Fort Sumter
A fort located in Charleston, South Carolina that was the location of the first battle in the Civil War on April 12, 1861. It was held by federal troops but claimed by South Carolina, which had seceded. Lincoln ordered that supplies be brought to the fort
executive power
Drawing upon the powers given as a chief executive and a commander in chief, sometimes without approval from Congress
ex. Lincoln:
1) calling for 75,000 volunteers to put down the rebellion
2) authorizing spending for war
3) suspending writ of habeas corp
habeas corpus
a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention, that is, detention lacking sufficient cause or evidence (Wikipedia) [One has the right to know the charges against them]
insurrection
an act of revolt against a constituted government or another civil authority
ex. In the beginning of the Civil War, the North's goal was to put down the Southern insurrection
ex 2. Many slaves tried to organize slave insurrections
border states
The four slave-holding states of Delaware, Maryland, Missouri, and Kentucky who did not leave the Union during the Civil War. They stayed mainly because (a) martial law (b) presence of U.S troops (c) declaration of neutrality. Lincoln needed the border st
Confederate States of America
The confederation of the eleven southern states that seceded between 1860-1861 and was active from 1861-1865. South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas were the first to secede. After Fort Sumter, Virginia, Arkansas, Ten
Jefferson Davis
Elected the president of the Confederacy in 1861. According to the Confederate Constitution, he was provided a six-year nonsuccessive term and presidential item veto. He tried to gain more executive powers but other southern governors resisted.
Alexander H. Stephens
Elected the vice president of the Confederacy in 1861. He strongly believed in states' rights and argued for his state of Georgia to secede from the Confederacy as Davis called for more executive power.
Bull Run
The site of the first major battle of the war near Manassas Junction, Viriginia in July 1861 that was a strong Confederate victory (Stonewall Jackson). It became clear after this battle that the war would go on longer than expected and fed into the belief
Thomas (Stonewall) Jackson
A Confederate general famous for his counterattack during the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861 that sent Union forces scrambling back to Washington, D.C
Winfield Scott
The General-in-Chief of the United States Army who was a veteran of the War of 1812 and the Mexican-American wars who devised the Anaconda Plan for winning a long-term war
Anaconda Plan
Winfield Scott's three-part plan to defeat the Confederates:
1) Use of the U.S navy to blockade the Southern ports and thus cut them off from essential supplies
2)Taking control of the Mississippi River to divide the Confederacy into two
3) Take Richmond
George McClellan
Served briefly as the General-in-Chief of the Union army after Winfield Scott retired from 1961-1862. He wanted his troops to be trained for a long time before the Peninsula Campaign (invasion of Virginia) in March 1862, which failed. He was replaced by J
Robert E. Lee
The Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia who was promoted to General-in-Chief of the Confederate Army in 1865. He was involved in most of the major battles of the Civil War.
Antietam
A battle in September 1862 in which Lee took the offensive and led his army across the Potomac into Maryland, hoping that a major Northern victory would lead to European support. It was the single bloodiest day in the war. McClellan knew his plans, but di
Fredericksburg
A battle that took place in December 1862 McClellan's more aggressive replacement General Ambrose Burnside at Fredericksburg Virginia. The Union suffered immense losses compared to the Confederacy, resulting in a Confederate victory
Moniter and Merrimac
A battle between two ironclad ships, the U.S Moniter and Confederate Merrimac (Virginia), that took place near Hampton Roads, Virginia in March 1862. Ironclad ships could destroy wooden ships at will, but not other ironclads. The battle ended in a draw wi
Ulysses S. Grant
The Union General who led the North's campaign for control of the Mississippi River. In 1862 he captured forts along the Cumberland River, opening up Mississippi for Union attack. He was successful in making the Confederates retreat at Shiloh, Tennessee a
Shiloh
A battle that took place in Shiloh, Tennessee on April 6-7 1862. Albert Johnson of the Confederacy surprised Grant, but Grant managed to make the Confederates retreat after heavy losses on both sides.
David Farragut
The Union navy flag officer who led to the Union capture of New Orleans in April 1862
Trent Affair
In which Britain almost supported the Confederacy. In late 1861 Confederate diplomats James Mason and John Slidell were sailing on the Trent, a British steamer. A Union warship removed Mason and Slidell and named them prisoners of war. Britain threatened
Alabama (ship)
A Confederate commerce-raider that captured 60 U.S vessels before being sunk off the coast of France. The Confederates purchased warships from British shipyards and did serious damage to U.S merchant ships. After, Britain agreed to pay the U.S back for th
Laird rams
Laird rams were ships with iron rams that the Confederacy had arranged to purchase from Britain to use against the U.S naval blockade. Charles Francis Adams, the U.S minister to Britain, was able to persuade the British to cancel the sale rather than go t
Confiscation acts
The First Confiscation Act was passed in August 1861. It said that slaves were "contrabands of war" and thus the Union did not have to return them to their plantation owners. In July 1862, the Second Confiscation Act was passed freeing slaves of persons e
Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln used his power as commander in chief of the armed forces to free the slaves in the Confederacy, and it went into effect January 1, 1863. It did not immediately free all slaves, but it enlarged the purpose of the war to be about slavery. Th
Thirteenth Amendment
Passed in December 1865 and abolished slavery in all U.S states and territories
Gettysburg
Took place on July 1, 1863 and commonly considered the turning point of the Civil War. Lee took the offensive in Pennsylvania, but Union forces held. It was the bloodiest battle with over 50,000 casualties and Lee's forces never could regain the offensive
Vicksburg
General Grant seiged Vicksburg, Mississippi and secured complete control of the Mississippi River to cut off Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas when the Confederate troops surrendered on July 4, 1863
Sherman's March
Union General William Tecumseh Sherman led a force of 100,000 men to destroy and burn everything in Georgia and South Carolina that the Southerners might use to survive. He took Atlanta in September 1864 and completed his campaign in February 1865 in Colu
election of 1864
The Democrats nominated General George McClellan and used the platform of peace appeal to the many people weary of the war. The Republicans changed their name to be the Unionist Party to attract War Democrats and nominated Lincoln with Andrew Johnson, a W
Appomattox Court House
The location where Lee surrendered to Grant on April 9, 1865 after he had unsuccessfully tried to escape to the mountains. Lee had retreated from Richmond with less than 30,000 men.
John Wilkes Booth
The actor who assassinated Lincoln on April 14, 1865 while the president was attending a performance at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. A co-conspirator attacked Secretary of State William Seward but only wounded him. Lincoln's death caused more Northe
Copperheads
A group of Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and wanted immediate peace negotiations with the Confederacy. The most famous was Congressman Clement L. Vallandigham of Ohio who was briefly banished to Canada for his speeches against the war.
Ex Parte Miiligan (1866)
A Supreme Court case in 1866 that ruled that trying civilians in military courts when civilian courts were still available was unconstitutional. This had happened in Indiana during the Civil War.
draft riots
Riots that occurred in the July 1863 in New York City against the Union draft in which Irish American mobs attacked blacks and wealthy whites. The Conscription Act of 1863 required all men ages 20 and 45 to serve, but allowed people to find a substitute o
greenbacks
Paper money that the U.S Treasury issued in the Civil War that could not be redeemed for gold. This caused inflation. To manage the added revenue movement, Congress created a National Banking System in 1863, the first unified banking system since the Seco
Morrill Tariff Act of 1861
An act that raised tariff rates to increase revenue and protect American manufacturers that initiated the Republican program to help industrialists by keeping high protective tariffs
Homestead Act of 1862
Offered 160 acres of public land free in the Great Plains to any person who would agree to farm the land for five years
Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862
Encouraged states to use the sale of federal land grants to maintain agricultural and technical colleges
Pacific Railway Act of 1862
Authorized the building of a transcontinental railroad over a northern route to link the economies of California and the western territories to the eastern states
second American Revolution
Term coined by historians for the Civil War because the Civil War transformed the U.S from a partially agricultural society to a complex modern industrial society of capital, technology, national organizations, and corporations