The American Civil War

1. The American Civil War By Stephen Twohig 7-T

2. Introduction To The Civil War • The American Civil War (1861-1865) was also known as the War Between the States and lasted for four years. • The sides involved were the Union (North) and the Confederacy (South). • The Civil War was resolved when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.

3. Major Causes of the Civil War • Economic and social differences between the North and the South • States versus federal rights • The fight between Slave and Non-Slave State Proponents • Growth of the Abolition Movement • The election of Abraham Lincoln

4. Significant Person from the NorthUlysses S. Grant • Born Hiram Ulysses Grant on April 27, 1822 in Ohio • Graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1843 • General-in-Chief of the Union Armies during the Civil War from 1864 to 1865 • General Lee of the Confederacy surrendered to him at Appomattox which ended the Civil War • Remained in charge of the Army during Reconstruction and implemented the Congressional plans to reoccupy the South and hold new elections in 1867 with black voters that gave Republicans control of the Southern states • Elected the 18th President of the United States in 1868 • Reelected president in 1872 • As president, he led Reconstruction by signing and enforcing civil right laws and fighting Ku Klux Clan • He helped rebuild the Republican Party in the South which resulted in the election of African Americans to Congress and state governments for the first time. • Died on July 23, 1885

5. Ulysses S. Grant

6. Significant Person of the SouthRobert E. Lee • Born in Virginia on January 19, 1807 and died October 12, 1870 • Top graduate from West Point • Among the most celebrated generals in American history • One of a few generals in modern military history to be offered the highest command of two opposing armies • Best known for commanding the Confederate of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War • Lee’s role in the Confederacy was to serve as senior military adviser to President Jefferson Davis. • In 1862, Lee took command of the Confederate forces in the East which Lee renamed the “Army of Northern Virginia”. • Despite several victories in the Civil War (Seven Days Battles, Second Battle of Bull Run, Battle of Fredericksburg, the Battle of Chancellorsville, and the Battle of Cold Harbor) , he was forced to surrender to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. • After the war, as a college President, Lee supported President Andrew Jackson’s program of Reconstruction, while opposing proposals to give freed slaves the vote and take the vote away from ex-Confederates

7. Robert E. Lee

8. Turning Point of the WarBattle of Gettysburg • The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July 1-3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. • The battle had the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is often described as the war’s turning point. • The Union defeated attacks by Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee’s invasion of the North. • The Confederate army that staggered back from the fight at Gettysburg was physically and spiritually exhausted. General Lee would never again attempt an offensive operation of such proportions. • The war was to rage for two more terrible years, but the Confederacy never recovered from the losses of Gettysburg.

9. Life of the Homefront • Women’s roles changed • With men off to war, women supported and cared for their families and homes. • In the South, women worked on plantations and fields. • In the North, women worked in factories. • They became nurses, laundresses, spies, vivandieres and writers for newspapers. • They manufactures arms, ammunition, uniforms and other supplies for the soldiers. • They were forced to protect themselves and their children from soldiers who tried to rape, kill or capture them. • In the South, they experienced great hardships due to shortages of food, medicine and supplies. • In the southern states, they had to deal with a lot of chaos and destruction from the war.

10. Final Resolution The end of the war came when General Robert E. Lee of the Confederacy unconditionally surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865 to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. However, skirmishes and small battles continued to occur until the last general, Native American Stand Watie, surrendered on June 23, 1865. Victory for the North meant the end of the Confederacy and of slavery in the United States, and strengthened the role of the federal government.

11. Major Effects of the War • Thousands of former slaves found themselves without homes, clothes, food, jobs or an education. • Most of the south, especially Richmond, Charleston, Atlanta, Mobile and Vicksburg, lay in ruins. • A period called Reconstruction began as men and women, black and white, from the North and South, began rebuilding the shattered union and creating a new social order. • Three Amendments were added to the Constitution • 13th Amendment abolished slavery • 14th Amendment provided “Equal Protection under Law” • 15th Amendment allowed Blacks to vote • New Southern governments confronted violent opposition to new laws. In time, Reconstruction came to an end and white supremacy was restored throughout the South and survived into the 1960s.

12. Resources • http://www.sonofthesouth.net/union-generals/ulysses-s-grant/pictures/president-ulysses-s-grant.jpg • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulysses_S._Grant • http://dnewell1.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/siamese.jpg • http://seasweetie.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/dossantos-gen-robert-e-lee.jpg • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Gettysburg • http://americancivilwar.com/getty.html • http://www.edhelper.com/ReadingComprehension 35 142.html