil War”*
“The United States Civil War was the
bloodiest conflict in American History,
claiming more lives than The American
Revolutionary War, World War I, World
War II, The War against Switzerland,
The War of 1812, and the Vietnam War
combined.” -- www.idiotica.com
http://www.history.com/news/2011/05/10/10-surprising-civil-war-facts/
So, how did it start? What led up to it? And
what was the cause for which so many were
willing to die – or send others to their
deaths?
One factor was the Dred Scott
Decision, arguably one of the
most important court cases in our
nation’s history:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2933.html
Dred Scott
In the fall of 1859 – still two
years before the war – the
abolitionist John Brown led a
band of men to attack the
armory at Harpers Ferry,
Virginia. The plan was to use
the stolen weapons to help
establish a colony for escaped
slaves.
However, for a number of
reasons, the raid failed, most
of Brown’s men were killed
and Brown himself was
captured by the local militia.
Brown was tried and found
guilty of treason against the
Commonwealth of Virginia.
As he was about to be hung for his crime,
Brown actually predicted the Civil War: “I,
John Brown, am now quite certain that the
crimes of this guilty land will never be
purged away but with blood.”
Perhaps you’ve heard some version of
this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSSn3NddwFQ
Apart from the Dred Scott Decision and
John Brown, another factor was growing
tensions between the Federalists – those
who believed the national government
should be the final authority on various
matters ranging from taxation to slavery –
and the Anti-Federalists, who believed the
States should maintain the right to control
those issues.
Another issue was the Compromise of 1850.
This is a subject about which we will be reading in class.
In some ways, though, the “straw that broke
the camel’s back” was the election of…
Abraham Lincoln,
16th President of
the United States,
whose birthday we
celebrate this
month…Black
History Month.
Coincidence?
The South did not especially care for Mr.
Lincoln’s views about the potential expansion
of slavery and, in fact, began to secede
immediately after his election!
“January 1861 -- The South Secedes.
When Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of
slavery, was elected president, the South Carolina
legislature perceived a threat. Calling a state
convention, the delegates voted to remove the
state of South Carolina from the union known as
the United States of America. The secession of
South Carolina was followed by the secession of
six more states -- Mississippi, Florida, Alabama,
Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas -- and the threat of
secession by four more -- Virginia, Arkansas,
Tennessee, and North Carolina. These eleven
states eventually formed the Confederate States of
America.” -- memory.loc.gov
April, 1861
The South begins to seizing federal forts within
its territory, including Ft. Sumter.
Account of the attack on Ft. Sumter
http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/attack-on-fort-sumtermarked-start-of-war/2011/03/08/AFxVkc2C_story.html
In June of 1861, West Virginia was born when
the people in Virginia’s western counties
declined to join the Confederacy.
Also, four slaves states opted to stay in the Union.
Does that surprise you?
Those states were Kentucky, Delaware,
Maryland and Missouri.
July of 1861 brought the First Battle of Bull
Run (Manassas)
http://www.history.com/topics/battle-of-first-bull-run
In the days ahead, we will learn about:
*the strengths and weakness of both sides
*Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee
*the horrendous cost of the war
*various battles, including Shiloh, Antietam, Gettysburg,
Cold Harbor, Appomattox and more
*Sherman’s March
*The Emancipation Proclamation
*And what the Reconstruction was…