Secession and Civil War Questions and Answers
Secession and Civil War
Why did some Southern states secede immediately after Lincoln’s election in 1860?
Southern states that seceded immediately after Lincoln's election in 1860 did so because they had already been planning it in the event of a Republican victory. Their motivation involved what they...
Secession and Civil War
How did the South react to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the US in 1860?
The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 was the final straw in a decades-old buildup of ever-widening tension between the Southern states and the North over the institution of slavery. Though...
Secession and Civil War
What event caused Southern states to secede from the Union, just weeks after it happened?
The election of Abraham Lincoln as president, without one vote in favor from a southern state, was the key event in a long series of events that ultimately led to war. However, it was not until his...
Secession and Civil War
What advantages did the North have over the South in the US Civil War?
The North had international legitimacy. Other nations recognized the North and could provide trade and credit. The Confederacy, on the other hand, never received international recognition. While...
Secession and Civil War
How did events in the 1850s increase tensions between North and South in the United States?
During the 1850s, tensions between the North and South increased as the nation decided to how to incorporate the vast territories that had been acquired during the Mexican-American War of...
Secession and Civil War
What were the goals in the beginning of the Civil War for each side?
Both the North and the South hoped and even expected, to achieve a quick victory. They knew that a protracted conflict would be disastrous. Many felt that it would be a short war and would be over...
Secession and Civil War
What is one way that the Confederate States of America was similar to the United States? What is one way it was...
The armies of both the Confederacy and the United States were made of largely working-class young white men. This was especially true after both sides enacted a wartime draft, but allowed the rich...
Secession and Civil War
What were some of the long term effects of the American Civil War?
One of the main effects of the Civil War on contemporary American society is the ongoing association between the South and the Confederacy. Even the terminology used for the war is often different...
Secession and Civil War
Why did the Civil War last so long?
The American Civil War lasted almost exactly four years, extending from the Confederacy’s firing on Fort Sumter in South Carolina on April 12, 1861 and ending with the South’s surrender on April 9,...
Secession and Civil War
What are the underlying and immediate causes of the Civil War?
Interestingly, slavery wasn't the biggest issue in question at the start of the Civil War. The main conflict that sparked the war was the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter in 1861. After this...
Secession and Civil War
What geographic advantages did the South have over the North?
The geographical vastness of the South gave it some advantages. These benefited the South for the war both on land and at sea. The South's large size gave it leverage. The South was able to trade...
Secession and Civil War
What physical destruction resulted from the Civil War?
The physical damage of the Civil War is estimated to total over $1.4 billion. That estimate is based on the value of money in 1865. The destruction caused by the conflict between the states is hard...
Secession and Civil War
How did the North and South each finance the Civil War?
During the Civil War, the North and the South used a number of methods to fund the cost of fighting. In the North, for example, the government used taxation to raise 21 percent of the necessary...
Secession and Civil War
In "Letter to His Son" by Robert E. Lee, how does Lee describe secession? In your own words, explain Lee's argument...
In his letter to his son, Robert E. Lee makes it clear that, although he's prepared to defend states's rights, he does not believe that the best way to do that is through secession. He says that he...
Secession and Civil War
Why did Lincoln enforce martial law upon Maryland?
President Abraham Lincoln took the step of declaring martial law and suspending civil liberties, including the right of habeas corpus, in Maryland after a riot and subsequent destruction of...
Secession and Civil War
What were the Union's weaknesses in the Civil War?
The North had two major weaknesses in the Civil War. The first had to do with its military abilities. The North did not have much of a warrior culture. Many more Northerners than Southerners...
Secession and Civil War
Analyze how western expansion contributed to the growing sectional tensions between the North and South. Confine your...
When speaking about the first half of the nineteenth century, the history of sectarian division between North and South really tends to revolve around the problem of slavery. One of the key turning...
Secession and Civil War
How did African Americans shape the course and consequences of the Civil War from 1861 to 1870?
African Americans played a major role in the rationale for the war and the debates on its causes. The South left the Union in order to preserve what it considered its right to own African American...
Secession and Civil War
How was the Confederacy's government similar to and different from that of the United States?
The government of the Confederate States of America (CSA) was, for the short time that it lasted, fairly similar to the government of the United States. The CSA constitution was copied word for...
Secession and Civil War
In "Letter to His Son" by Robert E. Lee, written on January 23, 1861, what gift has Lee's son given him? How is Lee's...
Lee's son, Custis, had given his father a book on George Washington. The gift enables Lee to delve deep into the condition of the nation in 1861 and how this would be perceived by framers of the...
Secession and Civil War
Was the Civil War worth fighting? Why? The Civil War did end slavery, however it did little to improve the lives of...
In the final analysis, I believe that where one stands on the issue is highly dependent on where one places primacy. If freedom is a moral and absolute good, then the war was needed. Southerners...
Secession and Civil War
What issues from the Civil war were left unresolved at the turn of the twentieth century?
Institutional and individual racism were absolutely (and still are) issues from the Civil War that were left unresolved by the turn of the twentieth century. The few gains that were won through the...
Secession and Civil War
Why did each side go to war in the Civil War?
The Civil War (1861–1865) was the bloodiest war in American history. The primary cause of the war was the status of slavery in the nation and its newly acquired territories. Southerners believed...
Secession and Civil War
What struggles did the North face at the beginning of the Civil War?
One of the struggles that the North had to contend with was that many people—mainly Northern Democrats—were dead set against the war. They felt that some kind of political compromise could've been...
Secession and Civil War
What appealed to northern voters about the Republican Party? How did this lead to Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the...
Northern voters warmed to the Republican Party, as it was implacably opposed to the extension of slavery. This issue had been a running sore in American politics for some time, and no white...
Secession and Civil War
American change from political disputes (1820–1860). In the early nineteenth century, Americans sought to resolve...
By 1860, one could see that the United States was in uncharted territory in terms of its ability to compromise over slavery. Henry Clay, a leader in creating both the Compromise of 1820 and the...
Secession and Civil War
Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton are both known for their Civil War efforts as what?
Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton are both recognized for their remarkable humanitarian work during the Civil War (1861–1865). In nineteenth-century America, women played a subordinate role in a...
Secession and Civil War
Why did the South lag behind the North in manufacturing during the Civil War?
Manufacturing had always taken a back seat in the South. The northern colonies and later states did not have the climate and soil for vast commercial farming, and so had always been a society of...
Secession and Civil War
What are some similarities and differences between the American Civil War and World War II?
The other answers cover many of the similarities and differences between the wars very well. One chief similarity I would emphasize, however, is that both wars were fundamentally about clashes of...
Secession and Civil War
To what extent did developments between 1860 and 1877 amount to a revolution?
The most important change brought about by this time period were the constitutional changes which ended slavery; gave citizenship to Blacks and gave everyone the right to vote. This was...
Secession and Civil War
How would Mary Chesnut's diary have been different if she had been from the North?
In many ways, her diary would likely have stayed the same. In the diary, she outlines the events of historical battles and class struggles and decries racism, sexism, and abuse of power. Regardless...
Secession and Civil War
Do you believe the Espionage Act and the Sedition Act were justified under the circumstances? Give reasons for your...
These Acts were not necessary. They were essentially prejudicial and discriminatory. There is no justification, but the circumstances that led to their passing were trumped up, and caused by...
Secession and Civil War
Explain why northern whites who opposed slavery and southern whites who supprted slavery both believed they were...
Both northern whites that were against slavery and southern whites that supported slavery believed they were defending liberty. Northern whites believed that owning a person and not allowing that...
Secession and Civil War
Which event had a greater impact on federalism: the Civil War or the Great Depression?
There is a very good argument to be made for the notion that the Great Depression had a greater effect on federalism than did the Civil War. The other answer posted here succinctly points out the...
Secession and Civil War
What did the Civil War accomplish?
The fraught issue of slavery had plagued the United States for many years. All kinds of political compromises had been tried, but none of them had done anything more than kick the can down the road...
Secession and Civil War
How do the names that the North and South used for the Civil War reflect the points of view of the people who used...
The North and the South had different names for the Civil War. The South called the Civil War the Second War for Independence. Northerners referred to the Civil War as the War of the Rebellion....
Secession and Civil War
What Happened After The Southern States Seceded From The Union
When South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union, they were breaking all ties to the United States and forming their own government. They did not secede until after the 1860...
Secession and Civil War
Why did the South believe it could win the war despite numerical disadvantages?
The South knew it was at a numerical disadvantage, and a severe one, in terms of manpower to fight a war, as the North had more than twice the population. The South, however, knew it had a...
Secession and Civil War
What was one major disadvantage of the North during the American Civil War?
There were two main disadvantages for the North at the beginning of the Civil War. I will describe both of them here. First, the North had much less of a military tradition and therefore much less...
Secession and Civil War
What were the main military challenges Lincoln faced during the Civil War?
President Lincoln faced several military challenges during the Civil War. The first challenge he faced keeping Washington, D.C. in the Union. Since Virginia had seceded, he needed Maryland to...
Secession and Civil War
Why did the North win the Civil War?
There are many reasons why the North won the Civil War over the South. For one, the North had more heavy industry than the South, which had remained largely agricultural leading up to the war....
Secession and Civil War
Why did President Lincoln want to prevent Maryland from seceding?
Lincoln wanted to keep Maryland out of the Confederacy's hands because it surrounded Washington D.C. If Maryland fell, Washington D.C. would capitulate also and the Confederacy would be able to...
Secession and Civil War
How did the Civil War bring America together? Give evidence.
In some ways we were more unite after the Civil War, but it was a long time before the country was really whole again. There were people who resented losing, and resented being part of the United...
Secession and Civil War
During the Civil War, what were the technology strengths and weaknesses of the Confederacy?
In general, the Confederacy was technologically weaker than the Union forces. The Union possessed more than twice the length of railroad trackage that the South had, and while the northern...
Secession and Civil War
How did Charles Sumner's views on Bleeding Kansas create conflict?
Charles Sumner's views on Bleeding Kansas created conflict because they inspired Sumner to make a speech on the Senate floor in which he bitterly criticized some Southern senators. A member of the...
Secession and Civil War
In what ways and to what extent did constitutional and social developments between 1860 and 1877 amount to a revolution?
The constitutional and social changes that took place between 1860 and 1877 can be seen as revolutionary, though they are not often described using that term. Revolutionary change comes rapidly,...
Secession and Civil War
How did the Civil War affect the Native Americans?
The Civil War caused a lot of rightful bitterness on the part of the Native Americans toward the US government for a variety of reasons. Because of the land grabbing acts of the federal government,...
Secession and Civil War
How did South Carolina's response to the 1832 tariff foreshadow secessionist sentiments?
In the 1830s, South Carolina responded to the tariff in two ways. First, they asserted that they (and other states) had the right to nullify laws made by the national government. Second, they...
Secession and Civil War
Who was responsible for the coming of the Civil War? Were strong personalities important? Could the war have been...
The American Civil War was one of the bloodiest conflicts in national history, with the total number of casualties estimated at around 620,000 soldiers. In this war, the northern states (also...
Secession and Civil War
How did the Union win the Battle of Gettysburg?
The Southern invasion of the North known as the Battle of Gettysburg was won by the Union, soundly defeating Pickett's Charge on the 3rd Day of Battle on July 3, 1863. This foolhardy attack was...
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