Dissertation Writers: Chronicle and explain the shift in Union war aims in 1861 and 1862 from suppressing rebellion to ending slavery.
- Explain the military and social reasons for the North’s victory and the South’s loss in the Civil War (CO#3, CO#5)
- Examine and describe the Lower South states’ arguments for seceding from the Union after the election of 1860 and the initial reaction to secession by the Union and President Lincoln (CO#4, CO#5)
- Chronicle and explain the shift in Union war aims in 1861 and 1862 from suppressing rebellion to ending slavery. (CO#5)
The Lower South states repudiated the election of 1860 by seceding. In doing so they explained their actions in published ordinances and declarations. Over early 1861, the last few attempts at compromise worked their way through Congress, ultimately failing to stave off the inevitable conflict. Likewise, President Abraham Lincoln attempted during his inaugural address to downplay the controversy as a way of providing room for reconciliation. Once war began, both sides had to reconsider their initial plans and adjust their tactics. The war was not yet a total war in terms of goals or methods (such as economic and popular mobilization) but was fast becoming so.
