Chapter 21 is basically about the entire Civil War, from the beginning until Lincolns assassination.
Important facts to note:
Both the Union and the Confederacy thought that the war would last a maximum of 90 days. The first battle of Bull Run (or Manassas Junction) showed the North that the South wasnt kidding around (since the South won) and it did even more damage to the South because it inflated and an already dangerous overconfidence.
General George McClellan was given command of the Army of the Potomac. He was a brilliant if somewhat naïve commander since he thought that he could win without taking any losses. He consistently thought that he was outnumbered, even when he wasnt and so never took risks. Lincoln actually had to order him to do anything because he just drilled his army without moving it. He lost the battle to take Richmond and end the war early.
Lincoln began a naval blockade on the South. Surprisingly Britain actually found this as binding and didnt try to get through it and help the South. Blockade running was very profitable but extremely risky. Then South created the Merrimack and the North the Monitor, metal-clad ships which, when they battled, where equally powerful. Confederates destroyed the Merrimack a few months later so that the South wouldnt get a hold on it.
The bloodiest day of the war was the Battle of Antietam at Antietam Creek, Maryland. It was Lee vs. McClellan. It came to a military draw with Lee giving up his Maryland Campaign and moving into the Potomac and McClellan being removed from his command for a second and final time. Antietam was probably the most decisive day because it changed the minds of the British and French governments from helping the Confederacy, which they were planning on doing.
President Lincoln announced his Emancipation Proclamation. Strangely freed all the slaves in the Confederacy (which Lincoln had no power over) but not the slaves that were in the Union states already (which he did have power over).
African-Americans were finally allowed to join the Northern Army. By the Wars end some 180,000 blacks served in the Army. The South forced slaves to help build battle equipment but never allowed them to serve until a month before the war ended and then it was too late. Slaves helped the Union by slowing down productivity severely and brought and end to the antebellum ways.
Lee won a brilliant battle at Federicksburg, Virginia. Lee tried to invade the North again and accidentally made contact with a Northern Army. It was not really a Northern victory (it was more of a draw) but it stopped the South from ever coming into the North again.
General Sherman began a process know today as total war. During this process he literally began to destroy the South. He burned Atlanta, Georgia and huge amounts of other farms, cities and plantations. He then seized Savannah as a Christmas present to Lincoln.
The Politics of the War was perhaps the most confusing and dangerous part of the war.
9. The Politics of the War was perhaps the most confusing and dangerous part of the war. The Radical Republicans of the time made life very difficult for Lincoln, as they resented the growth of presidential power during wartime. Also were the War Democrats who supported the war and Peace Democrats who did not. Unfortunately for Lincoln there were many more peace the war democrats. 10. The Election of 1864 was very strange. The Republicans, fearing defeat, joined forces with the War Democrats and proclaimed themselves the Union party. Andrew Johnson, a small slaveholder, was chosen as his running mate. They never thought that Lincoln might die in office and Johnson would become President. Lincoln was able to win due to a surprising amount of Northern victories right before the election.
Hey Jarred, you covered pretty much a ll of the major stuff, but I was wondering... was Joshua Chamberlain mentioned at all during the Battle of Gettysburg or at the end of the fighting? He's the man*.
*Based loosely on an article I heard about recently describing... well I'll let you guys find out.
There were a few things that led to the Civil War: Co existance of a slave owning south and increasing anti-slavery north greatly increased the likelihood of secession.Secession occurred when Lincoln became president and although he did not propose federal laws as president, he did in his 1858 House Divided Speech and expressed his feelings on slavery.Also, organized territories opposed slavery and favored admission to the Union as free states leading the south towards secession.They were worried about losing control of the federal government to antislavery forces and the north feared that the slave power already controlled the government.There were a number of events that led up to the civil war including:states rights, modernization, sectionalism, the nullification crisis, economic differences, admission of Missouri as a slave state, Gag rule, Manifest destiny, Compromise of 1850 and popular soverignty.
Politics of War refer to the problems in the North with the election and keeping the middle states with the Union and also refers to the manner and ideas on how to get the Southern states back into the Union. His party was split into two ideas on each subject: one with strcit punishement and the others sharing Lincoln's ideas.
What do you think would have happened if Lincoln was never assassinated?
i think the south would have been treated alot better during reconstruction. i dont think, however, that he would have given more rights to newly freed black slaves, lincoln was very hypocritcal in many of his speeches when discussing slavery or black rights.
During the blockade, the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms were prevented from getting to and from the Confederacy.During this time, the cotton exports were reduced 95%, from 10 million bales three years before the start of the war, to 500,000 bales during the blockade.
The Battle of Antietam like stated was the bloodiest battle. it had almost 23,000 casualties. But the battle had enough of a victory and it also had a significance that it gave Linoln enough confidence to announce his Emancipation Proclamation.. weird
Julia, it is really hard to say what would have happened because so much changed after the war. Andrew Johnson would (probably) never have become president but I also think that Lincoln would not have been reelected again. He narrowly won his second election and now that the war is over I think the counrty would have seen it as time for a new person to step in, so I don't think Lincoln would have had much influence with Reconstruction.
General Robert E. Lee was by far the best General in the Civil War and would have won had he been equiped with the same weapons and army that the industrialized north had. General Lee's tactics were by far more advanced than the Northern Generals.