The war of secession referat





The war of secession

War of secession

Subdivision

1. General information
2. The Background
3. The occasion (s)
4. Abraham Lincoln
5. The war
6. The South since the war

1. General information
- 1861 to 1865
- the rivals: northern industrial nations « southern agricultural nations of America
- a different elaboration

2. The Background
- the different elaboration:
® northern America: - there was the economic- industrial focal point
- an abundant food production
- they had the most traffic connections
- numerous growing cities
- slavery was unlawful
- a population of 22.000.000 (most were free citizens)
® southern America: - a missing employer class
- missing movable capital
- they wanted to enlarge their property
- wanted the preservation of slavery and the imperious position of the whites
- wanted to preserve the economic basis
- about 9 million inhabitants ( more than 30% were not free slaves)

3. The occasion
- the economic- political contrast ® conflict of slavery
- the election of Abraham Lincoln for President of the United States, he was the reason in the conflict of the slavery- question ® announcement of resignation of 11 southern nations (this is called secession) ® they based the " Confederated States of the United States of America", a completely independent government, and elected Jefferson Davis as their President

4. Abraham Lincoln

- was born in 1809, 12. February in Hodgenville/ Kentucky
- son of a Kentucky frontiersman
- mother died when he was ten
- lived in a second- class family
- married Mary Todd ® four sons
- he made a lot of jobs
- in his early political career he already worked against the slavery
- 1858: he wanted a seat in the senate, worked as a Republican against the Democrat Stephen A. Douglas ® lost the election
- 1860: he wanted to become President, won the election
- largest problem was the secession of the southern States
- was the commander in Chief of the Union's troops
- was a diplomatic politician
- 1864: wanted to take the prohibition of slavery into the construction
- 1864: won the re- election ® wanted reconstruction and peace
- but his enemy John Wilkes Booth shoot him in Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. in 1865, 14. April, because of the limited right to vote for black people
- he died the following day
- now a days he is the simple for unity, democracy and for liberation of the slaves


5. The war

- two important people for the civil war:
1. General Robert E. Lee( leader of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia; before Lincoln offered him the command of the Union Army but he couldn't accept)
2. General Ulyssees S. Grant (determined and skilful leader of the Union Army)
- the Union sent 1556678 soldiers into the war; the Confederates 1082119 soldiers
- February, 9. in 1861: the confederated states of the USA are formed with J. Davis as their president
- Lincoln would have let the Southerners keep their slaves if they had rejoined the Union, but it was too late
- they (the Southerners) astonished the world by their fanatical patriotism and opened the fire with 50 cannons upon Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina on April 12. in 1861
- during the first few months the Southerners won sensational victories
- the Northerners first had only little enthusiasm for the war and many didn't even know what it was about but Lincoln was unshakable
- April, 19. in 1861 Lincoln issues a proclamation of blockading the ports of the confederates, but the South held out much longer than was expected
- March 8./9., in 1862 The Confederates sank Union ships ® Lincoln took direct command of the Union Armies
- April, 24. in 1862 17 Union ships moved up the Mississippi river and took New Orleans, the South's greatest Seaport
- May, 31. in 1862 Confederate troops attacked Unions in front of Richmond and nearly defeated them
- July, 11. in 1862 Lincoln handed over the command to General Henry W. Halleck
- September, 17. in 1862 bloodiest day in US military history as General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army were stopped Maryland, by nightfall 26000 men died, were wounded or missed
- January, 1. in 1863 Lincoln issued the final proclamation freeing all slaves
- July, 3. 1863 " Gettysburg Address ": Lincoln published his political principles ( for example an American democracy)
- May, 4.1864 beginning of a massive, coordinated campaign involving all the Union Armies
- autumn of 1864 another Union Army under General Sherman was marching into Atlanta, Georgia
- he set out from Atlanta on November 15th with an Army of 62000 men, 1718 guns and 2400 wagons
- November, 8. 1864 Lincoln as re- elected president
- in mid- December 1864 General Sherman offered Lincoln the city of Savannah as his "Christmas- present"
- the war ended on April 9. in1865, the Union won the terrible war
- a week after the end of the war Abraham Lincoln was shoot



6. The South since the war

- the South was ruined
- there was no return to the easy life they had before
- no return to the big plantations
- life after the war was hard and dangerous for the Southerners
- they were treated as a defeated enemy for many years
but little by little they regained control of their homeland












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