Secession and Civil War
"Am I not a man..." Frederick Douglass,
an ex-slave who bought his freedom
Lincoln's election in 1860 brought the Southern states to the
point of secession and Lincoln to a fateful question: Should he allow peaceful
secession or should he coerce the rebels to stay in the Union?
I. Secession of the South
II. The North and the South Compared
III. Early Strategies of the Opposing Sides
A. North
1) Capture Richmond and force surrender
2) Expel Confederates from border states
3) Control the Mississippi River
4) Blockade southern ports and stop cotton shipments
B. South
1) Capture Washington, D.C.
2) Control border states
3) Gain England's support
4) Expel Union troops from South
For a quick view of key events and battles, see the Chart:
Key Civil War Events
IV. Northern Domestic Issues
A. Prosperity and expansion--the war provided a stimulant to Northern
economic interests
1. Homestead Act (1862)--160 acres of land virtually free to any citizen
willing to occupy it for five years
2. Morrill Land Grant Act (1862)----30,000 acres of land for each Congressional
representative granted to each state. Proceeds of land sales to be used
to finance public colleges
3. High tariffs passed to protect Northern industries
4. Transcontinental railroad promoted with creation of federally chartered
corporations receiving free public lans and generous loans
5. National Bank Act (1863)--created national banking system. Stabilized
currency and reduced confusing state bank note system
B. Financing the war
1. First income tax (1861): 3% on incomes above $800
2. Borrowing. $6.2 billion through the issuance of bonds
3. Greenbacks--paper currency not supported by specie reserve. Value
fluctuated with success of Northern armies. Caused serious inflation problems
C. Raising the Union army
1. Lincoln issues call for 75,000 volunteers in 1861 to supplement
16,000 man army.
2. Although volunteer call succeeded at first, by 1863 Congress turned
to a draft to fill units. States could avoid draft by filling quotas of
volunteers. Draft opposed by Peace Democrats, laborers, and immigrants
3. Draft riots resulted in New York City in July 1863, causing hundreds
of deaths, mostly of blacks
D. Lincoln's enormous political problems
1. Seen as inexperienced and unfit, he was challenged by members of
his own cabinet, including Chase and Seward
2. Expansion of war powers
a) Call for troops to repress rebellion without declaration of war
b) Arrest of unfriendly newspaper editors
c) Suspension of habeas corpus
d) Proclamation of naval blockade without Congressional approval
e) 13,000 political opponents arrested for varying periods
f) Refusal to obey writ issued by Chief Justice Taney (Ex parte
Merryman)
3. Presidential Election of 1864
a) Abolitionists urged the Republicans to choose a candidate who would
wage total war against the South
b) Lincoln chose Andrew Johnson as his running mate to attract "War
Democrats" and formed the Union Party
c) Democrats nominated McClellan and a platform which called for a
truce and settlement with the South
d) Lincoln once again won in the electoral college, but only had a
400,000 vote majority in the popular vote
V. Northern Foreign Issues
Please cite this source when appropriate:
Feldmeth, Greg D. "U.S. History Resources"
http://home.earthlink.net/~gfeldmeth/USHistory.html (31 March 1998).
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