THE CIVIL WAR

CAUSES

In 1861, Texas joined 10 other Southern states that withdrew from the United States to form the Confederate States of America.

This action followed years of long-standing differences between the North and the South. The two sections disagreed on many issues.

Cause #1

SectionalismSectionalism

North

South

Prior to the Civil War, the United States Prior to the Civil War, the United States was not really united.was not really united.

Our country was more like two separate Our country was more like two separate countries sharing the same land.countries sharing the same land.

North

South

The North had industry, large cities, a The North had industry, large cities, a diverse population, and favored the diverse population, and favored the politics of the Republican party which politics of the Republican party which supported the abolition of slavery.supported the abolition of slavery.

The South had an economy based on The South had an economy based on agriculture, a plantation lifestyle, the agriculture, a plantation lifestyle, the views of the Democratic party, and views of the Democratic party, and the institution of slavery.the institution of slavery.

Southerners were especially loyal to Southerners were especially loyal to their section. They thought of their section. They thought of themselves...themselves...

•as citizens of their own as citizens of their own state first,state first,

•as Southerners second,as Southerners second,

•and as U.S. citizens third.and as U.S. citizens third.

ISSUE: Sectionalism is the loyalty to your state or section first, the nation second. North & South are like two separate countries.

NORTH: industrial, urban, Republican, anti-slavery

SOUTH: plantations, rural, democratic,

pro-slavery

NOTES

Cause #2

SlaverySlavery

Slavery was a cause of the Civil War Slavery was a cause of the Civil War for two reasons.for two reasons.

#1. The South #1. The South viewed slavery viewed slavery as a necessity to as a necessity to maintaining maintaining economic wealth. economic wealth.

However, many However, many people in the North people in the North viewed slavery as viewed slavery as evil and evil and unconstitutional.unconstitutional.

#2. Slavery was not just a moral #2. Slavery was not just a moral issue but a political issue as well.issue but a political issue as well.

If there were more If there were more slave states in the slave states in the U.S., then the U.S., then the South would have South would have more power in more power in Congress.Congress.

If there were If there were more free states more free states in the U.S., then in the U.S., then the North would the North would have more power have more power in Congress.in Congress.

Both Northerners and Southerners Both Northerners and Southerners fought fiercely over the moral and fought fiercely over the moral and political issue of slavery.political issue of slavery.

If the U.S. had been founded without If the U.S. had been founded without slavery, then the following causes of the slavery, then the following causes of the Civil War may have never been issues.Civil War may have never been issues.

ISSUE: Slavery was an economic, moral, and political issue. Important to keep the balance of power in Congress.

NORTH: * Many believed that slavery was evil. * Did not want more slave states.

SOUTH: * Believed that slavery necessary for economy. *Did not want morefree states.

NOTES

Cause #3

States’ RightsStates Rights

States’ rightsStates’ rights is the idea that each is the idea that each state had the right to determine state had the right to determine whether or not to follow federal laws.whether or not to follow federal laws.

Southerners Southerners supported states’ rightssupported states’ rights. . They believed that they had the right They believed that they had the right to own slaves and even to own slaves and even secedesecede, or , or leave the Union, if they desired.leave the Union, if they desired.

United States Law

Southerners were also angry at Southerners were also angry at Congress using its power to impose Congress using its power to impose taxes on the South’s agricultural taxes on the South’s agricultural products.products.

They felt that any federal tax restricted They felt that any federal tax restricted the rights of the individual states.the rights of the individual states.

Northerners Northerners did not support states’did not support states’ rightsrights. They believed the national . They believed the national government had final power.government had final power.

The federal government had the power to The federal government had the power to make laws that applied to all states, make laws that applied to all states, including imposing taxes.including imposing taxes.

ISSUE: States’ Rights: Each state has theright to determine whether or not to follow afederal (national) law.NORTH: Federal government should have more power than any individual states.(Right to tax & control slavery)SOUTH: Wanted to do as they pleased, with little interference from the federal government. (taxes, slavery)

NOTES

Cause #4

TARIFFS

TARIFFS = Taxes on goods brought in from another country)A. The South favored low tariffs because it had few factories and purchased many of its goods from England.

B. The North favored high tariffs that would make the price of foreign goods higher than its own.

ISSUE: Tariffs are taxes on goods broughtin from another country.

NORTH: Favored high tariffs that would make the price of foreign goods higher thanthe products they made.

SOUTH: Favored low tariffs because ithad few factories and purchased most of

its goods from England.

NOTES

Cause #5

SecessionSecession

5. SECESSION A. The South believed that states should be able to choose whether or not to stay in the Union. (They claimed that the U.S. was an organization of independent states. Since they chose to join it, they could also choose to leave it and form their own country.)

B. Northerners believed the United States must remain one country to remain strong.

ISSUE: Secession – to withdraw, as in to leave the Union

NORTH: Secession is unconstitutional. The United States must remain one country to remain strong.

SOUTH: Individual states should be able to choose to join or leave the Union.

NOTES

Let’s review the main causes of the Civil War:Let’s review the main causes of the Civil War:

3. States’ rights3. States’ rights

4. Tariffs4. Tariffs

5. Secession5. Secession

United States Law

2. Slavery2. Slavery

SouthNorth1.Sectionalism1.Sectionalism

When Republican Abraham Lincoln When Republican Abraham Lincoln won the Election of 1860, Southerners won the Election of 1860, Southerners believed that their rights would no believed that their rights would no longer be respected. longer be respected.

Many southerners believed it was Many southerners believed it was time to leave the Union.time to leave the Union.

After Lincoln’s After Lincoln’s election, eleven election, eleven southern states southern states eventually seceded eventually seceded from the Union from the Union and formed the and formed the Confederate States Confederate States of America.of America.

Texas’s lawmakers Texas’s lawmakers voted to secede by voted to secede by a vote of 166 to 8, a vote of 166 to 8, and the people of and the people of Texas voted for Texas voted for secession by a secession by a margin of more margin of more than 3 to 1.than 3 to 1.

Abraham Lincoln and other Northerners Abraham Lincoln and other Northerners viewed Southern secession as an viewed Southern secession as an unconstitutional act.unconstitutional act.

On April 12, 1861 Southern troops On April 12, 1861 Southern troops attacked Ft. Sumter, a Union garrison off attacked Ft. Sumter, a Union garrison off the coast of South Carolina.the coast of South Carolina.

No one was killed on either side during No one was killed on either side during this first battle of the Civil War. this first battle of the Civil War.

It was a “bloodless opening to the It was a “bloodless opening to the bloodiest war in American history”.bloodiest war in American history”.

Secession and the

Confederacy

During the 1860 presidential campaign, some Southern leaders had threatened that if the Republicans won the election, the South would secede, or withdraw, from the Union. When Abraham Lincoln won the election, Southern leaders carried out their threat to secede.

“A HOUSE DIVIDED”

In December 1860 and January 1861, six states voted to withdraw from the Union. These were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana.

Many Texans urged Governor Houston to issue a call for a convention to consider the secession of Texas.

Sam Houston opposed secession. He argued that Texas could better protect its interests by staying in the Union. Houston did not believe the South could win the war. He said:

“Let me tell you what is coming. After the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives you may win Southern independence, but I doubt it. The North is determined to preserve this Union.”

Without Sam Houston’s approval, a Texas Secession Convention met in Austin on January 28, 1861. Delegates called for a vote by the people on the question of secession.

On February 23, the people of Texas approved secession from the Union by a vote of 46,153 to 14,747. Texas became the seventh state to withdraw from the Union.

During the next three months, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina also seceded.

The states that withdrew from the Union assembled at a convention on February 8, 1861 in Montgomery, Alabama.

This convention formed a new nation, which was to be called the Confederate States of America.

Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was elected as president of the Confederacy.

Jefferson DavisPresident of the Confederacy

The convention also drew up a constitution. It was much like the Constitution of the United States, but with important differences. Under the Confederate Constitution, the states were given more power, and the federal government was given less. One section guaranteed the protection of slavery.

The Texas Secession Convention then ordered all state officials to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. When Governor Houston refused to take the oath, the convention declared the office of governor vacant.

President Lincoln offered to send federal troops to Texas to keep Houston in office if he would head a government loyal to the Union. When some Texans urged him to accept Lincoln’s offer, Houston declined:

“Would you be willing to deluge the capital of Texas with the blood of Texans, merely to keep one old man in a position of power for a few days longer, in a position that belongs to the people? No! … Go tell my deluded friends that I am proud of their friendship, of their love and loyalty,…but to go to their homes and conceal from the world that they would have been guilty of such an act.”

Lieutenant governor Edward Clark replaced Sam Houston as governor.

Houston retired to his home in Huntsville, where he lived quietly until his death two years later in 1863.

Sam Houston1793 - 1863

Houston’s home and grave

President Lincoln vowed he would preserve the Union at all costs.Early in 1861, the Confederate States seized U.S. arsenals, forts, and navy yards within their borders.

When, on April 12, 1861, United States troops refused to evacuate Fort Sumpter in Charleston, South Carolina, Confederate forces opened fire. The Civil War had begun.

Fort Sumpter

Private EdmundRuffin fired thefirst shot of theCivil War atFort Sumpter.

TexansGo ToWar

Strengths of the NorthOn paper, the North held every advantage going into the war and probably should have won easily. It had:

1. 71% of the population (22 million in the North, 9 million in the South- 4 million of which were slaves)

2. Railroad lines (22,000 miles in the North,

9,000 miles in the South)

3. Telegraph lines (The South had none)

4. Factories to manufacture goods and ammunition

(110,000 in the North; 18,000 in the South)

5. Money – 81% of the nation’s bank deposits were in Northern banks.

6. Food – The North produced 70% of the nation’s grain and 65% of the livestock.

http://www.mymodelrailroad.net/images/TheGeneral-1887.jpg

Strengths of the South1. Spirit and confidence of its people (They were defending their homes, families, and

way of life.)2. Military Leadership: Some of the best officers

resigned from the U.S. Army and led the Confederate Army. (Examples:

Robert E. Lee; “Stonewall” Jackson; Albert Sidney Johnson

3. Had Most of the Military Academies in the nation. Most of these young officers fought for the South.

4. Fighting a Defensive War5. Familiar with the Terrain

When fighting began, Confederate President Jefferson Davis called for volunteers. Although thousands of Texans immediately joined the army, more soldiers were needed by the end of the first year.

To meet this need, Congress passed the Conscription Act. This act required all men between the ages of 18 and 35 to serve in the Confederate Army. Later, conscription acts extended age limits to men between the ages of 17 and 50. In all, 60,000 Texans fought for the Confederacy.

A Confederate Soldier

Texas Unionists

• Not all Texans supported the Confederate cause.• More than 2,000 Texans joined the Union Army.

About 50 of these were African-Americans.• Many Mexican-Americans joined the Union Army to

strike back at the Anglo society they blamed for taking away their lands.

• Many German-Americans disagreed with slavery and the war and tried to escape conscription. The Confederate Army killed several of these men caught trying to escape into Mexico.

Blockade of Texas Ports

Texas was a vital link in the Confederate chain of supplies. The Union navy used its ships to blockade all Texas

ports to prevent goods and supplies from leaving or entering.

Blockade cont…

The Union navy could not, however, control the flow of cotton over land to Mexico. Texas traders would carry cotton into Mexico and ship it out on foreign ships, which could not be stopped by the Union. In Europe, the cotton would be exchanged for manufactured goods and war materials.

Ships known as blockade runners grew more and more important as the Civil War continued. These vessels slipped through the Union blockade of Texas with much risk, and brought much-needed supplies to Texas.

Blockade Runner Banshee

Most Civil War battles were fought in states east of the Mississippi River. Texas experienced a few battles, however. Most of these involved Union efforts to prevent the exportation of cotton and importation of war supplies.

The Battle at Galveston

Union leaders knew that Galveston was weakly defended because many of its large guns had been removed for use in other campaigns. In October 1862, Union forces easily captured the city.

Confederate leaders realized that the war effort would suffer a serious blow if Galveston, the state’s busiest seaport, remained in Union hands.

…The Battle at Galveston

Confederate forces made immediate plans to retake Galveston. Two river steamers from Houston were refitted as gunboats. Cotton bales were used as protection. These two ships moved down Buffalo Bayou and attacked the Union vessels in Galveston Bay. At the same time, 500 Confederate soldiers

crossed the railroad bridge onto the island and attacked Union soldiers. Several hundred Union soldiers and two ships surrendered. No further efforts were made by the Union to retake Galveston.

The Battle at Sabine Pass

Later in 1863, Union forces made another try at invading Texas - this time by sailing up the Sabine River. Twenty-two transport vessels and 4,000 soldiers planned to capture the cities of Beaumont and Houston.

Any vessels sailing up Sabine Pass had to travel past Fort Griffin. A company of 47 soldiers (all Irish) was stationed at the fort.

They were known as the “Davis Guards.”

…Battle at Sabine Pass

When the Union gunboats tried to sail past Fort Griffin, the Confederates opened fire. In a brief battle, the Guards took about 350 Union soldiers prisoner and captured two ships. The Union General gave up the attempt to land, and the Union fleet returned to New Orleans.

All of the Davis guards were awarded medals for their courage.

The Capture of The Capture of BrownsvilleBrownsville

This battle was initiated when Union forces attempted to stop the overland supply chain which carried cotton across South Texas to be shipped from Mexican ports.

In November, 1863, a Union force took the city of Brownsville and then moved up the Rio Grande as far as Laredo. There they were stopped by Colonel Santos Benevides. Confederate troops drove the Union army back and had recaptured Brownsville by July, 1864 – eight months later.

The very last battle of the Civil War was fought here in Texas on May 13, 1865 at Palmito Ranch near Brownsville. Here, Confederate forces defeated a Union force trying to invade the mainland from Brazos Island. From their captured prisoners, the Texans learned that General Lee had surrendered a month earlier. The Texas troops had not yet received word of the war’s end.

This small historical marker is the only monument marking the actual spot of the

last battle of the Civil War.

In many ways Texas was much luckier than other states in the South. Only a few minor battles occurred on Texas soil. No Union army swept a path of destruction through Texas’s farms and towns as had happened in Georgia.

Life on the plantations with slaves doing the work remained much the same as before the war.

Still, wartime broughtnew hardships to many Texans, and many sacrifices were required from those left behindon the home front.

ECONOMIC CHANGES1. Farmers turned many cotton fields into corn

and wheat fields to feed soldiers and citizens.

Cotton production fell throughout the south.

2. Women took jobs usually performed by men.

They became teachers, shopkeepers, and drivers.

3. Texans opened factories to manufacture supplies previously obtained from the North and Europe. Texans now produced cannons, ammunition, wagons, ambulances, blankets, tents, cloth, shoes,

uniforms, saddles, and other necessary items. Many of these factories were tended by women.

CHANGING ROLES OF WOMEN

1.On many smaller farms, there were no men to work the crops or tend the livestock. It is estimated that during the war, four out of five adult white men were away from home at some time. Women, children, and slaves did almost all the farm work.2. In addition to performing traditional male occupations, many women served as nurses.

Many women served as nurses.

“If I cannot fight, I can feed those who do.”

SHORTAGES MAKE LIFE DIFFICULT

Though Texans could obtain many things through Mexico, the blockade of the Texas coast forced Texans to do without many items. In addition, the population increased as large numbers of refugees

fled to Texas, making shortages even greater. Texans were resourceful in creating substitutes for items in short supply. Some examples of these are:

1. cloth – replaced by a coarse, homemade cloth known as homespun.

2. coffee- replaced by burnt sweet potato, corn, or okra.

Shortages…3. tea – native herbs and plants

4. salt – women dug up the boards of their smokehouses to recover the salt drippings

5. paper – wallpaper torn from walls

6. dishes – earthenware (clay) plates

7. bandages – torn sheets

8. Civilians often had to do without medicines and hospital supplies because these were needed on the battlefield.

A dress made of homespun

Texans were generous with their donations to the Civil War cause. They generously gave crops and livestock to feed the soldiers. Local committees collected food, clothing, and money. Women gave their jewelry so the troops could purchase goods.

THE END OFTHE CIVIL WARAND SLAVERY

For four years the armies of the South fought against great odds. By the spring of 1865, the weary Confederate armies could hold out no longer. On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee made a difficult decision. The Army of Northern Virginia, the largest Confederate force, surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the town of Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia.

Lee surrenders to Grant

In theory, the Civil War was over.When Union soldiers began firing cannon salutes to celebrate, General Grant ordered all loud celebrations ended. “The war is over, the rebels are our countrymen again.”

Within weeks Confederate President Jefferson Davis was captured, and the remaining armies in the South surrendered.

As Southern armies surrendered, the state government of Texas collapsed. Governor Pendleton Murrah and other state officials fled to Mexico in June 1865 to escape Union troops. For some weeks Texas had no state government. Lawless armed bands roamed the countryside. Order was restored only after President Andrew Johnson appointed Andrew Jackson Hamilton provisional governor in July 1865. Now Texans faced the task of rejoining the Union.

CASUALTIES OF THE WAR Sorrow had touched nearly every family in the nation.

Millions of soldiers had fought in the conflict. More than 600,000 Northerners

and Southerners died. Over one-fifth of the adult White males in the

South died. Men returned to their families blind, deaf, or missing arms and legs. 37,000 African-Americans died fighting for their freedom.

MAKESHIFT MEDICINE Medical knowledge in the 1860’s

was still on the primitive side. Joseph Lister had not yet discovered that infections could be prevented by the use of antiseptics and heat sterilization of instruments. As a result, over half of the people who underwent surgery died from complications afterward.

MAKESHIFT MEDICINE

In the North, while over 67,000 died fighting, 43,000 died of wounds which had not been treated properly. During the Civil War, surgeons did not even know to wash their hands before surgery.

As many as 400,000 others on both sides died from such diseases as dysentery, smallpox, measles, and pneumonia.

Civil War Amputation

What would you choose -anesthesia or pain bullets?

THE SLAVES WIN THEIR FREEDOM

The North’s victory brought an end to slavery. In September, 1862, President Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which had freed enslaved people in the Confederate States. However, the enslaved people of Texas did not learn that they had been freed for another two years.

The slaves win their freedom…At the end of the Civil War, U.S. troops

took control of Texas. When Union general Gordon Granger landed at Galveston in 1865, he issued a proclamation freeing the slaves.

General Granger issued the decree on June 19, 1865. African-Americans in Texas called this day Juneteenth. It

became a state holiday in 1979.

June 19th, 1865

THE DEATH OF LINCOLNAbraham Lincoln did not live to see all of

the slaves freed. On April 14, five days after Lee’s surrender, Lincoln was assassinated

while attending a play at Ford’s Theatre.Lincoln’s killer was John Wilkes Booth,

an actor who believed he was helping the Confederate cause. Booth and several conspirators had planned to kill not only Lincoln, but all the top Union leaders, including General Grant and Vice President Andrew Johnson.

John Wilkes Booth

President Lincoln lies in state.

THE END

STAY TUNED FOR“RECONSTRUCTION

IN TEXAS!”

COMING UP AFTER WE PAUSE FOR A BRIEF

EXAM.