The election of Abraham Lincoln seems to have triggered the call for the separation of the Southern states, based on the need to end slavery as campaigned by his incoming presidency. The Union felt the need to launch an offensive campaign and attack the Confederate’s territory. The Confederates, on the other hand, was only preoccupied with the need to survive and stand up for their right to secede in order to preserve slavery (Woods, 2012). Although the Confederate generals had no interest in invading the north, the war strategists did not want to use the defensive tactic of waiting for the union to decide on the place and time for the battle to occur. Therefore, the war strategists decided to adopt a wait and see attitude, where one waits for the first attack from their adversary. When the war began, the Confederacy managed to deploy defense strategy of protecting their borders from external and unwelcome visitors. When their forces got stretched, Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president opted for an offensive approach where the troops moved to meet military demands of the people. …show more content…
The enormous size of the south enabled it to deploy a defense strategy in depth. When the forces of the Union advanced towards the south, they could at times retreat, leaving behind their troops dispersed and that put their ground troops in a vulnerable position of attack from the South. The South also had a longer coastline than the North. The only counteractive measure the north could do to prevent the South from extensively utilizing this advantage was to try to stop the entry of goods and weapons from Europe to the Southern
In 1865, the Confederate Armies were defeated by the Union Armies, before the civil war the country was divided North and South. Issues included taxes, states rights, and war but the biggest issue was Slavery. This was an issue for the south but had yet been banned by Abraham lincoln in 1863. Although these problems were significant Jefferson believed that in order to have a normal society you must have struggle, '' The tree of liberty must be refreshed by the blood of the patriots''. Also taxes were a problem for farmers because, farmers were payed very little money and when the Government raised the taxes it forced them to fall into debt.
Many sources consider the Battle of Chancellorsville to be one of confederate army’s greatest victories over the union army. The battle unfolded with the confederate army of Northern Virginia dividing in two separate forces and successfully defeating Hooker’s Army of the Potomac, nearly twice its size. General Robert E. Lee was able to surprise General Hooker by the risky split of his forces, and although Hooker still held numerical superiority, he failed to use it to his advantage. Hooker, instead, fell back to establish defensive positions in attempt to gain a tactical advantage. When Lee once again split his forces and attacked, Hooker was forced to retreat back across the Rappahannock River.
They have to know the best plan of attack or defense because if not, they will lose men and will lose territory. As many battles all over the globe have shown, an army isn’t the main reason why you win or lose, it is the generals plan to use that army. That is why when commanders lose, they aren’t mad at their army. They are mad at themselves for not being better than the other general. Lee and two other Confederate commanders were the best in America and they only lost because Lee’s failure to win in Gettysburg.
The South, fighting a defensive war, had totally different strategies. One was to use blockade runners, fast and agile European ships, to bypass the Union blockade. Another strategy was to stand ground and slowly wear the Northern forces down until they surrender. Conscription, drafting people of draft age into the military, was also used. King Cotton Diplomacy, the belief that European importers of Cotton would ally with the South if they cut the cotton exports, was also employed by the
•Jefferson Davis was a West Point graduate, and an experienced soldier, which meant he could command the Confederate army with more experience. • Davis’s strategy was to defend their territory, and hold on to as much land as possible. They planned to do this as long as possible, and hoped that the North would get tired of fighting and surrender.
Some Southerners believed that they needed to secede from the nation because they believed Abraham Lincoln, and his Republican majority were a major threat to the institution of slavery. The new Republican Party showed up in the 1850s and they were against the institution of slavery. When the election of 1860 came about, one of the candidates was Abraham Lincoln who just so happened to be a republican. When he won the election alongside his commanding majorities in both houses of Congress, the Southern states panicked, and got afraid that the federal government would stop the continuation of the practice of slavery. In other words, they were afraid that they were going to abolish slavery in the South, which they believed was going to be a problem
This tension between the north and south finally exploded and seven states one after another seceded. In my opinion the secession could have been avoided in 1860 because there was much money to be made with trading and selling of goods. People believed that they needed slaves and could not imagine being without
This made it easy to kill enemies very quickly. The North also had a vast navy, compared to the South’s. The North used this a lot to cause the South to retreat. (historyrocket.com, 2012) They would fire naval cannons for days, to hold Confederates at bay.
The Southern states seceded from the Union in 1860 and 1861 due to the North’s reaction to the enforcement of the fugitive slave act, the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the election of 1860. There were many factors that ultimately led to the causes for the South to secede in 1860 and 1861. One very impactful event was
“The Civil War started because of uncompromising differences between the free and slave states over the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in the territories that had not yet become states” (Council on Foreign Relations). Confederates initial plan was to have their Navy attack Union commerce at Sea. During this time, commerce raiding was centuries old, Americans had much success raiding British commerce in the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. In the end, the South lost. Although the South was not entirely composed of Anti-Federalists, they still opposed the formation of a strong centralized government.
They succeeded in taking control of the federal castles and other properties. But afterwards it was clearly proved that the south had no right for secession. Secession is the main reason for the American civil war; it divided USA into two federal unities. On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was sworn as a president to the US, he was against the secession as therefore he declared that Confederacy was illegal and he called it “legally void”. Although Lincoln had no intentions to invade southern states, but he stated that it is only the U.S policy to collect the imports things from the ports.
The Confederates strategy was a defensive attack, whereas the Union's strategy was an offensive attack. The Confederates had the idea that if they drew out the conflict long enough, they would be capable of convincing the Union that it was going to be too costly to support. The one downfall of the Confederates was that they had less men, less industrial capacity and less capital support then the Union. They attempted to convince England and France that victory for them would be greater than a victory for the Union. The Union strategy however was to fight and win an offensive war.
After the election of President Lincoln in 1860, all tensions within the country had come to a head. At that time, eleven southern states seceded from the Union and on April 12, 1861, the Confederates attack Fort Sumter and the Civil War officially
‘Slavery was the root cause of secession’. ‘November 6 1860, Lincoln was elected president of America which resulted in panic emerging in the South’ . The election of Lincoln as president who was a Republican leader meant that ideologies, movements and values from the North would be implemented in the South which meant the abolition of slavery. Slavery was a huge characteristic of the South as the economy; politics; social status and psychological mind-sets were influenced by the process of slavery. The southern white population then derived the idea of secession which meant the South would gain independence from Northern aggression .
Ford’s Theatre was a sobering place to be. Looking across to the balcony were President Lincoln really put things into perspective about how high tensions really were during the Civil War era and lengths a person was willing to go to defend what they believed in, no matter how wrong. Sitting in the seats at the the theatre I couldn’t help but wonder what the people who were there that night felt. The excitement about knowing the president was in the room and then the horror after they realized what happened. The information center was amazing.