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Daniel Webster
Daniel Webster replied to Hayne at a convention in 1830 saying, "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!"
Even thirty years before the war, politicians were fighting for the union not to separate. The civil war was a long time coming, which is why it was fought with such gusto and passion. The sides were very decided, just as Webster's statement calls for a whole union, no matter what. -
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Civil Correlations
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West Point Rivalry
P.G.T. Beauregard and Irvin McDowell graduated from the same WestPoint class in 1838. They would face each other at the First Battle of Bull Run. The class of 1846 would find McClellan and Stonewall Jackson as giant rivals.
The war was fought by classmates that knew each other. It wasn't an impersonal war. It was fought brother versus brother and friend versus friend. That is part of what makes the war so tragic. It was a nation fighting itself. -
...Compromise of 1850
...getting the worse end of the stick once again. This created tensions once more between the North and South. It was becoming more and more apparent that these two completely separate lifestyles could not remain as one for much longer. * -
Compromise of 1850
In a compromise, California was admitted as a free state to please the North, and there were stricter fugitive slave laws to please the South. Then they decided that each new state would practice popular sovereignty, meaning that they could choose if they wanted to be a free or slave state.
*This caused more problems because the North wanted slavery completely abolished and they don’t enforce the fugitive slave laws. Because of that, the South became angry because they felt like they were... -
North Economy
.Right after the South succeeded from the Union, the North went through a recession. They lost the $300 million that they had been receiving from the Southern states. That is a lot of service to lose. Not only did they lose business, they lost all the trade from the South, including cotton.
This event is odd because it ended up being the South that would struggle with money during the war. Eventually the North didn't need to rely on the South for business. This is crucial for later events. -
Pre-Harper's Ferry
John Brown ran a practice round for the Well-known Harper's Ferry Event in Missouri. He and his followers freed 11 slaves. This event helped to raise awareness of slave rebellion. It was a before image of what would be attempted at Harper's Ferry a year later. The knowledge of escaping slaves would raise tensions on the Southern side, and encourage abolition on the Northern side, both pulling apart the Union. -
Harper's Ferry
John Brown and his followers attempted to follow through with their planned slave liberation. They broke into a weapon armory and equipped slaves with fighting tools. He and his men seized control of two bridges that led out of Harper's Ferry. From here they waited for a slave uprising. However, that uprising never came. The participating men were either shot where they were or tried and executed later.
*Those in the South were appalled by this treachery, but Northerners saw... Continue.... -
...Harper's Ferry
....Continued.... what John Brown had done as an act of martyrdom. They applauded his actions as righteous ones. The difference in thinking between the two sides continued to wedge between the sides. When two parts of a whole differ so much, it is only plausible that they will not remain as one.* -
Shiloh
At 6 am, Union soldiers was interrupted from their Sunday breakfast as Confederate soldiers came bursting out of the woods.
"The Rebels are out there thicker than fleas on a dog's back"-Union officer.
*This was the first battle of the war, and it set the stage for the rest. The Yankees had planned to cut off Grant's support at the Pittsburg landing. Instead, they had their entire front line attacked. All strategy had to be quickly changed or it wasn't used at all. The war that was..... -
...Shiloh
...expected to be an easy win on both sides proved to be one of the bloodiest and most unexpected struggles of all war. This was the first major war after the industrial revolution, which combined old war techniques with new and more deadly weaponry. When the two are out together, they make for the most casualties in one war then in all other wars put together.* -
North Upperhand
By the summer of 1862, the North was not in any sort of economic decline. The federal government was spending so much money on the war, that the North became rich. The soldiers needed food and supplies. This also meant that the farmers were becoming wealthy, not just the factory owners.
A strong home front with the capabilities of supporting their soldiers was crucial to the outcome of the war. The North was well-equipped, and the South was not, giving the Yankees the upperhand. -
Southern Economy
In the South, the cost of a bonnet by middle 1864 reached $250! Inflation was bad. Everything was expensive in the South. Women started making their own hats out of cornhusks and palmetto leaves.
The South was poor, but they were dedicated to their side and not letting anything getting them down. They improvised and tried to continue on as best they could, and this carried into the fighting of the war as well. -
Camp Life
"The forenoon is spent in poke, poke, poking around till the appetite says it's dinnertime." - A civil war soldier Northern camp life was fairly dull when there was no fighting taking place. People had to try to make fun for themselves, or they were sick and/or injured. In the middle of the camp was a "sulter's cart" which sold tobacco, sweets, and delicacies. This was possibly the only place where a soldier could get decent food. This is what happened in-between some of the bloodiest battles. -
Southern Struggles
There were 3 sizes of bread being sold at $1, $2, and $3. The Richmond newspaper had this to say about them. "The first is only visible by microscopic aid, the second can be discerned with the naked eye, and the third can be seen with outline and shape distinction."
*Not only were the prices of clothing rising, the prices of food were enlarging as the amount steadily decreased. Most of the food and supplies went to the soldiers, so those left behind struggled with hunger as much as fighters did. -
Surrender
The Confederacy (General Lee) surrendered at Appomattox. General Grant pardoned Lee's soldiers. They were sent home with 3 days rations, their personal possessions, horses, and side arms. President Lincoln wanted to be generous with his treaty terms. These were American citizens, not just an enemy of war. It showed in the way they were treated. Never before had such a bloody war resulted with such a generous treaty.
