United States History Chapter 11

Higher Order Thinking Skills

Homework

1. Explain how the Civil War started

How did the Confederacy challenge Lincoln? Lincoln did not want to “start” the Civil War, but he knew that

he could not “give up” Federal property without recognizing the existence of the Confederate States of America. This was a particular problem at Fort Sumter (in Charlestown, S.C.)

What was especially damaging to the Union about Virginia’s secession?

Virginia was the most heavily populated Southern state and the most industrialized.

2. Explain Northern and Confederate short-sightedness about the duration of the war.

What was the Union’s military strategy? The Anaconda Plan: (1) Capture Richmond, Va. (The

Confederate Capital, (2) Take control of the Mississippi River (cutting off Texas from the rest of the Confederacy), and (3) Enforce a Naval Blockade of Southern Ports (keep out war materials and keep in Cotton exports).

What was the Confederacy’s military strategy? Wage a defensive war, dragging the conflict out until the

Copperheads in the North could pressure Congress into Treaty recognizing slavery.

Why was the Battle of Bull Run a surprise to both sides? Neither was fully prepared for Battle, nor were they prepared for

the bloodshed and reality of what this war would become.

3. Identify the Northern Generals and their initial campaigns in the West.

How did Grant prove his skill as a leader in the West? By winning the Battle of Shiloh, capturing much of the

Mississippi River for the Union. He would later be victorious at the Battle of Vicksburg, which completed Union control of the Mississippi.

What was important about the Battle of Shiloh? Gave the Union Army control of a large portion of the

Mississippi River, made it more difficult for the Confederacy to get critical supplies from Texas.

How did Grant and Farragut help advance the strategy of splitting the Confederacy?

Captured the Port of New Orleans.

4. Describe new weapons and other changes in warfare.

What new weapons made war on the battlefield more deadly?

Rifle-barreled Musket and Minie Ball (pointed bullet).

What revolution in shipbuilding changed naval warfare?

The Ironclad Battleship (Monitor and the Merrimac) changed Naval Warfare forever.

5. Explain Northern and Southern military strategies to capture their opponent’s capital.

How did McClellan hurt the Union cause? He was too cautious in his approach to Battle, he constantly

felt he was outnumbered (even though he was not) and he failed to pursue Lee’s Army after victories giving him time to regroup.

What action did Lee take that threatened the Union? He launched an invasion of the North to put pressure on

Washington D.C. hoping this would lead to a peace settlement allowing for slavery.

What were the results of the Battle of Antietam? A halt to the first Confederate invasion of the North and the

issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation.

6. Explain why Britain remained neutral

What economic changes made Britain less dependent on Southern cotton?

(1) Britain had a huge surplus of Cotton (2) Britain found other sources of Cotton in Egypt and India (3) When Britain’s wheat crop failed, Northern wheat and corn became a more important import than Southern Cotton.

What happened in the Trent Affair? A British ship was stopped and two Confederate diplomats

were arrested. Britain threatened war and sent 8000 troops to Canada. Lincoln released the prisoners and repremanded the Naval Officer that ordered the arrest. Britain maintained her neutrality.

7. Explain Lincoln’s motives for issuing the Emancipation Proclamation and the document’s effects.

How did the Emancipation Proclamation change the course of the Civil War?

It shifted the focus of the war from simply preservation of the Union to the abolition of slavery.

What did the Emancipation Proclamation do? Freed slaves in re-captured Confederate territory and made

possible the enlistment of African American soldiers in the United States Army.

What was the reaction to the Emancipation Proclamation? Abolitionists and Free Blacks applauded it, Northern Democrats

worried it would prolong the war by antagonizing the South, the South was outraged and pledged to execute any blacks taken prisoner in Union Army uniforms.

8. Identify the political dilemmas facing the North and the South

How did Lincoln and Davis deal with political dissent? Both at points suspended the protection of Habeas Corpus to

prevent dissent. Lincoln used it to arrest pro-secession politicians and prevent the secession of Maryland.

How did people on both sides react to draft laws? Southerners said the Draft targeted the poor leading to the

quote “a rich man’s war, a poor man’s fight”. The North responded with violent Draft Riots.

What caused the riot in New York City in 1863? White (mainly Irish immigrants) workers feared freed slaves

would come north and take their jobs, the call for the Draft set off violent riots that were stopped only after the United States Navy bombed New York City.

9. Explain African Americans’ role in the struggle to end slavery.

What was the experience of African American soldiers in the Union Army?

They served in segregated units commanded by white officers, were used in mainly non-combats jobs, and faced discrimination (especially with respect to equal pay for equal work).

How did slaves aid the fight for freedom in the South? Many ran away from their plantations, those who stayed

committed acts of sabotage. These damaged the Confederate Army’s ability to feed and cloth its troops.

10. Explain the decline of the Southern economy and the expansion of the Northern economy.

How did the war affect the economy in the South? The destruction of property and infrastructure, along with a

completely devalued currency, caused a massive depression in the Southern economy.

How did the war affect the economy in the North? Army contracts caused a boom in the Northern economy. How were women affected by the War? Many women became involved in the war as nurses, Dorothea Dix

served as Superintendent of Nurses for the Union. What new measure did the U.S. Government use to pay for the war? The Income Tax.

11. Describe the terrible conditions that Union and Confederate soldiers endured.

What kinds of conditions did soldiers live in during the war? Unhygienic and disease-ridden. How were prisoners of war treated? Poorly, by both sides. In the North, prisoners were forced to

endure prison barges and harsh winters. In the South, prisoners faced starvation, disease, and the harsh summers.

How did the U.S. Sanitary Commission and Clara Barton help soldiers?

Helped lower the death rate of the wounded due to infection. Still horrible, it was much better than in previous wars.

12. Describe the Battle at Gettysburg and its outcome

Why did Lee invade Pennsylvania? To, again, try to pressure Congress into a peace treaty that would

either recognize an independent Confederate States of America or a United States with Slavery.

How did the Battle of Gettysburg start? Union cavalry surprised a group of Confederates looking for shoes. How did Joshua Chamberlain save the Union position on the second

day at Gettysburg? By executing a textbook maneuver he turned the tide at Gettysburg. What was Pickett’s Charge? On the last day, Lee ordered a massive frontal assault on the center

of the Union line. It failed with devastating affect, crippling Lee’s army to the point it would never fully recover.

13. Describe Grant’s siege of Vicksburg

How did Grant capture Vicksburg? He used gunboats to bombard the city until it

surrendered. Ironically, this battle ended on the same day as the Battle of Gettysburg (July 4th, 1864).

Why was Vicksburg such an important victory for the Union?

It completed Union control of the Mississippi River.

14. Summarize the key points of the Gettysburg Address

How did the Gettysburg Address change the way Americans thought of the United States?

It created a more national view of the country, Americans stopped saying “the United States are” (implying the view they were loosely linked sovereign states), and began saying “the United States is” (implying a single national identity).

What reason did Lincoln give in the Gettysburg Address for why the Union was fighting the Civil War?

For a “new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth”.

15. Summarize the final events of the war leading to the surrender at Appomattox

What happened to Confederate morale in the last years of the war? Morale was worsening. Disputes over taxes, how soldiers were used,

and peace protests created problems for the Confederate government. What roles did Grant and Sherman play in the last years of the war? Grant assumed command of the Army of the Potomac and Sherman

took command of forces in the West. What strategy did Grant use against Lee? He implemented a policy of “Total War” attacking anything the

Confederate Army itself and anything it could use to its benefit. What event helped insure Lincoln’s reelection in 1864? Capturing the city of Atlanta, the absentee ballot of the Army won the

election for Lincoln. How did the Civil War end? Richmond was surrounded by Union forces and Lee met with Grant at

Appomattox Court House to sign the surrender.

16. Summarize the key economic, political, technological, and social effects of the Civil War.

How did the war change the balance of power between state government and the federal government?

The Civil War was the culmination of Federalism, ensuring the dominance of the Federal government over the States.

How did the war widen the economic imbalance between North and South?

The Depression in the South and the Boom in the North just widened the Economic Gap, the Cultural Gap, and the Political Gap between the two regions.

17. Explain how the Civil War dramatically changed the lives of individuals, especially African Americans

How did the war affect American families? Almost no families would have been untouched by the War,

the loss of life was staggering, the debt would affect the economy for years after the war, citizens would have to cope with loss of land, jobs, limbs.

How did the war affect African Americans? African Americans enjoyed a new freedom, however for many

it was a freedom that they were unequipped for. All the former slaves had known was farming (many became sharecroppers and tenant farmers after the war). Many were uneducated. They faced the constant resentment of the former ruling class in the South. The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments provided them with rights of citizenship, but it would take the presence of Federal Troops to receive them.