CHAPTER 14

The Civil War

This chapter concentrates on the history of the American Civil War, touching on some major battles, the coming of emancipation, and early experiments with Reconstruction. The chapter begins with a compelling story of a German immigrant who volunteered in the Union army. His story illustrates how many northerners changed their view of the war from seeing it as a war fought to defend the Union to a war fought to end slavery. The chapter examines how the war was both a modern war and a total war and the relative advantages that the North had over the South. After a series of Union defeats, Abraham Lincoln began a fundamental shift in his thinking and issued the Emancipation Proclamation. Afterward, blacks fought valiantly for the Union. The chapter then looks at the Civil War as a second American Revolution, exploring the vision Lincoln had for universal political democracy and human liberty. Lincoln’s views are explored in detail in “Voices of Freedom.” The northern economy benefited greatly from the war, while the South suffered economic crisis. The chapter then turns to the Confederate Nation. The explanation by Alexander Stephens, vice president of the Confederacy, of the basic premises of the new government is included in “Voices of Freedom.” The chapter also looks at southern unionists, women, and the question of black soldiers for the Confederacy. Victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg turned the tide for a Union victory, which was finally achieved when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox in April 1865. Meanwhile, experiments on the Sea Islands and Grant’s “negro paradise” served as illustrations of what Reconstruction might look like. Lincoln also had a plan, but was assassinated days after Lee’s surrender. (Foner)

Before 1860, reference to the nation generally began "these United States are," but after 1865, it became more frequently "the United States is." In that change, one might well see the most important outcome of the American Civil War. The question of the nature of the Union, which had been debated since its inception, was settledthe nation was one and indivisible. As such the United States joined a worldwide movement to create large, consolidated nation-states. The cost had been great, in both human and financial terms, but the war had done more than defeat secessionist rebellion. It had set the nation on a new course. States’ rights, as an alternative to nationalism, had been dealt a fatal blow. The tariff and internal improvements were law and would remain so. Slavery was abolished, free labor was triumphant, and industrial growth and material progress seemed to lie ahead. The war, therefore, was more than a victory for the armies of the Unionthe real victor had been the Union itself. Never again would the supremacy of national laws be seriously questioned. The Civil War gave birth to the modern United States. Indeed, it ended an era and began another. (Brinkley)

SUGGESTED DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• Describe why the Civil War was both a modern war and a total war. Was it both a modern and total war? (Foner thinks so, but not all historians agree with him.)

• Why wasn’t the Union more successful early in the war when it had clear advantages over the Confederacy? Why was a strategy of merely capturing the Confederate capital of Richmond not enough to win the war? Then again, the North did win. Why? In an essay some years ago, Richard Current suggested that "God was on the side of the heaviest battalions," but is that a complete explanation? What other factors (financial, raising troops, furnishing supplies, care for the wounded, influence of world opinion) contributed to the outcome? Bring together these factors, and, after a careful analysis, determine why the North did win.

• Describe the various ways blacks, both in and out of the military, aided in the war and also defined its consequences.

• Over time, Lincoln switched from using the term “Union” to using the term “nation.” Discuss the significance of this shift in thinking.

•Examine President Lincoln's indecision about the issuance and timing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Analyze the impact of the document on the war.

• How does the Gettysburg Address express ideas of freedom and liberty? What purpose did Lincoln give the Civil War in that address?

• Abraham Lincoln is generally considered by historians as one of the best, if not the best, of all the American presidents. Explain why you agree or disagree with that assessment.

How did the Civil War transform the national economy and create a stronger nation-state?

• In the face of a significant manpower shortage, why was the Confederacy still so hesitant to use slaves as soldiers?

• Was Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan suitable considering the massive toll the Civil War took on American society?

• Despite the gruesome costs in terms of lives, the Civil War has been perhaps the most romanticized and intensely studied of all American wars. Offer several explanations as to why this might be so.

Key Terms

modern war Army of the Potomac Army of Northern VA Antietam

contraband George McClellan Alexander Stephens Second American Revolution

CSA Conscription Act Cotton Diplomacy Anaconda Plan

Fort Sumter (Ch 13) First Battle of Bull Run Ulysses S. Grant Crittenden Comp (Ch13)

Antietam Homestead Act Gettysburg Appomattox

Union Pacific RR Robert E. Lee National Bank Acts Thaddeus Stevens

Blockade Runners Merrimac/Monitor Income Tax Greenbacks

Benjamin Wade Confiscation Act Emancipation Proc William Seward

Copperheads Peace Democrats Joseph Hooker Habeas Corpus

54th Massachusetts Chancellorsville Martial Law U.S. Sanitary Commission

Vicksburg Clement Vallandigham Clara Barton Ex parte Milligan

Union Party Jefferson Davis March to the Sea Andrew Johnson

Stonewall Jackson Sea Island experiment

Key Concept 5.3: The Union victory in the Civil War and the contested reconstruction of the South settled the issues of slavery and secession, but left unresolved many questions about the power of the federal government and citizenship rights.