DAILY ASSIGNMENTS
Chapter 20 Summary: South Carolina’s firing on Fort Sumter aroused the North for war. Lincoln’s call for troops to suppress the rebellion drove four upper South states into the Confederacy. Lincoln used an effective combination of political persuasion and force to keep the deeply divided Border States in the Union. The Confederacy enjoyed initial advantages of upper-class European support, military leadership, and a defensive position on its own soil. The North enjoyed the advantages of lower-class European support, industrial and population resources, and political leadership. The British upper classes sympathized with the South and abetted Confederate naval efforts, while France’s Emperor Napoleon III took advantage of the war to intervene in Mexico. But effective diplomacy and Union military success prevented foreign recognition and further assistance for the Confederacy. Lincoln’s political leadership proved effective in mobilizing the North for war, despite political opposition and resistance to his infringement on civil liberties. The North eventually mobilized its larger troop resources for war and ultimately turned to an unpopular and unfair draft system. Northern economic and financial strengths enabled it to gain an advantage over the less-industrialized South. The changes in society opened new opportunities for women, who had contributed significantly to the war effort in both the North and South. Since most of the war was waged on Southern soil, the South was left devastated by the war. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JK8IxvPE3s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwRIDnsF_Fk | Chapter 21 Summary: The Union defeat at Bull Run ended Northern complacency about a quick victory, and also prevented a quick return of the South to the Union with slavery intact. George McClellan and other early Union generals proved unable to defeat the tactically brilliant Confederate armies under Lee. The Union naval blockade put a slow but devastating economic noose around the South. The political and diplomatic dimensions of the war quickly became critical. In order to retain the border states, Lincoln first de-emphasized any intention to destroy slavery. But the Battle of Antietam in 1862 enabled Lincoln to prevent foreign intervention and turn the struggle into a total war against slavery. Blacks and abolitionists joined enthusiastically in a war for emancipation, but white resentment in part of the North created political problems for Lincoln. The Union first gained military success in the West, succeeding at Vicksburg in cutting the Confederacy in half. Lee’s failed invasion of the North ended at Gettysburg, and completely turned the military tide against the South. Southern resistance remained strong, with the hope that political defeatist (“Copperheads”) would force a negotiated peace settlement. But the Union victories at Atlanta and Mobile assured Lincoln’s success in the election of 1864 and ended the last Confederate hopes. The war ended the issues of disunion and slavery, but at a tremendous cost to both North and South. |