Preparing for War

I. Question of Secession

A. History of Secession


1. Hartford Convention--opposition to the War of 1812 in New England reached such a stage that representatives of the New England states met in Hartford, Connecticut, to discuss seceding from the Union. The opposition this meeting provoked in the rest of the country, and the vilification that rained down upon the participants helped to bury the rotting corpse of the Federalist Party.

2. Nullification Crisis--secession next moved south, where the leading politicians of the state--including the sitting vice-president, John C. Calhoun, argued that states held the right to ignore, or "nullify," those federal laws the found reprehensible--in this case, a "Tariff of Abominations" on imported goods, as well as upon exported raw cotton, which the South Carolinians blamed for falling cotton prices. The crisis passed after President Andrew Jackson threatened to send federal troops to quell the crisis, round up the leaders of the movement, and hang the leaders from "the tallest tree in South Carolina."

3. 1850 Crisis--South Carolina again threatened secession over the question of admitting California to the union as a free state.

B. "We, the People ..."--the Constitution changed the relationship of the states to the Federal government in fundamental ways.


1. Articles of Confederation--This document had ensured the supremacy of the states over the central government.

a. Preamble--"To all to whom these Presents shall come, we the undersigned Delegates of the States affixed to our Names send greeting.

Articles of Confederation and perpetual Union between the states of New Hampshire, Massachusetts-bay Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia."

b. Article II--"Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled."

c. Article III--"The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever."


2. United States Constitution--The constitution was intended to give more power to this new federal government, which would have supremacy over the various states in the areas enumerated within the document.

a. Preamble--"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

b. This emphasis upon the powers of the government being derived from the consent of the people that it represented, rather than the states, was the most fundamental difference between the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution--a difference that was recognized and fiercely debated among the founders. It has been largely recognized that the Constitution granted far more power to the federal government, and made the federal government supreme over the state governments. But this document also took away the right any single state might have to leave the union, because the states did not grant the power to the federal government--the people of the United States did.

C. The Right of Revolution--whether one agrees with Thomas Jefferson's statement that "every generation needs its own revolution" or not, Americans in the past have recognized that one is permitted to attempt a revolution. Lincoln argued, however, that the right of revolution was not a political right, but a moral right; that is, one needed a moral justification to engage in revolution, not just a political justification for it.

II. Preparation for War

A. War? or Rebellion?--Lincoln and other prominent Republicans insisted that this dispute was not a war, but a rebellion of individuals that ordinary judicial proceedings were unable to control.


1. Acts of War--despite this legal hair-splitting, many of those engaged in this early skirmishing recognized that they were engaged in a war, even if they chose not to call the conflict by that name--including Lincoln. This is why early on Lincoln ordered the Union navy to blockade southern ports, which is only legal as an act of war

2. Call for 90-Day Volunteers--although Lincoln expected a long, drawn-out conflict, he was legally prohibited from asking the states for the use of their militias for longer than 30 days from the beginning of a session of Congress. On the advice of Gen. Winfield Scott, Lincoln only asked the states for 75,000 volunteers. This was not because Lincoln believed Union forces were superior to their southern counterparts, but because he felt, upon the advice of Gen. Scott again, that this was the maximum number of troops that could effectively be used at this early stage. The manpower of the US Army at the beginning of the conflict was just over 16,000 men--with about 1500 of them being officers. Fully 25 percent of the officer corps resigned their commands to volunteer with the state militias in the South.


B. Washington, D.C. Under Siege--when Virginia seceded in the aftermath of Fort Sumter, the capitol was threatened with an active enemy on one side, and the potential enemy Maryland on the other (one of the reasons it was so important to keep Maryland within the Union.



1.Secessionist Sentiment in Maryland--was fairly widespread. Secessionist irregulars (or "guerrilla" fighters) blew up bridges and rail lines, and there were regular secessionist riots in Baltimore. Both the mayor of Baltimore and the governor of Maryland prevailed upon Lincoln to stop moving troops through Baltimore to defend Washington, DC because rioters considered such an act a provocation.

C. Gearing up for battle

1. Rallying 'round the Flag--at the beginning of most wars, getting the general population to support the war is not difficult--witness our own recent experiences in these matters attest to that fact.

2. Filling the officer void--to replenish the officer corps, and to shore up support for the war effort, Lincoln rewarded those men who were politically connected, or who could curry favor with a variety of ethnic groups. Some of the officers proved to be disasters militarily, but they were need to ensure continued support for the war effort in the North.

3. Calling Congress into Special Session--in order to procure funds to pay for putting down this "rebellion," and to get authorization for the actions already taken, Lincoln called Congress into special session beginning July 4, 1861.


D. First Manassas/Bull Run--35,000 Union troops, under the command of Gen. Irvin McDowell, marched out of Washington on July 16, 1861, to attack Confederate forces under the command of Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard at the rail crossroad of Manassas. Both armies were filled with "green" inexperienced troops, sure of victory because they had no idea of what really lay in store. The Union troops, in fact, were accompanied by picnickers and other civilian observers. When the battle became fully engaged, both sides acquitted themselves bravely, in not always gracefully; the tide of the battle turned when Beauregard was reinforced with 20,000 troops under the command of Gen. Thomas Jackson, forcing the Union troops to retreat toward Washington. This retreat created a great deal of panic among the civilian spectators, who turned and fled--and were joined in this panic by some Union soldiers. Most made an orderly retreat, and moved into the fortifications that surrounded and defended the capitol--except for the thousands, Union and Confederate, who died on the battlefield.