America’s Bipolar Phase

The Civil War began as an equal battle between the Union and the Confederacy; the early battles resulted in wins from both opponents. By the battle of Gettysburg, though, the tables began to turn. This battle was fought in Pennsylvania, which was Union territory. The outcome of the battle greatly favored the Union, and was the first sign of the Union’s superiority over the Confederate army. The charts below give figures of the casualties after the battle; even though the numbers are relatively similar, the ratios between soldiers and deaths were drastically different. Where both armies averaged around 20,000 casualties, the Union army had 918,000 soldiers while the Confederacy only had 278,000 (according to Doc B). Along with soldiers, the Confederacy lost important war figures during the battle of Gettysburg. In General Lee’s letter to the Confederate President Davis, written on July 4, 1863, he names multiple Generals that died or were wounded, and also added that the Confederacy’s “losses embrace many other valuable officers and men…” (taken from Edline, http://www.edline.net/files/_zGHaC_/07d31f6f8504e9f13745a49013852ec4/Gettysburg_DBQ_-_Student_Version.pdf ). This battle proved to be such a turning point, that it caught President Lincoln’s attention, causing him to write the Gettysburg Address. At this point in time, the Union had a clear advantage over the Confederacy, which is why this battle is considered a turning point.

Taken from Edline.

As the Civil War progressed, the Union army developed a new tactic in winning: total war. While the Union occupied the South, they enacted total war, which is defined as “a war that is unrestricted in terms of weapons used, the territory or combatants involved, or the objects pursued” by Dictionary.com. Union general Grant’s first act of total war was a siege, which is defined as “a tactic in which an enemy is surrounded and starved in order to make it surrender”, according to “The Civil War- A Total War” (accessed on Edline). This was an extreme measure in order to gain possession of Vicksburg, the only city on the Mississippi River that the Union didn’t control. Although this technique was successful, it was very devastating to the civilians living in Vicksburg. Grant continued to create total war, and advised his officers to follow in his footsteps. After receiving a letter from Grant that commanded him to “do all the damage to railroads and crops” as possible, Sheridan devastated the Shenandoah Valley and reported that Southerners were “getting sick of the war” as a result. Sherman was another officer that followed the total war strategy. Even though his tactics caused around 17,000 Confederate deaths, he believed that “the crueler it [war] is, the sooner it will be over”. Even though the above officers destroyed Southern town through total war, it served as an efficient way to shorten the war. Total war was an intelligent, though aggressive, tactic that the Union used to pressure the South into surrender. The act may not have been moral, but was beneficial to the Union’s success and in ending the Civil War.

Taken from Edline

With total warfare came a quicker ending to the Civil War. For the most part, the nation celebrated the ending of a long and challenging war. Soldiers especially were glad with the termination of war, for obvious reason. Fireworks were lit in Washington D.C, because civilians were relieved to have the war over. Some Southerners were somber due to the loss of slavery, but overall most were glad the war would no longer disrupt their lives. Unfortunately, not all Americans were happy with the results. A group of conspirators against the government formed, with the goal of overturning the government. John Wilks Booth is a well-known member of this group. His assassination of President Lincoln caused a nationwide grieving. The picture to the right exemplifies how distraught Americans were from the death of their beloved president. The nation celebrated the end of the war, but grief came along with it when Lincoln was assassinated soon after.

Taking all the credit: Lincoln or Christopher Columbus?

When Americans think about Abraham Lincoln, they think of his famous Emancipation Proclamation. In his speech, made on January 1, 1863,  Lincoln enforced that “all persons held as slaves within any state or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free…” (taken from the Lincoln Document Edline folder). As the title of the post suggests, Lincoln is portrayed as the main reason for slave freedom (just like Christopher Columbus and the discovery of America), but that is not necessarily the case. Even though Lincoln was a supporter of abolition, he had ulterior motives. In his second Inaugural Address in 1865, Lincoln said that “Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away.” It was obvious that Lincoln would do almost anything to end the war and preserve the Union; he abolished slavery as a tactic to unite the country. Seeing enslaved Americans upset Lincoln, but this was far out-weighed by his desire to unite the country.

In order to truly understand the situation, one must know the difference between

Source: http://www.edline.net/files/_yXJi3_/8944017b9bf96e4f3745a49013852ec4/Activity_5_-_Lincolns_Changing_Views_on_Slavery_-_Gallagher.pdf

“freedom from above” and “freedom from below”. Freedom from above, as it pertains to slavery, would be government and people of high standings giving freedom to the slaves. The picture to the right is what freedom from above was envisioned as during the Civil War, with President Lincoln directly granting a slave his freedom. Freedom from below would be people in low social status, like slaves, helping themselves to become free.

With this in mind, enslaved Americans gained their freedom from both above and below. Support from the President and the Union army contributed to the success; Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation was a major turning point in the war. The Emancipation Proclamation instated that all Confederate states or those in “actual armed rebellion against the authority and government of the United States” can no longer practice slavery legally. As the war went on, the Union army also played a role in helping slaves from above. During battle, the Union army was stationed in the South, and provided a safe place for slaves to live freely. The Emancipation Proclamation also stated that all slaves “will be received into the armed service of the United States to garrison forts, positions, stations, and other places”, where they could not be enslaved. Union camps were like a save-haven to all runaway slaves from their plantations. This help from above was limited, though. The Emancipation Proclamation was only in effect in the Confederate states; the four border states of Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware and Kentucky were still in the Union, but they all had slavery. The slaves made up for the lack of help from above by putting matters into their own hands. In fact, the majority of the help slaves had was from below. In a letter from General Ambrose E. Burnside to Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, dated March 21, 1862, the South was described as “being overrun with fugitives from surrounding towns and plantations—”. The slaves forced their problem on to the Union army, in hopes that something would be done. The engraving seen below is a more accurate depiction of the slaves freedom, rather than the picture of Lincoln above. The engraving, titled “Slaves from the plantation of Confederate President Jefferson Davis arrive at Chickasaw Bayou, Mississippi”, 1863, shows a Union camp filled with slaves; most slaves escaped their plantations and made themselves known tot he Union arm, where they could live safely.

Source: http://www.edline.net/files/_yXJhV_/a60c5c6262cc5f073745a49013852ec4/Docs_XY_Above__Below.pdf

For the most part, the slaves’ freedom came from “below”, with some additional help from above. Even though the Union government and President Lincoln supported the slaves’ cause, it was the actions the slaves took themselves that greatly contributed to their emancipation.