The American Civil War

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The American Civil War Beginnings
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Presidential election of 1860

• In 1860, Stephan Douglas and Abraham Lincoln ran
  against each other again, this time for
  president.
• Lincoln had become well known from their debates
  about slavery.
• This time, Lincoln won, becoming the 16th
  president.

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The RED states are the ones that elected Lincoln.
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Southern States secede

• Lincoln received no support in the South, because
  they believed Lincoln wanted to end slavery.
  Since there were so many more people in the
  North, he won the election anyway.
• As soon as Lincoln won the election, the South
  started to secede. This means the South split
  from the Union. They no longer wanted to be part
  of the United States.
• Supporters of secession based their arguments on
  the idea of states rights. They had voluntarily
  joined the union, so they could leave when they
  wanted.

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Confederate States of America

• On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the
  first state to secede. They were followed by
  Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia,
  Louisiana, and Texas.
• The eleven states that had seceded became the
  Confederate States of America.
• They named Jefferson Davis as president.
• They wrote a new Constitution which made slavery
  legal.

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Civil War

• A civil war is a war between people of the same
  country.
• There have been many civil wars, but one of the
  worst happened in America.
• The American Civil War was fought to keep the
  South from leaving the Union.
• Slavery was the major issue that separated the
  North from the South.

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The Civil War began at Fort Sumter on April 12,
1861.
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• Fort Sumter was a Union fort in the South, and
  the Union had a hard time defending it. They
  surrendered 34 hours later.
• There were 23 states in the Union (North) at the
  beginning of the war.
• There were 11 states in the Confederacy (South)
  at the beginning of the war.

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Union and Confederate states
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Norths Advantages

• The North had some major advantages
• They had many more people
• They had many more factories, which could be used
  to make weapons.
• The Union also had many more miles of railroad
  tracks.

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Souths Advantages

• The Souths main advantage was that they were
  fighting at home.
• They were closer to their supplies.
• They would fight harder because they were
  protecting their homes.
• Southern soldiers were better equipped with the
  skills necessary to survive a war.

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Abraham Lincoln

• The president of the Union was Abraham Lincoln,
  who had been elected in 1860.

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Jefferson Davis

• The president of the new Confederate States of
  America, or the Confederacy, was Jefferson Davis.

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Battle of Bull Run

• One of the first battles of the war was the
  Battle of Bull Run.
• The North realized after this battle that the war
  would not be easy and would not be over soon, as
  they originally thought.

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New Weapons

• Many new weapons were used during the Civil War.
• One of these weapons was an ironclad ship. An
  ironclad ship was a ship with iron plates on it
  to protect it from cannon fire.

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Other new weapons

• Deadlier cannons and bullets
• Rifles that were more accurate

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Battle of Antietam

• The first time the Confederacy invaded Northern
  territory was the Battle of Antietam. They were
  led by Gen. Robert E. Lee
• It began on Sept. 17, 1862 and lasted 12 hours.
• It was the bloodiest battle day in United States
  history. 23,000 men lost their lives that day.
• The Union army stopped the Confederate army. This
  victory by the Union gave President Lincoln the
  chance to announce the abolition of slavery in
  the South.

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Battle at Antietam
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Emancipation Proclamation

• On January 1, 1863, Pres. Lincoln announced the
  Emancipation Proclamation. It declared that all
  slaves should be set free in the Confederacy.
• It also allowed blacks to serve in the Union army
  and navy.
• The South ignored the Emancipation Proclamation,
  but it did change the focus of the war to the
  issue of slavery.

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Women in the Civil War

• Women on both sides worked during the war. Many
  became nurses. The most famous nurse from the
  Union was Clara Barton.
• She also helped organize the American Red Cross.

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Battle of Gettysburg

• The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the bloodiest
  battles of the war.
• It took place from July1-3, 1863.
• 97,000 Union soldiers fought 75,000 Confederate
  soldiers.
• More than 50,000 men were killed or wounded in
  the battle.

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• The Union won the Battle of Gettysburg.
• Many felt it was a turning point in the war.
• Many Northerners started supporting the army
  after this by lending them money to help pay for
  the war.
• This was called a war bond.

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Gettysburg Address

• Several months after the Battle of Gettysburg,
  President Lincoln went to the battlefield to
  dedicate a cemetery in honor of all those who had
  died.
• Lincoln spoke for two minutes, but his speech
  became very famous.
• It is called The Gettysburg Address.

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• Other Important Dates

• In March of 1864, Pres. Lincoln appointed Gen.
  Ulysses S. Grant to lead the Union Army.
• On Nov. 6 1864, President Lincoln was reelected
  as president of the Union.
• After several more battles, Confederate General
  Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General
  Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865. The war was
  officially over.
• On April 14, 1865, while enjoying a night at the
  theater with his wife, Abraham Lincoln was shot
  by John Wilkes Booth. He died at 722 a.m. the
  next day.
• On Dec. 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the
  Constitution was ratified. This amendment
  abolished (ended) slavery.