Lesson 8.02 Handout: Taking Sides

Lesson 8.02 Handout: Taking Sides

On November 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President. President Lincoln did not like slavery and he wanted to stop if from spreading. The Southerners felt that government was becoming too strong and had no right to tell them how they should live. Leaders talked of leaving the Union and forming their own nation. In December of 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede.

·  February 1861: South Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America. They elected Jefferson Davis as their president and located their national capitol in Montgomery, Alabama.

·  On April 12, 1861: President Davis ordered Confederate troops to fire at the federal troops stationed at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The Civil War begins. Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Virginia secede from the Union and join the Confederate States of America. The New Mexico and Indian territories sided with the Confederacy.

·  The States of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Missouri were called border states. These states were slave states that had not seceded from the United States.

The nation is divided. Union forces are supported by 24 states and six territories. Confederate forces are supported by 11 states and two territories.

Union
Advantages / Disadvantages
·  Larger Population – 22 million citizens.
·  More Industry – factories and industries to produce materials needed during a war.
·  More Resources – people, railroads, manufacturing plants, and industrial workers.
·  Better Banking System – controlled at least 70% of the nation’s wealth.
·  More Railroad Mileage – easier and faster to move supplies, men, and equipment.
·  Abraham Lincoln – a strong, decisive leader in the midst of the war.
·  More ships – easier to create blockades.
·  Slaves as spies – spies and guides in support of Northern soldiers. / ·  Faced hostile people – Not every citizen in the North supported the war. At the start of the war, U.S. Grant led an unruly volunteer regiment.
·  Southern territory unfamiliar – Union troops not familiar with the land.
Confederate States of American
Advantages / Disadvantages
·  Stronger Support by Citizens – fighting to defend their own land.
·  Familiar with Territory – fighting on their own soil so they knew the geography of the area.
·  Superior Military Leadership – Robert E. Lee, Joseph Johnston and “Stonewall” Jackson.
·  Strong Military Traditions – men encouraged to serve in the armed forces or attend a military school. / ·  Smaller Population – 9 million citizens.
·  Fewer Factories – Not enough factories to produce the needed materials to fight a war.
·  Less Food Production – Due to the blockade, Southerners could not export goods or earn a profit to buy food.
·  Fewer railroad miles – harder to move supplies, men and equipment.
·  Fewer ships – Smaller Navy a disadvantage due to Union blockade.
·  Jefferson Davis – Failed to raise sufficient money to fight the Civil War and could not gain support from foreign countries.
·  Threat of Slave Rebellion – slave population offered assistance to the North.