The Civil War (1861 to 1865): flashcards, quiz and summary

Flashcards

1. 1Why did the question of slavery in western territories threaten the balance of power in Congress?

   Whether new western states entered as slave or free states would determine who held more seats and power in Congress, so the expansion of slavery was the central fight before the war.

2. 2How did the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) change the earlier compromises over slavery?

   It let settlers decide the slavery question themselves, which erased the Missouri Compromise line. The law led to violence in Kansas and helped create the Republican Party to stop slavery's spread.

3. 3Why did Lincoln's election in 1860 lead Southern states to secede?

   Lincoln won with no Southern electoral votes and pledged to stop slavery's spread. Many Southern leaders saw this as a threat to slavery's future, so South Carolina seceded in December 1860 and others followed.

4. 4What were the main advantages of the Union and the Confederacy at the start of the war?

   The Union had far more people, most factories and railroads, and a much larger navy. The Confederacy fought on home ground, had skilled generals such as Lee and Jackson, and hoped Britain and France would support it because they needed cotton.

5. 5Why did the Emancipation Proclamation matter for the goals and outcome of the war?

   It made ending slavery a war goal, discouraged European support for the South, and allowed Black men to serve in the Union army, with about 180,000 eventually serving. It applied to areas still in rebellion, not to the border states.

6. 6Why were the Union victories at Antietam, Gettysburg and Vicksburg important?

   Antietam stopped Lee's invasion of Maryland, Gettysburg ended his invasion of the North, and Vicksburg gave the Union control of the Mississippi River, cutting the Confederacy in two. Together they shifted momentum toward the Union.

7. 7How did total war, such as Sherman's March to the Sea, help the Union win?

   Sherman's army destroyed railroads, crops and property from Atlanta to Savannah in late 1864. The aim was to break Southern resistance by damaging the economy and the will to keep fighting.

8. 8How did the 13th Amendment change the legal status of slavery in the United States?

   Ratified in December 1865, it abolished slavery everywhere in the United States, except as punishment for a crime. This made the end of slavery permanent, unlike the Emancipation Proclamation, which had a narrower reach.

Practice quiz

Pick an answer to check it.

1. 1Which of these happened first after Lincoln's election in 1860?

   1. South Carolina seceded in December 1860
   2. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed in 1854
   3. Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter in April 1861
   4. The Supreme Court issued the Dred Scott decision in 1857
   Show the answer

   A. South Carolina seceded in December 1860 South Carolina seceded in December 1860, the first state to do so after the election. Fort Sumter came in April 1861, after several states had already seceded.

2. 2What did the Emancipation Proclamation do?

   1. It banned slavery in the border states and Union-held areas
   2. It ended slavery everywhere in the United States in 1863
   3. It freed every enslaved person in the United States, including in the border states
   4. It freed enslaved people in areas still in rebellion, effective January 1, 1863
   Show the answer

   D. It freed enslaved people in areas still in rebellion, effective January 1, 1863 The proclamation applied to areas still in rebellion. It did not cover border states or Union-held areas, and only the 13th Amendment ended slavery everywhere.

3. 3Why was the Union victory at Vicksburg in July 1863 important?

   1. It stopped Lee's invasion of Maryland
   2. It secured Atlanta and helped Lincoln win reelection
   3. It gave the Union control of the Mississippi River and cut the Confederacy in two
   4. It led directly to Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
   Show the answer

   C. It gave the Union control of the Mississippi River and cut the Confederacy in two Vicksburg gave the Union the Mississippi River. Antietam stopped Lee's invasion of Maryland, Gettysburg came from Lee's second invasion, and Atlanta fell in September 1864.

4. 4What was the Anaconda Plan?

   1. A plan to march from Atlanta to Savannah and destroy railroads
   2. A plan to blockade Southern ports and seize the Mississippi River
   3. A plan to recruit Black soldiers into the Union army
   4. A plan for Lee to invade the North and force a negotiated peace
   Show the answer

   B. A plan to blockade Southern ports and seize the Mississippi River General Winfield Scott's Anaconda Plan aimed to blockade Southern ports and control the Mississippi. The march from Atlanta to Savannah was Sherman's March to the Sea, and recruiting Black soldiers was a separate development.

5. 5What did the Supreme Court rule in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)?

   1. Black Americans could not be citizens, and Congress could not ban slavery in the territories
   2. Congress could ban slavery in the territories but not in the states
   3. Missouri could enter the Union only as a free state
   4. Slavery was legal only in the border states
   Show the answer

   A. Black Americans could not be citizens, and Congress could not ban slavery in the territories The Court ruled that Black Americans could not be citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories. The Missouri Compromise, not the Dred Scott decision, admitted Missouri as a slave state.

6. 6What was true of the 1860 presidential election?

   1. The Southern states together won more electoral votes than the North
   2. Lincoln won with about 40 percent of the popular vote and no Southern electoral votes
   3. Lincoln won a majority of the popular vote across the entire nation
   4. Stephen Douglas won the election with strong Southern support
   Show the answer

   B. Lincoln won with about 40 percent of the popular vote and no Southern electoral votes Lincoln won about 40 percent of the popular vote and received no Southern electoral votes. The election was not a majority win, and Douglas did not win.

Test traps

What teachers like to test on this, and the mistakes students make.

• Confusing the Missouri Compromise with the Kansas-Nebraska Act: the 1854 law erased the 1820 line by letting settlers vote, which led to violence in Kansas.
• Assuming the Emancipation Proclamation freed everyone; it applied to areas still in rebellion, while the 13th Amendment (December 1865) ended slavery everywhere except as punishment for a crime.
• Mixing up the Union's war goals: saving the Union came first, and ending slavery only became a goal in 1862 to 1863.
• Mixing up the battles: Antietam (September 1862) stopped Lee's invasion of Maryland, Gettysburg (July 1863) ended his invasion of the North, and Vicksburg (July 4, 1863) gave the Union the Mississippi River.
• Forgetting that Gettysburg and Vicksburg both ended in early July 1863, but in different theaters, East and West.
• Treating states' rights as the main cause without noting that the secession statements of South Carolina and Mississippi named slavery directly.

Summary

• The core dispute was whether slavery would expand west, because that would affect the balance of power in Congress.
• Compromises such as the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 delayed the conflict, but the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Dred Scott decision made it worse.
• Lincoln won the 1860 election without any Southern electoral votes, and South Carolina seceded first, followed by ten more states.
• The Union had far more people, factories, railroads and a larger navy, while the Confederacy relied on fighting on home ground and skilled generals.
• The Union's victories at Antietam, Gettysburg and Vicksburg shaped the war's direction, and the Emancipation Proclamation made ending slavery a war goal.
• Sherman's campaigns and the surrender at Appomattox Court House in April 1865 ended major fighting, and the 13th Amendment abolished slavery throughout the United States.
• Most historians see slavery as the central cause of the war, even though many Confederates framed their fight as defending self-government.

Key terms

Popular sovereignty

The idea that settlers in a territory should vote on whether to allow slavery. The Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act both used it.

Secession

When a state formally withdraws from the Union. South Carolina seceded first in December 1860, and by February 1861 seven states had formed the Confederate States of America.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

A Supreme Court ruling that Black Americans could not be citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories.

Anaconda Plan

General Winfield Scott's plan to blockade Southern ports and seize the Mississippi River, splitting and squeezing the South.

Emancipation Proclamation

Announced after Antietam and in effect January 1, 1863, it freed enslaved people in areas still in rebellion. It made ending slavery a war goal and opened the Union army to Black soldiers.

Total war

A strategy in which armies target railroads, crops and property as well as enemy soldiers. Sherman's March to the Sea from Atlanta to Savannah is the classic example.

Appomattox Court House

The place in Virginia where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.

13th Amendment

Ratified in December 1865, it abolished slavery throughout the United States, except as punishment for a crime.

How to study it

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