Transcript The American Civil War - Westminster Public Schools

The American Civil War
1861-1865
Causes of the Civil War
• Sectionalism
• States Rights
The War Begins
Abraham Lincoln President of
the Union.
Lincoln refused to recognize
secession
KEEP THE UNION TOGETHER!!!
Jefferson Davis President of
the Confederate States of
America or the Confederacy
(the southern states that
seceded).
Fort Sumter 1861. . . .
the first battle of the war
Union fort in South
Carolina
 Confederate forces fire
on fort.
Union surrenders.
The Civil War began.
The South is in REBELLION. . .
I need 75,000 militiamen to
report for duty NOW!
Lincoln’s reaction to
Ft. Sumter
Union Strengths
• Large population
• Railroads to carry
supplies to soldiers
• Money to pay for war
• Factories & workers to
build weapons
Confederacy Strengths
• Strong military leaders
• Experience using
weapons (most
soldiers were
farmers/hunters)
• Strong belief of
fighting to protect land
Leader of the Union Army
Ulysses Grant
Grant’s Plan to Win the War
Anaconda Plan
1. Blockade southern
ports
2. Attack South along the
Mississippi River—Cut
the Confederacy into 2
parts
3. Attack and capture
Richmond, Virginia—
capital of Confederacy
The Leader of the Confederacy
Robert E. Lee
Lee’s Plan to Win the War
1. Hold onto southern land
2. Attack, and attack often
3. Wait for the North to get tired of fighting
and quit
23,000 casualties/deaths
23,000 casualties/deaths
 South was cut in two
 Gained control of
Mississippi River
Emancipation Proclamation 1863
• Emancipation = freedom
• Proclamation = public
statement
• President Lincoln freed
slaves only in areas
controlled by Confederacy
• Effective January 1, 1863
The Battle of Gettysburg 1863 . . . .
a major turning point in the war.
Turning point = an event that
marks the beginning of
something completely new
Union victory
• 23,000 Union casualties
WHY A TURNING POINT?
• Lee would never attack in the
North again
• 28,000 Confederate casualties
• Lee lost most of his top leaders
The Gettysburg Address 1863
• Lincoln’s speech at the site of the Gettysburg
battle.
• praised Union soldiers
• Motivated them to keep fighting to win the war.
“Four score and seven years
ago our fathers brought forth
on this continent a new
nation, conceived in liberty
and dedicated to the
proposition that all men
were created equal. . . . ”
Abraham Lincoln
The End of the War
• Total War = the destruction
of food, equipment, and
anything of use to soldiers
and civilians
• Sherman’s March to the
Sea
– Marched his troops through
Georgia
– Destroyed cities, crops,
animals, bridges, and rail
lines
Surrender at Appomattox
• Grant surrounded Lee’s
army in Richmond.
• Lee surrendered to Grant
at the small town of
Appomattox Courthouse,
Virginia, on April 9, 1865.
Assassination of Lincoln 1865
• 5 days after the war
ended, John Wilkes
Booth, a Confederate
supporter, assassinated
(murdered) President
Lincoln.
• Lincoln died on April
15, 1865 of a gun shot
wound to the head.
The Effects of the War
620,000 Americans killed
South’s defeat ended slavery
The Civil War
Former slaves are left with no
homes and jobs
Southern economy was
destroyed
Southern cities, towns and
land were destroyed
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