Prologue: From the Halls of Montezuma
The Mexican War allowed the U.S. to complete its so-called "Manifest Destiny". The Americans won the Mexican War due to an interest in territorial expansion and President Polk began the move to conquer Mexican territory. Scott's campaign against Mexico City was regarded the most brilliant in modern warfare, but soon after winning the land, the country was fighting over a myriad of problems. McPherson gives a extensive background to the war before launching into what happened at Fort Sumter, as it helps establish the reason for all the problems.
Chapter 1: The United States at Midcentury
Growth occurred in population, territory, and economy in the 1800s. This led to growth in slavery. This new growth in slavery led to sectional conflict between the North and the South over its future. Some believed that slavery was not a republic ideal, while Southerners thought slavery was essential to their culture and their economy. Strangely enough, non-slave owning whites in the South supported slavery since they believed emancipation would lead to war and their downfall as blacks were competition. This split between the North and the South led to a new culture that alienated the two sides and created sectional pride, which created disunity. Since industrial capitalism was taking place by mid 1800s, many believed slavery degraded labor and stopped economic development. McPherson did mention how terrible wage labor was. The working poor in New York were not very emphatic pre-Civil War era, but wage labor was a form of dependency that went against republic ideals. He also makes a reference to Thomas Jefferson's agrarian ideal to show how it didn't work and everyone was dependent on someone else.
Chapter 2: Mexico Will Poison Us
The Mexican War signalled the end of the quest for Manifest Destiny. It also reminded many of Ralph Waldo Emerson's "prophecy" that "Mexico will poison us" after the U.S. conquered them. This was startlingly accurate, since the poison was slavery and the new land would only add more slave states and thus, more slave power. Many Northerners believed this addition of slave states would increase with the acquisition of Mexican territory and claimed the war was part of a "slave power conspiracy". The free soil movement also aided in Northern claims. They believed wage labor was better than slave labor because the promise of money made people want to work, whereas slavery only degraded people and made work look like a negative aspect of life. If slavery wasn't allowed then, free labor would prosper there and the white slave owning gentry would lose power.
Chapter 3: An Empire for Slavery
McPherson states that Southerners prior to the Civil War advocated states' rights and a weak federal government, except in regards to the Fugitive Law of 1850. This law gave an immense power to the federal government. Not many fugitives ever escaped from the lower South since there were the most slave-owners in that area.
The South was also weaker than the North in terms of economic growth. The South also had a lack of industrialization, due to the South agrarian system. The lack of a home market was due to southern consumers' buying Northern goods. President Polk also wanted to continue Manifest Destiny to Cuba, though his efforts failed. Later, Cuban soldier Narciso Lopez organized a new expedition of filibusters and was hailed as a hero when he burned the governor's mansion in Cardenas, Cuba. But the expected revolution never arose. Once again, filibustering took place during Pierce's presidency, but his only expansionist achievement was the Gadsden Purchase.
Chapter 4: Slavery, Rum, and Romanism
Northerners became more violent with the Kansas-Nebraska Act (May 1854). Along with the Burns case, it was, McPherson claims, the most important single event that pushed the country into civil war. It killed off the Whig Party and gave rise to the Republican party. The split between the Whigs was in part due to President Fillmore's efforts to enforce the fugitive slave law. Stephen A Douglas tried to stop the Missouri Compromise by repealing it. Then, he added the explicit repeal of the slavery ban north of the latitude line. This looked like a way to keep Kansas in slavery and Nebraska in freedom. In the election of 1854, Democrats lost most of their party. Soon, new coalitions formed in the North to oppose slavery. Republicans and Know-Nothings weakened the Democrat influence in the North. But, issues over slavery soon split the Know Nothings due to nativist ideals. The nativist movement formed in part due to the surge in immigrants. Bleeding Kansas convinced most northerners than the slave power a bigger threat to republican ideals than Catholicism was.
Chapter 5: The Crime Against Kansas
Many antislavery activists decided to turn to violence when Kansas became a slave state. Since Kansas had two territorial governments - one official one at Lecompton and the unofficial one at Topeka - a war was inevitable. The 1856 presidential elections many Republicans advocated for free territories and free people. This frightened many ex-Whigs into voting for Buchanan. In Kansas, border ruffians came in from Missouri to swell the vote for the proslavery candidate. They won at first, but further investigation showed that the ballots were frauds. The second time around, free-soil candidates won most of the elections. Free-soil Kansans outnumbered the proslavery settlers and refused to obey laws by a fake government and drew up a free-state constitution (the unofficial government), Some Republicans joined to denounce the Ostend Manifesto, say that it was Congress's right to ban slavery. Still, the South-Democrat controlled Congress voted to make Kansas a slave state. After violence ensued, Kansas became a free state in Jan 1861. In 1859, Brown seized a federal area in Virginia and was eventually killed; he became a martyr in the north because of his insistence on racial equality. This combined with Democrat issues pushed the Republicans into victory during the presidential elections of 1860.
Chapter 6: Mudsills and Greasy Mechanics for A. Lincoln
The Dred Scott v. Sanford case was an important decision by the Supreme Court. They stated that no African American (enslaved/free) could be an American citizen, and thus, could not sue in federal court. They also said that the federal government had no power to enforce or remove slavery in any territory. Lincoln said that the country would not be able to exist half slave and half free - a premonition of what was to come: the Civil War. The southern opposition to the transcontinental railroad, homesteads, tariffs, and land-grant college acts led the Republicans to victory in the presidential election of 1860. The Panic of 1857 stopped growth and was due to the Crimean War which cut off Rissoam grain from the European market. American exports had to meet the demand. But, their specie disappeared quickly and a build up of unsold goods caused many textile mills in the US to close. The depression was shorter than expected. Republicans made tariff revision one of their priorities, which showed how sectional tension rose. Sectional division became more clear when the homestead act, Pacific Railroad act and grants to states to establish agricultural and mechanical colleges were opposed. They reflected a Whig ideology of capital and labor, but southerners hated the measures. This struggle in Senate, so to speak, marked a terrible beginning to the Civil War, along with Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry.
Chapter 7: The Revolution of 1860
When the election year 1860 started, everyone was bitter with tension after John Brown's execution. Many yeomen and slaveholders were ready for war against Black Republican brigands. State legislatures made funds for purchasing weapons and some joined military companies. Every Yankee in the South was tarred and feathered and a few were lynched. Republicans and northerners, on the other hand, canonized him, since he was a martyr now for their cause. After Douglas's speech, many southern Democrats went to the Democratic National Convention in Charleston to destroy him. The convention in 1860 told its delegates to walk out of the national convention if the Democratic party didn't adopt a federal slave code for the territories. All Anti-Douglas southerners walked out, with a couple of proslavery northerners and upper South delegates. They organized their own convention and nominated John C. Breckinridge, the current vice president, for president. They used a slavecode platform; the Douglas loyalists were now even more angered. By the time the Republican National convention started, Lincoln was revered as a strong candidate. The election of 1860 was unique because it had two contests: Lincoln vs Douglas in the North; Breckinridge vs Bell in the South. Republicans were not allowed to be on the ballot in some southern states. Lincoln swept the votes north of the 41st parallel, getting 60% of the vote.
Chapter 8: The Counterrevolution of 1861
The Confederate States of America organized itself, drafted a constitution, and made Montgomery, Alabama their center, and elected a provisional president three months after Lincoln was elected. This went by quickly because states seceded only if it was their wish, and it was not a collective "united" way in which they seceded. Southerners thought that the North had violated US unity when they elected Lincoln. Most northerners didn't want disunity, and it was something Buchanan agreed on. In his final message to Congress, he surprised some of his southern allies with a firm denial of the right of secession. He blamed the North and Republicans for the problems over slavery and asked them to join the South to adopt a constitutional amendments protecting slavery in all territories.
Lincoln inherited the problem at Fort Sumter. He learned that the garrison was running short of supplies; he could shoot his way to the garrison with goods, but that would divide the North while uniting the South. Secretary of State Seward aided him in his decision to open fire at Fort Sumter against the Confederates holding it. The war had started.
Chapter 9: Facing Both Ways: The Upper South's Dilemma
The beginning of the war at Fort Sumter posed a problem for the upper South states. What they chose would decide the fate of the Confederacy since they had most of the South's resources for waging war: they had half of the southern population, two-thirds of its white population, three-quarters of its industrial capacity, three-fifths of its livestock and food crops. Interestingly enough, the claim that Lincoln's call for troops as the reason as to why the Upper South seceded is wrong. Demonstrations in those areas that they join the other seceded states happened before Lincoln ever called for troops. However, the majority of the white men in Missouri and Maryland fought for the Union; in Kentucky, there was a more even divide. The upper South states' decision had an important effect on the outcome of the war; if they had all seceded, the Confederacy may have won its independence, bit of all of them had stayed in the Union, the war would have finished earlier. The upper South states were so divided, they complicated ways in which both sides could form a strategy.
Chapter 10: Amateurs Go to War Yankees believed they were fighting for freedom - for their flag and their county. Confederates (even non slaveholders) fought to uphold slavery, their way of life. Yet, slavery "handicapped" Confederate foreign policy. They didn't mention slavery when fighting, though, except in relation to northern violation of southern rights. Instead, they portrayed the South like those in 1776, fighting for self-government and liberty, even as blacks wanted liberty more. The North was at a disadvantage, since they didn't prepare for the war; their army was tiny and they also fought on Confederate land. Confederate forces were able to stay close to their supplies, but northern armies had to either starve or have long supply lines. They had no strategic plan. But, the North had a better navy, the South, however, did have a huge amount of human resources. Lincoln, refusing to accept the Confederacy as a legitimate government, issued a proclamation to treat captured privateer crews as pirates, and many of them went to northern jails. McPherson believed the Civil War was mainly a political war - a war of peoples and their beliefs, not armies. Chapter 11: Farewell to the Ninety Days' War
Fremont was unable to put together a small army to break through Sterling Price's barrier. His reputation dropped and he lost half of Missourian command. Then, he issued a proclamation and declared martial law, announced the death penalty for guerrillas behind Union lines, confiscated property of Confederates and freed slaves. Lincoln wanted to keep Kentucky in the Union. Lincoln later ordered him to modify his emancipation. The led to a divide between Fremont and Lincoln.
This stirred up a controversy, especially after the Union defeat at the Battle of Bull Run. Slave labour was very important to the southern war effort that the government started drafting slaves before it started drafting white men. Lincoln should now be allowed to confiscate their property (slaves) since the Confederates had forfeited their rights. Beauregard created the new Confederate flag. The Confederates became more and more confident as they won more battles like the Battle of Bull Run. Since mid-July, the Confederacy had won most of the important land battles.
Chapter 12: Blockade and Beachhead: The Salt-Water War, 1861-1862
British merchants became convinced of a neutrality since they were trading in war weapons with both the parties. Due to presence of confederate privateers, or commerce raiders, many of the British ships which took back Northern goods were destroyed. This was a tactic to discourage the British from intervening in the war. Southerners decided to embargo cotton exports, thinking King Cotton would convince the British to help them. Crop failures in western Europe from 1860-1862 increased British dependence on American grain and flour, provided by the Union North. By 1862, Britain allowed the northern blockade to increase. The Confederates wanted to secure diplomatic recognition of the South's nationhood. Lincoln ignored the British, because he believed taking on two wars would destroy the Union. In 1861, British India was giving the Union saltpeter, an important ingredient of gunpowder. But the war brought the supply of saltpeter down, so Seward sent someone to buy all available supplies of saltpeter in England and in India. But the British government put an embargo on all shipments to the US until everything was settled. Still, the Union military successes in the West helped mollify many Northerners.
Chapter 13: The River War in 1862
Lincoln urged Ulysses S. Grant to go ahead. He attacked at Fort Henry and used gunboats to capture and destroy Confederate vessels. Soon, Tennessee had a Union highway into the Deep South. In a war after this, Nathan Bedford Forrest soon became the South's most important commanders. In another war against Buckner, Grant forced the surrender of thirteen thousand men, and he was promoted to major general. Grant's victories made the rebel morale go down. At the Battle of Shiloh, Confederate forces surprised Union troops and drove them across the Tennessee River. Although the Union did get backup and win the battle, it was one of the most bloody battles in the Civil War. Due to martial law and conscription by the Confederates. Confederate dollar dropped. At the same time, the Union government released political prisoners, suspended conscription, and had enough money for the war to keep them afloat.
Chapter 14: The Sinews of War
By December of 1861, the Southern Confederates no longer had enthusiasm of the war. Conscription was initiated to start volunteering by threat of coercion instead of actually coercing people into joining the army; this idea worked and the Confederate increased by 200,000 in 1862. Conscription represented government power that extended too far, especially in terms of Confederate provisionary government. The Confederates financed itself through paper dollars and its value depreciated almost immediately. This inflation became a "confiscatory taxation" that mostly affected the poor. It also led to more class tension and the lower white classes began to feel alienated to the Confederate cause as they suffered. The northern economy, on the other hand, was more adapted to the war. It relied on loans for only a part of its war financing. The rest of its financing, it did through revenues and increased taxes a lot. Their tax was progressive, since it exempted most wage-earners and only taxed the rich.
Chapter 15: Billy Yank's Chickahominy Blues
The Chickahominy river runs north of Richmond. Confederate army commander Johnston commanded the Southern army in the field near Seven Pines, east of Richmond, Virginia, the Confederate capital. When he was shot, Robert E Lee took control. The battle at Seven Pines continued, but cost the Confederates more than 6,000 men. Lee had a new plan; he believed Richmond could not be held against the enormous Union army. The Confederates had only three options: abandon Richmond, fight a defensive battle for Richmond, or attack. Lee urged the Confederacy to attack. He was planning to launch an attack along with Stonewall Jackson, but when Jackson didn't show up, he went alongside the Chickahominy and defeated the Unionist McClellan. Called the Seven Days' War, there were the most number of casualties in it. The high casualties during the battles was due to the traditional tactics being employed and the modern weapons being used. Attacks changed throughout the war as the new rifle came into soldiers' hands. The strategy used by many generals - the close-front attack - explains why the Civil War was so long and cost so many lives.
Chapter 16: We Must Free the Slaves or Be Ourselves Subdued
Despite the number of casualties in the Seven Days' War, the Southerners' morale rose again. Northern morale plummeted and Lincoln realized that stopping recruitment was a bad idea. He was afraid that implementing a draft would worry the public, so Seward made a plan to tell the public that they had to "volunteer" and defeat the rebellion once and for all. Republicans were sure that the fate of the nation could not be separated from the fate of slavery. On the other hand, the "copperhead" faction opposed turning the Civil War into a total war, which would eventually destroy the old South instead of restore the entire Union. This term was coined by Republicans, since they felt that opposing the way the war was turning into was going against the Republicans and their way of life.
Chapter 17: Carry Me Back to Old Virginny
Antietam, called Sharpsburg by the South, was one of the few battles in which commanders of both sides chose the field on purpose and pre-planned their tactics. The Confederates used cover instead of trenches. McClellan used many troops and crated diversions. Still, it was not very well executed.
Still, Antietam could be considered a Union success. One-third of the rebels died. When Lincoln recognized it as a Union victory, Confederates gave up hope for British recognition. Antietam, would soon lead to the Emancipation Proclamation, showing that Antietam was a big turning point in the war.
Chapter 18: John Bull's Virginia Reel
The war in 1862 led to Confederate hope that they might get European diplomatic recognition again. British view of Southerners as trying to get their freedom failed since they had slavery. The English prided themselves on stopping the transatlantic slave trade and abolishing slavery in the West Indies; thus, they couldn't support the South. But, also, since the North didn't fight for freedom, the British didn't see how they were any better. Since they didn't care about removing slavery, the British didn't support them. The Battle of Antietam led to issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation. The battle was also significant since it warned the British that they shouldn't fight against a government that now wanted freedom, since Britishers had claimed they would support the Union if they worked to abolish slavery. Southern response to emancipation was terrible. Many abolition prisoners were executed. These massacres bothered the Union, who threatened to attack; this was a reason why they were afraid to use blacks in combat, since they could be captured and killed. Still, the Union now had the British support and the Emancipation Proclamation was a turning point in the war.
Chapter 19: Three Rivers in Winter, 1862-1863
Even though McClellan failed at beating Lee at Antietam, Lincoln still expected the Army of the Potomac to fight the rebels. But McClellan protested; he thought he was the hero of Antietam and believed he could do whatever he wanted. On November 7, Lincoln replaced McClellan with Burnside. Burnside fought at the battle of Fredericksburg, but lost. The commanders in the Union forces were terrible, whereas the Confederate side had good fighting skills and leadership. The Union suffered many casualties, but the Confederates lost less than 5,000. Meanwhile, the Confederates seemed to be winning in the West. At Stones River, the Army of Tennessee claimed to win and appeased the copperhead offensive against the war policy in the North. More problems arose for the North, however, when the Army of the Potomac travelled through Rappahannock and led to a "Mud March". Burnside had to call the whole thing off. Lincoln appointed Joe Hooker as Burnside's successor. Grant's army was suffering. Despite Lincoln's faith in him, he allowed Secretary of State Stanton to investigate what was going on in the Army of the Tennessee.
Chapter 20: Fire in the Rear
"The fire in the rear" was Lincoln's fear of the northwest Democrats. Vallandigham became leader of the Peace Democrats in 1863 and wanted to restore the Union. Many Peace Democrats believed the Republicans caused the war and believed he could do better. In Butternut regions of the Midwest, due to economic issues, many southerners believed the same thing and began to support Peace Democrats. For a while, they were commanding the support of a large minority of the party.
Vallandigham was arrested for disloyalty; his supporters attacked Republicans, but a military commission convicted him for expressing sympathy for the enemy and weakening the power of the government. Lincoln banished him, but in exile, he was nominated by the Ohio Democrats. The Enrollment Act of 1863 was implemented to stimulate volunteering by the threat of a draft. Democrats began using this in their platform as well as a Republican sin. Still, it was a corrupt system since the rich could get out of the draft. People started believing, however, that the bounty given for "volunteering" was worse than just being drafted. The draft also forced men from ages 35 to 45 into the war and poor families starved. The exemption of one white man on every plantation with twenty or more slaves also angered Northerners.
Chapter 21: Long Remember: The Summer of '63
On July 4, 1863, the Confederacy went away from Gettysburg, and in Mississippi, Union troops captured Vicksburg. This was the most important northern strategic victory; Grant believed the Confederacy fell because of this victory. But, the Union, McPherson claims, won the war because of its many victories in the West, since the Confederacy came close to winning in the East. Joe Hooker didn't use his troops as efficiently during the battle, but the Chancellorsville battle, which the Confederates won, cost them. About a third of their forces were killed and Stonewall Jackson died. Longstreet then ordered the attack on the Union line at Gettysburg since it seemed the Confederates thought they had disabled the Union's weaponry. Pickett's charge represented the Confederate war effort, they seemed to have a deep sense of identity and pride; they were brave and it would like they were winning, but eventually they only lost. The Union weapons had not been destroyed; the Union forces were merely hiding and when they counterattacked, the Confederates collapsed. Although they breached the first Union line, many were killed. Of the 14,000 Confederates that began at the beginning of the battle, less than half returned. Southern morale was completely crushed; still, the Union suffered many casualties at Gettysburg and even more Confederates were killed. Lee was depressed by the outcome of his campaign and offered his resignation. Though the war continued for two more years, Gettysburg and Vicksburg proved to have been the final turning point.
Chapter 22: Johnny Reb's Chattanooga Blues
For Lincoln, all the victories in the west led to success at home. Republicans were in good shape, but the Ohio and Pennsylvania gubernatorial elections were about to take place. Vallandingham conducted his campaign for Ohio governor position from Canada in exile. Because Republicans now had many war successes, the Democrats could only use the issue of emancipation as their platform, but anti-abolitionism and racism no longer seemed to be that important. The attack by the 54th Massachusetts Infantry against a Confederate army was significant since they were a black army. They took a lot of casualties and soon newspapers were talking about their valour and bravery. This set the main idea for this time: opposing emancipation was equal to opposing northern victory. The Republicans won by a large margin.
Chapter 23: When This Cruel War Is Over
The Confederate Congress elections occurred in 1863, when southern morale was very low. The Davis administration was hated even more because of the political structure; there were no formal political parties and Southerners believed they needed to present a united front against any issue. The Republicans mobilized war resources, raised tariffs and taxes, created a new financial system, started the process of emancipation, and enacted conscription. The Democrats opposed most of these measures and this opposition allowed the voters could identify who they most agreed with and vote for them. But in the Confederacy, the Davis administration had no way to figure out who supported them.. "Proto-parties" began forming in the Confederacy by 1863. Former Whigs became the major opposition. In both the Confederacy and the Union, there were two factions: those for war and those against. Eventually Lincoln was re-elected for his second consecutive term, even when Chase ran against him and used Treasury Department patronage. Even with anger at Lincoln's reconstruction policy, he was no match. Most Republicans joined with Lincoln.
Chapter 24: If It Takes All Summer
In 1864, the Union seemed to be doing very well and it looked like the Confederacy was about to come to an end. They didn't have much food, had few people left for their armies, and had less than half of the numbers the Union had. Still, the Union had its flaws. Because of all its success, it had to use many armies to watch over conquered territory, thus dropping defences. The Army of the Northern Virginia still seemed to want to continue fighting; in the Union, many veterans were supposed to go home, but Congress forced those veterans to re-enlist. Still, there was a lot of disunity between veteran soldiers and the new recruits and the apparent superiority the North had in numbers disappeared in 1864.
The Confederacy hoped to use these problems to their advantage. If they could wait until the 1864 election, the North may become tired of the war and vote in a Peace Democrat who could negotiate Confederate independence. They had many casualties, but the Union had even more. Grant attempted to bring Lee into open-field combat, but failed; despite his large numbers and huge quantity in gunpowder, Lee was able to defend against Grant. This could have scared northern voters into not allowing Lincoln a second term, McPherson claims. Thus, Grant took all summer to finish it off. After seven weeks, at the Wilderness, it fought and many were killed. Still, they killed a similar percentage on Lee's army and cut off his communication with the rest of the Confederacy. Thus, the Army of Northern Virginia slowly declined in fame and Lee was defeated. Sherman decided to fight for Atlanta. When he began his campaign in Atlanta, he ordered a garrison commander to find Forrest and fight him so that he wouldn't cut the railroad. Still, they lost and it was one of the worst Union defeats in the west, but it diverted Forrest from the Tennessee railroad. He didn't inflict as many casualties hoped and the Unions believed the south was now in good spirits.
Chapter 25: After Four Years of Failure
After Grant and Sherman's campaign, Atlanta became a symbol of resistance and nationality. Still, in Richmond, the cabinet worried, believing Atlanta was lost to them. Grant's siege of Petersburg was not very
successful and northerners began to feel the weight of the war at last. Still, it led to a stalemate between Lee and Grant; finally, Grant forced the Confederate army to abandon Petersburg and Richmond, and then pursued them after isolating them from the South. Finaly, Lee surrendered. From July and August of 1861, the northern morale plummeted again. Many of the homefront war songs that had become popular during the time shifted from a patriotic tone to a longing for peace, just like the Confederates had hoped would happen. "When This Cruel War Is Over" became a best-seller in 1864. Nothing, it seemed, could remove the Northern depression. Even after David Farragut made sure to take the last blockade-running port in the Gulf (east of Texas) out of business, people were still depressed. Later, they realized how amazing it had been as the war still continued in Virginia and Georgia. Some Southerners tried to get Peace Democrats into a war against their own government. This never happened, since the leaders of the Peace Democrats could never mobilize their people. Most of them didn't want to create a counterrevolution since they believed their chances of overthrowing Lincoln were getting better. Many accused Lincoln of fighting only for the abolition of slavery and not for the Union, which he vehemently denied. He almost gave in to demands that they should ignore abolition in sake of peace. But, his peace terms remained as the Union and emancipation and believed that he would be defeated because of his platform. He expected McClellan to win since he was the most popular Democrat and was a symbol of opposition against Lincoln's policies. Still, McClellan was a War Democrat and many no longer wanted to support him, even though he said that he would still call for a peace treaty. When Atlanta was finally taken, Lincoln said that the war was a victory.
Chapter 27: South Carolina Must Be Destroyed
The Atlanta Campaign seemed to be over after Sherman invaded Georgia from Chattanooga, Tennessee in May 1864. After winning against Confederate Johnston, Johnston's Army of Tennessee withdrew towards Atlanta, becoming isolated from the rest of the South as Sherman cornered them. In July, President Davis replaced Johnston with the aggressive John Bell Hood. Hood challenged the Union army through many assaults; finally, he laid a siege on Atlanta and the city fell. This would lead to Sherman's March to the Sea after the city falls. It signals the beginning of the end of the war. During this time, the northern economy turned out butter and guns. It also had enough manpower and energy to continue westward expansion. Gold production had remained steady, new mines with copper and silver were found, and Lincoln said they had to finish the transcontinental railroad. New industries formed in the southern economy during the war, like gunpowder mills ordnane plants, and machine shops. The Tredegar Works in Richmond produced iron for weapons for the Confederacy. Still, the Union forces raided much of their new industries and anything of value, especially due to Sherman's March to the Sea. By the end of the war, the South was completely destroyed. Farms were burned and in need of repair, two-fifths of livestock were killed, and two-thirds of assessed southern wealth was gone during the war. After Winfield Scott's Anaconda Plan, the South continued to deteriorate. The southern economy which was completely destroyed caused the 1860s to become the decade with the least amount of economic growth; the average income of southerners was two-thirds that of the North. After the war, the southern income continued to fall and didn't rise again for the rest of the 1800s.
Chapter 28: We Are All Americans
Abraham Lincoln followed the Union soldiers to Richmond to see it. Meanwhile, at Appomattox Courthouse, Lee was cornered; finally, he surrendered to Grant. As the news of the surrender spread, many started cheering and shooting; Grant put a stop to it, saying that the Union was now one. He also sent rations for Lee's army.
Three days later, a formal ceremony took place in which Confederate troops gave up their weapons and surrender their flags. Confederate officers and soldiers were allowed to go back home and take their horses with them. All of these actions led to reuniting the North with the South. Lincoln promised to have a new policy for reconstructing the Union.
Epilogue: The Shoals of Victory
How blacks would receive their freedom and what their boundaries would be continued to be an issue, but mostly everyone agreed that blacks should have rights, even southerners. Many southerners began to believe that slavery was ruining their lifestyle. Secession and slavery were forever gone. People started referring to the United States as a singular country. The nation became more centralized, taxed the people directly, and created an internal revenue bureau to collect the taxes. A shift in power from the South to the North occurred, as it took more than a century before a resident in an ex-Confederate state became president. Union victory made sure that the South was completely destroyed and the Republican and the northern way of life would dominate the country.
