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Unit 5 - The Civil War (War or Rebellion)

• Unit Question - What is power and how is it gained, used, and justified?
• Historical Context – Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Robert E. Lee
• Final Assessment – Unit Exam - Civil War Test

Read p.17-22 in your War, Terrible War mini-book and answer the Start of the Civil War questions in your COMP books: 

1. Why did people from the North and South believe the war would be short?
2. What advantages did the North have over the South?
3. Where was the first shots fired in the Civil War?  Why this location?
4. Where was the first official battle of the Civil War?
5. How did the Confederate General T.J. "Stonewall" Jackson get that cool nickname?
6. It didn't take long for the Union (North) and Confederate (South) armies to realize that this war was going to be different.  How was this war going to be different from the Revolutionary War (almost 90 years earlier) and the recent wars in Europe?

1. Who was given command of the Union Army at the start of the Civil War?  Unlike most from this era, in fact many laughed at him, but why did this general believe the war would take at least 2-3 years to defeat the South (Confederacy)? 
2. What was the name of General Winfield Scott's plan to "squeeze" the Confederate Army?  How did the plan work?
3. Why did President Lincoln say, "If General McClellan isn't going to use his army, I'd like to borrow it for a time"?  
4. President Lincoln's patience with Generals like McClellan, Fremont, Burnside, Halleck, Hooker, Pope and Meade was almost completely diminished before a General from the Mexican War reappeared.  Who was he?  What was he doing before the Civil War?
5. Who was Ulysses S. Grant's West Point friend and also the type of General, President Lincoln was looking for?
6. Who was "Stonewall" Jackson?  Why was he so beloved by his Confederate soldiers and a hero to Southern civilians (excluding African Americans)?  HINT:  Refer to the Start of Civil War section (above) for further reference. 
7. What was Confederate General Robert E. Lee's connection to founding fathers George Washington and Patrick Henry?
8. Why did the South have better Generals than the North?  None more highly recommended than General Robert E. Lee and President Lincoln knew it and offered General Lee command of the Union Army, General Lee turned down the Union President and led the Confederate Army.  Why did General Lee choice the Confederacy over the Union?  How might the war have been different if General Lee would have chosen the Union?  HINT:  Try this HNN: What If Robert E. Lee Accepted Command of the Union Army?
9. What was the impact of West Point as military training for the Civil War?  Who was the most notable of West Point graduates?  Explain. HINT:  Try this West Point Classmates – Civil War Enemies PDF
10. Compare and contrast Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee.  NOTE:  List at least five facts about Grant and Lee.  HINT:  Try this StudiesWeekly: Grant & Lee
11. As discussed in number 8, the South had superb generals, but what did the South lack that eventually will prove to be too much to overcome?  HINT:  Start reading p. 73
12. Why did the Confederate leaders believe England would help their cause of independence?  When did Great Britain abolish slavery?
13. What other problems did Confederate President Jefferson Davis have?  HINT:  Remember the Articles of Confederation?  

1. What was the median (close to average) age of soldiers during the Civil War?  Why did soldiers under 18 years old want or feel the need to join the conflict?  How did they do it?
2. Why did volunteers diminish as the war progressed on both sides of the war?  Why did some people call it, "a rich man's war and poor man's fight"?
3. What sport evolves into a national sport and later the national pastime?  HINT: Try this Baseball Hall: Baseball and the Civil War
4. How did new military technology evolve and create a modern warfare and death on a scale never seen before?  NOTE: Give two examples. 
5. Life during wartime for President Lincoln must have been stressful beyond comparison, but there was another side of President Lincoln.  What was Abraham Lincoln like as a father?  HINT:  To measure President Lincoln's stress, try this:  Longecity: Abraham Lincoln Aging
6. What did General McClellan of the Union decide to name his army?  What made General McLellan's army unsuccessful? 
7. What happened to General "Stonewall" Jackson in May of 1863 in Chancellorsville, Virginia?  What was the response for civilians in the South?
8. Why did President Lincoln order the Union navy to blockade of Southern ports?  How did the Confederacy respond?
9. McClellan's timid nature, say very little military success as the Union General of the Army of the Potomac, but he did win the battle of Antietam.  How did he do it?  Why did McClellan watch the Confederate rebels retreat?  HINT: Luck!  
10. What famous speech in September of 1862 changed the Civil War from a fight to save the Union to a battle to end slavery?  Was it legal?  If so, why?  If not, please explain.  HINT: Try this Legal Dictionary: Was the Emancipation Proclamation legal?
11. What did Abolitionist, Frederick Douglas, mean by, "lift the war into the dignity of a war for progress and civilization"?
12. During the first few years of the Civil War, why weren't African Americans allowed to fight for the North and the South?  Why did African Americans want or feel the need to join the war?  What are contrabands?
13. Eventually both sides will allow for African Americans to join the war.  What did General Howell Cobb under General Robert E. Lee's command, mean by, "If slaves will make good soldiers, then our whole theory of slavery is wrong"?
    
14. What was life like for civilians who encountered a marching army?
15. Why did General Robert E. Lee decide to invade the North?  What was the result?
16. What was Pickett's charge?  Who won the battle of Gettysburg?

1. At the time of President Lincoln's re-election what was the situation regarding the Civil War?
2. What was President Lincoln's plans for "Reconstruction"?  NOTE: If you look closely to the picture on p.132 you can find, President Lincoln's assassin, John Wilkes Booth, in the balcony.  (see image below)
3. Did Union Generals Grant and Sherman agree with President Lincoln's views of Reconstruction?  How do you know?
4. Why did Confederate General Robert E. Lee suggest to Confederate President Jefferson Davis that is was time to leave the Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia?  What was the reaction to fall of Richmond for those living in the North?
5. What did President Lincoln do upon entering the recently conquered Confederate capitol of Richmond, Virginia? 
6. Although, Richmond had fallen (see image below), President Lincoln and General Grant were afraid that the Confederate Rebels would head for the Appalachian Mountains to retreat and start a guerilla warfare.  In fact, that is precisely what Confederate President Jefferson Davis had suggested to his generals.  Robert E. Lee knew better, knowing the war was effectively over.  Where does Robert E. Lee surrender his army to U.S. Grant?  HINT: See Wilmer Mclean's quote found in the Civil War Presidents: Abraham Lincoln & Jefferson Davis section (above).  
7. What was the symbolism of Ulysses S. Grant allowing Robert E. Lee to keep his sword?
8. What three Constitutional amendments were passed as a result of the Civil War?
9. You have learned about Lincoln, Grant, and Sherman's views of Reconstruction, but what did Lincoln's cabinet and members of Congress think about Reconstruction of the South?
10. What did the Abolitionists do following the end of the Civil War?
11. President' Lincoln's assassin was the famous actor John Wilkes Booth. Legend has it that John Wilkes Booth said, "Sic semper tyrannis".  What does it mean?  What were the motives of John Wilkes Booth?  HINT: Try this Teaching History: Booth's Reason for Assassination
12. Who became President after Lincoln's assassination?  Why did former Confederate General George Pickett say, "The South has lost her best friend and protector in this her direst hour of need"?  Was he right?
13. Where and how was John Wilkes Booth captured?  HINT: Try this History.com: Lincoln assassin John Wilkes Booth dies