The Civil War in 800 Words

The Civil War in 800 Words

Simply put, slavery caused the Civil War. People can argue that point if they choose to, but it is a historical truth. Between 1850 and 1860 the issue of slavery drove a wedge between the Northern and Southern states. The main point of contention was whether slavery should be confined to the states where it existed or allowed to expand into western territories. At stake was political power in Washington and the socioeconomic status quo in the slaveholding states (including the fate of four million slaves).

To understand the precariousness of the status quo, we need look no further than the 1860 census: slaves comprised approximately 33% the population in the antebellum South. They were owned by 5% of the region's white population. We should not be misled by these figures. Nearly all Southern whites (like most Northern whites) were committed to white supremacy and opposed to emancipation.

In 1860 the Democratic party split over the issue of slavery in the territories; meanwhile, the Republican party was committed to the containment of slavery. The election of antislavery Republican Abraham Lincoln as the nation’s 16th president in November 1860 prompted South Carolina to immediately declare its independence. Lincoln was not inaugurated until March 1861, but who he was--what he represented--was more than the citizens of South Carolina could stand. In the weeks that followed, six other states in the Deep South followed the lead of South Carolina. Together they formed the Confederate States of America in February 1861.

In March the Confederate Congress called for 100,000 volunteers to defend the new Southern nation and ordered the surrender of all federal forts on Confederate soil. On April 12th Confederate batteries attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, forcing its surrender and evacuation. President Lincoln immediately called for 75,000 militia volunteers to suppress the rebellion, prompting Virginia and four other Southern states to join the Confederacy. In May, Lincoln ordered a blockade of Confederate ports and the invasion of Virginia.

In the first two years of the war, the Confederate army won most of the major battles in the East (fought mainly in Virginia); meanwhile the Union army won most of the battles in the West (fought mainly in Kentucky and Tennessee). One turning point was the Battle of Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland, in September 1862. This Confederate setback on Northern soil gave Lincoln the opportunity he needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. From then on, the war was not just a contest for either one or two Americas; the future of slavery hung in the balance.

A second turning point was the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in July 1863. General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia seemed unbeatable, having won stunning victories at Fredericksburg in December 1862 and Chancellorsville in May 1863. Lee hoped for a decisive victory in his second foray into the North; but at Gettysburg Lee's army met its match. Lee lost a third of his men in an unsuccessful series of assaults against the Army of the Potomac, led by General George G. Meade. With the near-simultaneous surrender of Vicksburg to General Ulysses S. Grant in Mississippi, the momentum shifted to the North.

In March 1864 Lincoln put Grant in charge of all Union forces. For a year, Grant and Lee squared off in Virginia, with both sides suffering terrible casualties. Meanwhile General William T. Sherman marched through Georgia and into South Carolina, helping assure Lincoln’s re-election. In April 1865, Lee was finally forced to abandon Petersburg and the Confederate capital, Lincoln entered Richmond, and Lee surrendered his army to Grant at Appomattox. Sporadic fighting continued for a few weeks but the war was essentially over. The cumulative effects of the Union blockade, the vast resources of the North, Grant’s relentless pressure, and Lincoln’s unwavering determination, had crushed the South’s bid for independence. On April 14, 1865—exactly four years after it had been lowered—the United States flag was raised above Fort Sumter. Lincoln was assassinated that evening.

It had been a terrible contest. A total of nearly three million men served in the war and approximately 620,000 died. (If the same death rate was inflicted on the nation today, six million American soldiers would die.) At least 50,000 Southern civilians also died as a consequence of the war. Much of the South lay in ruins and Southern whites were in despair. At the same time, the hopes of African-Americans—190,000 of whom had served in the Union army—were realized with the demise of the Confederacy. Liberated from slavery, they faced daunting challenges that came with their newfound status as free black citizens in a climate of pervasive white supremacy. Nonetheless, as Lincoln had remarked in his Gettysburg Address, the nation achieved a new birth of freedom and survived its greatest test.

© 2008 David C. Hanson, Virginia Western Community College

- History 269-

The Civil War in 800 Words



Simply put, slavery caused the Civil War. People can argue that point if they choose to, but it is a historical truth. Between 1850 and 1860 the issue of slavery drove a wedge between the Northern and Southern states. The main point of contention was whether slavery should be confined to the states where it existed or allowed to expand into western territories. At stake was political power in Washington and the socioeconomic status quo in the slaveholding states (including the fate of four million slaves). To understand the precariousness of the status quo, we need look no further than the 1860 census: slaves comprised approximately 33% the population in the antebellum South. They were owned by 5% of the region's white population. We should not be misled by these figures. Nearly all Southern whites (like most Northern whites) were committed to white supremacy and opposed to emancipation. In 1860 the Democratic party split over the issue of slavery in the territories; meanwhile, the Republican party was committed to the containment of slavery. The election of antislavery Republican Abraham Lincoln as the nation’s 16th president in November 1860 prompted South Carolina to immediately declare its independence. Lincoln was not inaugurated until March 1861, but who he was--what he represented--was more than the citizens of South Carolina could stand. In the weeks that followed, six other states in the Deep South followed the lead of South Carolina. Together they formed the Confederate States of America in February 1861. In March the Confederate Congress called for 100,000 volunteers to defend the new Southern nation and ordered the surrender of all federal forts on Confederate soil. On April 12th Confederate batteries attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, forcing its surrender and evacuation. President Lincoln immediately called for 75,000 militia volunteers to suppress the rebellion, prompting Virginia and four other Southern states to join the Confederacy. In May, Lincoln ordered a blockade of Confederate ports and the invasion of Virginia. In the first two years of the war, the Confederate army won most of the major battles in the East (fought mainly in Virginia); meanwhile the Union army won most of the battles in the West (fought mainly in Kentucky and Tennessee). One turning point was the Battle of Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland, in September 1862. This Confederate setback on Northern soil gave Lincoln the opportunity he needed to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. From then on, the war was not just a contest for either one or two Americas; the future of slavery hung in the balance. A second turning point was the Battle of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in July 1863. General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia seemed unbeatable, having won stunning victories at Fredericksburg in December 1862 and Chancellorsville in May 1863. Lee hoped for a decisive victory in his second foray into the North; but at Gettysburg Lee's army met its match. Lee lost a third of his men in an unsuccessful series of assaults against the Army of the Potomac, led by General George G. Meade. With the near-simultaneous surrender of Vicksburg to General Ulysses S. Grant in Mississippi, the momentum shifted to the North. In March 1864 Lincoln put Grant in charge of all Union forces. For a year, Grant and Lee squared off in Virginia, with both sides suffering terrible casualties. Meanwhile General William T. Sherman marched through Georgia and into South Carolina, helping assure Lincoln’s re-election. In April 1865, Lee was finally forced to abandon Petersburg and the Confederate capital, Lincoln entered Richmond, and Lee surrendered his army to Grant at Appomattox. Sporadic fighting continued for a few weeks but the war was essentially over. The cumulative effects of the Union blockade, the vast resources of the North, Grant’s relentless pressure, and Lincoln’s unwavering determination, had crushed the South’s bid for independence. On April 14, 1865—exactly four years after it had been lowered—the United States flag was raised above Fort Sumter. Lincoln was assassinated that evening. It had been a terrible contest. A total of nearly three million men served in the war and approximately 620,000 died. (If the same death rate was inflicted on the nation today, six million American soldiers would die.) At least 50,000 Southern civilians also died as a consequence of the war. Much of the South lay in ruins and Southern whites were in despair. At the same time, the hopes of African-Americans—190,000 of whom had served in the Union army—were realized with the demise of the Confederacy. Liberated from slavery, they faced daunting challenges that came with their newfound status as free black citizens in a climate of pervasive white supremacy. Nonetheless, as Lincoln had remarked in his Gettysburg Address, the nation achieved a new birth of freedom and survived its greatest test. © 2008 David C. Hanson, Virginia Western Community College