Transcript Fort Sumter - Old Saybrook Public Schools

Secession and Fort Sumter
The Civil War begins-1861
Review
 Who was U.S. president during most of the Civil War?
 What advantages did the North have over the South at the
outset of the Civil War?
 What was the primary cash crop in the South when the
southern states seceded from the Union?
 What were the “S” factors that lead to the Civil War?
Robert E. Lee was born into one of America’s most
respected
families. His father had fought in the
Bell Ringer
Revolutionary War and was a delegate to the Continental
Congress. A cousin of Robert’s signed the Declaration of
Independence. Robert E. Lee graduated first in his class
from West Point and became a successful army officer.
Although Lee was devoted to the Union, he was also loyal
to his home state of Virginia. When Virginia seceded, Lee
followed his loyalty, leading a Confederate army against
his former commander in chief.
Discussion:
What would make him forsake his oath to
defend the Constitution?
Secession-The Last Straw
Lincoln’s victory convinced Southerners
they had lost their political voice
Feared “the most complete subjection
and political bondage”
The first to secede…
South Carolina- December 20, 1860
Mississippi- January 9, 1861
Florida- January 10, 1861
Alabama- January 11, 1861
Georgia- January 19, 1861
Louisiana- January 26, 1861
Texas- February 1, 1861
The Confederacy is born…
Delegates from each seceded state met in
Montgomery, AL to form the Confederacy, or
Confederate States of America.
CSA Constitution resembled the U.S.’s
except:
• “protected and recognized” slavery in
new territories
• each state would be “sovereign and
independent”
• term of office for president was six
years
Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis elected
president and responded with:
“Offer no doubtful or divided front. The time
for compromise has passed.”
REACTION!
Gen. William T. Sherman said:
“This country will be drenched in blood . . . (T)he
people of the North . . . are not going to let the
country be destroyed without a mighty effort to
save it. Besides, where are your men and
appliances of war to contend against them? . . .
You are rushing into war with one of the most
powerful, ingeniously mechanical and determined
people on earth -- right at your doors . . . Only in
spirit and determination are you prepared for
war. In all else you are totally unprepared.”
The first shots fired…Fort Sumter,
Charleston, SC
After seeing the picture of the fort, what do
you think the biggest issue with defending it
would be?
The Fall of Fort Sumter
 Crisis at Fort Sumter
 Commander Robert Anderson sent the message to Lincoln that
Confederate leaders were demanding surrender or would attack.
 Low on supplies, Fort Sumter remained in Union hands. The fort
was very symbolic to both sides.
 Lincoln would not surrender the fort, but would send food and
other nonmilitary supplies.
 Jefferson Davis would decide whether to attack and go to war or
allow the symbol of federal authority to remain.
 The attack on the fort
 CSA President Jefferson Davis ordered a surprise
attack before the supplies could arrive.
 On April 12, 1891, the Confederate artillery opened
fire on the fort, and an outgunned Fort Sumter
surrendered the next day.
 Names to know:

P.G.T. Beauregard-Brigadier General in command of Confederate
forces during the attack

Major Robert Anderson-Union officer in charge of the fort
The Rush to War
Response in the North
Reaction in the South
 Lincoln calls for 75,000 volunteers
 90 days’ service to put down the
rebellion
 Lincoln’s political enemy Stephen
Douglas supports the action, “There
can be no neutrals in this war, only
patriots—or traitors”
 Northerners rush to enlist
 With call for volunteers, the eight
remaining Union slave states now
forced to choose a side
 Union slave states refused to provide
troops to fight against fellow
southerners
 Confederate states ready to call up
men
 First Virginia, then Arkansas,
Tennessee, and North Carolina secede
After the call for troops….
 Virginia- April 17, 1861
 Arkansas- May 6 1861
 North Carolina- May 20, 1861
 Tennessee- June 8, 1861
Analyzing Primary Sources
The men with the
bayonets
and swords represent
the
Confederate army
Border States
 Border States
 Slaveholding states that remained in the Union and formed
the border with the Confederacy
 Delaware
 Had few slaves and most people believed they would stay
in the Union
 Martial Law
 Rule by the military
The Border States
Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, &
Missouri
Maryland critical—Washington, D.C., at risk surrounded by
Confederate territory. Martial law declared and new
elections held to ensure pro-Union state legislature
Missouri important—strategic access to the lower
Mississippi River. Divided loyalties but never enough
secessionist support to withdraw from the Union
Kentucky necessary—the Ohio River border left the Union
open to the threat of invasion. The governor refused to take
sides, but the state sided with the Union after Confederate
troops invaded in September 1861.
These divided loyalties meant citizens fought on both sides.
Goals and Strategies
Union Goals
 Needed to be carefully defined
 War could not center around
the dispute over slavery—
border states pushed to secede
 Fight for patriotic reasons—to
save the Union
Confederate Goals
 South wanted to be left alone
with slavery unchanged
 Prepared to defend themselves
against invasion
 Felt northerners would soon
tire of war and withdraw
 Last less than 90 days
Goals and Strategies
• Larger population = more available soldiers
The
North’s
Strategy
• With more factories, could produce war supplies
• General Winfield Scott’s plan—slowly seal the South
off from the rest of the world—Anaconda plan
• Blockade ports & control the Mississippi
• Newspapers pushed “On to Richmond,”
• War of attrition- fight until other side gives up
The
South’s
Strategy
• Ardent support for the cause made up for lack of
resources
• Fighting for freedom and their homeland—¾ of the
population did not hold slaves
• They were convinced of their military superiority—
many army officers were southerners.
Goals and Strategies
Southerners were convinced that France and Great Britain
wanted a guaranteed supply of cotton and counted on this
cotton diplomacy as a foreign-policy tool.
The Confederacy embargoed cotton to force the issue of
recognition as an independent nation when the English and
French hesitated.
Cotton diplomacy failed for many reasons:
- The British resented the attempt at blackmail.
- Southern cotton was stockpiled from the year before.
- Higher prices encouraged other countries to grow the crop.
Both sides continued to try to gain/block foreign involvement
throughout the conflict.