The American Civil War

The American Civil War has its roots in the long-time section divides of the nation. The awkward discussion of slavery at the Constitutional Convention (because how could a nation that declares that "all men are created equal" support slavery?) led to the even more awkward 3/5's Compromise which stated that a slave is counted as 3/5 of a person. Disagreements between North and South continued to grow, even getting to the point where whole political parties were formed on the issue of slavery. (The Free Soil and Republican parties were created to combat the extension of slavery.)

In the Election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln won the presidency over three other candidates: Stephen Douglas, a Democrat; John Breckenridge, another Democrat; and John Bell, a Constitutional Unionist. (Douglas irked slaveryites with his Freeport Doctrine, so the Southern Democrats nominated Breckenridge and the Northern Democrats nominated Douglas.) Soon afterward, South Carolina seceded from the Union. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed. These states begin to seize federal land, including military forts. Fort Sumter's Union troops were short on supplies in April of 1861, so Lincoln decides, rather strategically, to send in non-military supplies like food and clothing. Well, South Carolina decides to start bombing the fort, giving Lincoln and the Union a cause for war.

After Fort Sumter, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina secede, trying to get Kentucky to join them. Kentucky is strategically located on both the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and would have been valuable to the South. Luckily for the nation, Kentucky chose to remain in the Union. Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware also chose to remain in the Union. West Virginia chose to secede from Virginia following that state's secession. Each of these states were slave states and are collectively known as "Border States".

The first major battle was Bull Run, in Virginia. The Union, who anticipated a quick victory, was surprised at how easily the South handled the Union troops. In fact, the South dominated the early part of the war and attempted an invasion in 1862. However, it was stopped at Antietam, the bloodiest day in American war history. The South did continue winning in Virginia nonetheless. Following Antietam, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) which changed the face of the war. Previously, Lincoln had promised to leave slavery alone where it existed. But by freeing the slaves in only the rebelling areas, the war was now a moral cause for the North. Also, it dissuaded France and Britain from intervening on behalf of the South because both had already abolished slavery, so intervention would demonstrate support for the "peculiar institution."

The South attempted another invasion in 1863 and met Union forces at Gettysburg. After three days, the South was defeated. This marked the furthest north Confederate troops traveled.

Now, the Mississippi River was another story. Winfield Scott (Old Fuss and Feathers) devised the Anaconda Plan which was based on the theory of divide and conquer. Ulysses S. Grant was sent out West to execute the Anaconda Plan and found great success. Vicksburg fell in 1863 followed by Mobile Bay (General David Farragut) in 1864. General William Tecumseh Sherman captured Atlanta in 1864 and started his famous "March to the Sea" burning an entire state.

The fall of Atlanta was key politically as well. Lincoln was facing reelection in 1864 and was not faring too well. Copperheads and Peace Democrats (both factions of Democrats) hated the war and Lincoln's involvement. The fall of Atlanta and the Republicans' coalition with the War Democrats helped Lincoln defeat George McClellan for the presidency, saving the Union.

Seeing Grant's triumphs in the West, Lincoln moved Grant to the Virginia Army to combat Lee where Grant was ultimately successful. Grant made one blunder at Cold Harbor where soldiers went into battle with their names pinned to their backs for identification. In Washington, DC, Lincoln is pushing for the passage of the 13th Amendment which freed the slaves. In order to get conservative Republicans in the House of Representatives to vote for the amendment, Lincoln had to pretend to be open to negotiating peace with the South. The amendment passed the House on January 31, 1865, and Robert E. Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9 of the same year at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. The war was over, but Lincoln couldn't see the Reconstruction as he was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 13, 1865.