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REGIONAL LIFESTYLES: THE EAST
In 1850, more than half of the factories in the United States were located in the Northeast with two-thirds of the nation's production value centered in that region. The Northeast was unsuitable for large-scale farming because of the mountainous terrain and the short growing season only three months in some places. However, the rough, rocky mountains with rivers coursing down their sides were an ideal source for the power necessary to run the machinery. -
REGIONAL LIFESTYLES: THE SOUTH
The plantation system of assigning vast property in land and slaves elevated a few men to positions of superior power financially and socially. In addition, the isolation of plantations and farms led to family relationships on neighboring properties. The sons and daughters of wealthy planters often married the sons and daughters of the neighboring planters. -
Life in the West.
The rich fertile soil of this region, with a growing season of five to seven months, and the flat terrain, encouraged the development of large family-type farms. These farms were generally cultivated using new farm machinery and equipment. The use of the efficient McCormick reaper, patented in 1824 by Cyrus McCormick, was one of the reasons why Western farmers did not need to rely on a large number of people for human labor. -
THE CIVIL WAR: DIVISION
A civil war, a war between peoples of the same country, is a terrible human tragedy. It is a fiercely raging conflict whose flames are slow to die out. A civil war leaves deep, ugly scars on the nation, no matter who wins or loses.Finally, in 1861, civil war replaced the political art of compromise. The nation's future was in the hands of armies. War raged bitterly for almost five years with tremendous loss of lives on both sides. Before the guns fell silent. -
The South Secedes.
South Carolina called a state convention in December of 1860, little more than a month after the election.The convention voted to repeal the state's ratification of the Constitution and formally secede from the Union.The six states of Mississippi,Florida, Alabama, Georgia,Louisiana,and Texas seceded from the Union by February.Most Southerners did not think that the North would fight to keep the unhappy South in the Union. If war did erupt, the South felt that their victory would be swift -
THE UNION BLOCKADE
In April 1861, while calling for volunteers to serve their country, President Lincoln ordered the Union blockade of Southern ports. The Union blockade was one of the most effective installations of the war. Two hundred sixty-four armed Union ships patrolled the three hundred miles of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts from Virginia to Texas. The blockade effectively stopped ships trying to enter or leave Southern ports, and Southerners began to feel the result when store shelves became bare. -
Merrimac vs. Monitor
The most famous naval battle occurred when the Confederate ironclad ship, the Merrimac (later renamed the Virginia) attacked Union ships in Hampton Roads before McClellan's peninsular campaign. Hoping to break the Union blockade, the South was disappointed when the Monitor, a new Union ironclad with a specially designed revolving gun turret, met the Merrimac. During the battle, neither ship was able to damage the other effectively. This battle marked the beginning of a new era. -
Northern Preparations.
After the fall of Fort Sumter, thousands of men answered Lincoln's call for volunteers. Such enthusiasm did not last, however, and federal, state, and local governments had to offer bounties to encourage volunteers to sign up for military service. In 1863, two years after the war began; the North resorted to conscription but allowed drafted men to pay three hundred dollars in lieu of service. Poor people resisted this inequity and staged riots in some of the North's larger cities. -
The Strategies.
Northern strategists prepared to capture the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia, about one hundred miles from Washington D.C. Northern generals supposed that the capture of its capital would collapse the Confederacy. General Winfield Scott, a Southerner who remained loyal to the concept of the Union, was the Union Army General-in-Chief. General Scott had served in the War of 1812 and the Mexican War and was prepared to serve his country again -
THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR
The war ended in Spring, 1865. Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. The last battle was fought at Palmito Ranch, Texas, on May 13, 1865.