01:512:104 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Legal Tender, Morrill Tariff, Seven Days Battles
16 May 2018
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Chapter 16 - The Civil War
- North and South blamed each other for the breakup of the Union
- Davis and Lincoln prayed for peace in their inaugural addresses but
positioned for war
- Ft. Sumter was claimed by both North and South; was low on supplies
- Lincoln sent a food-only relief force but no military aid to the fort
- Davis sent Gen. Beauregard to demand a surrender or otherwise attack
- Confederates won
- South had no problem getting recruits, spoke passionately about resisting
tyranny, etc
- North originally turned away many would-be recruits, including blacks
- 1st secession took 7 Deep South states out of the Union (Dec. 20, 1860)
- 1861 - VA, MD, TN, NC join the South
- Richmond and Washington (capitals) less than 100 mi apart
- Maryland was divided as to which side to support
- Riots, etc between the factions
- Lincoln declared martial law in Baltimore and stationed Union troops
- Lincoln justified unconstitutional acts as necessary for National security
- Battle of Bull Run @ Manassas Creek, VA
- 35,000 Union soldiers - confident of victory
- 25,000 Confederate soldiers led by Gen. Beauregard (from Ft. Sumter)
- 2,300 reinforcements arrived for confederates - won battle
- Civil War claimed more lives than WWI + WWII - 620,000 - 1/4 soldiers died
- North - 2.5 x South’s population (22 mil : 9 mil - includes 3.5 mil slaves)
- 9x industrial capacity
- 97% of America’s firearms, 71% of railways, 94% of cloth and 90% of
footwear
- This proved decisive - final numbers = 2 mil soldiers (N) : 800,000 (S)
- South - was a defensive war, Southeners were fighting for their homes
- North had to invade South and then defeat guerilla opposition
- Better military leadership - eg. Robert E. Lee
- Lincoln offered Lee command of the Union army but was declined
- COTTON!
Lincoln’s Presidency
- Lincoln appointed other Republicans to his cabinet due to lack of national
contacts
- Not easy because the Republicans were still made up of various factions
- Broke precedent when he called up militias, ordered naval blockades and
expanded the military budget without Congressional support
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
- Took a moderate approach because he eventually wanted reconciliation with
the South
- War Dept needed to feed, clothe, and arm 700,000 Union soldiers
- Complexity of this task linked battlefront with home front on a huge scale
- Lincoln believed Congress, not the President, should direct economic policy
- Turned to bankers, merchants etc for aid in financing the war
- In the end the US had borrowed $2.6 billion for the war effort
- 1st example of mass financing of a war
- Legal Tender Act - Feb 1862 - created paper money, or the “greenback”
- Morrill Tariff Act (1861) - along with other acts, raised tariffs by more than 2x
previous
- Civil War resulted in the accumulation of strength by the Fed. Govt
- Britain and France would not recognise the South as a legitimate nation
- Britain disapproved of slavery, found other sources of cotton (Egypt, India,
etc)
- Sec. of State William Steward had to make sure no one recognised the
South
- Jefferson Davis needed to create a unified nation from the 11 loosely
grouped states
- Appeal to each state’s equality - appointed reps from each state to cabinet,
etc
- South withheld cotton from the market, British and French responded
indignantly
- Once the Union naval blockade took effect, cotton was not so powerful after
all
- South could not finance the war - printed too much money and had runaway
inflation
- Many people purchased substitutes to serve in the war for them
- Many southerners were against tyranny, but more loyal to state than the
confederation
- Anaconda Plan - Hoped to squeeze the South by blockading the Mississippi
and the sea
- Hoped South would accept defeat and surrender
- Lincoln liked the basics of the plan
- Public wanting a fight led to disaster at Bull Run
- Peninsular Campaign - 120,000 troops hoped to intimidate Richmond into
surrender
- Seven Days Battles - Gen. Lee’s counterattack to the Peninsular campaign
- 2nd Bull Run @ Manassas (Aug 1862) - Lee routed Union army led by Gen.
John Pope
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
North and south blamed each other for the breakup of the union. Davis and lincoln prayed for peace in their inaugural addresses but positioned for war. Ft. sumter was claimed by both north and south; was low on supplies. Lincoln sent a food-only relief force but no military aid to the fort. Davis sent gen. beauregard to demand a surrender or otherwise attack. South had no problem getting recruits, spoke passionately about resisting tyranny, etc. North originally turned away many would-be recruits, including blacks. 1st secession took 7 deep south states out of the union (dec. 20, 1860) 1861 - va, md, tn, nc join the south. Richmond and washington (capitals) less than 100 mi apart. Maryland was divided as to which side to support. Lincoln declared martial law in baltimore and stationed union troops. Lincoln justified unconstitutional acts as necessary for national security. Battle of bull run @ manassas creek, va. 35,000 union soldiers - confident of victory.
