US History - Chapter 2.4 - Guided Reading Activity

What advantage did the South gain by having most of the nation's military schools?

In 1860 seven of the nation's eight military colleges were in the South. These colleges provided the region with a large number of trained officers to quickly organize an effective fighting force.

What advantages did the North have over the South?

Just as the South had a strong military tradition, the North had a strong naval tradition. More than three-quarters of the Navy's officers came form the North, and the crews of American merchant ships were almost entirely from the North. They provided a large pool of trained sailors for the Union navy as it expanded.

Where did Lee surrender to Grant, and what terms did Grant guarantee?

Lee's desperate attempt to escape Grant's forces failed when Sheridan's cavalry got ahead of Lee's troops and blocked the road at Appomattox Courthouse.

Why was Antietam such a crucial victory for the North?

The British government had been ready to intervene in the war as a mediator if Lee's invasion had succeeded. Britain also had begun making plans to recognize the Confederacy in the event the North rejected mediation. Lee's defeat at Antietam changed everything. The British again decided to wait and see how the war progressed. With this decision, the South lost its best chance at gaining international recognition and support. The South's defeat at Antietam had an even more important political impact in the United States. It convinced Lincoln that the time had come to end slavery in the South.

How did the Civil War differ from past wars?

The North and South were about to embark on what was, in many respects, the first modern war. Unlike earlier European wars, the Civil War involved huge armies that consisted mostly of civilian volunteers and required vast amounts of supplies. By the 1850s, French and American inventors had developed an inexpensive conoidal - or cone-shaped - bullet that was accurate at much greater distances. This resulted in much higher casualties. Attrition - the wearing down of one side by the other through exhaustion of soldiers and resources - also played a critical role as the war dragged on.

What were some unresolved questions facing the South after the Civil War?

The North's victory in the Civil War saved the Union and strengthened the power of the federal government over the states. It transformed American society by ending slavery, but it also left the South socially and economically devastated, and many questions unresolved. No one knew how to bring the Southern states back into the Union or what the status of African Americans would be in Southern society. Americans from the North and the South tried to answer these questions in the years following the Civil War - an era known as Reconstruction.

How was Gettysburg the turning point of the war?

The disaster at Gettysburg proved to be the turning point of the war in the East. The Union's victory strengthened the Republicans politically and ensured once again that the British would not recognize the confederacy. For the remainder of the war, Lee's forces remained on the defensive, slowly giving ground to the advancing Union army.

How did Lincoln prevent Maryland from seceding?

To prevent Maryland's secession, Lincoln imposed martial law - military rule - in Baltimore, where angry mobs had already attacked federal troops. Although many people objected to this suspension of their rights, Maryland stayed in the Union.

How did Confederate President Jefferson Davis react to Lincoln's plan to resupply Fort Sumter?

When President Lincoln announced his plan to resupply Fort Sumter, Confederate President Jefferson Davis was faced with a problem. To tolerate U.S. troops in the South's most vital Atlantic harbor seemed unacceptable for a sovereign nation. However firing on the supply ship would undoubtedly provoke war with the United States. Jefferson decided to demand the surrender of Fort Sumter before the supply ship arrived. The fort's commander, U.S. Army Major Robert Anderson, stood fast. Confederate forces then bombarded Fort Sumter for 33 hours on April 12 and 13, until Anderson and his exhausted men gave up. No one had been killed, but the Civil War had begun.

How were the economies of the North and South affected by the war?

As the war intensified, the economies of the North and South went in different directions. By the end of 1862, the South's economy had begun to suffer greatly. The collapse of the South's transportation system and the presence of Union troops in several important agricultural regions led to severe food shortages in the winter of 1862. In several communities, food shortages led to riots. Hearing of such hardships, many Confederate soldiers deserted to return home to help their families. In contrast, the North actually experienced an economic boom because of the war. With its large, well- established banking industry, the North raised money for the war more easily than the South. Its growing industries also supplied Union troops with clothes, munitions, and other necessities.

Why was the capture of Vicksburg an important victory for the North?

Gaining control of the Mississippi River was a vital element of the Union strategy for winning the Civil War. If the Union could capture Vicksburg, Mississippi, the last major Confederate stronghold on the river, then the North could cut the South in two.

What is the Thirteenth Amendment, and when did the House of Representatives pass it?

On January 31, 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, banning slavery in the United States, was narrowly passed by the House of Representatives and was sent to the states for ratification.

Who was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation; and who was not?

On September 22, 1862, encouraged by the Union victory at Antietam, Lincoln publicly announced that he would issue the Emancipation Proclamation - a decree freeing all enslaved persons in states still in rebellion after January 1, 1863. Because the Proclamation freed enslaved African Americans only in states at war with the Union, it did not address slavery in the border states. Short of a constitutional amendment, Lincoln could not end slavery in the border states, nor did he want to endanger their loyalty. The Proclamation, by its very existence, transformed the conflict over preserving the Union into a war of liberation.

Who received an offer to command Union troops, and why did he refuse?

On the same day that he learned his home state of Virginia had voted to secede from the Union, Robert E. Lee - one of the best senior officers in the United States Army - received an offer from General Winfield Scott to command Union troops. Although Lee had spoken against secession and considered slavery "a moral and political evil," he refused to fight against the South. Instead, he offered his services to the Confederacy.