The American Civil War

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The War of Secession was the arguably most traumatic event in U.S. history. It shaped the society of the United States of America until today.

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You find the two-part video documentary about the War of Secession in this section.

	Northern States	Southern States
Economy	Industrialised industry Therefore: In favour of protective duties to support the domestic industry	Agricultural economy Therefore: Against protective duty because the South depends on imports
Slavery	No slavery	Slavery
Understanding of the Constitution	Federal state in which the minority must accept the will of the majority Therefore: No right to secession	Confederation in which the states have the last decision Therefore: Right to secession

The conflict between Northern & Southern states escalates during the presidential election 1860
Several states see their “Southern way of life” in danger & leave the Union

06 Nov 1860: Presidential Election
Abraham Lincoln (Republican)	180
John C. Breckinridge (Southern Democratic)	72
John Bell (Constituational Union)	39
Stephen A. Douglas (Democratic)	12

Dec 1860 – May 1861: Southern states leave the Union & form the Confederate States of America
West Virginia remains in the Union & becomes a member state (1863)
12 – 14 Apr 1861: The Civil War starts with the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter

1861: U.S. troops push the Confederates to the south-west corner of Missouri
From 1862: Guerrilla war in Missouri which leads to the loss of 1/3 of the population
1861: Confederate & U.S. troops occupy Kentucky
06 – 07 Apr 1862: U.S. troops successfully advance & win the Battle of Shiloh
06 Jun 1862: U.S. forces take Memphis
Jun – Oct 1862: The Confederate Heartland Offensive fails despite tactical victories
End of 1862: U.S. forces apply pressure on the Confederates from the north & the south without a final decision

21 Jul 1861: The Confederates win the 1st Battle of Bull Run & repulse a U.S. invasion
Mar – Jun 1862: The successful Shenandoah Campaign threatens Washington & ties up U.S. troops
05 Apr 1862: The USA start the Peninsula Campaign
25 Jun – 01 Jul 1862: The Confederates win the Seven Days Battles & put an end to the Peninsula Campaign
28 – 30 Aug 1862: The Confederates win the 2nd Battle of Bull Run
17 Sep 1862: The tactically indecisive Battle of Antietam is a strategic victory for the USA as it ends the Confederate invasion of Maryland
17 Sep 1862: Lincoln’s Emancipation Declaration – Abolishment of slavery in all states which are not in the Union by 01 Jan 1863

Military stalemate
The U.S. pressure the South from the north, west & from the sea
With the Battle of Antietam the South has lost its momentum
Lincoln’s Emancipation Declaration (abolishing slavery in the Confederate States) gives the North moral superiority
The will to successfully end the war grows on both sides
- USA: Capture of the South & preservation of the Union
- Confederates: Resistance until the North recognises the Confederate States
The military & moral situation prevents the European powers to intervene

From 1863: The U.S. Navy successfully tightens the blockade & ironclads take Confederate positions under fire
17 Feb 1864: H.L. Hunley conduct the 1st submarine attack in history
05 Aug 1864: The U.S. Navy takes the forts at Mobile & sinks the Confederate ships stationed around Mobile
22 Feb 1865: U.S. forces take Wilmington, the last Confederate port at the east coast
06 Nov 1865: CSS Shenandoah lowers her flag in Liverpool after successful operations

1863: Successful Confederate raids
1864: A Confederate raid causes severe damage in Missouri but has to be abandoned after a defeat in December
1863 – 1864: The Confederates can repulse U.S. invasions of Louisiana
Mar – Jul 1863: Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign
04 Jul: Grant takes Vicksburg & cuts the South into two (turning point of the war)
May – Sep 1864: Successful Atlanta Campaign
15 Nov – 22 Dec 1864: Sherman’s Marsh to the Sea with massive destructions

01 – 04 May 1863: Confederate victory in the Battle of Chancellorsville
01 – 03 Jul 1863: U.S. victory in the Battle of Gettysburg (turning point of the war)
May – Jun 1864: Grant‘s Overland Campaign wears off the Confederate forces
Jun 1864 – Mar 1865: The siege of Petersburg wears off the Confederates
Aug – Oct 1864: Sheridan brings the Shenandoah Valley under U.S. control & suppresses all Confederate operations
29 Mar – 09 Apr 1865: The Appomattox Campaign of the Union ends with the surrender of Lee‘s North Virginia Army
26 Apr 1865: Sherman‘s Carolina Campaign leads to the surrender of Johnston’s troops
09 May 1865: President Johnson declares the end of the war

The American Civil War is seen as the first modern war with at least 620,000 dead
The Union is preserved
The Southern states are fully reintegrated into the Union during the Reconstruction (1865 – 1877)
The USA are conclusively made into a federal state which enables her international rise
Abolishment of slavery