A NEW BIRTH OF FREEDOM: THE CIVIL WAR

ERA

History 244: Modern American History

THE ELECTION OF 1860

Abraham Lincoln (Republican) defeats Stephen A. Douglas (Northern

Democrat), John Breckinridge (Southern Democrat), and John Bell

(Constitutional Union Party) by winning 40% of the popular vote and 180

electoral votes. Lincoln receives no electoral votes from the Southern

states-in some of those states his name did not even appear on the ballot.

Lincoln won on a platform that promised not only the non-extension of

slavery into the western territories, but asserted that freedom was normal

condition of the territories, and slavery existed only as a state institution.

The question was how would the South react to losing an election to the

candidate of an anti-slavery party?

THE GREAT SECESSION WINTER

In reaction to Lincoln’s election, seven states leave

the Union (South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida,

Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana). These states

make it clear that they are leaving the United States

to protect the institution of slavery. Other states

where slavery is legal (NC, VA, AK, TN, KY, DE, MY,

MO) do NOT leave the Union—for the moment they

will wait to see what happens next.

SECESSION WINTER CONTINUED

Lincoln is firmly committed to not budging on the issue of slavery’s expansion

into the western territories. He won an election on that platform, and urges his

supporters to “hold firm” like a “chain of steel.”

For many northerners, the concept of a federal “Union” is sacred: the United

States at this time was the “last best hope” for democratic government in the

world. To allow secession would allow the minority to rule over the majority,

and majority rule is the foundation of democracy.

As a result, most Northerners view secession by armed force as treason.

Lincoln spoke for many when he asked if a state could leave a country, a county

could leave a state, and a town could leave a county. The result would be

anarchy.

AND THE WAR CAMEAny attempt at compromise would have had to recognize

both a property right in human beings, and severe

restrictions on the government’s ability to interfere with

slavery’s expansion. Both were unacceptable repudiations

of the Republican platform.

War comes when Southern states (now calling themselves

“The Confederacy”) open fire on a small garrison of Federal

troops stationed at Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor on

April 12th, 1861. The bombardment will last 33 hours before

the fort surrenders.

In response, Lincoln calls for 75,000 volunteers to put

down the rebellion. This prompts 4 more states, Virginia,

Tennessee, North Carolina, and Arkansas, to leave the

Union.

PICTURE BOOK WAR

With the war officially underway, both sides clamored for one great battle

that would end the war.

At the battle of First Manassas, about 20 miles from Washington D.C.,

Confederate forces under General P.G.T. Beauregard defeated Union

forces under General Irwin McDowell on July 22nd, 1861. Late arriving

Confederate troops under General Joseph E. Johnston, using the railroad

to move troops from the Shenandoah Valley to the battlefield made the

difference. Union troops retreated somewhat chaotically to D.C., shocking

members of Congress who had ventured out with picnic lunches to watch

the battle.

EMANCIPATION, PART I

From almost the very beginning of the war, the Union army is freeing slaves

that escape to Union lines. In May, 1861, Union General Benjamin Butler

refused to return three slaves that had escaped to his line at Fort Monroe (VA);

Butler claimed that because the slaves had been working on Confederate

defenses, under the laws of war they could be confiscated at “contraband” or

property of war.

On August 6th, 1861, Congress passes the 1st Confiscation Act which declares

that Confederate masters would forfeit the labor of slaves used to support the

rebellion and that these slaves would be “discharged” from service. That is,

they would be freed. Importantly, this did not apply in KY, MD, DE, and MO,

slave states had not left the Union.

THE STORMY PRESENT

As 1862 begins, the Union is in trouble. The Army of the

Potomac, now under the command of George McClellan, has

barely moved since being beaten at Manassas the past July.

Ulysses S. Grant uses a joint army-navy operation to capture

Fort Henry, on the Tennessee River on February 6th, and Fort

Donnelson on the Cumberland River, on the 16th. Grant calls for

the “unconditional surrender” of all Confederates in these forts.

The victories boost Northern morale, and open the Confederate

heartland to Union armies.

TO THE GATES OF RICHMOND

Meanwhile, in the East, General McClellan and the Army of the

Potomac finally start moving towards the Confederate capital of

Richmond (VA) in the spring of 1862. By early June, they had moved

within site of the steeples of Richmond’s churches.

In a swift series of battles (called the Seven Days Battles), the Union

army was steadily driven back from Richmond in late June early July by

the Confederate Army of Northern VA commanded by Robert E. Lee. Lee

would follow up this success by crushing a Union force at Second Bull

Run in late August, then cross the Potomac and invade Maryland on

September 3rd, 1862.

EMANCIPATION, PART II

Recognizing the need to keep the loyal border states in the Union,

Lincoln develops a plan for emancipation in these states that would

be compensated, gradual, and voluntary. The Border States

however, continually reject Lincoln’s offer.

Deciding the time had come for a more vigorous prosecution of

the war, Lincoln presents a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

to his cabinet on July 22nd, 1862. Secretary of State William Seward

urges Lincoln to wait until after a military victory so that it will not

look like a desperate gamble of a beaten war effort.

FOREVER FREE

Robert E. Lee’s invasion of Maryland stopped on the banks of Antietam

Creek on September 17th, 1862. Five days later on September 22nd, Lincoln

makes his preliminary EP public knowledge.

Lincoln gave the Confederate states 100 days to return to the Union or

else face emancipation. On January 1st, 1863 the final proclamation will

free slaves “within any state, or designated part of a state, the people

whereof, shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then,

thenceforward, and forever, free.” The final proclamation also lifts the ban

on the enticing of slaves, and allows for their enlistment into the Union

army.

ON THE BATTLEFIELD

Key battles: Fredericksburg (VA), December 1862, Chancellorsville

(VA): May 1863 are both Confederate victories. After Chancellorsville,

General Lee will once again in vade the North. This time, the state is PA,

and he will clash with the Army of the Potomac at a small town called

Gettysburg.

After three days of fighting (July 1st-3rd), the Union army is ultimately

victorious. The next day, July 4th, 1863, Union General Ulysses Grant

captures Vicksburg Mississippi, the last Confederate stronghold on the

Mississippi River. The Confederacy is now split in half, and the twin

victories mark one key turning point in the war.

THE WAR AT HOME

As the war drags on, many civilians in the North

and South begin to register their anger about the

staggering number of deaths and about the specific

government policies.

Union losses at places like Fredericksburg and

Chancellorsville lead to waves of opposition to

emancipation. Many Democrats believe restoration

of the Union is the only legitimate war aim, and do

not want to fight to free slaves.

THE WAR AT HOME CONTINUED

Resentment at emancipation leads Peace Democrats

(Copperheads) to win control of state legislatures in places like

Illinois and Indiana during the fall of 1862. Some troops even

desert in the wake of emancipation.

In March 1863, Northern resentment is further enflamed by the

start of military conscription (a draft). Because northern

draftees could escape conscription by paying $300, many

working class men resented what they saw as a policy that

favored the wealthy.

DRAFT RIOTS

Drafting white men to fight for emancipation provoked

widespread resentment and rioting in some Northern cities in

1862-1863. The most famous were the NYC Draft Riots in July

1863.

Many working class Irish immigrants were the most susceptable

to competition from African Americans for jobs. Beginning on July

13th, rioters assaulted blacks, lynching a dozen African

Americans, setting fire to the Colored Orphans Asylum, and

attacked the homes of leading Republican supporters.

BLACK SOLDIERS IN BLUE

A particularly contentious issue for many Northerners was the enlistment of

black troops. Blacks were seen as not having the inherent intelligence

necessary for military service.

Starting after the Emancipation Proclamation, recruitment of black troops

proceeded quickly in the North (free blacks) and in places like the Mississippi

Valley (slaves). In the late spring and summer of 1863, black soldiers perform

well at the battles of Port Hudson, Olustee, and Battery Wagner. The

willingness to serve and die for the Union cause helps turn Northern public

opinion in favor of emancipation and the use of black troops. By war’s end

180,000 African Americans, including about 135,000 former slaves, serve in the

Union armies.

A SOUTH DIVIDED?

The South was divided over secession from the beginning:

MD/DE/KY/MO never joined the Confederacy; the entire section

of Western VA seceded from the state and joined the Union as

West Virginia. Most whites in the seceded states remain loyal to

the Confederacy but are hostile to president Jefferson Davis.

The Confederate commitment to states’ rights was at odds with

the huge centralized bureaucracy that imposed huge taxes,

impressed slaves, and burned private stores of cotton—enraging

slave owners.

SOUTH DIVIDED

Policies such as the “planter’s exemption” allowed wealthy sons of slave-

owners to purchase replacements, and as in the North, the draft generated

widespread resentment. Resistance to the Davis government was strongest in

Georgia, where Governor Joseph Brown launched a vitriolic assault on the

Davis government.

Southerners suffered more deprivations compared to their Union

counterparts. Destruction of property and mal-nourishment were common

Confederate experiences. Bread-riots erupted in several Southern cities in

1863; by 1864 Confederate money was worthless, and many southern women

encouraged husbands and sons to desert the Confederate armies to come home

and rescue their families from ruin.

GRANT TAKES COMMAND

In his ever-present search for a general who would fight, Lincoln appoints

General Ulysses Grant general in chief of the Union armies in March, 1864.

Previous generals (McClellan, Burnside, Hooker) had all withered under the

assaults of Robert E. Lee. Grant did not wither. In the late spring of 1864, Grant

and Lee clashed in a vicious series of engagements called the Overland

Campaign.

The first of these battles, The Wilderness (May 5th-6th) cost the Union 17,000

casualties and the Confederacy 11,000. Grant did not retreat. Determined to

break Lee’s lines, Grant continued to move South. Subsequent battles at

Spotsylvania Court House and Cold Harbor cost both armies dearly, and would

ultimately lead to the siege of Petersburg, Lasting from June 1864-April 1865.

“IF IT TAKES ALL SUMMER”

Casualties from Grant’s campaign take its toll on Northern

morale, and weaken support for Lincoln, who faced re-election in

1864.

Democrats called the war a failure, and promised peace with the

Confederacy—with slavery still intact.

Salvation comes from the western theater: On September 1st,

General William Sherman captures Atlanta. Proving the war effort

had not been a failure and enhancing prospects for Union victory

and Lincoln’s re-election.

THE UNION FOREVER

In November 1864, Lincoln wins re-election. The war will now

continue until the Confederacy’s unconditional surrender. Lincoln

and the Republicans also view his re-election as a mandate to

secure emancipation by proposing a 13th Amendment to abolish

slavery. Without a constitutional amendment, there was no reason

to believe a defeated Confederacy would abandon their

commitment to slavery.

Congress passes the 13th Amendment and sends it to the states

in January 1865, it is finally ratified 11 months later.

VICTORY AND DEFEAT As Lincoln is pushing the 13th Amendment through Congress,

Grant and Sherman are pushing for the final defeat of the

Confederacy.

In late December, Sherman completed his destruction of Georgia

by capturing the coastal city of Savannah. From their he marched

into SC, capturing Charleston and Columbia.

On April 2nd, 1865, Grant broke through Lee’s line at Petersburg,

forcing the evacuation and fall of Richmond the following day. One

week later, on April 9th, 1865, Grant cornered Lee’s army at

Appomattox Court House, and forced the surrender of the Army of

Northern Virginia. For all practical purposes, the war was over.