US History Since 1877: Chapter 14

The Confederacy won most of the battles fought on southern soil, but the tables would turn when the war expanded to the West in 1862. Put in chronological order the events that gave the Union the advantage in the western theater.

1. The Union achieves its first victories at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in Tennessee. 2. The Union emerges victories at the Battle of Shiloh. 3. Union forces capture New Orleans. 4. Union forces gain control of Kentucky at the Battle of Perryville.

In the Battle of 1.________, General Ulysses S. Grant sought to exhaust the surrounded Confederate army through an artillery 2.________ as well as through 3.________. Residents of the city, along with Confederate soldiers, were trapped and could not be resupplied with 4.________ and food. Rebel soldiers resorted to 5.________ their horses and mules, with their commander describing the situation as 6.________.

1. Vicksburg 2. bombardment 3. starvation 4. ammunition 5. eating 6. "hopeless"

Confederate conscription laws included loophole provisions. Under what circumstances was a southern male citizen within the conscription age range exempt from military service?

A draftee could pay $500 in cash toward the war effort, instead of serving in the military. Elected officials, key civilian officials, and planters with over twenty slaves were exempt from service. A draftee could provide an able-bodied substitute who was not of draft age.

Department of Agriculture

Created a federal agency that reported to the president to aid farmers and insure the food supply

Contract Labor Act

Encouraged importation of immigrant labor

After the fall of Fort Sumter and the outbreak of the Civil War, civilian supporters of the Union and the Confederacy alike wanted their respective forces to advance slowly and cautiously to avoid an early defeat and to spare as many American lives as possible.

False

Most southerners fought for the Union during the Civil War

False

President Lincoln was equally dedicated to ending both the abomination of slavery and the Confederate secessionist rebellion.

False

The Confederate soldiers at Vicksburg faced horror and hardship rather than consider surrendering to the Union.

False

What was President Lincoln's primary motivation for directly attacking the institution of slavery?

Following numerous Union defeats in the South, Lincoln moved to weaken the Confederacy by dismantling the institution of slavery because "we must free the slaves or ourselves be subdued."

Homestead Act

Granted 160 acres of public land to settlers who would work the land for five years

How did Robert E. Lee respond to the Battle of Vicksburg?

He would strike again into the North to force a Union retreat from Vicksburg to defend its home territory and he sought to develop a military strategy that would persuade Copperhead Democrats to end the war.

Why was the Civil War considered the first "modern" war?

Innovations in communications such as the telegraph were developed for military use. A variety of new weapons were used in battle that could kill more accurately and at greater distances. Civilians could follow the status of the war through newspapers and photo exhibits.

Identify ways by which the Civil War profoundly changed the South.

It destroyed the southern economy and cut its productivity in half and it also destroyed many of the modes of transportation within the South. It also led to a bankruptcy crisis in the former Confederacy.

How did the end of the war change the political landscape of the United States?

It shifted the political balance of power from the South to the North. It expanded the power and scope of the federal government. It greatly expanded the federal budget and transformed the government into the nation's largest employer.

Identify the wartime measures taken by the federal government during the Civil War and their impact on agriculture and industry in the North.

Next four questions

Morrill Land Grant Act

Supported the teaching of agriculture and "mechanic arts" by providing federal aid to state-supported colleges and universities that taught these subjects

A Southern newspaper wrote, "The cards are in our hands... And we intend to play them out to the bankruptcy of even cotton factory in Great Britain and France for the acknowledgement of our independence." What does this quotation reveal about "cotton diplomacy"?

The Confederacy believed that demand for southern cotton would result in the British and French joining its side in the war.

In 1862, General Robert E. Lee took the war into Union territory at the Battle of Antietam outside Sharpsburg, Maryland. What were the ramifications of the Battle of Antietam for the course of the Civil War?

The Union's ability to repel the Confederate invasion greatly improved morale among Union troops. The Antietam victory for the Union allowed President Lincoln to make the Emancipation Proclamation without it appearing to be an act of desperation. The results of the battle dashed Confederate hopes of establishing an alliance with Britain and France.

Six generals and 1,750 soldiers were lost in Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. What impact did this "grand charge" have on the Confederate cause?

The charge provided the opportunity for the Union army to chase the Confederates back to Virginia. It was the final assault on the Union lines during the Battle of Gettysburg. The charge was a great failure for the Confederacy, which forced the Rebel army to retreat to Virginia.

According to Senator John Sherman, the war resulted in capitalists like J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and Andrew Carnegie, who imagined making "millions as confidently as formerly of thousands" after the war.

True

So many men were away fighting the war in the South that have the home front became largely the domain of women, children, and slaves.

True

One contemporary journalist wrote, "No conflict in history was such a woman's war as the Civil war." Identify the ways in which women contributed to the war efforts that support this statement.

Women played prominent roles in the war, ranging from working as nurses to supporting the freedman's aid movement.

Confederate advantages

defensive war and geography and knowledge of the terrain

Union advantages

industrial development and infrastructure and four-to-one advantage in human resources