House Divided: Strategies and Positions as War Begins
The first major battle of the Civil War, the Battle of Bull Run called Manassas in the South, is a major Confederate victory that for them confirms the legitimacy of their cause. Because Lincoln is convinced that a few U. S. victories will persuade ...
House Divided: Public Programs Promote Expanding Industrial Economy
Many of the public policy initiatives Lincoln had proposed during his campaign are enacted into law during the early days of his administration. The Republicans become the partners of industrial capitalism through higher tariffs--the Morrill Tariff ...
Final Stages: Bloody Battles Take Their Toll in Virginia, Summer and Fall, 1864
In Virginia, the Grant/Meade campaign against Lee during the summer and fall of 1864 is not making much headway. These are some of the bloodiest battles of the war, grinding day after day engagements with heavy casualties. When Jeb Stuart, Lee's tru...
Final Stages: Battles in the Deep South in 1864 and Their Impact on the Slave Population
William Sherman, commander of Union troops in the West, begins his infamous march to the sea in November and December of 1864 after defeating Confederate forces in Atlanta. With the presence of the Union army so deep within the South, slaves become ...
Final Stages: Contrast between North and South as 1864 Campaign Season Begins
The Confederate war experience is very different from the experience of the North simply because most of the battles are fought on Southern ground. Looking toward the campaigning season of 1864, the Confederates are desperate but determined. The moo...
Tattered Remains: Challenges of Rebuilding Southern Society
The South faces enormous challenges after the Civil War, mainly how to reconstitute its economic and social base without slavery. The responsibility for resolving these issues falls to the Republicans. At first, many white males are excluded from vo...
Tattered Remains: Election of 1876, The
Grant plans to run for another term in 1876 but Republican leaders, shaken by Democratic gains, resist. On election day two names head the ballot: Rutherford B. Hayes, Republican, and Samuel Tilden, Democrat. Hayes wins the majority of the Northern ...
Final Stages: Final Days of the Civil War
Both commanders attempt to break the trench deadlock at Petersburg, Lee with Early's raid on Washington and Grant by digging a tunnel under Confederate fortifications and planting explosives. The Battle of the Crater which begins early in the mornin...
Final Stages: Major Battles of 1863: Chattanooga
After occupying Chattanooga, Union forces under William Rosecrans pursue retreating Confederate troops into a trap at Chickamauga and suffer a major loss. As Union troops retreat back to Chattanooga, General Bragg follows too slowly in military hind...
Final Stages: Presidential Election of 1864, The
1864 is a presidential election year, a dangerous and depressing time for the embattled president whose nomination by his party and re-election by the American people are in question. With George McClellan as his Democratic opponent, the entire Unio...