1. Girding for War: The North& the South, 1861-1865 Chapter 20 A.P. US History

2. I.“And the War Came” A. Inauguration and Secession Lincoln’s inaugural address was carefully written to convey firmness and conciliation toward the South - it also expressed his will to oppose secession and maintain unity of the Union Lincoln’s strategy focused on (1) avoiding acts that might push the ‘Upper South’ [N. Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Arkansas] into seceding, and (2) reassuring the ‘Lower South’ [S. Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana] that Republican’s would not abolish slavery It was hoped this would buy time so that southern emotions could cool and enable ‘Unionists’ to assert their influence in the already seceded states to overturn their ‘ordinances of secession’

3. I.“And the War Came” B. South Carolina Assails Fort Sumter Jefferson Davis, his counterpart, was equally determined to establish the ‘Confederate States of America’ [‘CSA’] as an independent republic Davis and the Democratic Party ultimately chose to make war rather than let the nation survive – Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party were left to accept war rather than let the ‘Union’ perish The initial focal point between these two positions lay on a tiny island at the entrance to Charleston Harbor – site of Fort Sumter

4. I.“And the War Came” C. Brothers’ Blood & Border Blood  In the vital ‘Border States’ ‘Unionism’ prevailed be- cause (1) Lincoln ordered large numbers of federal troops into those states to suppress southern sympathizers, and (2) in Maryland, Lincoln ordered martial law and suspended the ‘Writ of Habeas Corpus’ [setting aside constitutional protections for citizens charged with crimes] States by Order of Secession & the ‘Border States’

5. I.“And the War Came” C. Brothers’ Blood & Border Blood (cont.)  In the ‘Border States’, the war was particularly divisive, pitting significant numbers of people who felt little affection for the Confederacy against those who did – even within families  In the South, most whites supported secession and defended the ‘peculiar institution’ – despite the fact only 25% of white southerners owned slaves [estimated investment $3 billion in 1860]

6. II.The Combatants D. The Balance of Forces (cont.) By the summer of 1861, mobilization for war was well underway – and both sides had devised military and diplomatic strategies aimed at nullifying the other’s advantages and winning the war The ‘Union’s’ offensive strategy called for (1) a naval blockade of the entire southern coastline from Virginia to Texas to prevent supplies from getting in and cotton from getting out, (2) regaining control of the Mississippi River from Tennessee to the Gulf of Mexico, thereby cutting the Confederacy in two, (3) waging a diplomatic offensive against Britain and France to prevent any likelihood they might aid the Confederacy with troops and arms, and (4) invading and defeating the South

7. II.The Combatants D. The Balance of Forces (cont.) The Confederates devised an ‘offensive-defensive’ strategy calling for (1) defeating Union armies anywhere they attempted to invade the South’s vast 750,000 sq. mi. of territory, (2) avoid battles that risked destruction of Confederate armies, (3) waging a diplomatic offensive to bring England and/or France into the war on their side, (4) strike Union armies under conditions that favored a Confederate victory, and (5) out-lasting the Union’s will to fight The South’s confidence in it ability to win the war rested on its estimation of the economic clout of its principle crop – cotton

8. II.The Combatants D. The Balance of Forces (cont.) The South’s strategy failed to consider the North’s huge advantages – including (1) a population of 22.3 million from which to draw soldiers, (2) an industrial capacity that supplied 90% of the nation’s industrial goods, 13X as much textiles as the South, 16X as much iron, 32X more firearms, (3) 71% more railroad track miles, etc Resources of the Union & the Confederacy

9. II.The Combatants D. The Balance of Forces (cont.)  The South believed England’s economy depended on cotton, a factor that would force help them win the diplomatic war – of the nearly 900 million pounds of cotton imported annually, more than 700 million came from the South  Lincoln understood one overriding fact – if he did nothing, the South would win by default Bridge on the Orange & Alexandria Railroad

10. II.The Combatants E. Leadership - A Comparison  “Wars are won not just on battlefields but also in the political arena as well”, and mobilization required effective political leadership  Davis seemed to possess all of the qualities necessary to ensuring success as a leader – a West Point graduate, a proper gentleman from a Mississippi planter family, a Mexican-American War hero, and experience as a Senator and Sec. of War

11. II.The Combatants F. Mobilization - A Comparison (cont.) The South had to build factories to manufacture rifles, ammunition, artillery, gunpowder, uniforms, tents, blankets, and other supplies needed by its armies Josiah Gorgas, head of the Confederacy’s ‘Ordnance Bureau’, performed virtual miracles in manufacturing weapons and gunpowder for their armies Invented by French Captain Claude Minié in 1848, the ‘Minié Ball’ was both accurate and deadly

12. II.The Combatants F. Mobilization - A Comparison (cont.) The Confederate war effort was hampered difficulties in transporting supplies to its armies because (1) southern railroads were few and generally connected plantations with ports rather than connecting cities and towns together, and (2) as the war progressed, Union armies destroyed or captured many of these railroads The South, like the North, financed wartime costs through the sale of war bonds, taxes, and by printing paper money – however, it financed the greater part of its expenses through printing paper money which led to an inflation rate of 9,000% [compared to about 80% in the North]