The Civil War

Famous Faces

100

Name the Presidents of the United States and the Confederacy during the Civil War. 

Union: Abraham Lincoln
Confederacy: Jefferson Davis

200

This man sued, unsuccessfully, for his family's freedom when his owner died and the family moved to a free territory. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court.

Dred Scott

300

Name a notable abolitionist and tell a fact about them.

Harriet Beecher Stowe: published Uncle Tom's Cabin, an antislavery novel

Frederick Douglass: former slave whose autobiography became a bestseller and a leader in the abolitionist movement

William Lloyd Garrison: northern abolitionist who published the antislavery newspaper The Liberator

400

This man, a noted Southern actor, assassinated President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre

John Wilkes Booth

500

Name the commanders of the Union and Confederate armies. 

Union: Ulysses S. Grant

Confederacy: Robert E. Lee

Antebellum America

100

What new state was founded when several border counties refused to join the Confederacy?

West Virginia

200

Describe Lincoln's position on slavery before the war, both personally and politically. 

What did people believe he might do about slavery?

Though President Lincoln was personally anti-slavery, he spent a great deal of time prior to his election and immediately after his election trying to reassure people that his goal was to preserve the union, not to abolish slavery. 

Few believed him, especially in the South.

300

What do almost all of the Confederate states state as their reason for seceding when Lincoln is elected?

Almost all states reference the institution of slavery, and their fear that Lincoln will abolish it, when seceding from the Union. 

400

What was the Missouri Compromise?

The Missouri Compromise established a rule to determine whether or not newly admitted states would be slave or free and keep the balance of power that already existed. Under the Missouri Compromise, two new states - Maine, a free state, and Missouri, a slave state - were admitted to the Union. The compromise divided the rest of the country at the 36'30 line, stating that any land above the line must be free and anything below must be slave when it was admitted to the Union as a state. 

500

Describe the Triangular Trade: Where did it begin, and where did it end? What goods were transported on each leg of the journey? 

The Triangular Trade was the route by which enslaved peoples were brought to the Americas. The route began in European and traveled to Africa, where manufactured goods were traded for slaves. Then, they went from Africa to the Americas, where slaves were traded for goods like sugar, molasses and rum. They they returned to Europe with those goods and reloaded with manufactured goods. 

Battles and Tactics

100

Where did the war come to an end? 

Appomattox Courthouse.

200

Where was the first battle of the Civil War? Describe it.

The first battle of the Civil War took place at Fort Sumter, a Union-held naval fort off the coast of Charleston, SC. 

Southerners attacked the fort, attempting to oust the  Union forces stationed there and take it over. Union forces refused to surrender and the South laid siege to the fort. Though the North send supplies and reinforcements, they could not cross through Southern fire, and the North was forced to surrender the fort.

300

This battle was the bloodiest in American history.
Why did it mark a turning point in the war? 

The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest in the war, and in American history, with more than 51,000 killed and over 200,000 casualties. 

The major loss of life on both sides led to a serious shift in tactics, including the move towards total war and the Emancipation Proclamation, and in sentiment towards the war. 

400

What was the Anaconda Plan?

Why did the North hope this could be an effective strategy?

The Anaconda Plan - also known as Scott's Great Snake - was the Union's plan for the Civil War. 

The plan was to isolate the South by controlling the Mississippi river, blockading all Southern ports and cutting the Confederacy off from the world. 

Scott hoped that by isolating the South economically, they could slowly ‘starve out’  the South and force them to surrender, preventing loss of life.

500

Compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of the North and South at the start of the war. 

North: Larger population, larger cities with factories, stronger economy, controlled railroads, had more weaponry and stronger navy. However, it had to conquer a large amount of land in unfamiliar territory to win. 

South: Smaller cities and agricultural society, had military officer superiority, was fighting for a cause, and only needed to defend, not attack. However, had few railroads or easy means of transportation, had few factories to produce supplies or armaments, and had a much smaller population.