Civil War Flashcards
Antebellum
Period of time before or leading up to war
Lead up to Civil War
Problems of Jacksonian America
Westward Expansion (war with Mexico)
Federalism vs. States right
Slavery vs. Abolition
Compromise of 1850
5 laws addressing slavery and the expansion
-CA would be admitted as a free state
-Defined borders of Texas
-New Mexico and Utah will be free or slave state due to popular sovereignty
-Fugitive Slave Act
Popular Sovereignty
Theory that a government is created for the people and by the people; people deserve to vote
People in New Mexico and Utah would decide their fate
Fugitive Slave Act
Legalized tracking and returning of slaves to their owners
Free states had to comply-caught helping would be fined or jailed
Underground Railroad
Network of abolitionists who worked to ensure safe passage of runaway slaves to the north and Canada
Contrary to popular beliefs, this network wasn’t coordinated
Harriet Tubman
Former slave who fled from MD to PA
Ran 13 missions to save 70 former slaves
Spy for the Union army
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
Major debates over how states in the Louisiana territory would join the Union
Popular sovereignty
Bleeding Kansas
Many people flocked to settle in Kansas to sway votes on slavery
Two governments were established in Kansas which led to no order
John Brown
1855-Militant abolitionist who lead groups of abolitionists to fight in Kansas
1859-Harper’s Ferry, MD armory and tried to incite slave rebellion
Dred Scott Decision
Slave in Missouri who was brought to Illinois and Wisconsin which were free states and tried to fight for his family’s freedom due to living in a free state
Election of 1860
Election where Abraham Lincoln, Stephan Douglas, John Bell, and John Breckenridge ran
Abraham Lincoln’s Running for Presidency
Republican Party
Self taught and successful lawyer
Didn’t want slavery to expand
Made a name for himself by opposing the Mexican American war
Lincoln-Douglas debates (future of slavery)
Stephan Douglas
Democratic Party (North)
Former congressman
Ran for president against Lincoln
Believed in popular sovereignty for state fate
John Bell
Constitution Unionist: was in the middle about most issues
Opposed Mexican-American war and believed slavery should expand
Was an enslaver
Ran for president to split necessary percentage needed to win in order to have a better shot at being president
John Breckenridge
Democratic Party (South)
Believed restrictions on slavery were unconstitutional
Pro slavery and opposed to popular sovereignty
Secession
The action of withdrawing formally from an organization
South thought election was rigged because Lincoln won with no electoral votes from the south
Former President James Buchanan didn’t do anything in response
Why did the south secede?
Election showed balance of power had swung to free states
Slave states had popular votes but lost
slave states feared the north would abolish slavery nation wide
Confederate Constitution
Similar to US Constitution except focused more on freedom and religion
Lincoln’s 1st Inauguration
During his inauguration, he addressed…
that he will not interfere with slavery in the south
that no state can leave
there should be no blood shed
Fort Sumter
Military base in the Charleston, South Carolina that belonged to the Union
Confederates asked them to leave
Union refused and the Confederates thought that this was an act of war
Confederates won this fort after firing on it
Abraham Lincoln
Grew up in Kentucky and Indiana
Became a self-taught lawyer
Considered on of our greatest presidents
Always anti-slavery but not in favor of immediate emancipation at first
Wanted to stop expansion of slavery and keep the Union together
Ulysses S. Grant
West Point graduate who failed at everything outside the military
Rose to be the greatest general of the Union army
Became president after the war
Jefferson Davis
Former senator of Mississippi
First and only president of the Confederacy
Robert E. Lee
Most accomplished Confederate general with numerous victories
Has been mythologized in the past, but a controversial figure today
Lincoln and Davis’s Plans for the Civil War
Union-The “Anaconda Plan”: wanted to surround and squeeze the confederacy through blockades
Confederacy-Defend territory and gain recognition from the UK and France
Who Fought in the War?
North: more educated, wealthier, more supplies, not as well trained, 25% were immigrants
South: less educated, less wealthy, fewer supplies, had better military leaders
Why did Soldier Fight?
North: defending the Union, abolitionism, black soldiers joining
South: defending their home, slavery, states rights
The Draft
Forced enrollment of people for military service
Wilmot Proviso
Condition about slavery in CA and the Mexican territory
Radical Republicans vs. Copperheads
RR supported African American rights and wanted to abolition to be a condition when ending the war
Copperheads wanted more moderate rules
Emancipation Proclamation
Decreed that slaves in the south were free
Denounced by moth sides
But laid out plans for compromise (slavery would still be in tact if the north won)
54th MA Infantry Regiment
Massachusetts’ first formal call for African Americans to enlist in this troop
20 Negroes Law
Allowed white plantation wonder to not e forced into conscription
separated the confederacy due to class
Impressment Act
Allowed the Confederate to take crops and other supplies from citizens
New York City Draft Riots
Protestors destroyed the draft office due to unfair drafts
They also attacked and lynched African Americans for their problems
13th Amendment
Abolished slavery
Appomattox Court House
Lee had to surrender due to being surrounded and outnumbered
Lee and Grant made agreements that Confederate soldiers would be pardoned so they could go back to work
Agreement lead to end of the war
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth was a co-conspirator on the assassination fo Lincoln
Killed him during a play he was watching
The Effects of the War
Both sides spent a lot of money on the war
2 of 3 people died in field hospitals due to it being unsanitary
Morphine was prescribed by surgeons and it lead to many veterans and patients to be addicated
Many soldiers became disabled due to injuries
Hurt South’s economy
Success to Republican Parrty
Many families fell into poverty
Expansion of federal government
Battle of Gettysburg
Lee’s second invasion of the north
Cross from VA into MD
Union soldiers fought off the assault so the Confederate troops retreated
Bloodiest Conflict
Gettysburg Address
Speech to honor those who fought and died in the battle
Influence people that they need to keep fighting so the soldiers who died wouldn’t have died in vain
Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address
Less of a triumphant victory than somber acknowledgement of the state of the country
Events Leading to the End of the War
Union victories in Vicksburg and Gettsyburg
Battle of Vicksburg
Union controlled MI river and cut Confederacy in half
Failing Confederate Economy
Cut off from trade
Inflation due to lack of trust of the dollar
Enslaved people fled to the North
Running low on supplies
Sherman’s March to the Sea
Union armies moved towards Georgia and the Coast
Sherman’s plan was to destroy everything in their paths to defeat the Confederacy
Ulysses S. Grant’s Strategy for Attacking
Relentless attack of General Lee’s army
Union could lose more men than the Confederacy
