American History: A Survey (Brinkley), 13th Edition

Chapter 14: THE CIVIL WAR

Main themes of Chapter Fourteen:

• The establishment of the Confederacy, the failure of the final attempts at compromise, and the road to Fort Sumter



• The social and economic mobilization of both the Union and Confederacy for war, and what that mobilization revealed about the nature and character of each side



• The military strategy and campaigns of the Civil War, leading to the Union victory in April of 1865

• The reasons why all attempts to reach a compromise in the time-honored way failed in 1860 and 1861



• The many interpretations of the causes of the Civil War advanced by historians



• The ways in which the Confederate States of America compared with the United States in manpower, natural resources, finances, industrial potential, and public support



• The significant nationalistic legislation enacted by Congress once Southern members were no longer a factor, including the Homestead Act, Morrill Act, and National Bank Acts



• The steps leading to President Lincoln's decision to issue the Emancipation Proclamation, and its immediate effect on the status and conditions of slaves in both the North and South



• The military mobilization of the North, including the role of women in the Sanitary Commission and the eventual adoption of black military units, beginning with the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Infantry



• The basic structure of the government of the Confederate States of America, how it differed from that of the United States, and how it dealt with the vital question of states' rights



• The efforts of presidents Lincoln and Jefferson Davis to act as commanders in chief, and how they differed from each other



• The crucial roles of sea power and international diplomacy in securing victory for the Union cause



• The American Civil War in the context of the worldwide movement to create large, consolidated nations



• The military strategies adopted by both sides of the Civil War, and the major battles that marked the course of America's bloodiest conflict