Confederate/Union Strengths and Weaknesses, Fort Sumter, and Bull Run

Both the Union and the Confederacy had certain strengths and weaknesses during the war. The Union had most of the population, farms, factories, railroads, telegraphs, and they controlled the Navy. However, they had to attack land. The Confederates only had to defend, and they had most of the really good generals in their army. But, they lacked population, factories, railroads, telegraphs, and were not respected as their own country by other nations.

There were a few very important battles at the beginning of the war. The first battle was Fort Sumter. It was a Union fort in a Confederate state. The very first shot fired of the war was at Fort Sumter. The Union lost the fort and the battle.

The second battle was the Battle of Bull Run, or Manassas. Many people around this time saw battles as a form of entertainment. The Union was very confident with themselves as they went into this battle, and thought that they would win the war within a few months. However, during the battle, they started to see that the Confederates were fighting back and that it wouldn't be an easy win. Many Union soldiers fled, and those who didn't were very disappointed with the outcome of the battle.

Fort Sumter
Bull Run

Dred Scott Decision, Election of 1860, Georgia Platform, Secession in Georgia, Alexander Stephens

Dred Scott was a slave that had lived in a free state for more than two years. He wanted to be free and sued for freedom in 1857. Roger Taney was the Supreme Court Justice at the time and said that he didn't have the right to sue because he wasn't a citizen, and that blacks could never be citizens. This angered the North. 

Three years later, in 1860, there was a presidential election. Abraham Lincoln was not even on the ballot in ten southern states, but still won. The South then realized that they had very little say in the government and states began seceding immediately. 

Georgia held a convention to decide whether or not they were going to secede. Secessionists wanted to leave, while cooperationists wanted to stay. In the end, the vote was for secession, all though it was not as unanimous as other states. Alexander Stephens was chosen as vice president of the Confederacy. Before, he wanted to stay in the Union if the Compromise of 1850 was followed and the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, but realized that slavery couldn't be avoided and it was better to secede.

Dred Scott
Alexander Stephens

Compromise of 1850, Fugitive Slave Act, andKansas-Nebraska Act

Compromise of 1850, Fugitive Slave Act, Kansas-Nebraska Act

California wanted to enter the United States, which would mess up the balance between free and slave states. This led to the Compromise of 1850. California was admitted as a free state, and Texas had to give up land, in return getting $10 million. Slavery was abolished in D.C. The Fugitive Slave Act was also passed. 

The Fugitive Slave Act was enacted in 1850. It was an act that stated that any runaway slaves in the North had to be returned to the South. It also denied jury trials to slaves. 

The Georgia Platform agreed to this just so the North would follow the fugitive slave act and wouldn't try to get rid of slavery in territories and states. This stopped secession of the south for the time being. 

The Kansas-Nebraska Act was when both Kansas and Nebraska wanted to become states. They were below the 36 30 line, but the North didn't want there to be more slave states than free states. So, the Missouri Compromise was repealed and the new states were allowed to vote on whether or not they wanted to be slave or free.

Fugitive Slave Poster

Missouri Compromise

Missouri Compromise

In 1820, Missouri wanted to enter the country as a slave state. The Northerners realized that this would result in there being more slave states than free states, and they did not want this to happen. So, they admitted Missouri as a slave state and split a northern state in half to make Maine. The compromise is that whenever a slave state wanted to be added, a free state had to be added too and vice versa. The 36 30 line made the border between the North and South. Now, the United States really was divided.

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Sectionalism, States' Rights and Nullification

Sectionalism, States' Rights and Nullification

Sectionalism is the opposite of nationalism. It is considering yourself part of a region before a country. During the time leading up to the Civil War, people living in the south thought of themselves as Southerners and people in the north thought of themselves as Northerners before they considered themselves Americans. All this did was divide the country. The two sides disagreed on taxes, slavery, and the role of the United States government. The Southerners were pro-slavery because of their agricultural economy, while the Northerners considered slavery to be cruel and inhumane. They both wanted to have more states on their side so they would have more representation in the Senate.

States' Rights is the idea that the needs of the state are more important than the needs of the country. This is why the federal government did not have much power before the Civil War. In 1832, South Carolina ignored a federal tariff because of this idea. They felt like they were under appreciated and deserved more attention.

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