Topic: The U.S.

Civil War (1861-1865)

Essential Question:
Why do historians consider the Civil War a critical turning
point in United States History?

Effects:

It ended slavery
It unified a divided nation
It was the first modern war
It accelerated the Industrial Revolution

CAUSES:
General Causes:
Division over slavery
Balance of Political Power
Two different Economies

Immediate Causes:

Dred Scott Decision (1857) slavery issue forced on North

Raid on Harpers Ferry (1859) militarizes South
Election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln (anti-slavery party)
Southern States Secede (1860-1861) to form Confederacy

Above: Slave population in 1860

SIDES:
NORTH (Union)

SOUTH (Confederacy)

United States of America (USA)

Confederate States of America (CSA)

Blue Uniforms

Gray Uniforms

MAJOR EVENTS - Political Events:

Secession of South Carolina (December 1860)
Within a month of Lincolns election, South Carolina declares their independence from the
United States. Other southern slave states soon follow, including Virginia, North Carolina, South
Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas.

Formation of the Confederacy (February 1861)

As more southern states withdraw from the United States, a new government is organized. It is
named the Confederate States of America. The capital is established at Richmond, Virginia.
Jefferson Davis is named president. Within a month and a half, the newly formed Confederacy
declares war on the United States by bombarding federally held Fort Sumter in South Carolina.

 Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation (September 1862)

For the first year of the war, the North is fighting only to preserve the Union. After the battle of
Antietam, Lincoln signs an Executive (presidential) Order officially ending slavery in every state
in rebellion against the United States. This document was a moral turning point for the North,
transforming the Union armies into armies of liberation, freeing slaves as they advanced south.

Congress passes the 13th Amendment (April 1864, Ratified 1865)

The 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States officially outlawed slavery in the
United States. Since southern states had withdrawn their representatives from Congress upon
the formation of the Confederacy, the Amendment passed without significant opposition.

MAJOR EVENTS - Battles:

Siege of Fort Sumter (April 1861)
1st shots fired, South bombards a federal fort in Charleston harbor. 1st Confederate victory

Bull Run aka 1st Manassas (July 1861)

1st major battle, huge Union army marches towards Confederate capitol Richmond, badly
defeated by smaller Confederate army.

Monitor & Merrimack (February 1862)

Confederates build an ironclad steamship, attempt to break through Union blockade. The Union
had discovered these plans and built an ironclad too. 1st battle between ironclad steamships,
Union prevents Confederates from breaking the blockade.

Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack

Battle of Bull Run/1st Manassas

Shiloh (April 1862)

Confederate forces surprise Union forces, and a bloody battle follows. The Union wins, cutting
off Confederate supply routes in the West.

 Antietam (September 1862)

Confederate forces attempt to invade the North, but are stopped by Union forces and forced to
retreat. 23,000 men are killed or wounded, making this single day battle bloodier than all
previous American wars combined.

Battle of Antietam

Siege of Vicksburg

Fall of Vicksburg (July 1863)

Union forces surround and bombard the Confederate city of Vicksburg on the Mississippi River.
The city surrenders, giving the Union control of the entire Mississippi River, effectively cutting
the Confederacy in half.

 Gettysburg (July 1863)

Confederate forces under General Lee again attempt to invade the North, but are stopped by
Union forces at the town of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania. 53,000 men are killed or wounded over
the course of a 3 day battle, making it the bloodiest battle in American history. It also was the
turning point of the war, as the Confederates were never able to recover from the loss of men.

Shermans March to the Sea (September 1864)

Union forces in the West under Sherman capture the Confederate city of Atlanta, and then
march to Savannah, Georgia. As they go, they engage in total war, freeing slaves, destroying
railroads, burning houses, and destroying crops and livestock as they go. The idea of total war is
to destroy the Confederacys ability to fight instead of directly attacking their armies.

MAJOR EVENTS The War Ends:

Richmond captured (April 2, 1865)
General Lee Surrenders at Appomattox Courthouse (April 9, 1865)
The Union army closes in on Richmond, and Confederate troops are vastly outnumbered and cut
off from supplies. As Union forces capture the city, General Lee attempts to escape with his
remaining Confederate forces. Soon his hungry, exhausted, and under-equipped men are
surrounded. Rather than face a hopeless slaughter, Lee surrenders the main Confederate army.
This effectively ends the Civil War. Confederate President Jefferson Davis is captured days later.

Lincoln Assassinated (April 15, 1865)

As President Lincoln and his wife attend a play in Washington D.C., actor and Confederate
sympathizer John Wilkes Booth breaks into the Presidential balcony and shoots Lincoln in the
head at close range. He vaults over the balcony, breaking his ankle, and manages to escape.
After a massive man-hunt Booth is captured, put on trial, and executed for Treason. The nation
mourns Lincolns death.