History 2301E Lecture Notes - Lecture 31: Total War, Anaconda Plan, Race Card
2 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
November 7th, 2017
The Civil War 1
➢ Beginnings of War, 1861
➢ The early Civil Ear
➢ The confederacy in Trouble
o Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee
➢ Sherman’s march, 1864, November-December 1864
Beginnings of War, 1861
- 1860 Election/ CSA Secession
- abolition/emancipation
o northerners are racists
o both sides thought they would be victorious
Advantages North and South
- north
o economy and infrastructure
o the tangibles: money, industry, food production
▪ the materials you need when you go to war
• has more guns physically ???
- south
o doesn’t have a lot of money
o advantages, the intangibles
▪ army leadership
• most of the federal arsenals exists in the CSA
• those in the U.S. Army have to pick sides and most pick the south
▪ honor and violence
• the knowledge of how to use guns
• guns are a vector in southern life
• most of the southern soldiers are comfortable using weapons
▪ home turf
• most of the war fought in the south
• support of the local population
o a big deal psychologically
Abraham Lincoln
- challenges form within the republican party
o an internal civil war
- radical republicans
o want an immediate abolition of slavery
o March 1861, are in the oval office telling Lincoln to do abolish slavery now
o Want complete citizenship: the same rights guaranteed to white Americans
▪ Lincoln fundamentally opposed to this
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Fort Sumter, April 1861
- South Carolina
o federal arsenal
▪ For Sumter on an island just off of Charleston Harbour, South Carolina
o cut off
▪ some citizens decided to remain with the union (the north)
▪ completely cut off because they are in hostile territory
▪ ask Lincoln for help: need supplies
• running out of food and water
o Lincoln’s decision
▪ sends in the northern navy to resupply Fort Sumter
• an act of war, going into enemy waterways
- attacked, April 11, 1861
o Confederate Army attacked the fort before the Union navy could get there
- fell, April 12, 1861
- Lincoln’s response
o blockades, April 19, 1861
o can be seen as a declaration of war against the enemy
o northern navy blocks the eastern seaboard of the southern states
▪ wants to make sure that supplies cannot get from England or the Caribbean islands
Choosing Sides
- Slaves states choosing the union
o Missouri, Kentucky, Delaware, and Maryland
- The creation of West Virginia, 1861-1863
o A civil war broke out in Virginia between the slaves focused parts and the more
mountainous area
o A war separating country, states, towns, families
- Southerners fighting against the Confederacy
o Union loyalty
▪ Most Scott-Irish and Yeoman farmers (the middle class), not slave owners
• American citizens
o Union victory
▪ Pragmatist: want to be on the winning side
o Hatred of the planter elite
▪ Elites control over politics and economics
The Early Civil War: Bull Run, July 21, 1861
- Early optimism
o Troops and sightseers
o Everyone thought this would be an easy war
o A big spectacle
▪ Soldiers brought families, also had media coverage
- Military strategies
o Classmates West Point
▪ Both generals of the north and south were classmates at the West Point academy
▪ Same military strategies: knew what each other would do
o Union retreat
▪ Went back across into Washington D.C.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
