Secession

1. The Confederacy

• Abraham Lincoln’s election as president in 1860 had a huge impact on the country. The Republicans said they would not stop slavery where it already existed, but the Southerners did not believe the Republicans would protect their rights.

• On December 20,1860 South Carolina voted to secede (breakaway) from the Union. Soon after, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia followed. They formed the Confederate States of America and chose Jefferson Davis as their president.

• The first capital of the Confederate States of America (the Confederacy) was Montgomery, Alabama. The capital was moved to Richmond, Virginia after Virginia seceded. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas joined the Confederacy after the Battle of Fort Sumter.

• Border states were slave states that did not secede. They were Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri. The border states were very important to the Northern strategy. The capital of the United States was located between Maryland (a slave state) and Virginia (part of the Confederacy) so it was very important that Maryland not secede. (See map.)

2. Ft. Sumter

• Fort Sumter was a U.S. fort guarding Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. South Carolina had seceded and joined the Confederacy. That means that a Union (Northern) fort was located in the Confederacy.

• President Lincoln received word that the fort needed supplies and that the Confederates demanded its surrender.

• Lincoln promise to re-supply the fort.

• Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered his troops to attack the fort on April 12, 1861.

• The Union surrendered the fort. The Civil War had begun.

3. Choosing Sides

NORTH

• The North had a larger population and more resources than the South.

• The North was fighting to restore the Union. They needed to invade the South to win the war.

• Population: 22 million

• The North had superior industrial development.

• The North had better transportation.

SOUTH

• The South had excellent military leaders and a cause to fight for – independence.

• The South needed to defend its land to win the war.

• Population: 9 million

• The South had the geographical and emotional advantage. It is easier to fight a defensive war, and the South was fighting to defend its homeland.

• The South needed to trade to get the supplies it needed to fight the war.

When the war began, both sides expected the war to end quickly.

Key terms:

North = United States of America = Union • Fighting to keep the country together)

South = Confederate States of America = Confederacy • Fighting to breakaway from the U.S. and form new country