The Confederate States

UNIT 11: Civil War Begins

Lesson: The Confederate States of America

Tennessee State Standards:

8.62 Describe the outbreak of the Civil War and the resulting sectional differences, including: economic, geographic, and technological advances, military strategies, the roles of President Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis, the Significance of Fort Sumter, and geographical divisions within states.

The Confederate States of America

A NEW NATION IS FORMED

South Carolina had threatened to leave the United States if Lincoln was elected and on December 20, 1860 South Carolina officially seceded. By February 1861, the seven southern states that had seceded, banded together to form a new nation called the Confederate States of America (CSA), or the Confederacy. Joined together, these southern states could protect their way of life and better defend themselves against a Union attack.

All of the Confederate States depended heavily on agriculture, which was labor-intensive. Labor-intensive is another way of saying that a lot of work is required by many people. The states that depended on agriculture, depended heavily on slaves to raise crops. Cash crops, such as cotton, were necessary for their economy.

President Lincoln was firmly against the expansion of slavery in the west, but Southerners feared that Lincoln and the Republican Party would end slavery all across the nation and destroy the southern way of life.

A total of 11 states seceded and joined the Confederacy. Some slave states chose not to leave the union, they were the border states of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri.

REGIONAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE NORTH AND SOUTH

ECONOMIC AND GEOGRAPHIC DIFFERENCES

The south and the north were different places at the beginning of the Civil War. Certain differences eventually gave the north advantages that led to its victory in the war.

These differences were mainly economic, geographic, and technological.

BOTH SIDES USE TECHNOLOGY

The North had a technological advantage over the south: it simply had far more industrial capability and output. The south used and produced technology, but the North just made more of it.

Should The Southern States Secede?

DEEPER DIVISIONS

Conflict erupted between the northern and southern states over slavery and differences quickly emerged.

Kentucky

Southern and western counties in Kentucky sought to protect slavery because they raised cotton, rice, tobacco, and hemp crops. But the northern and eastern counties of Kentucky had more diversity. They raised livestock and even had manufacturing plants. Many people feared the effects of a large, free slave population, or they believe slavery was a necessity for an agricultural state. Ultimately the Governor of Kentucky chose neutrality to avoid a Federal invasion.

Virginia

The eastern counties of Virginia relied heavily on slavery and supported secession. The mountainous western counties did not favor slavery and wanted to stay in the union. Virginia seceded on April 17, 1861.

In late 1861, counties in the northwest region of Virginia met and decided to split from Virginia. The region that separated from Virginia became the new state of West Virginia.

Tennessee

The eastern counties of Tennessee were mostly small mountainous farms, and most people in this region did not want to secede. West Tennessee was home to many plantations using slave labor, so citizens there voted for secession.

Tennessee was the last state to secede from the Union on June 8, 1861. The Governor of Tennessee occupied East Tennessee with Confederate troops. However, it did not prevent 31,000 people from fleeing east Tennessee to fight with the Union Army.

North Carolina

In North Carolina, most slaves lived on cotton and rice plantations along the eastern coastal plain. In the rest of the state, most farmers had fewer than 10 slaves. The divided population of the state was undecided until president Lincoln called up 75,000 troops following the bombardment of Fort Sumter. Soon after, the Governor of North Carolina seized all Federal property in the state. North Carolina seceded on May 20, 1861.

South Carolina

South Carolina’s agricultural economy depended heavily on slaves. It’s legislature unanimously voted to dissolve its membership in the union on December 20, 1860. South Carolina was the first state to secede from the union.

Georgia

In Georgia, most slaves lived in the fertile belt in the middle of the state and on eastern coastal plantations. Farmers living in the northern mountains had fewer slaves. Georgia delegates in favor of states rights won when secession came up for a vote. The state seceded from the Union on January 19, 1861.

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