CHAPTER 15 THE WAR OF THE UNION

« CHAPTER 15 THE WAR OF THE UNION https://www.youtube.com › watch Content I – THE CAUSES OF THE WAR II - END OF THE WAITING GAME III- FOUR YEARS OF FIGHTING IV- AFRICAN AMERICANS AND THE EMANCIPATION PROCLAMATION In U.S.

history, the conflict (1861–1865) between the northern States (the Union) and the southern United States that seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy. It is generally known in the South as the War Between the States and is also called the War of the Rebellion (the official Union designation), the War of Secession, and the War for Southern Independence.

The name Civil War, although much criticized as inexact, is most widely accepted. I – THE CAUSES OF THE WAR The American Civil War was fought between the northern and southern States from 1861 to 1865.

There were two main causes of the war. I -1 The issue of slavery The economy of the South was based on agriculture, and the South depended on slaves for this. The North was more industrial, with a larger population and greater wealth. Northerners attributed the economic backwardness of the South to slavery. The South was ever alert to protect its “peculiar institution,” even though many Southerners recognized slavery as an anachronism in a supposedly enlightened age. I-2 The Issue of States’ Rights The South’s attitude was that each State had the right to make any law it wanted.

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if southern States wanted slavery, the US government could not prevent it.  In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President. He and his party, the Republicans, were against slavery, but said that they would not end it. The southern States did not believe this. Many of them became secessionists, believing that southern States should secede from the Union (become independent from the US).  In 1860 there were 34 states in the US.

Eleven of them (South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina) left the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, often called the Confederacy. Jefferson Davis became its President, and for most of the war Richmond, Virginia, was the capital. Union Flag vs Confederate Flag II - END OF THE WAITING GAME Lincoln’s victory in the presidential election of November 1860 made South Carolina’s secession from the Union on December 20 a foregone conclusion. By February 1, 1861, five more Southern States had seceded. On February 8, the six States signed a provisional constitution for the Confederate States of America. The remaining Southern States as yet remained in the Union, although Texas had begun to move on its secession II-1- Lincoln and Secession Lincoln took office on March 4, 1861. In his inaugural address, he reassured southerners that he had no intention of interfering with “slavery in the States where it exists” but secession was another matter. He also pleaded for a restoration of the bonds of union, but the South turned a deaf ear. On April 12, Confederate guns opened fire on the federal garrison at Fort Sumter in the Charleston, South Carolina, harbor and signaled the end of the tense waiting game. On April 15, 1861, Lincoln issued a war proclamation.

A war had begun. II-2 Taking Sides Lincoln’s war proclamation led four States of the upper south to join the Confederacy: Virginia seceded on April 17; Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina followed quickly. Between the enlarged Confederacy and the free-soil North lay the border slave states of Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri, which, despite some.... »