181-416: " Kingdom Coming ", or " The Year of Jubilo ", is an American Civil War -era song written and composed by Henry Clay Work (1832–1884) in 1861. It was published by Root & Cady in 1862 and first advertised in April by the minstrel group Christy's Minstrels . Narrated by Black slaves on a Confederate plantation , "Kingdom Coming" recounts their impending freedom after their master disguises himself as
362-583: A contraband and flees to avoid being captured by Union troops . It is a minstrel song, written in African American Vernacular English , spoken by slaves, and intended to be performed by blackface troupes. Work was an avowed abolitionist and composed numerous pro- Union songs during the Civil War such as " Marching Through Georgia " (1865) and "Babylon is Fallen" (1863)—the sequel to "Kingdom Coming". The song portended
543-522: A Baltimore newspaper editor, Frank Key Howard , after he criticized Lincoln in an editorial for ignoring Taney's ruling. In Missouri, an elected convention on secession voted to remain in the Union. When pro-Confederate Governor Claiborne Fox Jackson called out the state militia, it was attacked by federal forces under General Nathaniel Lyon , who chased the governor and rest of the State Guard to
724-534: A Unitarian minister, and the social reformer Dorothea Dix . Systematic funding appeals raised public consciousness as well as millions of dollars. Many thousands of volunteers worked in the hospitals and rest homes, most famously poet Walt Whitman . Frederick Law Olmsted , a famous landscape architect, was the highly efficient executive director of the Sanitary Commission. States could use their own tax money to support their troops, as Ohio did. Under
905-525: A blockade of the Confederacy to suffocate the South into surrender. Lincoln adopted parts of the plan but opted for a more active war strategy. In April 1861, Lincoln announced a blockade of all Southern ports; commercial ships could not get insurance, ending regular traffic. The South blundered by embargoing cotton exports before the blockade was fully effective; by the time they reversed this decision, it
1086-431: A complete regiment. Not until Washington approved gubernatorial control of all new units was the problem resolved. Allan Nevins is particularly scathing of this in his analysis: "A President more exact, systematic and vigilant than Lincoln, a Secretary more alert and clearheaded than Cameron, would have prevented these difficulties." By the end of 1861, 700,000 soldiers were drilling in Union camps. The first wave in spring
1267-497: A course of ultimate extinction. Decades of controversy over slavery were brought to a head when Abraham Lincoln , who opposed slavery's expansion, won the 1860 presidential election . Seven Southern slave states responded to Lincoln's victory by seceding from the United States and forming the Confederacy. The Confederacy seized U.S. forts and other federal assets within their borders. The war began on April 12, 1861, when
1448-705: A draft law in April 1862 for men aged 18–35, with exemptions for overseers, government officials, and clergymen. The U.S. Congress followed in July, authorizing a militia draft within states that could not meet their quota with volunteers. European immigrants joined the Union Army in large numbers, including 177,000 born in Germany and 144,000 in Ireland. About 50,000 Canadians served, around 2,500 of whom were black. When
1629-717: A false impression of African Americans' toil in an era when slavery was growing into a dangerously divisive political issue. Stephen Foster idealized the South in his early compositions; " Massa's in de Cold, Cold Ground " (1852), featuring slaves lamenting their "kind" master's death, provides a clear example: Massa made de darkeys love him, Cause he was so kind, Now dey sadly weep above him, Mourning cause he leave them behind. I cannot work before tomorrow, Cause de teardrops flow, I try to drive away my sorrow Pickin' on de old banjo. With African Americans stereotyped as blithe, docile servants, racism pervaded Northern society and shaped public attitudes. "Kingdom Coming" strays from
1810-483: A firm hand by Lincoln tamed Seward, who was a staunch Lincoln ally. Lincoln decided holding the fort, which would require reinforcing it, was the only workable option. On April 6, Lincoln informed the Governor of South Carolina that a ship with food but no ammunition would attempt to supply the fort. Historian McPherson describes this win-win approach as "the first sign of the mastery that would mark Lincoln's presidency";
1991-514: A great deal of money and effort in organizing psychological and social support for soldiers' wives, widows, and orphans, and for the soldiers themselves. Most soldiers were volunteers, although after 1862 many volunteered in order to escape the draft and to take advantage of generous cash bounties on offer from states and localities. Draft resistance was notable in some larger cities, especially in parts of New York City , with its massive anti-draft riots of July 1863 and in some remote districts such as
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#17327982340942172-716: A jubilee for you; do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields." The law "continues to stimulate models for liberation from oppressive forces, for reconciliation, and for new beginnings". To subjugated Blacks it symbolized the end of their servitude. He six foot one way, two feet tudder, An' he weigh three hundred pound, His coat so big, he couldn’t pay de tailor, An’ it won’t go half way round. He drill so much, dey call him Cap’an, An’ he get so drefful tanned, I spec’ he try an’ fool dem Yankees For to tink he’s contraband . He's six foot one way, two feet
2353-417: A landslide victory for Lincoln and his entire ticket against Democratic candidate George B. McClellan . The war years were quite prosperous except where serious fighting and guerrilla warfare ravaged the countryside. Almost all military actions took place in the South. Prosperity was stimulated by heavy government spending and the creation of an entirely new national banking system. The Union states invested
2534-479: A man until she died in 1915 at the age of 71. The small U.S. Navy of 1861 rapidly expanded to 6,000 officers and 45,000 sailors by 1865, with 671 vessels totaling 510,396 tons. Its mission was to blockade Confederate ports, control the river system, defend against Confederate raiders on the high seas, and be ready for a possible war with the British Royal Navy . The main riverine war was fought in
2715-581: A modern railroad system, to be mobilized by the United States Military Railroad . The South had resisted policies such as tariffs to promote industry and homestead laws to promote farming because slavery would not benefit. With the South gone and Northern Democrats weak, the Republicans enacted their legislation. At the same time they passed new taxes to pay for part of the war and issued large amounts of bonds to pay for most of
2896-550: A national mission that has defined America ever since. Lincoln's charm and willingness to cooperate with political and personal enemies made Washington work much more smoothly than Richmond , the Confederate capital, and his wit smoothed many rough edges. Lincoln's cabinet proved much stronger and more efficient than Davis's, as Lincoln channeled personal rivalries into a competition for excellence rather than mutual destruction. With William Seward at State , Salmon P. Chase at
3077-463: A part of the United States. In foreign affairs, the Union was the only side recognized by all other nations, none of which officially recognized the Confederate government. The term "Union" occurs in the first governing document of the United States, the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union. The subsequent Constitution of 1787 was issued and ratified in the name not of the states, but of "We
3258-451: A patriotic fire under the North. On April 15, Lincoln called on the states to field 75,000 volunteer troops for 90 days; impassioned Union states met the quotas quickly. On May 3, 1861, Lincoln called for an additional 42,000 volunteers for three years. Shortly after this, Virginia , Tennessee , Arkansas , and North Carolina seceded and joined the Confederacy. To reward Virginia,
3439-421: A republic, but a third challenge faced the nation: maintaining a republic based on the people's vote, in the face of an attempt to destroy it. Lincoln's election provoked South Carolina 's legislature to call a state convention to consider secession. South Carolina had done more than any other state to advance the notion that a state had the right to nullify federal laws and even secede. On December 20, 1860,
3620-514: A smoke, way up de ribber, Whar de Linkum gumboats lay; He took his hat, an' lef' berry sudden, An' I spec he's run away! Say, darkeys, have you seen the master, With the mustache on his face, Go long the road some time this mornin', Like he's going to leave the place? He's seen a smoke way up the river, Where the Lincoln gunboats lay; He took his hat and left very sudden, And I expect he ran away! Say, darkeys, hab you seen :
3801-452: A smoke, way up the ribber, whar de Linkum gumboats lay : suggesting a nearby battle between Union and Confederate forces, though whether this was precipitated by the arrival or the gunboats, or of challenging Confederate forces, or some other reason, is not clear. De massa run? ha! ha! De darkey stay? ho! ho! It mus' be now de kingdom comin' , An' de year ob Jubilo ! The master ran? ha! ha! The darkey stays? ho! ho! It must be now
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#17327982340943982-442: A suitable breeding ground. Music was the definitive propaganda tool to raise morale among troops; 1861 alone saw two thousand sheet music publications. Among the slew of patriotic songs pouring into newspapers and publishing houses, only "a few [...] caught the tempo and the spirit across the country [...]"; antislavery compositions in particular were lacking prevalence. This called for the enlistment of passionate abolitionists into
4163-564: A widespread advertising campaign to promote the song. Such was its success that Root could not keep up with orders, claiming it to be his firm's most profitable composition "for nearly a year and a half" and "the most successful patriotic song in the West." Within a few years, it sold 75,000 copies of sheet music. After the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, approximately 10,000 Chicagoans gathered at Clark Street to celebrate
4344-465: A year and a half" and "the most successful patriotic song in the West." It prominently features as a lively instrumental in Ken Burns ' eponymous documentary on the Civil War and in numerous twentieth-century cartoons, such as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 's Billy Boy . Henry Clay Work arose from a "staunch abolitionist " family. His father, Alanson, aided thousands of fugitives attain freedom through
4525-459: Is lost, de han'cuff broken, But de massa'll hab his pay, He's ole enough, big enough, ought to know better Dan to went an' run away! The overseer he makes us trouble, And he drives us round a spell, We lock him up in the smoke house cellar With the key thrown in the well. The whip is lost, the handcuff's broken, But the master'll have his pay, He's old enough, big enough, ought to known better Than to go and run away! (analysis of
4706-589: Is prophesied by Jesus Christ as narrated in the Christian Gospels, when all wrongs will be righted and everything placed in proper order. de year ob Jubilo: the "year of Jubilo [Jubilee]" alludes to the biblical practice of freeing bondsmen every 50 years (delineated in Leviticus 25, OT ), a lasting metaphor of liberation from oppression; to subordinated Blacks, it represents the end of their servitude. The scripture reads: "The fiftieth year shall be
4887-530: Is whistled throughout all four pictures by a dimwitted wolf character voiced by Daws Butler (using the same slow Southern drawl he would later employ for Huckleberry Hound ). This wolf character has no official name, but is commonly referred to as "Jubilo Wolf", in reference to "Year of Jubilo". It also occasionally appears in Warner Bros. cartoons, such as being used throughout the 1938 Porky Pig cartoon Injun Trouble and its 1945 remake Wagon Heels , and
5068-490: The 1860 presidential election . Southern leaders feared Lincoln would stop slavery's expansion and put it on a course toward extinction. His victory triggered declarations of secession by seven slave states of the Deep South , all of whose riverfront or coastal economies were based on cotton that was cultivated by slave labor. Lincoln was not inaugurated until March 4, 1861, giving the South time to prepare for war during
5249-541: The Battle of Appomattox Court House , setting in motion the end of the war . Lincoln led the nation through that victory but was shot by an assassin on April 14. By the end of the war, much of the South's infrastructure was destroyed. The Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished, and four million enslaved black people were freed. The war-torn nation then entered the Reconstruction era in an attempt to rebuild
5430-592: The Coal Region of Northeastern Pennsylvania . In the context of the American Civil War , the Union, or the United States, is sometimes referred to as "the North", both then and now, as opposed to the Confederacy, which was often called "the South". The Union (the United States) never recognized the legitimacy of the Confederacy's secession and maintained at all times that it remained entirely
5611-689: The Dred Scott decision was proof the Southern states had no reason to secede and that the Union "was intended to be perpetual". He added, however, that "The power by force of arms to compel a State to remain in the Union" was not among the "enumerated powers granted to Congress". A quarter of the US army—the Texas garrison—was surrendered in February to state forces by its general, David E. Twiggs , who joined
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5792-618: The Emancipation Proclamation went into effect in January 1863, ex-slaves were energetically recruited to meet state quotas. States and local communities offered higher cash bonuses for white volunteers. Congress tightened the draft law in March 1863. Men selected in the draft could provide substitutes or, until mid-1864, pay commutation money. Many eligibles pooled their money to cover the cost of anyone drafted. Families used
5973-525: The Emancipation Proclamation , an executive order issued in January 1863 by President Abraham Lincoln . It mandated that: all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free; and the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authority thereof, will recognize and maintain
6154-474: The European Union . Confederates generally saw the Union as being opposed to slavery, occasionally referring to them as abolitionists, in reference to the U.S. Navy as the "abolition fleet" and the U.S. Army as "abolition forces". In 2015, historian Michael Landis called for an end to the use of the term "Union", writing "The employment of 'Union' instead of 'United States,' implicitly supports
6335-869: The Morrill tariff , the Homestead Act , the Pacific Railroad Act , and the National Banking Act . Lincoln paid relatively little attention to this legislation as he focused on war issues but he worked smoothly with powerful Congressional leaders such as Thaddeus Stevens (on taxation and spending), Charles Sumner (on foreign affairs), Lyman Trumbull (on legal issues), Justin Smith Morrill (on land grants and tariffs) and William Pitt Fessenden (on finances). Military and reconstruction issues were another matter. Lincoln, as
6516-589: The Treasury , and (from 1862) Edwin Stanton at the War Department , Lincoln had a powerful cabinet of determined men. Except for monitoring major appointments and decisions, Lincoln gave them free rein to end the Confederate rebellion. The Republican Congress passed many major laws that reshaped the nation's economy, financial system, tax system, land system, and higher education system. These included:
6697-601: The Underground Railroad , on which his house was situated. Work spent much of his childhood among the freedmen and gradually learned their dialect and modes of entertainment. He actively heard their harrowing recollections of plantation life before absconding the South . These left a stirring impression on him; throughout the rest of his days, he remained deeply moved by the plight of African Americans . As an adult, Work would crusade for abolitionism by communicating
6878-592: The Virginia to prevent its capture, while the Union built many copies of the Monitor . The Confederacy's efforts to obtain warships from Great Britain failed, as Britain had no interest in selling warships to a nation at war with a stronger enemy and feared souring relations with the U.S. By early 1861, General Winfield Scott had devised the Anaconda Plan to win the war with minimal bloodshed, calling for
7059-522: The Western theater , the Union made permanent gains—though in the Eastern theater the conflict was inconclusive. The abolition of slavery became a Union war goal on January 1, 1863, when Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation , which declared all slaves in rebel states to be free, applying to more than 3.5 million of the 4 million enslaved people in the country. To the west, the Union first destroyed
7240-469: The electrical telegraph , steamships, the ironclad warship , and mass-produced weapons were widely used. The war left an estimated 698,000 soldiers dead, along with an undetermined number of civilian casualties, making the Civil War the deadliest military conflict in American history. The technology and brutality of the Civil War foreshadowed the coming World Wars . The origins of the war were rooted in
7421-406: The 168,649 men procured for the Union through the draft, 117,986 were substitutes, leaving only 50,663 who were conscripted. In the North and South, draft laws were highly unpopular. In the North, some 120,000 men evaded conscription, many fleeing to Canada, and another 280,000 soldiers deserted during the war. At least 100,000 Southerners deserted, about 10 percent of the total. Southern desertion
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7602-610: The 1863 draft law led to riots in several cities and in rural areas as well. By far the most important were the New York City draft riots of July 13 to July 16, 1863. Irish Catholic and other workers fought police, militia and regular army units until the Army used artillery to sweep the streets. Initially focused on the draft, the protests quickly expanded into violent attacks on blacks in New York City, with many killed on
7783-601: The Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Insurance rates soared, and the American flag virtually disappeared from international waters, though reflagging ships with European flags allowed them to continue operating unmolested. After the war, the U.S. government demanded Britain compensate it for the damage caused by blockade runners and raiders outfitted in British ports. Britain paid the U.S. $ 15 million in 1871, but only for commerce raiding. Dinçaslan argues that another outcome of
7964-566: The Bahamas in exchange for high-priced cotton. Many were lightweight and designed for speed, only carrying small amounts of cotton back to England. When the Union Navy seized a blockade runner, the ship and cargo were condemned as a prize of war and sold, with proceeds given to the Navy sailors; the captured crewmen, mostly British, were released. The Southern economy nearly collapsed during
8145-400: The British response to the U.S. was toned down, helping avert war. In 1862, the British government considered mediating between the Union and Confederacy, though such an offer would have risked war with the U.S. British Prime Minister Lord Palmerston reportedly read Uncle Tom's Cabin three times when deciding what his decision would be. The Union victory at the Battle of Antietam caused
8326-621: The British to delay this decision. The Emancipation Proclamation increased the political liability of supporting the Confederacy. Realizing that Washington could not intervene in Mexico as long as the Confederacy controlled Texas, France invaded Mexico in 1861 and installed the Habsburg Austrian archduke Maximilian I as emperor. Washington repeatedly protested France's violation of the Monroe Doctrine . Despite sympathy for
8507-473: The Civil War, slaves turned to simple, sometimes comic , songs to lighten their labor. However, from 1861 onward African-American music took a new serious form, serving as a collective call for liberation. Negro spirituals such as " Go Down Moses ", alluding to Israel 's journey to freedom in the promised land in Exodus , consoled stifled African-American populations and rallied support for emancipation. Music
8688-575: The Commonwealth, which at its greatest extent was over half the state, and it went into exile after October 1862. After Virginia's secession, a Unionist government in Wheeling asked 48 counties to vote on an ordinance to create a new state in October 1861. A voter turnout of 34% approved the statehood bill (96% approving). Twenty-four secessionist counties were included in the new state, and
8869-486: The Confederacy bombarded Fort Sumter in South Carolina . A wave of enthusiasm for war swept over the North and South, as military recruitment soared. Four more Southern states seceded after the war began and, led by its president, Jefferson Davis , the Confederacy asserted control over a third of the U.S. population in eleven states. Four years of intense combat, mostly in the South, ensued. During 1861–1862 in
9050-458: The Confederacy gave paper promissory notes when it seized property, so that even loyal Confederates would hide their horses and mules rather than sell them for dubious paper. Overall, the Northern financial system was highly successful in raising money and turning patriotism into profit, while the Confederate system impoverished its patriots. The United States needed $ 3.1 billion to pay for
9231-408: The Confederacy or South, during the American Civil War . The Union was led by Abraham Lincoln , the 16th president of the United States , and sought to preserve the nation, a constitutional federal union . In the context of the Civil War, "Union" is also often used as a synonym for "the northern states loyal to the United States government". In this meaning, the Union included 20 free states (in
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#17327982340949412-400: The Confederacy refused to exchange black prisoners. After that, about 56,000 of the 409,000 POWs died in prisons, accounting for 10 percent of the conflict's fatalities. Historian Elizabeth D. Leonard writes that between 500 and 1,000 women enlisted as soldiers on both sides, disguised as men. Women also served as spies, resistance activists, nurses, and hospital personnel. Women served on
9593-588: The Confederacy would never voluntarily rejoin the U.S. The most prominent Copperhead was Ohio's Clement L. Vallandigham , a Congressman and leader of the Democratic Party in Ohio. He was defeated in an intense election for governor in 1863. Republican prosecutors in the Midwest accused some Copperhead activists of treason in a series of trials in 1864. Copperheadism was a grassroots movement, strongest in
9774-539: The Confederacy's river navy by the summer of 1862, then much of its western armies, and seized New Orleans . The successful 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River , while Confederate General Robert E. Lee 's incursion north failed at the Battle of Gettysburg . Western successes led to General Ulysses S. Grant 's command of all Union armies in 1864. Inflicting an ever-tightening naval blockade of Confederate ports,
9955-518: The Confederacy, France's seizure of Mexico ultimately deterred it from war with the Union. Confederate offers late in the war to end slavery in return for diplomatic recognition were not seriously considered by London or Paris. After 1863, the Polish revolt against Russia further distracted the European powers and ensured they remained neutral. Russia supported the Union, largely because it believed
10136-706: The Confederacy. As Southerners resigned their Senate and House seats, Republicans could pass projects that had been blocked. These included the Morrill Tariff , land grant colleges, a Homestead Act , a transcontinental railroad, the National Bank Act , authorization of United States Notes by the Legal Tender Act of 1862 , and the end of slavery in the District of Columbia . The Revenue Act of 1861 introduced income tax to help finance
10317-474: The Confederacy. During the 37th and 38th Congresses, the committee investigated every aspect of Union military operations, with special attention to finding commanders culpable for military defeats. It assumed an inevitable Union victory. Failure was perceived to indicate evil motivations or personal failures. The committee distrusted graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point, since many of
10498-695: The Confederate capital was moved to Richmond . Maryland , Delaware , Missouri , West Virginia and Kentucky were slave states whose people had divided loyalties to Northern and Southern businesses and family members. Some men enlisted in the Union Army and others in the Confederate Army. West Virginia separated from Virginia and was admitted to the Union on June 20, 1863, though half its counties were secessionist. Maryland's territory surrounded Washington, D.C. , and could cut it off from
10679-585: The Copperheads damaged the Union war effort by fighting the draft, encouraging desertion and forming conspiracies. However, other historians say the Copperheads were a legitimate opposition force unfairly treated by the government, adding that the draft was in disrepute and that the Republicans greatly exaggerated the conspiracies for partisan reasons. Copperheadism was a major issue in the 1864 presidential election—its strength waxed when Union armies were doing poorly and waned when they won great victories. After
10860-523: The Democrats gained control of the legislature, they were unable to impede the war effort. Republican Governor Oliver P. Morton was able to maintain control of the state's contribution to the war effort despite the Democratic majority. Washington was especially helpful in 1864 in arranging furloughs to allow Hoosier soldiers to return home so they could vote in elections. Across the North in 1864,
11041-542: The District of Columbia by seizing prominent figures, including arresting one-third of the members of the Maryland General Assembly on the day it reconvened. All were held without trial, with Lincoln ignoring a ruling on June 1, 1861, by Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney , not speaking for the Court, that only Congress could suspend habeas corpus ( Ex parte Merryman ). Federal troops imprisoned
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#173279823409411222-538: The Lost Cause, Confederate view of secession wherein the nation of the United States collapsed [...] In reality, however, the United States never ceased to exist [...] The dichotomy of 'Union v. Confederacy' lends credibility to the Confederate experiment and undermines the legitimacy of the United States as a political entity." In 2021, the Army University Press noted that it was replacing usages of
11403-460: The Midwest and wanted to allow Confederate secession. In the East, opposition to the war was strongest among Irish Catholics, but also included business interests connected to the South typified by August Belmont . The Democratic Party was deeply split. In 1861 most Democrats supported the war. However, the party increasingly split down the middle between the moderates who supported the war effort, and
11584-479: The North, where anti-slavery sentiment had grown, and for the South, where the fear of slavery's abolition had grown. Another factor leading to secession and the formation of the Confederacy was the development of white Southern nationalism in the preceding decades. The primary reason for the North to reject secession was to preserve the Union, a cause based on American nationalism . Background factors in
11765-658: The North. It had anti-Lincoln officials who tolerated anti-army rioting in Baltimore and the burning of bridges, both aimed at hindering the passage of troops to the South. Maryland's legislature voted overwhelmingly to stay in the Union, but rejected hostilities with its southern neighbors, voting to close Maryland's rail lines to prevent their use for war. Lincoln responded by establishing martial law and unilaterally suspending habeas corpus in Maryland, along with sending in militia units. Lincoln took control of Maryland and
11946-399: The People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union ..." Union , for the United States of America, is then repeated in such clauses as the Admission to the Union clause in Article IV, Section 3. Even before the Civil War began the phrase "preserve the Union" was commonplace, and a "union of states" had been used to refer to the entire United States of America. Using
12127-408: The South's post-war recovery. Cotton diplomacy proved a failure as Europe had a surplus of cotton, while the 1860–62 crop failures in Europe made the North's grain exports critically important. It also helped turn European opinion against the Confederacy. It was said that "King Corn was more powerful than King Cotton," as U.S. grain went from a quarter to almost half of British imports. Meanwhile,
12308-435: The South. Michigan was especially eager to send thousands of volunteers. A study of the cities of Grand Rapids and Niles shows an overwhelming surge of nationalism in 1861, whipping up enthusiasm for the war in all segments of society, and all political, religious, ethnic, and occupational groups. However, by 1862 the casualties were mounting, and the war was increasingly focused on freeing the slaves in addition to preserving
12489-419: The South. Ever since the 1830s lower-class Northern theater had been dominated by troupes of blackface performers. Dressed in extravagant costumes and armed with banjos , they acted as caricatured African Americans reminiscing about their days in the agrarian South. The Romantic portrayal of Southern plantation life, with slaves and their owners residing harmoniously, gave uninformed Northern audiences
12670-416: The South. The Confederacy turned to foreign sources, connecting with financiers and companies like S. Isaac, Campbell & Company and the London Armoury Company in Britain, becoming the Confederacy's main source of arms. To transport arms safely to the Confederacy, British investors built small, fast, steam-driven blockade runners that traded arms and supplies from Britain, through Bermuda, Cuba, and
12851-412: The U.S. Army firing grape shot down cobblestone city streets. The Democrats nominated George McClellan , a War Democrat for the 1864 presidential but imposed an anti-war platform on him. In terms of Congress the opposition against the war was nearly powerless—as was the case in most states. In Indiana and Illinois pro-war governors circumvented anti-war legislatures elected in 1862. For 30 years after
13032-500: The U.S. and Britain over the Trent affair , which began when U.S. Navy personnel boarded the British ship Trent and seized two Confederate diplomats. However, London and Washington smoothed this over after Lincoln released the two men. Prince Albert left his deathbed to issue diplomatic instructions to Lord Lyons during the Trent affair. His request was honored, and, as a result,
13213-644: The U.S. served as a counterbalance to its geopolitical rival, the U.K. In 1863, the Imperial Russian Navy 's Baltic and Pacific fleets wintered in the American ports of New York and San Francisco, respectively. Union (American Civil War) The Union , colloquially known as the North , refers to the United States when eleven Southern slave states seceded to form the Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as
13394-471: The Union Army or pro-Union guerrilla groups. Although they came from all classes, most Southern Unionists differed socially, culturally, and economically from their region’s dominant prewar, slave-owning planter class. At the war's start, a parole system operated, under which captives agreed not to fight until exchanged. They were held in camps run by their army, paid, but not allowed to perform any military duties. The system of exchanges collapsed in 1863 when
13575-511: The Union blockade. The Confederacy purchased warships from commercial shipbuilders in Britain, with the most famous being the CSS ; Alabama , which caused considerable damage and led to serious postwar disputes . However, public opinion against slavery in Britain created a political liability for politicians, where the anti-slavery movement was powerful. War loomed in late 1861 between
13756-464: The Union hospital ship Red Rover and nursed Union and Confederate troops at field hospitals. Mary Edwards Walker , the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor , served in the Union Army and was given the medal for treating the wounded during the war. One woman, Jennie Hodgers, fought for the Union under the name Albert D. J. Cashier. After she returned to civilian life, she continued to live as
13937-484: The Union marshaled resources and manpower to attack the Confederacy from all directions. This led to the fall of Atlanta in 1864 to Union General William Tecumseh Sherman , followed by his March to the Sea . The last significant battles raged around the ten-month Siege of Petersburg , gateway to the Confederate capital of Richmond . The Confederates abandoned Richmond, and on April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered to Grant following
14118-492: The Union would win if it could resupply and hold the fort, and the South would be the aggressor if it opened fire on an unarmed ship supplying starving men. An April 9 Confederate cabinet meeting resulted in Davis ordering General P. G. T. Beauregard to take the fort before supplies reached it. At 4:30 am on April 12, Confederate forces fired the first of 4,000 shells at the fort; it fell the next day. The loss of Fort Sumter lit
14299-425: The Union's most cherished rallying hymns, joined forces with the firm in 1860 as its chief operator. Work submitted one of his first wartime songs, "Our Captain's Last Words", to Root & Cady in March 1861. Upon being published, it overdrove the business' printing capacity. Root instantaneously took heed of Work's "gift for composition" and assigned him an indefinite songwriting post. Their collaboration proved one of
14480-486: The Union, this was never likely, so they sought to bring them in as mediators. The Union worked to block this and threatened war if any country recognized the Confederacy. In 1861, Southerners voluntarily embargoed cotton shipments, hoping to start an economic depression in Europe that would force Britain to enter the war, but this failed. Worse, Europe turned to Egypt and India for cotton, which they found superior, hindering
14661-483: The Union-held Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter is located in the harbor of Charleston , South Carolina. Its status had been contentious for months. Outgoing President Buchanan had dithered in reinforcing its garrison, commanded by Major Robert Anderson . Anderson took matters into his own hands and on December 26, 1860, under the cover of darkness, sailed the garrison from the poorly placed Fort Moultrie to
14842-702: The Union. A February peace conference met in Washington, proposing a solution similar the Compromise; it was rejected by Congress. The Republicans proposed the Corwin Amendment , an alternative, not to interfere with slavery where it existed, but the South regarded it as insufficient. The remaining eight slave states rejected pleas to join the Confederacy, following a no-vote in Virginia's First Secessionist Convention on April 4. On March 4, Lincoln
15023-460: The Union. Copperhead Democrats called the war a failure, and it became an increasingly partisan Republican effort. Michigan voters remained evenly split between the parties in the presidential election of 1864. Perman (2010) says historians are of two minds on why millions of men seemed so eager to fight, suffer, and die over four years: Some historians emphasize that Civil War soldiers were driven by political ideology, holding firm beliefs about
15204-475: The West, where major rivers gave access to the Confederate heartland. The U.S. Navy eventually controlled the Red, Tennessee, Cumberland, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers. In the East, the Navy shelled Confederate forts and supported coastal army operations. The Civil War occurred during the early stages of the industrial revolution, leading to naval innovations, notably the ironclad warship . The Confederacy, recognizing
15385-579: The Western territories destined to become states. Initially Congress had admitted new states into the Union in pairs, one slave and one free . This had kept a sectional balance in the Senate but not in the House of Representatives , as free states outstripped slave states in numbers of eligible voters. Thus, at mid-19th century, the free-versus-slave status of the new territories was a critical issue, both for
15566-408: The academy's alumni were leaders of the enemy army. Members of the committee much preferred political generals with a satisfactory political record. Some of the committee suggested that West-Pointers who engaged in strategic maneuver were cowardly or even disloyal. It ended up endorsing incompetent but politically correct generals. The opposition came from Copperhead Democrats , who were strongest in
15747-421: The ambiguity as to identification in place. de massa, wid the muffstash on his face : there is no indication anywhere in the song that there is more than one master. Therefore, the inclusion of a reference to the master's mustache indicates that he does not normally wear one. The mustache may be fake (though in this case, why "the" instead of "a"?), or it may have been (hastily?) grown for the occasion. he seen
15928-526: The area just north of the Ohio River, as well as some urban ethnic wards . Some historians have argued that it represented a traditionalistic element alarmed at the rapid modernization of society sponsored by the Republican Party . It looked back to Jacksonian Democracy for inspiration—with ideals that promoted an agrarian rather than industrialized concept of society. Weber (2006) argues that
16109-521: The blockade was the rise of oil as a prominent commodity. The declining whale oil industry took a blow as many old whaling ships were used in blockade efforts, such as the Stone Fleet , and Confederate raiders harassed Union whalers. Oil products, especially kerosene, began replacing whale oil in lamps, increasing oil's importance long before it became fuel for combustion engines. Although the Confederacy hoped Britain and France would join them against
16290-518: The closing scenes of the 1945 Bugs Bunny cartoons The Unruly Hare and Hare Trigger . Some films exercise it. In The Telegraph Trail (1933), John Trent ( John Wayne ) whistles this tune. It is instrumental background music in The Horse Soldiers (1959) (also starring Wayne). In Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Esther Smith ( Judy Garland ) sings new lyrics, written for the movie, to
16471-508: The convention unanimously voted to secede and adopted a secession declaration . It argued for states' rights for slave owners but complained about states' rights in the North in the form of resistance to the federal Fugitive Slave Act, claiming that Northern states were not fulfilling their obligations to assist in the return of fugitive slaves. The "cotton states" of Mississippi , Florida , Alabama , Georgia , Louisiana , and Texas followed suit, seceding in January and February 1861. Among
16652-514: The cost of a full-scale war but the Treasury Department under Secretary Salmon P. Chase showed unusual ingenuity in financing the war without crippling the economy. Many new taxes were imposed and always with a patriotic theme comparing the financial sacrifice to the sacrifices of life and limb. The government paid for supplies in real money, which encouraged people to sell to the government regardless of their politics. By contrast l,
16833-489: The country, bring the former Confederate states back into the United States, and grant civil rights to freed slaves. The war is one of the most extensively studied and written about episodes in U.S. history . It remains the subject of cultural and historiographical debate . Of continuing interest is the fading myth of the Lost Cause of the Confederacy . The war was among the first to use industrial warfare . Railroads,
17014-477: The crisis was Secretary of State William H. Seward , who had been Lincoln's rival for the Republican nomination . Embittered by his defeat, Seward agreed to support Lincoln's candidacy only after he was guaranteed the executive office then considered the second most powerful. In the early stages of Lincoln's presidency Seward held little regard for him, due to his perceived inexperience. Seward viewed himself as
17195-540: The critical post of state adjutant general was held in 1861–64 by elderly politician Anthony C. Colby (1792–1873) and his son Daniel E. Colby (1816–1891). They were patriotic, but were overwhelmed with the complexity of their duties. The state lost track of men who enlisted after 1861; it had no personnel records or information on volunteers, substitutes, or draftees, and there was no inventory of weaponry and supplies. Nathaniel Head (1828–1883) took over in 1864, obtained an adequate budget and office staff, and reconstructed
17376-657: The de facto head of government, the " prime minister " behind the throne. Seward attempted to engage in unauthorized and indirect negotiations that failed. Lincoln was determined to hold all remaining Union-occupied forts in the Confederacy: Fort Monroe in Virginia, Fort Pickens , Fort Jefferson , and Fort Taylor in Florida, and Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate forces opened fire on
17557-529: The desire of the Southern states to preserve the institution of slavery . Historians in the 21st century overwhelmingly agree on the centrality of slavery in the conflict. They disagree on which aspects (ideological, economic, political, or social) were most important, and on the North 's reasons for refusing to allow the Southern states to secede. The pseudo-historical Lost Cause ideology denies that slavery
17738-426: The draft law as a violation of their local autonomy. In June 1863, small-scale disturbances broke out; they ended when the Army sent in armed units. The Union economy grew and prospered during the war while fielding a very large army and navy. The Republicans in Washington had a Whiggish vision of an industrial nation, with great cities, efficient factories, productive farms, all national banks, all knit together by
17919-879: The energetic leadership of Governor David Tod , a War Democrat who won office on a coalition "Union Party" ticket with Republicans, Ohio acted vigorously. Following the unexpected carnage at the battle of Shiloh in April 1862, Ohio sent three steamboats to the scene as floating hospitals equipped with doctors, nurses, and medical supplies. The state fleet expanded to 11 hospital ships, and the state set up 12 local offices in main transportation nodes, to help Ohio soldiers moving back and forth. The Christian Commission comprised 6,000 volunteers who aided chaplains in many ways. For example, its agents distributed Bibles, delivered sermons, helped with sending letters home, taught men to read and write, and set up camp libraries. The Army learned many lessons and modernized its procedures, and medical science—especially surgery—made many advances. In
18100-493: The ensuing guerrilla war engaged about 40,000 federal troops for much of the war. Congress admitted West Virginia to the Union on June 20, 1863. West Virginians provided about 20,000 soldiers to each side in the war. A Unionist secession attempt occurred in East Tennessee , but was suppressed by the Confederacy, which arrested over 3,000 men suspected of loyalty to the Union; they were held without trial. The Civil War
18281-430: The essential role of cotton in the European economy. The European aristocracy was "absolutely gleeful in pronouncing the American debacle as proof that the entire experiment in popular government had failed. European government leaders welcomed the fragmentation of the ascendant American Republic." However, a European public with liberal sensibilities remained, which the U.S. sought to appeal to by building connections with
18462-488: The fall of Atlanta in September 1864, military success seemed assured and Copperheadism collapsed. Enthusiastic young men clamored to join the Union army in 1861. They came with family support for reasons of patriotism and excitement. Washington decided to keep the small regular army intact; it had only 16,000 men and was needed to guard the frontier. Its officers could, however, join the temporary new volunteer army that
18643-435: The fierce battles more typical of the political arena." Historian Michael Smith argues that as the war ground on year after year, the spirit of American republicanism grew stronger and generated fears of corruption in high places. Voters became afraid of power being centralized in Washington, extravagant spending, and war profiteering. Democratic candidates emphasized these fears. The candidates added that rapid modernization
18824-446: The fourth stanza) Root embarked on a pervasive advertising campaign to promote his compositions. "Kingdom Coming" was his first major song supporting this cause, published by Root in 1862. "Kingdom Coming" was first advertised by Christy's Minstrels in April 1862, and became instantly successful and a staple of any minstrel show's repertoire. Its sheet music sold 75,000 copies. Root & Cady reportedly could not keep up with orders for
19005-504: The freedom of such persons, and will do no act or acts to repress such persons, or any of them, in any efforts they may make for their actual freedom. Root, along with other Illinoisan Unionists prominently appealed to President Lincoln to issue a degree of emancipation. After the Emancipation Proclamation was issued, on September 27, 1862, approximately 10,000 Chicagoans, accompanied by several musical societies such as Root & Cady, gathered at Bryan Hall and Court House Square to celebrate
19186-566: The future fate of the owner, whom they suspect will pretend to be a runaway slave in order to avoid capture. With their owner absent, the slaves revolt, locking their overseer in a cellar as retribution for his harsh treatment toward them. The slaves then celebrate their impending emancipation by Union soldiers by drinking their absent owner's cider and wine in his kitchen. (or use text and translation) Say, darkeys, hab you seen de massa, Wid de muffstash on his face, Go long de road some time dis mornin', Like he gwine to leab de place? He seen
19367-674: The governor appointed the senior officers, and Lincoln appointed the generals. Typically, politicians used their local organizations to raise troops and were in line (if healthy enough) to become colonel. The problem was that the War Department, under the disorganized leadership of Simon Cameron , also authorized local and private groups to raise regiments. The result was widespread confusion and delay. Pennsylvania, for example, had acute problems. When Washington called for 10 more regiments, enough men volunteered to form 30. However, they were scattered among 70 different new units, none of them
19548-579: The great majority of soldiers voted Republican. Men who had been Democrats before the war often abstained or voted Republican. As the federal draft laws tightened, there was serious unrest among Copperhead strongholds, such as the Irish in the Pennsylvania coal mining districts. The government needed the coal more than the draftees, so it ignored the largely non-violent draft dodging there. The violent New York City draft riots of 1863 were suppressed by
19729-439: The homefront economy could no longer supply. Surdam contends that the blockade was a powerful weapon that eventually ruined the Southern economy, costing few lives in combat. The Confederate cotton crop became nearly useless, cutting off the Confederacy's primary income source. Critical imports were scarce, and coastal trade largely ended as well. The blockade's success was not measured by the few ships that slipped through but by
19910-460: The immense armies and fleets raised to fight the Civil War—over $ 400 million just in 1862 alone. Apart from tariffs, the largest revenue by far came from new excise taxes —a sort of value added tax —that was imposed on every sort of manufactured item. Second came much higher tariffs, through several Morrill tariff laws. Third came the nation's first income tax; only the wealthy paid and it
20091-486: The importance of liberty, Union, or state rights, or about the need to protect or to destroy slavery. Others point to less overtly political reasons to fight, such as the defense of one's home and family, or the honor and brotherhood to be preserved when fighting alongside other men. Most historians agree that, no matter what he thought about when he went into the war, the experience of combat affected him profoundly and sometimes affected his reasons for continuing to fight. On
20272-554: The international press. By 1861, Union diplomats like Carl Schurz realized emphasizing the war against slavery was the Union's most effective moral asset in swaying European public opinion. Seward was concerned an overly radical case for reunification would distress European merchants with cotton interests; even so, he supported a widespread campaign of public diplomacy. U.S. minister to Britain Charles Francis Adams proved adept and convinced Britain not to challenge
20453-457: The kingdom's comin' And the year of Jubilo! De massa run . . . de darkey stay : pointing out the total inversion of the normal order of things, where the master rules over his plantation and the slaves run away in pursuit of freedom elsewhere. For the narrator and his audience, the world has turned upside down. de kingdom comin' : the Kingdom of God, God's direct rule on Earth, whose advent
20634-793: The leader of the moderate and conservative factions of the Republican Party, often crossed swords with the Radical Republicans , led by Stevens and Sumner. Author, Bruce Tap, shows that Congress challenged Lincoln's role as commander-in-chief through the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War . It was a joint committee of both houses that was dominated by the Radical Republicans, who took a hard line against
20815-483: The lips of nearly every man, women and child in America, but with some variations, in every part of the world. There is scarcely a Grand Army gathering where his songs are not sung, and they are to be sung for generations to come. First advertised by Edwin P. Christy in April 1862, "Kingdom Coming" quickly became a linchpin of minstrel show repertoires. Convinced of its potential, the publisher George F. Root embarked on
20996-444: The log house on the lawn, They move their things to master's parlor, For to keep it while he's gone, There's wine and cider in the kitchen, And the darkeys they'll have some; I suppose they'll all be confiscated, When the Lincoln soldiers come. (analysis of the third stanza) De oberseer he make us trouble, An' he dribe us round a spell, We lock him up in the smoke house cellar Wid de key trown in de well. De whip
21177-596: The long run, the wartime experiences of the numerous Union commissions modernized public welfare, and set the stage for large—scale community philanthropy in America based on fund raising campaigns and private donations. Additionally, women gained new public roles. For example, Mary Livermore (1820–1905), the manager of the Chicago branch of the US Sanitary Commission, used her newfound organizational skills to mobilize support for women's suffrage after
21358-400: The missing paperwork. As result, widows, orphans, and disabled veterans received the postwar payments they had earned. More soldiers died of disease than from battle injuries, and even larger numbers were temporarily incapacitated by wounds, disease, and accidents. The Union responded by building army hospitals in every state. The hygiene of the camps was poor, especially at the beginning of
21539-466: The mockery of blackface minstrelsy, portraying a realistic picture of plantation life and humanizing slaves. Instead of the oppressive master reigning supreme over his subjects as generally observed in minstrel songs, these roles are inverted; the slaves take over the plantation and overcome their overseer. This role reversal is also observed in " Babylon is Fallen " (1863), in which the slaves exclaim: "We will be de Massa, / He will be de servant." Prior to
21720-424: The most fruitful in the war, during which the firm attained nigh unparalleled success. Work established himself as one of the Union's national composers whose music "captured the spirit and struggle of the Civil War." His catalog of 27 patriotic songs issued from 1861 to 1865 includes seriocomedies , overviews of army life, commemorations of Northern triumphs and, uniquely, depictions of African Americans' struggles in
21901-539: The movement to abolish slavery and its influence over the North. Southern states believed that the Fugitive Slave Clause made slaveholding a constitutional right. These states agreed to form a new federal government, the Confederate States of America , on February 4, 1861. They took control of federal forts and other properties within their boundaries, with little resistance from outgoing President James Buchanan , whose term ended on March 4. Buchanan said
22082-663: The much enlarged United States Army Medical Department, and the United States Sanitary Commission , a new private agency. Numerous other new agencies also targeted the medical and morale needs of soldiers, including the United States Christian Commission , as well as smaller private agencies, such as the Women's Central Association of Relief for Sick and Wounded in the Army (WCAR), founded in 1861 by Henry Whitney Bellows ,
22263-422: The muster of companies and regiments, the determined action of governors and legislatures. McClintock states: At the time, Northerners were right to wonder at the near unanimity that so quickly followed long months of bitterness and discord. It would not last throughout the protracted war to come—or even through the year—but in that moment of unity was laid bare the common Northern nationalism usually hidden by
22444-476: The need to counter the Union's naval superiority, built or converted over 130 vessels, including 26 ironclads. Despite these efforts, Confederate ships were largely unsuccessful against Union ironclads. The Union Navy used timberclads, tinclads, and armored gunboats. Shipyards in Cairo, Illinois, and St. Louis built or modified steamboats . The Confederacy experimented with the submarine CSS Hunley , which
22625-418: The new Confederacy sent delegates to Washington to negotiate a peace treaty. Lincoln rejected negotiations, because he claimed that the Confederacy was not a legitimate government and to make a treaty with it would recognize it as such. Lincoln instead attempted to negotiate directly with the governors of seceded states, whose administrations he continued to recognize. Complicating Lincoln's attempts to defuse
22806-416: The north and west) and four southern border slave states , Delaware , Maryland , Kentucky , and Missouri , though Missouri and Kentucky both had dual competing Confederate and Unionist governments. The Union Army was a new formation comprising mostly state units, together with units from the regular U.S. Army . Keeping the southern border states in the Union was considered essential to its winning
22987-449: The occasion. "Kingdom Coming", which symbolized the proclamation's outcome, was one of the tunes chanted by the crowd. The song is pro- Unionist , and the lyrics are sung from the point of view of slaves ("de darkeys") in Confederate territory, who celebrate their impending freedom after their master flees the approach of Union military forces. The primary persona is a "hypocritical and cowardly" slave owner ("de massa"). They speculate on
23168-407: The occasion; "Kingdom Coming", symbolizing the proclamation's outcome, was one of the abolitionist songs chanted alongside " John Brown's Body ". While time has not been kind with the song, up until the 19th century's close, it was reportedly as popular as " Dixie ". Jerome Kern 's 1921 Broadway musical Good Morning, Dearie and the 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis prominently feature it. Due to
23349-417: The ordinances of secession, those of Texas, Alabama, and Virginia mentioned the plight of the "slaveholding states" at the hands of Northern abolitionists. The rest made no mention of slavery but were brief announcements by the legislatures of the dissolution of ties to the Union. However, at least four—South Carolina, Mississippi, Georgia, and Texas —provided detailed reasons for their secession, all blaming
23530-645: The other, And he weights three hundred pounds, His coat's so big, he couldn't pay the tailor, And it won't go half way round. He drills so much, they call him Cap'n, And he gets so dreadful tanned, I expect he'll try and fool them Yankees, For to think he's contraband. (analysis of the second stanza) De darkeys feel so lonesome libing in de loghouse on de lawn, Dey move dar tings to massa’s parlor , For to keep it while he’s gone, Dar's wine an’ cider in de kitchen, An’ de darkeys dey’ll hab some; I spose dey’ll all be cornfiscated When de Linkum sojers come. The darkeys feel so lonesome living in
23711-423: The parole exchange system broke down in 1863, about 195,000 went to Confederate prison camps. Some tried to escape but few succeeded. By contrast 464,000 Confederates were captured (many in the final days) and 215,000 imprisoned. Over 30,000 Union and nearly 26,000 Confederate prisoners died in captivity. Just over 12% of the captives in Northern prisons died, compared to 15.5% for Southern prisons. Discontent with
23892-631: The peace element, including Copperheads, who did not. It scored major gains in the 1862 elections, and elected the moderate Horatio Seymour as governor of New York. They gained 28 seats in the House of Representatives , including the Speaker of the House's seat but Republicans retained control of both the House and the Senate. The 1862 election for the Indiana legislature was especially hard-fought. Though
24073-432: The rebel Confederacy, but it took a long time for the Union to fully mobilize these resources. The attack on Fort Sumter rallied the North to the defense of American nationalism. Historian Allan Nevins writes: The thunderclap of Sumter produced a startling crystallization of Northern sentiment ... Anger swept the land. From every side came news of mass meetings, speeches, resolutions, tenders of business support,
24254-506: The rest. Economic historians attribute the remainder of the cost of the war to inflation. Congress wrote an elaborate program of economic modernization that had the dual purpose of winning the war and permanently transforming the economy. In 1860 the Treasury was a small operation that funded the small-scale operations of the government through land sales and customs based on a low tariff. Peacetime revenues were trivial in comparison with
24435-425: The rifles, cannons, wagons, tents, telegraph sets, and the myriad of other special items the army needed. While business had been slow or depressed in spring 1861, because of war fears and Southern boycotts, by fall business was hiring again, offering young men jobs that were an alternative way to help win the war. Nonpartisanship was the rule in the first year, but by summer 1862, many Democrats had stopped supporting
24616-562: The routine agonies of slave life through music. In fact, author Florine Thayer McCray remarks that many of his compositions evoke "the very atmosphere of awakening plantation life" and echo "the cottonpicker's musing hum and the roustabout 's refrain." After the family was forced to migrate away from the railroad, he started laboring a music typesetter , first in his native Connecticut and, from 1855 onward, in Chicago . While Work did not mind his trade, his true passion and "everyday thought"
24797-427: The run up to the Civil War were partisan politics , abolitionism , nullification versus secession , Southern and Northern nationalism, expansionism , economics , and modernization in the antebellum period . As a panel of historians emphasized in 2011, "while slavery and its various and multifaceted discontents were the primary cause of disunion, it was disunion itself that sparked the war." Abraham Lincoln won
24978-607: The rural slaveholding South. Additionally, the Union states had a manpower advantage of five to two at the start of the war. Year by year, the rebel Confederacy shrank and lost control of increasing quantities of resources and population. Meanwhile, the United States turned its growing potential advantage into a much stronger military force. However, much of the US strength had to be used to garrison former-Confederate areas, and to protect railroads and other vital points. The loyal states' great advantages in population and industry would prove to be vital long-term factors in its victory over
25159-498: The slave owners, as the guilty party in the war. Historians have overwhelmingly praised the "political genius" of Abraham Lincoln's performance as president. His first priority was military victory. This required that he master entirely new skills as a strategist and diplomat. He oversaw supplies, finances, manpower, the selection of generals, and the course of overall strategy. Working closely with state and local politicians, he rallied public opinion and (at Gettysburg ) articulated
25340-570: The song is positioned as a single narrator/singer addressing a group of slaves. However, the dialect indicates that the narrator is also a slave, and the rest of the song indicates that the narrator is also present on the plantation. Is the narrator removed in some way from the audience? The third stanza in particular refers to the "darkeys" as "they" rather than "we." Some modern renditions (e.g. Pete Seeger's) replace "darkeys" with "brothers" or even "comrades," indicating group identification, while Bobby Horton's rendition uses "black folks" instead, leaving
25521-552: The song, with the publisher claiming: "It is whistled, sung, hummed and instrumentalized everywhere, in fact it is one of the institutions of the day." It was a favorite among African American troops. It was reportedly as popular as " Dixie's Land " during the war and subsequent years. A writer for the Hartford Courant gazette observed: Our country has produced few songwriters whose works have been more widely sung than Mr. Work. Some of his productions have not only been on
25702-520: The songwriting industry. Seeking to advance his pastime into a full-time occupation, as well as to contribute to the Union cause, Work hiked up his songwriting efforts. A resident Chicagoan, he was drawn to local publishing firm Root & Cady , the "most prolific producers of wartime music." Established in 1858, it promptly positioned itself at the center of Chicago's burgeoning music industry. George F. Root , an illustrious composer whose " Battle Cry of Freedom " and " Tramp! Tramp! Tramp! " were among
25883-579: The southwestern corner of Missouri (see Missouri secession ). Early in the war the Confederacy controlled southern Missouri through the Confederate government of Missouri but was driven out after 1862. In the resulting vacuum, the convention on secession reconvened and took power as the Unionist provisional government of Missouri. Kentucky did not secede, it declared itself neutral. When Confederate forces entered in September 1861, neutrality ended and
26064-532: The stalwart island Fort Sumter. Anderson's actions catapulted him to hero status in the North. An attempt to resupply the fort on January 9, 1861, failed and nearly started the war then, but an informal truce held. On March 5, Lincoln was informed the fort was low on supplies. Fort Sumter proved a key challenge to Lincoln's administration. Back-channel dealing by Seward with the Confederates undermined Lincoln's decision-making; Seward wanted to pull out. But
26245-446: The state reaffirmed its Union status while maintaining slavery. During an invasion by Confederate forces in 1861, Confederate sympathizers and delegates from 68 Kentucky counties organized the secession Russellville Convention, formed the shadow Confederate Government of Kentucky , inaugurated a governor, and Kentucky was admitted into the Confederacy on December 10, 1861. Its jurisdiction extended only as far as Confederate battle lines in
26426-414: The streets. Small-scale riots broke out in ethnic German and Irish districts, and in areas along the Ohio River with many Copperheads. Holmes County, Ohio was an isolated parochial area dominated by Pennsylvania Dutch and some recent German immigrants. It was a Democratic stronghold and few men dared speak out in favor of conscription. Local politicians denounced Lincoln and Congress as despotic, seeing
26607-457: The substitute provision to select which man should go into the army and which should stay home. There was much evasion and resistance to the draft, especially in Catholic areas. The New York City draft riots in July 1863 involved Irish immigrants who had been signed up as citizens to swell the vote of the city's Democratic political machine , not realizing it made them liable for the draft. Of
26788-966: The success of "Kingdom Coming", Work penned a sequel titled "Babylon is Fallen", in which the "massa" who "went and run away" enlisted in the Confederate Army . He was discovered by his former slaves and imprisoned. The title alludes to the Book of Revelation of the New Testament : "Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great" (14:8), referring to the downfall of despotism, appropriate for the slave master's demise. The tune to "Kingdom Coming" features in several cartoons. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer made use of it in The Three Little Pups , (with Droopy ) and Billy Boy , as well as in Michael Lah's Blackboard Jumble and Sheep Wrecked . The piece
26969-438: The surgeons prescribed coffee, whiskey, and quinine. Harsh weather, bad water, inadequate shelter in winter quarters, poor policing of camps, and dirty camp hospitals took their toll. This was a common scenario in wars from time immemorial, and conditions faced by the Confederate army were even worse. What was different in the Union was the emergence of skilled, well-funded medical organizers who took proactive action, especially in
27150-619: The term "Union" to apply to the non-secessionist side carried a connotation of legitimacy as the continuation of the pre-existing political entity. Before the American Civil War, the United States was known as the "United States' federal union", a union of states controlled by the federal government in Washington, D.C. This was opposite to the CSA's first government, a confederation of independent states, functioning similarly to
27331-438: The then-President Abraham Lincoln 's issuing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, an executive order liberating all slaves in Confederate territory. "Kingdom Coming" was one of the most successful Union songs, renowned as a favorite among Black Unionists and minstrel troupes. It amassed sheet music sales of 75,000 copies. The publisher George Frederick Root claimed that it was his firm's most successful piece "for nearly
27512-451: The thousands that never tried. European merchant ships could not get insurance and were too slow to evade the blockade, so they stopped calling at Confederate ports. To fight an offensive war, the Confederacy purchased arms in Britain and converted British-built ships into commerce raiders . The smuggling of 600,000 arms enabled the Confederacy to fight on for two more years, and the commerce raiders targeted U.S. Merchant Marine ships in
27693-597: The tune of "Year of Jubilo". The lyrics are in standard English and are inoffensive, with no reference to slavery, the Civil War, or any other controversial subject. On radio, the tune was used as the theme music for the Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy Show . The tune was also used in the introductory section to the second movement of John Philip Sousa 's 1925 suite Cubaland . ... |} American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names )
27874-655: The war at the beginning in 1861, but by 1862, was split between the War Democrats and the anti-war element known as Peace Democrats, led by the extremist " Copperheads ". The Democrats made major electoral gains in 1862 in state elections, most notably in New York. They lost ground in 1863, especially in Ohio. In 1864, the Republicans and War Democrats joined to campaign under the National Union Party banner, which also attracted most soldiers, and scored
28055-430: The war created jobs for arms makers, ironworkers, and ships to transport weapons. Lincoln's administration initially struggled to appeal to European public opinion. At first, diplomats explained that the U.S. was not committed to ending slavery and emphasized legal arguments about the unconstitutionality of secession. Confederate representatives, however, focused on their struggle for liberty, commitment to free trade, and
28236-478: The war due to multiple factors: severe food shortages, failing railroads, loss of control over key rivers, foraging by Northern armies, and the seizure of animals and crops by Confederate forces. Historians agree the blockade was a major factor in ruining the Confederate economy; however, Wise argues blockade runners provided enough of a lifeline to allow Lee to continue fighting for additional months, thanks to supplies like 400,000 rifles, lead, blankets, and boots that
28417-533: The war effort, and volunteering fell off sharply in their strongholds. The calls for more and more soldiers continued, so states and localities responded by offering cash bonuses. By 1863, a draft law was in effect, but few men actually were drafted and served, since the law was designed to get them to volunteer or hire a substitute. Others hid away or left the country. With the Emancipation Proclamation taking effect in January 1863, localities could meet their draft quota by sponsoring regiments of ex-slaves organized in
28598-408: The war the Democrats carried the burden of having opposed the martyred Lincoln, who was viewed by many as the salvation of the Union and the destroyer of slavery. The Copperheads were a large faction of northern Democrats who opposed the war, demanding an immediate peace settlement. They said they wanted to restore "the Union as it was" (that is, with the South and with slavery) but they realized that
28779-400: The war when men who had seldom been far from home were brought together for training with thousands of strangers. First came epidemics of the childhood diseases of chicken pox , mumps , whooping cough , and especially, measles . Operations in the South meant a dangerous and new disease environment, bringing diarrhea , dysentery , typhoid fever , and malaria . There were no antibiotics, so
28960-511: The war. The Northeast and Midwest provided the industrial resources for a mechanized war producing large quantities of munitions and supplies and financing the war. They provided soldiers, food, horses, financial support, and training camps. Army hospitals were also set up across the Union. Most Northern states had Republican governors who energetically supported the war effort and suppressed anti-war subversion, particularly that that arose in 1863–64. The Democratic Party strongly supported
29141-543: The war. In December 1860, the Crittenden Compromise was proposed to re-establish the Missouri Compromise line, by constitutionally banning slavery in territories to the north of it, while permitting it to the south. The Compromise would likely have prevented secession, but Lincoln and the Republicans rejected it. Lincoln stated that any compromise that would extend slavery would bring down
29322-414: The war. She argued that women needed more education and job opportunities to help them fulfill their role of serving others. The Sanitary Commission collected enormous amounts of statistical data, and opened up the problems of storing information for fast access and mechanically searching for data patterns. The pioneer was John Shaw Billings (1838–1913). A senior surgeon in the war, Billings built two of
29503-633: The whole, the national, state, and local governments handled the avalanche of paperwork effectively. Skills developed in insurance and financial companies formed the basis of systematic forms, copies, summaries, and filing systems used to make sense of masses of human data. The leader in this effort, John Shaw Billings , later developed a system of mechanically storing, sorting, and counting numerical information using punch cards . Nevertheless, old-fashioned methodology had to be recognized and overcome. An illustrative case study came in New Hampshire, where
29684-436: The winter of 1860–1861. Nationalists in the North and "Unionists" in the South refused to accept the declarations of secession. No foreign government ever recognized the Confederacy. The U.S. government, under President James Buchanan , refused to relinquish its forts that were in territory claimed by the Confederacy. According to Lincoln, the American people had shown they had been successful in establishing and administering
29865-469: The word "Union" with "Federal Government" or "U.S. Government". The Army University Press stated this was "more historically accurate" as "the term 'Union' always referred to all the states together." Unlike the Confederacy, the loyal areas of the United States had a relatively large industrialized and urbanized area in the Northeast, and more advanced commercial, transportation and financial systems than
30046-478: The world" within a few years. Some European observers at the time dismissed them as amateur and unprofessional, but historian John Keegan concluded that each outmatched the French, Prussian, and Russian armies, and without the Atlantic, could have threatened any of them with defeat. Unionism was strong in certain areas within the Confederacy. As many as 100,000 men living in states under Confederate control served in
30227-890: The world's most important libraries, Library of the Surgeon General's Office (now the National Library of Medicine ) and the New York Public Library ; he also figured out how to mechanically analyze data by turning it into numbers and punching onto the computer punch card, later developed by his student Herman Hollerith . Hollerith's company became International Business Machines (IBM) in 1911. Both sides operated prison camps; they handled about 400,000 captives, but many other prisoners were quickly released and never sent to camps. The Record and Pension Office in 1901 counted 211,000 Northerners who were captured. In 1861–63 most were immediately paroled; after
30408-426: Was a civil war in the United States between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union. The central conflict leading to war was a dispute over whether slavery should be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states , or be prohibited from doing so, which many believed would place slavery on
30589-566: Was called up for only 90 days, then the soldiers went home or reenlisted. Later waves enlisted for three years. The new recruits spent their time drilling in company and regiment formations. The combat in the first year, though strategically important, involved relatively small forces and few casualties. Sickness was a much more serious cause of hospitalization or death. In the first few months, men wore low quality uniforms made of "shoddy" material, but by fall, sturdy wool uniforms—in blue—were standard. The nation's factories were converted to produce
30770-413: Was formed, with expectations that their experience would lead to rapid promotions. The problem with volunteering, however, was its serious lack of planning, leadership, and organization at the highest levels. Washington called on the states for troops, and every northern governor set about raising and equipping regiments, and sent the bills to the War Department. The men could elect the junior officers, while
30951-408: Was high because many soldiers were more concerned about the fate of their local area than the Southern cause. In the North, " bounty jumpers " enlisted to collect the generous bonus, deserted, then re-enlisted under a different name for a second bonus; 141 were caught and executed. From a tiny frontier force in 1860, the Union and Confederate armies grew into the "largest and most efficient armies in
31132-405: Was made of bullion lost from mints. He stated that it would be US policy "to collect the duties and imposts"; "there will be no invasion, no using of force against or among the people anywhere" that would justify an armed revolution. His speech closed with a plea for restoration of the bonds of union, famously calling on "the mystic chords of memory" binding the two regions. The Davis government of
31313-566: Was marked by intense and frequent battles. Over four years, 237 named battles were fought, along with many smaller actions, often characterized by their bitter intensity and high casualties. Historian John Keegan described it as "one of the most ferocious wars ever fought," where, in many cases, the only target was the enemy's soldiers. As the Confederate states organized, the U.S. Army numbered 16,000, while Northern governors began mobilizing their militias. The Confederate Congress authorized up to 100,000 troops in February. By May, Jefferson Davis
31494-512: Was not successful, and with the ironclad CSS Virginia , rebuilt from the sunken Union ship Merrimack . On March 8, 1862, Virginia inflicted significant damage on the Union's wooden fleet, but the next day, the first Union ironclad, USS Monitor , arrived to challenge it in the Chesapeake Bay . The resulting three-hour Battle of Hampton Roads was a draw, proving ironclads were effective warships. The Confederacy scuttled
31675-460: Was pushing for another 100,000 soldiers for one year or the duration, and the U.S. Congress responded in kind. In the first year of the war, both sides had more volunteers than they could effectively train and equip. After the initial enthusiasm faded, relying on young men who came of age each year was not enough. Both sides enacted draft laws (conscription) to encourage or force volunteering, though relatively few were drafted. The Confederacy passed
31856-413: Was putting too much political power in the hands of Eastern financiers and industrialists. They warned that the abolition of slavery would bring a flood of freed blacks into the labor market of the North. Republicans responded with charges of defeatism. They indicted Copperheads for criminal conspiracies to free Confederate prisoners of war and played on the spirit of nationalism and the growing hatred of
32037-403: Was song. His spare time was brimmed with penning poems, adapting them to piano melodies and submitting them to local newspapers. In 1853 he issued his first complete composition, "We Are Coming, Sister Mary", to the popular troupe Christy's Minstrels . Its moderate success spurred his songwriting motivations further. The American Civil War 's outbreak in April 1861 provided these aspirations
32218-769: Was sworn in as president. In his inaugural address , he argued that the Constitution was a more perfect union than the earlier Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union , was a binding contract, and called secession "legally void". He did not intend to invade Southern states, nor to end slavery where it existed, but he said he would use force to maintain possession of federal property, including forts, arsenals, mints, and customhouses that had been seized. The government would not try to recover post offices, and if resisted, mail delivery would end at state lines. Where conditions did not allow peaceful enforcement of federal law, US marshals and judges would be withdrawn. No mention
32399-439: Was the principal cause of the secession, a view disproven by historical evidence, notably some of the seceding states' own secession documents . After leaving the Union, Mississippi issued a declaration stating, "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery—the greatest material interest of the world." The principal political battle leading to Southern secession was over whether slavery would expand into
32580-453: Was to remedy this dispirited attitude, rallying both White and Black soldiers around a collective struggle for liberty. Work spent innumerable hours among freedmen and gradually learned their dialect, which would later enhance his songwriting capability. His exposure to minstrelsy and African American performers also influenced his writing style and its authenticity to slaves' lifestyle and concerns. The storyline of "Kingdom Coming" portends
32761-525: Was too late. " King Cotton " was dead, as the South could export less than 10% of its cotton. The blockade shut down the ten Confederate seaports with railheads that moved almost all the cotton. By June 1861, warships were stationed off the principal Southern ports, and a year later nearly 300 ships were in service. The Confederates began the war short on military supplies, which the agrarian South could not produce. Northern arms manufacturers were restricted by an embargo, ending existing and future contracts with
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