Ch 20: Girding for War (Short Answer)

Compare Lincoln and Davis in terms of political leadership during the war.

As a military leader Lincoln had very little training or experience. He had served a short stint as a volunteer in the Black Hawk Indian wars. He made light of this service himself and well understood his shortcomings as a military expert. When the war actually started he made an effort to educate himself on military strategy by reading manuals and books on the subject but he could hardly qualify as an expert by any stretch of the imagination. Davis, on the other hand, was educated at West Point and had served with distinction in the Mexican War. He was Secretary of War under Franklin Pearce from 1852-1856 and was intimately acquainted with most of the generals that served during the war on both sides of the conflict. He had studied the latest scientific military strategy in some detail during this term and had even helped write some of the manuals that Lincoln read in an effort to educate himself. Politically, Lincoln had served in the State Legislature of Illinois and a term in the House of Representatives. He was one of the leaders of the minority Whig party in Illinois and had only very recently come into any sort of national prominence when he was nominated to head the Republican Presidential ticket. He had failed in his efforts to unseat the incumbent Stephen Douglas in the 1856 race for the senate. It was through this hotly contested election that he had received the national attention that propelled him to the Republican ticket. In a series of debates between Douglas and himself, which were widely publicized in newspapers all over the country, he had made his "house divided" speech whereby he called attention to his belief that the nation would not long remain divided over the slavery question. His statements that the country would either have to become completely slave or completely free were widely construed later during the 1860 presidential election to mean that slavery as in institution in the south would not be safe under his administration. The rhetoric in these debates with Douglas had included charges of intentions for slaves and race relations from both sides that both candidates knew to be false that later came back to haunt both he and Douglas. His one other nationally noted moment had come during his term in the House of Representatives when he had sardonically asked for President Polk to point out the "spot" on United States soil where American troops had been fired upon. Davis, on the other hand, had served a long career that included terms in both houses of Congress and one four-year stint in President Pearce's cabinet as Secretary of War. He had run for Governor of Mississippi and was considered one of the rising young stars of the Democratic Party nationally. It was widely believed that he was on the inner track to become the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in a short time. On the face of their relative experience in both the political arena and military matters it would seem that Lincoln was hopelessly outclassed in both instances. Due to some basic personality differences just the opposite turned out to be true. Davis, while highly intelligent and passionately devoted to his cause, was personally ill suited for leadership. He tended to judge people by their agreement with his own views. People who didn't agree with him he suspected of ulterior motives or a lack of dedication to the cause of the Confederacy. His opinions of people and their abilities once formed were not open to change. He was loyal to a fault to his friends and just as adamant in his opposition to those he saw as his enemies. His course, once set upon, was seldom open to a change, whether it be a military objective or a political one. Lincoln, on the other hand, often considered the only proper action was reaction. He plainly stated that he did not believe he was in control of the circumstances he found himself in; but rather was guided by them. Many within his own political group saw his policy of reaction as a sign of terrible indecisiveness and incompetence. He surrounded himself with people of the highest ability that he could find regardless of their personal agreement with himself or his policies. He somehow managed to successfully run an administration composed of a cabinet who agreed on very little accept their own individual personal superiority over himself. His policies were endlessly fluid and open to adaptability to circumstances that presented themselves throughout the war. From Fort Sumter on through the end of the war Lincoln bested Davis politically at every turn. With inferior generals but superior manpower and material capabilities he managed to militarily best Davis as well. Lincoln preferred to guide military policy from the background and seldom overruled or defined military objectives for his generals. He had a long-term general policy that he thought was the key to success, which involved attacking on all fronts simultaneously to best use the North's material superiority, which he pushed from the start; but that is as far as he would go. Davis, on the other hand, often personally set military objectives for his generals. Some of his promotions and removal of individual leaders had direct and dire consequences for the Confederate cause. His inability to deal with individual state leaders also led to supply and reinforcement problems which hurt the south. Some of these problems can be ascribed to the fear of a strong central government in the Confederacy but much of it can also be attributed to Davis' own intractable personality. Overall, I think the evidence plainly supports the statement that Lincoln was Davis' superior as both a military and a political leader. In spite of the fact that if one were to look at their respective backgrounds prior to the war they would have to conclude the opposite was the likeliest possibility.

Describe the curtailment of civil liberties and the mobilization of military manpower during the war.

Abraham Lincoln declared martial law and authorized such forums to try terrorists during the American Civil War. Historically, military commissions during wartime began as traveling courts when there was a need to impose quick punishments. This is one way civil liberties were violated during the Civil War.

Analyze the economic and social consequences of the war for both sides.

The south's actions of leaving the union had extreme consequences when they returned. Before they left the union it seemed like the south had it all because of one aspect the cotton industry. Cotton was a major cash crop and it made up all most all of their exports. When the south seceded and then were readmitted they had to adopt many amendments which caused the emancipation of the slaves. With Slaves no longer being legal, the south had no one to get the job done. They could have tried to do it there selves but several ex slaveholders held more than 50 slaves meaning there plantations were large and unmanageable without slaves. The agriculture of the south slowly started dying out. With little exports the south couldn't get money for imported goods and the economy began to decline and the south started to suffer. However in the North Agriculture was not affected simply because there was more industry and the north didn't have to thrive on Agriculture The Labor field also endured consequences of the war. After the states were readmitted to the union the Freedmen's Bureau was created to aid and protect the newly freed blacks. One of the things the Freedmen's bureau did was provide former slaves jobs. With the jobs being provided in the south it had a positive and negative effect. The Positive effect was that it got the cotton industry going again because slaves could now work for "pay" on plantations. The negative effect was that the Freedmen's Bureau did not only get blacks jobs on plantations but they got jobs elsewhere. With a good amount of the south's population now working not just on plantations it took the jobs away from the whites.

Describe the crucial early struggle for the Border States

The Lincoln administration regarded Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri as border states, critical because of their geographical positions and questionable in loyalty because of their strong ties to both South and North. Slavery existed in all 4 states, though its importance had diminished in Delaware and Maryland as their prewar economies became increasingly interwoven with the North's. Delaware rejected an invitation to join the Confederacy early in 1861, and through the war remained loyal to the North, mobilizing its industries to provide supplies for the Union Army; despite some Southern sentiments, it never seriously threatened to leave the Union. Marylanders were much more divided in their sympathies, being distinctly Southern in character and attached to the South by strong blood ties. They resented radical secessionists and abolitionists alike as the cause of hostilities, urging recognition of the Confederacy. The first blood was spilled during the Baltimore Riots in March 1861, and though the state contributed substantially to the war effort with men and materiel, the Federal government garrisoned troops in the state as a precautionary measure. Believing Kentucky to be a buffer zone, Governor Beriah Magoffin refused the call for troops and formally declared the states neutrality. But the attempt proved futile: both Union and Confederate recruiters operated in the state, with Kentuckians serving on both sides. When Confederate troops moved into western Kentucky Sept. 1861, and Brig. Gen. U.S. Grant occupied Paducah, the legislature officially endorsed the Union. Pro-South Magoffin established a provisional government at Russellville, ratified the Confederate Constitution, and Kentucky was admitted to the Confederacy in December. The state, like Missouri, suffered the tragedy of a war that pitted father against son, brother against brother. Missouri attempted neutrality after delegates to a secession convention in February 1861 refused to secede, but Federal invasion in May pushed many Unionists into the Confederate camp. As in Kentucky, pro-Union and pro-Confederate governments were established, the latter run in exile by Governor Claiborne F. Jackson. Missouri became a Confederate state November, 1861. Its thriving prewar economy was devastated, its people terrorized by brutal guerrilla warfare. The border states represented a serious dilemma for President Lincoln. Convinced they were the key to victory, he could not afford to alienate them with his emancipation policies, thus incurred the scorn of Radicals by failing to abolish border-state slavery until the 13th Amendment, passed in 1865. And in the Western border states Federal troops had to be kept from the front to hold the occupied territory from Confederate invaders. Soldiers also policed the polls to protect loyal Unionists during wartime elections. Though the border states remained pro-Union, even severely divided Kentucky and Missouri, the effort to nurture their loyalty in the face of bitter internal struggles weighed heavily on Lincoln's overall plan to win the war.

Describe the diplomatic struggle for the support of the European powers.

Both Britain and France were already indirectly supporting the Confederate cause by freely supplying arms, materials and even ship building.... as they both were also selling same to the Union to the first and highest bidders. Many of the European countries found this to be a profitable enterprise making money off our regional conflict. The overhead issue was more so of official political recognition of the Confederate States as an independent sovereign nation, which it claimed to be. The US Federal government lobbied aggressively against this because they referred to the Confederacy as an internal rebellion or insurrection of states within the Union and refused to recognize the Confederate government as an independent entity of any sorts. Europe, then, would be supporting an insurrection inside of another country or that of another sovereign nation. Several European countries including these two pondered that question. Most were just sitting idle awaiting the outcome or some assurance that the Confederacy would become a nation. One of the primary reasons for the Confederate offensive actions in 1862 and 1863 that if successful would show they could. The Federal government also placed a great deal of political pressure on these European governments not to do so.. The Trent Affair was about as close as it could get to gain Britain's attention when the US seized and held a British flagged ship in its blockade of the southern ports. Britain didn't like that too much and even went as far as sending Canadian and British troops to the Northern US border... The US now possibly causing a war with Britain and being invaded via Canada, released the British vessel. Otherwise most of Europe decided not to formally decline to assist the Confederacy, they just sat quietly idle to wait it out; in no hurry to give consent to a formal political recognition of the Confederacy.

Explain how the firing on Fort Sumter and Lincoln's call for troops galvanized both sides for war.

By the time Abraham Lincoln took office in March of 1861, seven southern states had already seceded. In his inaugural address he said there would be "no conflict unless the South provoked it." He declared that secession was "wholly impractical" because the two sides were geographically linked. Despite Lincoln's calls for moderation, southern states began seizing federal government property within their borders, like forts and mints (places where specie/hard currency was made). Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, South Carolina is where the trouble began. Federal troops operated the fort and were surrounded by hostile southern forces that were demanding their surrender. With the men inside Fort Sumter running dangerously low on food and vital supplies, the union would need to re-supply Fort Sumter or they would be forced to surrender. In a brilliant decision under heavy pressure from his advisers, Lincoln notified the South that a union ship would be sent to Fort Sumter to resupply them only, no soldiers or weapons would be sent in. Lincoln knew that if a war began it was vital that the North possess the moral high ground from the start. The South indeed gave Lincoln what he needed, their president Jefferson Davis ordered the fort to be fired upon as the reinforcement ships drew near. After 34 straight hours of bombardment, the men inside Fort Sumter surrendered the garrison. Though the loss of Fort Sumter was a defeat for the North, it electrified a significant number of Northerners to volunteer to fight. They rallied behind Lincoln's call for all states to send troops to recapture the forts and preserve the Union. The abrupt increase in northern militia aroused the South to unite, and the Civil War had begun.

Indicate the strengths and weaknesses of both sides as they went to war.

North - Strengths: • Economy: The North's population was larger than the South's as they had more immigrants and employment opportunities due to their industrial economy. Thus, their economy was its greatest strength as the Yankees had about three-fourths of the nation's wealth. Immigrants from Europe continued to pour in even during the war and most of them enlisted in the Union forces. • Transportation: They had three fourths of thirty thousand miles of railroads. Their powerful navy enabled them to exchange huge quantities of grain, munitions, and supplies with Europe. They also established a blockade, which soon choked off Southern supplies and shattered Southern morale. The North had a manpower population of 22 million to the South's 9 million. Weaknesses: • To win they had to invade the vast territory of the Confederacy and drag it back to the Union. The ordinary men of the North were much less prepared than their Southern counterparts for military life and less confident in their higher commanders. South - Strengths: • Geography: The South could fight defensively behind interior lines. They would win their independence if they merely fought the North to a draw and stood firm. • Military: They had the most talented officers the nation had to offer. They had top cadets from West Point, such as the South's most important general Robert E. Lee who was superior in military strategy compared to all others around him. The ordinary males of the South were bred to fight and accustomed to managing horses and bearing arms from boyhood, resulting in excellent cavalrymen and foot soldiers. Weaknesses: • Economy/Transportation: Their economy was its greatest weakness. Handicapped by the scarcity of factories, there were shortages of shoes, uniforms, and blankets. The soldiers were hungry because of these supply problems and their lack of a decent transportation system. After the North blocked them from trading with Europe, they hardly had any way to get supplies needed to keep the war going.