Overview
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The American Civil War was between the Northern States (Union) and the Southern States (Confederacy). The conflict cost over 600,000 lives, which is nearly as many as all other wars America has been involved in combined. There were many causes that led to the Southern States seceding, but at the heart of the matter was the issue of slavery. The South relied heavily on slavery to fuel their economic prosperity. When it became clear that incoming president Abraham Lincoln would not support slavery in future states, seven states left the Union. When the Confederate Armies attacked Fort Sumpter, the official start of the war had begun. The American Civil War has many different topics, but the three main subjects can be divided into three parts:
1. Causes of the war
2. The events and people involved in the war
3. Postwar reconstruction
Key Topics, Keywords/Terms
There is a vast amount of information about the Civil War. These topics/subtopics and terms will be a good starting point for finding relevant information for researching the Civil War. These topics and terms can be used as keywords when searching in databases or internet search engines.
1. Causes of the Civil War
- Slavery
- States' Rights
- Missouri Compromise
- Compromise of 1850
- Kansas-Nebraska Act
- John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry
- Dred Scott Decision
- 1860 Election
2. Major Events/Battles
- Secession
- Fort Sumpter
- Bull Run
- Antietam
- Shiloh
- Chancellorsville
- Vicksburg
- Gettysburg
- Emancipation Proclamation
- Sherman's March to the Sea
- Atlanta
- Apottomatox Courthouse
- Abraham Lincoln Assassination
3. Key Figures (Union)
- Abraham Lincoln
- George B. McClellan
- Ulysses S. Grant
- George Meade
- William Tecumseh Sherman
- Andrew Johnson
4. Key Figures (Confederacy)
- Jefferson Davis
- Robert E. Lee
- Stonewall Jackson
- Nathan Bedford Forrest
- James Longstreet
5. Key Figures (Civilians)
- Frederick Douglass
- Harriet Tubman
- John Wilkes Booth
- Clara Barton
- Harriet Beecher Stowe
6. Miscellanous Items
- Women's role in the war
- African American Soldiers
- Industrial North
- Agrarian South
- Draft Riots
- Underground Railroad
- Post-War Reconstruction
- 13th Amendment
- 14th Amendment
- 15th Amendment
- Union Blockade
- Union
- Confederacy
- Abolition Movement