11. The Civil War, 1860 – 1865
35. Secession - Election of 1860
The decades between 1840 and 1860 marked an exciting yet tumultuous time for America. Slavery, westward expansion, transcontinental transportation, and evolving political parties united some groups and divided others. Ideals closely held by Northerners often clashed with those maintained by Southerners. Many disgruntled Southerners grew weary of what they believed were attempts by Northerners to disrupt their principles and limit their freedom. As the presidential election of 1860 neared, the United States faced a murky future with several southern states threatening to disband the union.
In the spring of 1860, Democrats met in Charleston, South Carolina, to select their presidential candidate. The leading nominee, Stephen Douglas, hailed from the northern state of Illinois. Leary of having a Northerner represent them, southern delegates demanded that Douglas promise not to limit slavery. Some even called for him to publicly declare support for the “peculiar institution.” Senator George Pugh of Ohio refused to force Douglas to accept those demands and moved to have the proposals voted down. Without a promise to protect their rights as slave-owners, many delegates from the Deep South walked out and the convention ended without the nomination of a candidate.
Two months later the Democrats met again, this time in Baltimore, to name their nominee. However, delegates from the north and south remained at odds and failed to agree on a candidate. The two groups then separated and each elected its own candidate—the Northerners nominated Douglas and the Southerners selected John C. Breckinridge, Buchanan's vice-president from Kentucky. The slavery issue continued to divide the two groups. Northern Democrats followed Douglas's Freeport Doctrine, which accepted the decision of the Supreme Court. Party members from the south, meanwhile, refused to allow Congress or any territorial government to prevent citizens from settling in any territory with their "slave property."
Troubles continued for the Democrats as they splintered into a third party—the Constitutional Union Party. The group consisted primarily of former Whigs from the Upper South who did not share the same convictions as their southern brothers, and northern Whigs who had not defected to the Republican Party. The party nominated John Bell from Tennessee as their presidential candidate.
The constant bickering among the Democrats fed the growing confidence of the Republicans. In Chicago, party members drafted a platform they considered favorable to all classes in the northern and western states. They proposed a homestead law providing free land for settlers, and introduced a high tariff to assist manufacturers. They also recommended using federal aid to build a railroad to the Pacific, and refused to place restrictions on immigration. Regarding the issue of slavery, the Republicans boldly stated: "The normal condition of all the territory of the United States is that of freedom." No form of legislature, they professed, could make slavery legal in any territory.
The Republicans agreed on a common platform, but like the Democrats, they had difficulty selecting a candidate. Senator William Seward arrived at the Chicago convention as the leading contender for the nomination. However, his strong opinions against slavery and public condemnation of Southerners worried many party members who feared he would be unable to carry some of the crucial states. As reservations grew about Seward's ability to lead the Republican Party to a presidential victory, many members turned their attention to Abraham Lincoln. The moderate politician displayed strong debating skills when he challenged Douglas for the Illinois senatorial seat, and his honest, humble persona attracted many supporters tired of the current political rhetoric. It also worked to Lincoln's advantage that the convention was held in Chicago, his adopted home state. Less than two years after losing his bid for the Senate, Lincoln became the Republican nominee for president in a landslide vote.
With four candidates running for president, the election of 1860 surprisingly featured two seemingly separate campaigns. Breckinridge and Bell battled for the southern vote while Lincoln and Douglas fought for northern superiority. In fact, Lincoln did not even appear on the ballot in most southern states. Following tradition for politicians running for office during the nineteenth century, Lincoln remained in Springfield, Illinois, and did not make a public statement during the months leading to the election. Douglas, conversely, traveled throughout the states to campaign for himself. However, by mid October, the well-traveled senator realized that a Lincoln win was inevitable and decided to abandon his campaign. He then focused his energy on trying to convince Southerners to drop their threats of secession.
When the results of the most sectional election in history were tallied, Lincoln collected 1.8 million votes, far less than the combined total of his three opponents. But the Illinois Republican swept the heavily populated northern and western states to accumulate the most electoral votes. Although Lincoln generated only 40 percent of the popular vote, he became the sixteenth president of the United States. While Northerners celebrated their victory, Southerners prepared plans to dissolve the Union.
Hoping to stop the South from following through on its secession threats, Senator Henry Crittenden from Kentucky proposed amending the Constitution. The document, called the Crittenden Compromise, prohibited slavery north of 36° 30’ parallel and protected slavery in all territories south of the line. It held that states entering the Union after the amendment to the Constitution, whether they were north or south of 36° 30’, could decide to prohibit or protect slavery on their own accord. But essentially, slavery was permissible in all southern territories, as long as they remained territories.
Although many believed that the Crittenden Compromise would have appeased the slavery supporters, Lincoln rejected the proposal. He contended that he was elected on a platform that opposed the extension of slavery, and it was his duty to maintain that pledge.
35. Secession - Southern Secession
When Americans voted Lincoln president, James Buchanan officially became a lame-duck leader. Southerners worried that Lincoln’s victory, which received no support from the South, would lead to political and economic dominance by the North. Slavery, they feared, would be restricted and possibly outlawed. Southerners believed that by claiming their independence they could develop their own banking system and establish trade directly with Europe. No longer would the southern agrarian states be dependent upon the northern industrialists.
As southern leaders carried out their secession plans, Buchanan sat idle, unwilling to use force and unable to persuade the delegates in the Deep South to abandon their efforts to dissolve the Union. Many of his closest advisors and cabinet members were from the south and, one by one, left their posts in the nation's capital to support the Southern cause.
The first step toward secession took place in South Carolina when the state legislature called a special convention and unanimously voted to secede from the Union. In late December, Southerners began taking control of federal buildings in the area, but Buchanan refused to desert Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. When the time came to re-supply the garrison, Buchanan realized that sending a U.S. Navy ship to the harbor would aggravate South Carolinians, and instead ordered a civilian ship to deliver supplies. However, soldiers stationed outside the harbor fired on the vessel and forced it to evacuate the waterway without landing its goods. By the end of January, 1861, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana joined South Carolina in secession. One month later, Texas left the Union too. Lincoln, unable to take office until March, watched helplessly as Southerners slowly dismantled the United States.
In February, the leaders of the seceding states met in Montgomery, Alabama, to establish the Confederate States of America. They selected Jefferson Davis as the president of the new southern nation. The former member of the U.S. Senate from Mississippi attended West Point and offered the fledgling government a wealth of military and administrative experience.
On March 4, 1861, a small crowd gathered in heavily guarded Washington, D.C. to watch Abraham Lincoln recite the presidential oath. During his inaugural address, the fifty-two-year-old politician called for all Americans to consider the heritage they share. “We are not enemies, but friends,” he asserted. “We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection.” The new president emphasized his intentions to do what was necessary to win the confidence and trust of the people of the south. He explained that he would not interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it existed. With a calm yet strong voice, he firmly reminded Americans that secession was illegal. As he concluded his speech, Lincoln spoke directly to the secessionists, “In ‘your' hands, my dissatisfied fellow-countrymen, and not in 'mine', is the momentous issue of civil war.”
Back at Fort Sumter, Major Robert Anderson informed Lincoln and his administration that the fort was running dangerously low on provisions, estimating that only four to six weeks of supplies were left. Anderson believed that Lincoln would acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and order the men to evacuate the fort. Lincoln, however, remained silent for nearly a month before sending unarmed boats to Charleston Harbor to deliver the goods. Armed reinforcements stood by in case the Confederates opened fire.
Neither Lincoln nor Davis wanted to order the first strike. Lincoln hoped to end the confrontation without military force. Davis, who had spent many years in the service of his country, was hesitant to fire, unprovoked, on the Stars and Stripes. But gaining control of Fort Sumter was the key to Southern war strategy and Davis ordered the soldiers vacate the fort immediately. He moved quickly before the supply boats reached the fort. When Anderson refused to leave, Confederate forces lobbed the first artillery shells onto the fort. After several hours and a barrage of thousands of artillery rounds, Anderson reluctantly surrendered.
When news of the incident reached President Lincoln, he called for the border southern states still in the Union to participate in suppressing the rebellion. He planned to send military forces from each state to South Carolina to take back the fort. Although many states had wavered on remaining in the Union or joining the new Confederacy, Lincoln's demand to enter war against South Carolina pushed Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas to secede, and the Confederate States of America expanded to eleven states.
35. Secession - Mobilization
The artillery shells fired by Confederate soldiers on Fort Sumter, which was still federal property and controlled by U.S. military forces, marked the start of the Civil War. Lincoln shifted his attention from finding a peaceful end to the North-South conflict, to mobilizing military forces to defend the United States from the Confederates, whom he now considered enemy aggressors. On April 15, 1861, three days after the barrage of shells rained down on Fort Sumter, President Lincoln called for 75,000 militiamen to defend the nation’s honor.
Southern leaders considered Lincoln’s call for troops the same as a declaration of war against the Confederacy. As states formally seceded from the Union, more and more U.S. soldiers defected to join the Confederate army. Nearly one-third of United States officers on active duty resigned their posts, including Brigadier General Joseph E. Johnston, the highest ranking officer to defect, and Colonel Robert E. Lee, who tendered his resignation just two days after being offered the command of all Union forces. In a letter to Union General in Chief Winfield Scott, Lee regretfully ended his association with the United States military.
“Since my interview with you…I have felt that I ought no longer to retain my commission in the Army. I therefore tender my resignation, which I request you will recommend for acceptance. It would have been presented at once but for the struggle it has cost me to separate myself from a service to which I have devoted the best years of my life, and all the ability I possessed.”
At the start of the war, eager volunteers for the North and South raced to join the battle. Many believed the war would last only three to four months. As the fighting continued, however, and volunteer pools dried up, it became clear to both sides that something had to be done to lure more men to enlist. Bonuses were paid to those who signed up, but that still did not generate the necessary manpower. After nearly a year of fighting, the Confederacy established the first military draft in American history. Several months later, the Union introduced its own draft.
But not everyone heard the call of duty. Days after the Confederate Congress passed the act, the law was amended to exclude a variety of professionals, including government officials, postal workers, academics, and pharmacists. Wealthy and prominent individuals on both sides also avoided military service by paying for substitutes. One of the more famous people to take advantage of this option was Grover Cleveland, future president of the United States, who paid between $150 and $300 to have an immigrant assume his military role. Draft protesters, primarily those less prosperous or out of work, detested the exemptions and complained that the poor man was fighting the rich man’s war. Riots broke out throughout the north, many free blacks and wealthy white men were harassed or attacked.
The number of lives lost increased rapidly as Civil War battles became more intense and violent. At the start of the war, many soldiers hesitated when firing because they might know the enemy personally. It was not uncommon for the war to separate friends and even families. Ben Hardin Helm, brother-in-law of the First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln, refused a major’s commission in the Union to fight for the Confederacy. Many families, especially from border states, had some siblings enlist in the Union military and others join the Confederate army.
Union or Confederate support was not always decided by a geographical line dividing the north and south. More than 300,000 soldiers from slave states declared their loyalty to the Union, while many Northerners marched south to defend the new Confederacy. Thousands of soldiers, once classmates at West Point, often encountered each other again on the battlefield as enemies.
The need for manpower prompted Lincoln to tap a large northern resource—the black population. Although white Northerners generally backed the war against slavery, they did not necessarily favor giving blacks equal rights. Many people feared that once blacks were freed, they would migrate to the north to challenge whites for jobs and enter the world once enjoyed only by white citizens. Even the president believed that while slaves should be set free, blacks should not be entitled to the same privileges as whites. He worried that by freeing the slaves, he would destroy any chance of reuniting the United States, which was his ultimate goal.
“If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could do it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that.” – Abraham Lincoln, 1862
A growing number of citizens in the north and many Republicans in Congress pressed for emancipation to deprive the South of its labor force. In 1862, Congress passed the Confiscation Act, which allowed the federal government to seize land from traitorous Southerners and free their slaves.
Lincoln eventually penned the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in areas in rebellion against the Unites States. Border states, and select federally operated locations throughout the south, were exempt to avoid losing their support during the war. Lincoln originally wanted to conduct a gradual emancipation with compensation for slaveholders. But he realized that something had to be done soon, and freeing the slaves would possibly win support from European countries. After the battle at Antietam, a victory that shifted the momentum of the war in the North's favor, the president publicly announced the Emancipation Proclamation, which he ordered effective January 1, 1863. Rather than free individual slaves, the Proclamation chipped away at the institution. Every Union victory on the battlefields loosened the South's stranglehold on slavery. As word of the Proclamation spread throughout the southern states, slaves raced in droves toward Union lines and freedom.