U.S History Quiz on The Civil War : 20 Multiple Choice Questions

Franklin Pierce, a Democrat from New England, was elected president in 1852. He was a dark-horse candidate, in many ways like Polk. This election also marked the end of the Whig Party, which became divided over slavery. Pierce supported both expansion, presiding over the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, and slavery, with the signing of the Kansas- Nebraska Act in 1854. This act enraged abolitionists and Free-Soilers because it nullified the earlier Missouri Compromise by leaving the issue of slavery in the two territories to popular sovereignty. The Gadsden Purchase also enraged northerners because it was set in place to build a transcontinental railroad across the South instead of the North. The 1854 Ostend Manifesto further angered abolitionists and illustrated his administration’s expansionist intentions. It provided a plan for purchasing Cuba from Spain and called for the United States to use force if Spain refused to cooperate. In the end, Pierce was unable to maintain support from either the North or the South. He was not renominated for the presidency in
1856 but was instead replaced by James Buchanan.

The Southern Confederacy, called the Confederate States of America, was estab- lished in 1861 and consisted of the 11 states that seceded from the Union. Its constitution was similar to that of the Union but protected the institution of slavery and reflected the Southern views of states’ rights. This created a weaker federal government, like that created by the Articles of Confederation, which established the first official U.S. government. The lack of a strong central government caused many challenges similar to those of the United States under the Articles of Confederation, including difficulty in funding and maintaining a unified army. This hampered the South’s ability to fully maintain its efforts during the Civil War.

Fort Sumter was a costal fortification built at the entrance of the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina. Its construction started in 1816, following the War of 1812, but at the outbreak of the Civil War, it was still incomplete. On April 10, 1861, Confeder- ate forces at Charleston demanded that the Union Army stationed at Fort Sumter surrender the fort. The fort’s commander refused, and on April 12, Confederate artillery opened fire. This is considered to be the first armed engagement of the Civil War. The Union fort was unprepared for the engagement, and reinforcements could not arrive in time, so the fort was surrendered to the Confederacy on April 14.

The First Battle of Bull Run took place on July 21, 1861. It is considered to be the first major land battle of the Civil War. The battle took place near the town of Manas- sas in Virginia, so it is also referred to as the First Battle of Manassas. (The Union often labeled battles based on physical features, such as the Bull Run River, while the Confeder- ates named the battles after nearby towns.) The Union army, numbering roughly 28,000, was led by Brigadier General McDowell, while the Confederate army, consisting of roughly
32,000 men, was led by Brigadier General Johnston. The Union army, which was ill trained and inexperienced, failed to resist a Confederate counterattack and was forced to retreat, marking a Confederate victory. The Union suffered nearly 3,000 casualties, while the Con- federate army suffered roughly 2,000. The battle foreshadowed that the Civil War was going to be long and hard-fought for both sides. McDowell was removed from command and replaced by George B. McClellan. Meanwhile, because of his stoic nature during the conflict, a previously unknown colonel by the name of Thomas Jackson earned the nick name “Stonewall” after he refused to yield during a Union advance. The Battle of Shiloh took place in Tennessee from April 6 to 7, 1862. The Battle of Fredericksburg occurred in December 1862 near Fredericksburg, Virginia. The Battle of Chancellorsville was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, near Spotsylvania, Virginia, and the Battle of Antietam took place on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg on the Antietam Creek in Maryland.

During the Civil War, the border states consisted of Delaware, Kentucky, Mary- land, Missouri, and West Virginia. These states allowed slavery but were aligned with and bordered free Union states. They also (with the exception of Delaware) bordered the Confed- eracy. The states were very valuable to the Union, so they were heavily considered in nearly all of Lincoln’s actions during the war. Even in the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, Lincoln made it clear that the border states would be exempt. The border states were impor- tant as a buffer zone, and if Maryland joined the Confederacy, Washington, D.C., would be engulfed by the Confederacy. These states were far from impenetrable; they became the sites of many of the war’s most notorious battles and were crossed on numerous occasions by the Confederate army. Moreover, they were home to numerous factories, especially in Maryland and Delaware, which would have greatly benefited the industry-weak Confederacy.

Going into the war, the Union had several clear advantages over the Confederacy. It had a larger population with a more industrialized base, so it could create a larger and better-supplied military. It also had a more balanced economy containing both factories and farms. It furthermore had more money in its treasury and banks. The Confederacy also had advantages. Seven of the eight military colleges in the United States were located in the South, giving the Confederacy more experienced leadership. Also, many Confederates considered this a war to save their way of life, boosting Southern morale early in the conflict.

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Lincoln in 1863 following the Battle of Antietam. While it was meant to emancipate (free) the slaves, it was applied only to the Confederate States. This was done to maintain the support of the border states, and it limited the proclamation’s immediate impact, since the Confederate States saw themselves as not bound to the Union or Lincoln. But the proclamation did directly tie the issue of slavery to the war, making the conflict about something beyond simply reunifying the United States. While many Northern Democrats were upset by the action, it proved to be successful politically, and President Lincoln was able to win the election in the following year. The proclamation also helped increase black enlistment in the Union army.

In 1861, President Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus in Maryland and several other border states. This was done in response to riots and the rise of militias, which might have resulted in Maryland and other regions leaving the Union. Habeas corpus gives people accused of a crime the right to defend themselves. This right is listed in Article I of the Constitution. The Constitution, under the suspension clause, does allow the practice to be suspended “in cases of rebellion or invasion when the public safety may require it.” Beyond the actions in Maryland, Lincoln also used the suspension to suppress the actions of Northern Democrats who sympathized with the Confederacy. These people were labeled “Copperheads” by their opposition in the North.

During the Civil War, “Copperheads” referred to Northern Democrats and oth- ers who openly expressed their sympathies with and support for the Confederacy. They were given the label by Republicans who saw their actions as poisonous to the Union—dangerous as the venomous copperhead snake. Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus to suppress the Copperheads during the Civil War. Copperheads were also referred to as Peace Demo- crats. The groups created several large societies, including the Knights of the Golden Circle in Ohio, which was led by Harrison H. Dodd. The organization called for armed uprisings in several Northern states. Copperheads also supported former general George B. McClellan in the 1864 election, but because of the negative press surrounding the organizations and recent Union military success, McClellan lost the election.

After his failed Peninsula Campaign, which culminated with the bloody Battle of Antietam, George McClellan was removed from command in 1862. In 1864, however, Northern Democrats nominated him in the presidential election against President Lincoln. He tried to appeal to a war-weary Union public with an antiwar platform that called for ending the conflict and negotiating with the Confederacy. The Democrats found themselves split, while the Republicans, calling themselves the National Union Party, stayed strongly united. Furthermore, a series of successful military successes bolstered support for Lincoln, who easily won the election with 55 percent of the popular vote.

The March to the Sea refers the Union movement of troops from Atlanta, Geor- gia, in November 1864 to Savannah in December of that year. The troops were led by Major General William Tecumseh Sherman and employed what is called the doctrine of total warfare. As the troops moved through the region, they destroyed all the infrastructure in their path, including roads, towns, and plantations, inflicting both military and psy- chological damage on the Confederacy. The naval blockade under Winfield Scott became known as the Anaconda Plan because it would put a stranglehold on the South’s ability to trade. Both McClellan’s Peninsula Campaign and Burnside’s Charge at the Battle of Fredricksburg were Union failures. While Antietam, the last battle of the Peninsula Cam- paign, was a Union victory, it was costly, and McClellan failed to follow up, allowing Lee’s army to regroup. General Ambrose Burnside’s charge at Fredericksburg in 1862 against entrenched Confederate forces was a demoralizing loss that cost Burnside his command. Pickett’s Charge was a failed offensive during the Battle of Gettysburg that nearly cost General Lee his army and served as a turning point in the war for the Union.

The Battle of Shiloh is also called Battle of Pittsburg Landing. It took place from April 6 to 7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. Shiloh was a major battle in the Western Campaign of the Civil War. Though the battle began with a surprise attack by Confeder- ate forces on the Union, General Grant received reinforcements and was able to launch a successful counteroffensive, winning the battle on the second day. In the end, it was one of the bloodiest battles up to that time, but the Union victory ended the Confederacy’s ability to block the Union advance down the Mississippi River. The First Battle of Bull Run took place on July 12, 1861 (see answer to question 264). The Union demonstrated its inexperience and was forced to retreat, giving the Confederacy an early win. The Battle of Fredericksburg took place in 1862. The Union army was led by Ambrose Burnside. Prior to battle, Lee’s Confederate forces entrenched themselves in the heights behind the town. Burnside’s Charge cost the Union nearly 13,000 men and Burnside his command. The Battle of Chancellorsville was fought from April 30 to May 6, 1863, in Virginia. The Union was led by General Hooker. Lee divided his forces, taking Hooker by surprise. It was a dramatic victory for the Confederacy, illustrating Robert E. Lee’s brilliance in military tactics. He did, however, lose General Jackson, his most trusted soldier, to friendly fire. The Battle of Cold Harbor took place from late May to early June in 1864. It marked one of the last battles of Grant’s overland campaign. During the battle, Grant’s troops were decimated by the fortified Confederate army. This loss forced Grant to give up his initial plans to take Richmond, Virginia, and instead head to the Confederate rail center of Petersburg.

While the Confederacy suffered disadvantages such as a smaller population than the North and lacked the level of developed infrastructure of railroads found in the North, it was prepared in military leadership. A majority of the United States’ military colleges were located in the South, and many of the United States’ most experienced military leaders, such as Robert E. Lee, chose to fight for their home states in the South instead of staying with the Union army. The South’s insistence on state independence hurt its cause, however, because the independence of each state limited the power of the Confederate government. Furthermore, the South failed to receive the support of the powerful indus- trial European states of Britain and France, giving it little recourse against the North’s industrial might.

Initially, the Confederate government planned to set up defensive positions and wait. They hoped that by using a war of attrition, they would be able to inflict heavy Union casualties with limited losses on their own side. By consistently repelling Union offensive strikes, they hoped to wear down their opponents’ morale and will. This strategy failed because the Union had tremendous advantages by way of resources and in many ways was able to conduct a war of attrition of its own, despite its continual heavy losses. The South also failed to achieve the support of European powers such as Britain and France, although the two nations relied on Southern cotton. Instead of supporting the South, they found sources elsewhere, such as in India and Egypt.

While General McClellan was viewed as a brilliant organizer and strategist, Presi- dent Lincoln criticized him for being overly cautious. After the First Battle of Bull Run, Lincoln chose him to replace McDowell and create the Army of the Potomac.

The Battle of Gettysburg was a three-day battle that took place in July 1863. More men died in this battle than any other battle on American soil. After the failed attack at Antietam, General Lee once again attempted to win a battle in the North. The Army of the Potomac, this time led by General Meade, engaged the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia at Gettysburg. On the third day, following heavy Confederate artillery assaults on Union lines, Lee ordered a massive Confederate charge to be led by General George E. Pickett. Because of the failure of the earlier artillery strikes, the charge was met by a strong Union defense, crushing the Confederate forces. Lee was forced to retreat, and his army was never able to recover from the losses or stage another Northern offensive. At almost the same time, Grant successfully laid siege to Vicksburg, ending with a Union victory on July
4. By taking this Confederate position, the Union was able to take control of the Mississippi
River, dividing the Confederacy in half.

The Gettysburg Address was delivered by Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, at a dedication of a national cemetery at the site of the Gettysburg battlefield. The speech, which was considered short and was often overlooked at the time, has become one of the most important speeches in American history. In only roughly two minutes, Lincoln restated the purpose of the war as being not only to preserve the Union but also to defend the notions of human equality that defined the American Revolution.

The Anaconda Plan, devised by General Winfield Scott, called for a naval block- ade of Southern ports while leading a military force down the Mississippi River, cutting the Confederacy in half. Scott felt that cutting off the Southern economy through the blockade and then dividing the Confederacy would leave the South little choice but to seek peace, avoiding the need for the Union to engage in a bloody war.

The Merrimac, constructed by the Confederacy, and the Monitor, constructed by the Union, illustrated an advancement of naval technology: the creation of ironclad ships. Ironclad ships were wooden steamships plated with iron. The traditional wooden ships were no match for these new vessels. The Confederacy was the first to employ this invention in naval warfare, but the Union quickly responded. The Merrimac and Monitor finally met in battle at Hampton Roads, off the coast of Virginia in March 1862. The battle itself was indecisive, with both sides declaring victory, but at the same time, the battle received much attention from the world’s naval powers. The era of wooden navies had come to an end because ironclad ships had made them obsolete.

The Civil War opened several opportunities to women, including factory and office work as well as nursing. Many women on both sides volunteered to help care for the immense number of wounded men that mounted from the intensive fighting. Dorothea Dix is probably one of the best-remembered nurses of the Civil War. Early in her career, she led the reform of mental hospitals, but during the Civil War, she became the superintendent of nurses for the Union. As superintendent of nurses, she helped open the field to future women. Furthermore, her insistence on providing care for both Union and Confederate soldiers has left her with an enduring legacy in both the North and South.