Download - Abe Lincoln Outline
AP U.S. History
Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War (1861-1865)
I. Final Blows and Last Attempts at Unity
A. Election of 1860
The Election of 1860 featured Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, in
a multicandidate race against Democrats John Breckinridge and Stephen
Douglas, as well as Unionist John Bell. However, the election evolved from a
national election into a sectional election. Lincoln gained almost unrivaled
support in the North and a large portion of the West, but was excluded from
many southern ballots, where the other three candidates split support.
Because the South’s support was divided, it left Lincoln to gain a large
enough majority from his northern support to gain the Presidency, which
also gave the South their final justification for secession, as they had finally
been completely split from the North.
Though the Republicans has successfully captured the Presidency, they did
not have control of either the House or Senate, nor did they have a majority
in the Supreme Court, all of which would make abolishing slavery practically
impossible for the party.
B. Crittenden Compromise (1860)
The luring violent tensions between the North and South spurred last minute
Congressional compromises, with the most hopeful coming from Senator
James Henry Crittenden of Kentucky. The last minute compromise by
Crittenden hoped to facilitate the South’s anger enough to avoid a civil war
from erupting. The compromise featured amendments to the Constitution
that would prohibit slavery in all territories above the 36° 30’ lines, however
south of the line, slavery would be given federal protection in all existing, and
future territories. Also, regardless of popular sovereignty, slavery supporters
would be given full rights in southern territories, as long as they were
territories. As well, states could now enter the Union with or without slavery,
at the discretion of the territory.
Despite being the only compromise with the slightest chance of succeeding,
Lincoln flatly rejected the scheme, citing his election based on a platform of
prohibiting the extension of slavery
C. South Carolina and Southern Secession (1861)
South Carolina was adamant about following up on its threat to secede from
the Union following the election of the “Illinois baboon”, which set off a chain
reaction of secessions throughout the deep South. Four days following the
election of Lincoln, the legislature unanimously voted to convene a special
convention where, in December of 1860, it voted unanimously to secede
from the Union. In the six weeks that followed, an additional six states from
the lower south seceded from the Union, though slightly less united. Later,
another four joined in, which brought the total number of seceded states to
eleven. The main reasons the southern states seceded was to prevent
Lincoln and the Republicans from attempting to abolish slavery, but it also
gave the South an opportunity to establish banking, shipping and trade
systems that were independent of the North.
The first seven states that seceded met in February 1861, and established
their own government called the Confederate States of America. As their
president, the Confederacy elected Jefferson Davis, a Senator from
Mississippi who, as a former cabinet member, had extensive experience in
both military and administration, though he suffered from chronic poor
health.
The current president at the time of the secessions, James Buchanan, was
criticized for not holding the Union together by sheer force, and though the
Constitution gave him no power to do so, he did believe the secessions to be
illegal. Buchanan also did not use force to keep the states in the Union for two
reasons; one, because the small, standing army of the United States was both
scattered, and needed to keep the Indians in control in the West, but also
because the North still believed there was a slight chance for reconciliation.
D. Fort Sumter (1861)
The issue of the divided Union came to the forefront when it came to the
issue of federal forts in the south. As the southern states left the Union, they
took with them United States arsenals, mints and other public buildings that
fell within the borders, with only two prominent forts remaining in the South
when Lincoln took office. The more important of the two forts, Fort Sumter,
was located in South Carolina and contained only 100 men. The fort, running
low on supplies it needed to remain in federal control, forced Lincoln to
choose a course of action, all of which were bad. If no supplies were sent, the
commander at the fort would have no choice but to surrender, however if he
sent reinforcements, North Carolina would most undoubtedly attack back,
for they could not lose their most important Atlantic seaport. In the end,
Lincoln decided to notify the South Carolinians that an expedition would be
sent with provisions for the fort, however the Carolinians interpreted this as
reinforcements, and the Union naval force as an aggressive act. In April of
1861, the Carolinians opened fire on the fort, which surrendered after thirty-
four hours of bombardment.
The assault, while greeted with jubilance in the South, changed the attitude of
the North, who now became more accepting of engaging the South in battle.
With this, Lincoln quickly assembled a militia and established a blockade of
seaports in the south. In response to the sudden outbreak of war, Virginia,
Arkansas and Tennessee all left the Union and joined the fellow southern
brethren in the Confederacy, establishing Richmond, Virginia as the capital of
the Confederacy.
II. The War: Key Concerns and Strategies
A. Explain the value of the Border States
The only remaining slave states at the beginning of the war were the crucial
border states; Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland and Delaware (West Virginia
was added to this group later when it broke off of Virginia in mid-1861
B. “King Cotton” diplomacy
The Confederacy strongly counted on receiving foreign intervention and aid,
especially from Britain, who largely depended on southern cotton for their
textile industry. However, their “King Cotton” failed them mainly because in
the immediate years before the war, Britain had developed a large surplus in
exported cotton, and when the need for cotton arose, Lincoln had introduced
his slave-emancipation policy. The Union sent to England captured cotton
from the South, which, along with increased cotton production from Egypt
and India, helped to relieve the cotton famine in England. Also, England was
largely depended on wheat and corn supplies from the North, and if they
broke through the northern blockade to get cotton from the South, they
would lose their two most important imports.
C. The Anaconda Plan
The North devised a plan to establish a naval blockade to the main Southern
ports involved in cotton shipping, though their small navy limited them. The
blockade allowed Britain, experts on blockades, to profit greatly through the
practice of blockade running, supplying the Confederacy with weapons in
exchange for cotton and large profits. The North, angered with Britain’s
actions, closed off more ports, ending the blockade running. They also began
the seizure of British ships that carried arms to the Confederacy, which
finally caused the British to stop.
The Confederacy was also aggravated by the blockade and began
development of an ironclad battleship, which they used to destroy the Union
ships employing the blockade. This prompted the production of ironclad
ships in the north also, which ended the practice of wooden warships, and
effectively ended the North’s Anaconda plan from being executed
successfully.
III. Homefront Government
A. Describe 2 problems that hindered the Confederate government
The Confederacy, plagued in its infancy by both a poor economy and a weak
constitution, was hindered in its ability to effectively fight the Union. The
North had large advantages over the South in terms of wealth and
population. The Confederacy lacked both supplies, which were extremely
expensive, but also the southern government did not have any money with
which to purchase them. The government tried to raise income by selling
bonds and raising taxes, but the Southerners opposed direct taxation and the
taxes raised little money. The Confederate dollar diminished in worth,
ultimately being worth only about 2 cents.
The Confederacy was also limited by their weak constitution, which
consisted of many things similar to that of the Union’s. However, when
Confederate President Jefferson Davis tried to establish a strong central
government, the strong pro-states rights southerners fought against him. One
of the main problems was that the Confederacy had no way to ensure that the
states within the South would not turn on them and secede later. Some
states, such as Georgia, even began threatening to secede from the
Confederacy and the Constitution would not have been able to prevent from
happening.
B. Lincoln’s Homefront Moves (explain Lincoln’s logic and its implications for
Presidential power)
1. Suspension of habeas corpus and ex parte Merryman (1861)
Because Congress was not in session at the outbreak of the civil
war, Lincoln took it upon himself to take action in order to
preserve the Union. He suspended the write of habeas corpus, so
that anti-Unionists could be swiftly arrested. The action went
against the ruling of Ex parte Merryman in which Chief Justice
Roger Taney ruled that the president could not suspend the
privilege of the writ of habeas corpus, nor could he authorize
anyone to do it. Congress most likely approved many of the “right-
handed” actions taken by Lincoln during the Civil War because of
the war.
2. Martial law in Maryland and Missouri and ex parte Milligan (1866)
After the large majority of the South seceded, Lincoln and the
Union shifted their focus to preventing the rest of the border-
states from seceding. In Maryland, Lincoln declared martial law
and sent troops into the state. Maryland seceding to the South
could cut Washington, D.C. off from the North, and Lincoln’s
actions in the state helped end grumblings of secession.
However, the decision to establish martial law in Maryland had
questionable legal ramifications. In ex parte Milligan, the Supreme
Court ruled that the practice of military courts conducting trials
upon non-military citizens in unconstitutional while civilian courts
are still functional.
C. New York City Draft Riots (1863)
At the early outbreak of the war, soldiers in the North were mostly gained
through volunteers. Yet, as the number of volunteers dwindled, Congress
passed a federal conscription law, a first on the nationwide scale for the
United States. However, the conditions of the law were horrible unjust to the
lower classes. The wealthy could substitute someone to go in their place, or
purchase an outright exclusion, which angered those who could not afford
the fee. The draft was extremely unpopular in the strongly democratic north,
and violent riots erupted. In New York, most notably, anti-black Irish-
Americans rioted against Lincoln and the draft, burning, looting and pillaging
for several days. Many people died, and several blacks were lynched. The
riotous feeling was seen throughout the North in the form of several, smaller
riots.
IV. Economics
A. Morrill Tariff (1861)
In early 1861, after enough of the antiprotection Southerners had seceded,
Congress was able to pass the Morrill Tariff Act, which overruled the low
Tariff of 1857. The Act increased the existing rates a mild 5 to 10 percent,
which brought the rates up comparable to the previous Walker Tariff, though
the rates were increased even more as the war drove prices up. The
increased rates were implemented as a way to both raise addition revenue
for the North, but also to protect the manufacturers from internal taxes.
Because the manufactures benefited the most from the tariff, and the
manufacturers were mostly Republican, protective tariffs began to be
associated with the republicans.
B. National Banking Act (1863)
One of the most significant financial land marks of the Civil War, the National
Banking Act, passed by Congress in 1863, was designed partly to increase the
sale of government bonds, which provided large boosts to revenue, but also
to establish a standard bank-note currency to replace the depreciate “rag
money”. Banks that would join the National Banking System could purchase
government bonds, and then issue paper money that was backed by the
bonds. The first attempt as unifying the national banking system since the
B.U.S. was killed by Jackson, the National Banking System flourished for forty
years before becoming the Federal Reserve System.
C. Morrill Act (1861) and Homestead Act (1862)
The Morrill Act, passed easily after the Southern states seceded, sparked an
enormous growth to higher education. The act gave large grants of public
lands to states in support of education, on which many states formed “land-
grant” colleges, which later became state universities.
The Homestead Act, which was originally vetoed in 1860 by President
Buchanan, was finally passed in 1862 after southern secession. The Act
promoted the settlement of open land rather than revenue from selling it.
The act allowed up to 160 acres of land to be purchased for a small sum of
$30. The Act helped small farmers and families acquire land without also
acquiring large amounts of debt as well. However, the act did have some
negatives; the land was frequent to droughts, and large parts of the land
eventually ended in the hands of corporations.
V. The War
A. Foreign Affairs
1. Trent Affair (1861)
One of the first crises with Britain during the Civil War came in the
form of the Trent Affair. In late 1861, a Union warship patrolling in
the seas North of Cuba stopped British steam ship, the Trent, and
forcibly removed two Confederate diplomats headed for Europe.
The British were greatly angered by the action, so much so that
war preparations began. Troops were sent to Canada and the
London Foreign Office wrote an ultimatum declaring for the
release of the prisoners and an apology. The slow
communications, however, allowed both sides to cool down, and
eventually, Lincoln released the prisoners, wanting to fight only
one war at a time.
2. The Alabama (1862-64)
The Alabama ignited another major issue between Britain and
America. The Alabama, a commerce-raider vessel built by Britain
for the Confederacy, left England and became armed in Portugal.
The British manned ship patrolled European waters, capturing
Union ships, which helped the British shippers in competition with
the Union, but also angered the Union, who were forced to remove
ships from their southern blockades to defend against the
Alabama. The Alabama avoided challenges from the Union until
1864 where it accepted a challenge from a Union cruiser and was
quickly destroyed.
The Alabama brought up the issue of England’s interference in the
war. Britain and the Union both saw the implications of Britain
supplying the Confederacy instead of remaining neutral, which
they made attempts at after the Alabama incident. Despite their
efforts, most of the Confederate raiders were made by the British,
which hurt American merchant marines and made the British
enemies of the North.
3. Archduke Maximilian (1863-64)
Taking advantage of American preoccupation, Emperor Napoleon
III dispatched a French fleet to seize control of Mexico City in
1863. In the following year, he made Austrian Archduke
Maximilian as Emperor of Mexico. Napoleon was breaking the
Monroe Doctrine by both sending the army and enthroning
Maximilian, gambling that the disunited Union would not be
powerful enough to employ the Doctrine. However, when the war
ended in 1865, U.S. Secretary of State made plans to go south to
enforce the Doctrine, causing Napoleon to flee Mexico and
Archduke Maximilian to be killed later in 1867.
B. Early Eastern Battles
1. First Bull Run (1861)
The first battle of the Civil War, Bull Run took all thirty thousand
militiamen and moved them towards Richmond, capital of the
Confederacy. Though ill prepared, Lincoln directed the force to
attack a smaller Confederate army stationed at Bull Run, with the
hopes that a Union victory would show the superiority of the
Union, and maybe even lead to the capture of Richmond. Though
initially the battle was in favor of the north, a sudden surge of
Confederate reinforcements caused the Union troops to flee. The
Southern victory brought Stonewall Jackson to the forefront as a
strong leader, but also led to a decrease in southern military
enlistment. The battle also foreshadowed that the war would be
fought over slave emancipation, not just to save the Union as
Lincoln initially professed.
2. George McClellan’s tactics in the Peninsula Campaign (1861-62)
New hope was given to the Union forces when George McClellan
was given command of the Army of the Potomac, the major Union
force near Washington. Though a brilliant strategist and military
man, he never believed his troops to be prepared and never took
action. After given firm orders from Lincoln, McClellan decided to
take a water-borne approach to Richmond, which is located on the
peninsula formed by the James and York rivers, giving the
encounter its name: the Peninsula Campaign. McClellan captured
Yorktown on his journey to Richmond, but was stalled when
Lincoln diverted his anticipated reinforcements to attack
Stonewall Jackson. While at this juncture, McClellan was attacked
by Robert E. Lee, and was driven back to sea, forcing the Union to
retreat, and Lincoln to abandon McClellan as the head of the
Potomac Army.
The Peninsula Campaign was a tragic loss for the Union, however,
had McClellan captured Richmond, the war would have ended, but
it would have done little to end the terrible institution of slavery.
3. Antietam (1862)
After having success against Union forces at Richmond and the
Second Battle of Bull Run, General Robert E. Lee entered Maryland
with the hopes to strike a blow that would entice both foreign aid
and attract the still indecisive Border States to the Confederacy.
The statesmen did not respond, and eventually a battle broke out
at Antietam Creek. McClellan, newly restored by Lincoln, fought
Lee back easily with his battle strategy in his hand, forcing him
back across the Potomac. Though a Union victory, Lincoln’s hopes
for McClellan fell short again, which lead to his firing. The army,
however, showed a vast improvement in power, which prevented
foreign intervention and gave Lincoln the needed boost to
introduce his Emancipation Proclamation.
4. Chancellorsville (1863)
After the dismissal of McClellan, Joseph “Fighting Joe” Hooker
assumed control of the Union forces, and led them into battle at
Chancellorsville in Virginia. In the battle, Confederate General
Robert Lee divided his troops, sending Stonewall Jackson to attack
the Union flank. Though successful, Jackson was wounded in the
assault, and died a few days later. After the victory, Lee set his
sights directly for an invasion of Pennsylvania.
5. Gettysburg (1863)
Lee’s plan to invade Pennsylvania was yet another attempt to
attract foreign aid in the war, but also it would strengthen the
peace movement in the north. General George Mead, several days
before the battle, replaced Hooker as head of the Union forces. In
the short battle, the Union forces claimed a hard fought victory,
due to both their larger size, but also because of the failure of
General George Pickett’s charge. The Union victory ended the
Confederate cause, and ultimately was the beginning of their
defeat.
C. Western Battles
1. Ulysses Grant’s role in Kentucky and Tennessee (1861-62)
After his initial resignation to avoid court-marshal, Ulysses S.
Grant returned to the military where he established his fist victory
in Tennessee. After brutal fighting, Grant successfully captured
Forts Henry and Donelson. His victory was crucial, securing
Kentucky more closely to the Union, but also opened the gateway
to Tennessee and Georgia.
2. Impact of Shiloh (1862)
Attempting to capitalize on his Tennessee victories, grant next
made an effort to capture the major railroad junctions in the
Mississippi Valley, but was foiled at the Battle of Shiloh. The force
of the Confederate forces in the west showed it would be a hard
fought war on the western front.
3. Vicksburg (1863)
Vicksburg, located on the Mississippi, was the most important
southern lifeline to western supplies. General Grant, who now
controlled the forces attacking Vicksburg, displayed great skill and
daring, winning his hardest fought campaign of the war. With his
victory, Port Hudson soon fell, severing the “spinal cord” of the
Confederacy.
The back-to-back victories in Gettysburg and then Vicksburg made
Mississippi trade routes available to Northern states, especially
Ohio, who had been struggling economically due to Confederate
control of the River. The victories also ruled out foreign
intervention for the Confederacy, strengthening foreign support of
the North and weakening it for the South.
D. Slavery and Politics
1. Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
a. Examine the causes, clauses and Lincoln’s logic
Lincoln used the victory at the Battle of Antietam to
launch the initial Emancipation Proclamation. He believed
that the Union at that time was strong enough to support
his words. His Emancipation Proclamation of 1863
essentially freed the slaves in all rebellious states, that is,
states that were not part of the Union or a Border State.
Lincoln claimed his document to be an “act of justice”, but
because he had no authority to free the slaves in the
Confederacy, turned out to be more in the spirit of justice.
However, after hearing of the Emancipation
Proclamation, many slaves took it upon themselves to set
themselves free.
b. Effects of, and reactions to, the Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation received mixed reviews
among people. Some abolitionists were pleased and
praised Lincoln, while people in the border-states
questioned his honesty since his initial claims were that
they war was not about slavery. Support for the war in
the North fell because they were opposed the “abolition
war”, they were fighting for the Union, not to free some
slaves. The south strongly protested against the
proclamation, and even gained mild support from
European Aristocrats. Ultimately, it became clear that the
war would not come to a peaceful settlement, but would
be fought violently to the end.
2. Copperhead Democrats
With the death of Democratic leader Stephen Douglas, the
Democratic Party split into several smaller groups. Peace
Democrats became known as Copperhead Democrats named
after the poisonous snake. The openly anti-war and
therefore, anti-Lincoln, -draft and –emancipation party
became popular in the Ohio Valley. Congressmen Clement L.
Vallandigham, famous Copperhead from Ohio, was known for
being a great speaker, but also for making trouble. Convicted
for speaking treasonously, he was sent to the Confederacy,
however refused to go and instead ran for Ohio governor in
Canada. Despite his loss, he returned to Ohio where he
continued to criticize Lincoln and the war.
3. Election of 1864
The Republican Party, afraid of a loss, joined forces with the
War Democrats to make up the Union Party. Lincoln’s
renomination initially met hostility, it died down enough for
Lincoln to secure the party nomination. Lincoln chose
running mate Andrew Johnson, previous slave owner and
War Democrat, who helped attract support from both War
Democrats and Border States. The Democrats chose General
McClellan, once commander of the Union army, to run against
Lincoln.
Early on, it seemed as if Lincoln’s defeat was looming,
however a series of Union Triumphs in the war, including the
capture of Mobile, Alabama and Atlanta sparked new life into
the party. With the help of the Union soldiers’ votes, Lincoln
was reelected in 1864, ending the last hope of the south to
win the civil war.
E. Final Events
1. Sherman’s March to the Sea (explain tactics)
Union General William Sherman, given the task of conquering
Georgia, first captured Atlanta, burning it to the ground. He next
moved his forces to Savannah were he destroyed a 60-mile stretch
on the way. Troops under Sherman’s command burned buildings,
destroyed railroads and stole from Confederate families. The
Sherman strategy included destroying Confederate supplies while
weakening the troops on a personal level, which interfered with
their focus on the war. The tactic became know as “Shermanizing”
and proved a successful practice in the south, saving more lives
than were lost.
2. Wilderness Campaign (1864)
Shortly after being recruited by Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant led a
group of troops from the North south to Richmond. During the
early summer, Grant and Lee fought a series of battles in the
Virginia Wilderness, which later became known as the Wilderness
Campaign. During the campaign, roughly fifty thousand men were
killed. In one battle, Cold Harbor, Grant sent Union troops into
battle, and within minutes, thousands were dead. Peoples’ opinion
of the campaign was low, citing the extreme bloodiness and
casualties, however, both Lincoln and Grant believed that if it took
twice as many of your men to win the war, then that is what was
necessary.
3. Appomattox Courthouse (1865)
After several months of fighting at Cold Harbor, the Confederates
tried to establish peace and negotiate terms with Lincoln and the
Union, however neither side could come to an agreement
concerning concessions. The fighting continued until mid 1865
when the North was finally able to successfully capture Richmond,
where they found General Lee at Appomattox Courthouse. General
Lee and General Grant from the Union met to discuss the terms of
the Confederate surrender, where Lee gave much to the North,
marking the Union’s official victory in the Civil War. As the war
came to a final close, Lincoln, Grant and many Unionists
recognized the importance of reestablishing a united United States
once more.
4. Lincoln’s Assassination (1865)
Five days after General Lee’s surrender, Lincoln, attending a show
at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, was assassinated by fanatically
Pro-Southern actor John Wilks Booth. The timing of his
assassination was pivotal, as his tragic death helped to erase
memories of his faults, and enhanced nobler qualities. The initial
response to his death in the south was met with jubilation by
some, however, as time passed, the south realized that Lincoln’s
kindness and moderate beliefs would have helped to buffer the
wrath of the victors in the north. Andrew Johnson, vice-president,
assumed the presidency, and began to rebuild the nation.