Political and Military 1861-1880
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The American Civil WarTension between the North and the South had been building and everyone new that war was on the horizon. Several issues had built up between the them such as states' rights versus federal authority, westward expansion and slavery. The North wasn't made up of just people that were anti-slavery or abolitionists, most people in the North just didn't want slavery to expand. People in the south were known to want to keep slavery but this consisted of large plantation owners because a majority of people that lived in the south did not even own slaves. The election of the anti-slavery Republican Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. Four more joined the Confederates after the first shots of the Civil War were fired at the battle of Fort Sumter.
The first shot then lead to a series of battles (Battle of Gettysburg, Seven Days Battles, Battle of Chickamauga, Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Battle of Chancellorsville, Battle of the Wilderness, Battle of Stones River ,Battle of Shiloh, Battle of Antietam) which lasted until 1865 when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on at Tension between the North and the South had been building and everyone new that war was on the horizon. Several issues had built up between the them such as states' rights versus federal authority, westward expansion and slavery. The North wasn't made up of just people that were anti-slavery or abolistionists, most people in the North just didn't want slavery to expand. People in the south were known to want to keep slavery but this consisted of large plantation owners because a majority of people that lived in the south did not even own slaves. The election of the anti-slavery Republican Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. Four more joined the Confederates after the first shots of the Civil War were fired at the battle of Fort Sumter. The first shot then lead to a series of battles (Battle of Gettysburg, Seven Days Battles, Battle of Chickamauga, Battle of Spotsylvania Court House, Battle of Chancellorsville, Battle of the Wilderness, Battle of Stones River ,Battle of Shiloh, Battle of Antietam) which lasted until 1865 when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on at Appomattax Court house. |
Anaconda Blockade
In 1861, the North set in motion a plan called the Anaconda Plan which was created by Winfield Scott. The plan was to block the southern coast and the Mississippi so they would not be able to receive supplies and show the South that they could not win the fight because they lacked the resources. When they set the plan in motion they did not take into account how resourceful the Southerners could be and how they lacked enough Navy to completely blocked the Mississippi. Blockade runners would trade arms and luxuries brought in from Bermuda, Cuba and the Bahamas in return for high-priced cotton and tobacco. The Southern economy nearly collapsed during the war. They blockade caused shortages of food and supplies , the failure of Southern railroads, the loss of control of the main rivers, foraging by Northern armies, and the impressments of crops by Confederate armies. The standard of living fell even as more money was printed causing people to distrust money. |
This Picture depicts the Anaconda Plan which was suppose to choke the South and end the war. |