The Civil War Beginnings

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The Civil WarBeginnings
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Fort Sumter

• A month after Lincoln delivered his inaugural
  address, southerners opened fire on Fort Sumter,
  a federal fort, in Charleston, South Carolina.

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Fort Sumter

• The attack unleashed a wave of patriotic fury in
  the North.
• The time for compromise was over
• The Civil War had begun.

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Choosing sides

• Choosing sides was difficult
• Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina and Tennessee
  joined the Confederacy.

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Choosing Sides

• The western counties of Virginia remained loyal
  to the union.
• They broke away to form a new state called West
  Virginia.

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Choosing Sides

• The other four border states-Delaware, Maryland,
  Kentucky, and Missouri remained in the union.

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Preparing for War

• Both the North and the South looked forward to a
  quick victory in the War.

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Preparing for War

• Northern newspapers claimed-
• We cannot imagine that the South has resources
  for a long war or even a short one.

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Preparing for War

• Southern journalists said-
• The army of the south will be composed of the
  best material ever yet made up an army while
  that of Lincoln will be gathered from the sewers
  of the citieswho will serve for pay and will run
  away as soon as danger threatens.

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The North-Strengths

• The North had a greater population -
• 22 million v. 9 million in the south
• .

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Northern Advantages

• 90 of the nations manufacturing plants were in
  the north.

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Northern Advantages

• The North had more farms to provide food for the
  troops.

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Northern Advantages

• The North had about 21,000 miles of railroad
  track, compared to the 9,000 in the South.

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Northern Disadvantages

• The Norths greatest weakness was its military
  leadership.
• At the start of the war, 1/3 of the military
  officers resigned to return to the South.

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Strengths of the South

• The Southerners had the home court advantage
  because they would be fighting in the south.

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Southern Advantages

• Their military leadership included some of the
  best military officers in the country.

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Southern Weaknesses

• The main weakness of the south was an economy
  that could not support a long war.
• Very few factories to produce guns other
  military supplies.

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Southern Weaknesses

• The Confederacy faced serious transportation
  problems.
• They lacked the railroad network needed to haul
  goods long distances.

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Southern Weaknesses

• The South did not have enough money. Most wealth
  was invested in land and slaves.

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Lincoln v. Davis

• One of the Norths greatest advantages was its
  newly elected president Abraham Lincoln.

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Lincoln v. Davis

• Lincoln was a strong leader who never wavered
  from his goal of preserving the union.
• At 6 feet 4 inches he towered above other men.

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Lincoln v. Davis

• Lincoln grew up in Illinois and had very little
  formal education. However, he read everything he
  could find.
• He taught himself to be a lawyer through reading
  in the evenings.

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Lincoln v. Davis

• Jefferson was born in Kentucky and grew up on a
  small plantation in Mississippi.

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Lincoln v. Davis

• Jefferson Davis attended West Point Military
  Academy and served as a commander in The Mexican
  War.

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Lincoln v. Davis

• Davis had hoped to be chosen to command the
  armies of the Confederacy.
• Instead, he was elected president.