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Intro To Civil War Handout
Intro To Civil War Handout
Popular
Sovereignty
Nullify means to make legally null and void; invalidate. Nullification, in the United States
constitutional history, is a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify, or invalidate, any
federal law which that state has deemed unconstitutional. The theory of nullification has
never been legally upheld by federal courts.
Popular sovereignty or the sovereignty of the people is the principle that the authority of
the government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their
electrical representatives (Rule by the People), who are the source of all political power.
Secede
Nullify/ Nullification
Sectionalism
Sectionalism is the restriction of interest to a narrow sphere: undue concern with local
interests or petty distinctions at the expense of general well-being.
Slave Code
Slave codes were laws in each U.S. state, which defined the status of slaves and the
rights of masters. These codes gave slave-owners absolute power over the enslaved.
States Rights
States Rights are the rights and powers held by the individual US states rather than by
the federal government. They are the political powers reserved for the U.S. state
Total War
The total war was a war that is unrestricted in terms of the weapons used, the territory or
combatants involved, or the objectives pursued especially one in which the laws of war
are disregarded.
Fact #1
The Confederate States of
America consisted of the
governments of 11 Southern
States that seceded from the
Union in 1860-61.
Fact #2
The Confederate Sates
consisted of South Carolina,
Mississippi, Florida,
Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana, Texas, Virginia,
Arkansas, Tennessee, and
North Carolina.
In 1865, as commanding
general, Grant led the Union
Armies to victory over the
Confederacy in the
American Civil War.
He surrendered in 1865 in
the Civil War.
Confederate States
of America
Jefferson Davis
Ulysses S. Grant
Robert E. Lee
Abraham Lincoln
He served as a General in
the Union Army during the
American Civil War.
He was unsuccessfully
sued for his freedom and
that of his wife and their two
daughters.
She wrote the novel, Uncle
William T. Sherman
Dred Scott
Fact #3
The Confederacy
President was Jefferson
Davis and the Vice
President was Alexander
Stephens. The
Confederate Capital was
in Montgomery, AL, and
Richmond, Virginia.
He took personal charge
of the Confederate war
plans but was unable to
find a strategy to defeat
the more populous and
industrialized Union.
The S in his name stood
for nothing.
He distinguished himself
during the MexicanAmerican War, served as
Superintendent of the
United States Military
Academy, and married
Mary Custis.
Lincoln led the United
States through its Civil
War- its bloodiest war and
its greatest moral,
constitution and political
crisis.
He received recognition
for his outstanding
command of military
strategy as well as
criticism for the
harshness of the
scorched earth.
It was called the Dred
Scott v. Sanford case of
1857, popularly known as
the Dred Scott Decision.
The book was a depiction
Harriett Beecher
Stowe
Toms Cabin.
1. Locate, list, and fully explain the main cause for the Civil War.
The US Civil War lasted from 1861 to 1865 and led to over 618,000 deaths. Its causes can be traced back to
tensions that formed very early in the nations history. One main cause of the Civil War was the economic and
social differences between the North and the South. Because of the creation of the Cotton Gin, cotton became
very profitable. Thus, the southern economy became a one crop economy depending on cotton and therefore
slavery. On the other hand, the northern economy was based more on industry than agriculture. The disparity
between the two set up a major difference in economic attitudes. The south was based on the planation
system while the north was more of the city life. Another cause was the states versus federal rights. Two
camps emerged: those arguing that the federal government needed to have more control and those arguing for
greater states. Other causes was the fight between Slave and Non-Slave State Proponents, growth of the
abolition movement, and the election of Abraham Lincoln. Slavery was a very big debate between the North
and South and caused several problems, and greatly contributed to the War.
2. What are 2 major battles of the Civil War that were fought in Georgia? What happened in each battle?
Who won each battle?
1) Battle of Chickamauga: The Battle was fought in 1863 and was the first major battle in Georgia. It was a
Confederate victory, and also the last major Confederate victory in the west. The Battle of
Chickamauga was the biggest battle ever fought in Georgia. With 34,000 casualties, it is generally
accepted as the second bloodiest engagement of the war.
2) Battle of Jonesborough: It was fought during the Atlanta Campaign in the American Civil War. Two
Union Armies led by Major General William T. Sherman maneuvered to draw the Army of Tennessee
away from their defenses at Atlanta, Georgia, where it could be destroyed. The Union won this battle.
3. How long did the Civil War last? How many people were injured/died during war?
The Civil War lasted 4 years. It began April 12, 1861 and ended May 9, 1865. It was the bloodiest four years in
US history.
Approximately 620,000 soldiers died from combat, accident, starvation, and disease during the Civil War.