The American Civil War A.K.A. “The Civil War”*
“The United States Civil War was the bloodiest conflict in American History, claiming more lives than The American Revolutionary War, World War I, World War II, The War against Switzerland, The War of 1812, and the Vietnam War combined.” -- www.idiotica.com
http://www.history.com/news/2011/05/10/10-surprising-civil-war-facts/
So, how did it start. What led up to it So, how did it start? What led up to it? And what was the cause for which so many were willing to die – or send others to their deaths?
One factor was the Dred Scott Decision, arguably one of the most important court cases in our nation’s history: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2933.html
Dred Scott
In the fall of 1859 – still two years before the war – the abolitionist John Brown led a band of men to attack the armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. The plan was to use the stolen weapons to help establish a colony for escaped slaves.
However, for a number of reasons, the raid failed, most of Brown’s men were killed and Brown himself was captured by the local militia. Brown was tried and found guilty of treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia.
As he was about to be hung for his crime, Brown actually predicted the Civil War: “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.”
Perhaps you’ve heard some version of this song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSSn3NddwFQ
Apart from the Dred Scott Decision and John Brown, another factor was growing tensions between the Federalists – those who believed the national government should be the final authority on various matters ranging from taxation to slavery – and the Anti-Federalists, who believed the States should maintain the right to control those issues.
Another issue was the Compromise of 1850. This is a subject about which we will be reading in class.
In some ways, though, the “straw that broke the camel’s back” was the election of…
Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, whose birthday we celebrate this month…Black History Month. Coincidence?
The South did not especially care for Mr The South did not especially care for Mr. Lincoln’s views about the potential expansion of slavery and, in fact, began to secede immediately after his election!
“January 1861 -- The South Secedes. When Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, was elected president, the South Carolina legislature perceived a threat. Calling a state convention, the delegates voted to remove the state of South Carolina from the union known as the United States of America. The secession of South Carolina was followed by the secession of six more states -- Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas -- and the threat of secession by four more -- Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These eleven states eventually formed the Confederate States of America.” -- memory.loc.gov
April, 1861 The South begins to seizing federal forts within its territory, including Ft. Sumter.
Account of the attack on Ft. Sumter http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/attack-on-fort-sumter-marked-start-of-war/2011/03/08/AFxVkc2C_story.html
In June of 1861, West Virginia was born when the people in Virginia’s western counties declined to join the Confederacy.
Also, four slaves states opted to stay in the Union Also, four slaves states opted to stay in the Union. Does that surprise you? Those states were Kentucky, Delaware, Maryland and Missouri.
July of 1861 brought the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)
http://www.history.com/topics/battle-of-first-bull-run
In the days ahead, we will learn about: *the strengths and weakness of both sides *Generals Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee *the horrendous cost of the war *various battles, including Shiloh, Antietam, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, Appomattox and more *Sherman’s March *The Emancipation Proclamation *And what the Reconstruction was…