II. The Civil War: Causes,
Conflicts, Consequences
280
Grade 5 Handbook
Cross-curricular
Teaching Idea
Go to the Internet and find examples of
Civil War music and photographs to
help the facts of the Civil War come to
life. (See
More Resources.
) In addition,
“Battle Hymn of the Republic” from the
Grade 5 music
Sequence
lends itself
well to this unit of study. You may also
wish to review songs from Grade 2,
including “Follow the Drinking Gourd”
and “When Johnny Comes Marching
Home.”
Jefferson Davis
Even before the first guns had been fired, representatives for the secessionist
states had met in Montgomery, Alabama in February 1861 and formed the
Confederate States of America (CSA). It was eventually decided that Richmond,
Virginia, would be the capital. Jefferson Davis was elected president.
Davis had represented Mississippi for several terms in the United States
Senate and had been the secretary of war under Franklin Pierce. When
Mississippi seceded, he had resigned from the Senate. It was his direct order that
launched the attack against Fort Sumter.
Davis was a West Point graduate who had gained national fame as a hero in
the Mexican-American War. His prestige was an asset to the Confederacy. But as
a leader, Davis was high-handed and divisive, feuding throughout the war with
Southern governors over military, fiscal, and political affairs.
The Union and Confederacy
The Union had many advantages over the Confederacy. The North had a larg-
er population than the South. The Union also had an industrial economy, where-
as the Confederacy had an economy based on agriculture. The Union had most
of the natural resources, like coal, iron, and gold, and also a well-developed rail
system. Most of the financial centers were in the North, which made borrowing
money to fight the war difficult for the South. The Union had a small navy, but
the Confederacy had to resort to using private ships because it had no naval ves-
sels. While some believed the South had the better officers, the North had twice
as many soldiers.
Yankees and Rebels, Blue and Gray
“Yankee” and “Rebel” are nicknames that the Northerners and Southerners
gave each other shortly after the start of the Civil War. The Northerners were
called “Yankees” and the Southerners, “Rebels.” Sometimes these nicknames were
shortened even further to “Yanks” and “Rebs.”
At the beginning of the war, each soldier wore whatever uniform he had
from his state’s militia, so soldiers were wearing uniforms that didn’t match.
For example, some uniforms were blue or gray, while others were black or
red. As the war dragged on, that changed. The soldiers of the Union Army
wore blue uniforms and the soldiers of the Confederate Army wore gray.
Today, that’s how many people remember the two sides—the North wore
blue, and the South wore gray.
First Battle of Bull Run
Neither side—North or South—had a realistic view of what it would take
to fight the war in terms of time and resources. Each side thought the war
would be short and easily won. The outcome of the first engagement of the
war greatly bolstered Confederate confidence and jolted the Union into a
realization of how hard it would be to defeat the South.
The first battle was fought in July along Bull Run Creek near Manassas
Junction, Virginia, just 20 miles from Washington. Many civilians rode out from
Washington thinking to spend an interesting afternoon watching the
Confederates get a good thrashing. Some even brought picnics to eat while they
watched the confrontation. Instead, the Confederates fought tenaciously and ulti-
Teaching Idea
Use Instructional Master 83,
Venn
Diagram
, with students to compare
and contrast the Union and the
Confederacy.
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