Chickamauga

The Battle of Chickamauga was fought in north western Georgia on September 18-20, 1863. The battle was a huge victory for the Confederates and marked the end of the Chickamauga campaign. The Union general was General Rosecrans and the Confederate general was General Bragg. There were an estimated 16,000 casualties for the Union and 18,000 casualties for the Confederacy.

The Battle of Gettysburg

General Robert E Lee focused his full attention and used his full forces against Major General Meade of the Potomac at the crossroads county seat of Gettysburg. The Confederate forces invaded and drove the Union back. Lee attempted to envelop the Union, thus Lee's forces attacked the Union center. The Confederates momentarily pierced the line but were forced to draw back because of severe casualties.

Overall, Gen. Lee was a great general for this particular battle, however there was one major flaw in his plan: Pickett's Charge. With two major failed attacks on Union flanks, Lee decided an attack on the Union center was a good strategy. Yet the outcome was horrible and gruesome for Lee and his men, as he lost half of his forces.

Connection

The Battle of Antietam was a major reason why Lee decided to invade the North oncve more. He felt as though he knew how to strategize against the Union better than before. Also he knew that an invasion of  Pennsylvania would draw the union forces out of the South. 

The Emancipation Proclamation

The Emancipation Proclamation was issued in 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln. This was a huge turning point in the war, and was issued as a result of the Union victory at the Battle of Antietam. This proclamation freed all slaves in the states in rebellion, however border states and northern states were not affected.

The Emancipation Proclamation added "moral force" to the minds of the Union. In addition, after nit was issued the Union army started accepting black soldiers. 

The Battle of Antietam

Even though the confederate strategy was to defend, General Robert E Lee advanced his troops into Maryland. At this point and time, General McClellan and his troops had two major advantages over the confederates. Firstly, the union forces were double the confederate forces, and secondly McClellan had a copy of Gen. Lee's battle plans. 

The first day of the Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest day of the civil war with 22,000 total casualties.

This victory for the Union was incredibly important and aided them greatly in the war. The union had not only repelled the south from invading the north, but also the European powers that were considering helping the Confederate shied away.

One other result of the Battle of Antietam was that it gave Lincoln the courage to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

The Battle of Antietam is connected to the Battle of Gettysburg, as the latter was the South's second attempt to invade the North.

Secession in Georgia and Alexander Stephens Role

On January 18, 1861, Georgia seceded from the union and joined the confederacy. During the war, the state of Georgia sent almost 100,000 soldiers to battle. Their cotton production was changed to food production and, for a while, they were a major supplier for the confederate army. However, after the union destroyed 1400 miles of railroad tracks, transportation in Georgia greatly suffered.

                Alexander Hamilton Stephens was an American politician from Georgia and the Vice President of the Confederate States of America. Before and after the civil war, Stephens served as a US Representative from Georgia. He was also the 50^th governor of Georgia from 1882 until he passed away in 1883.

The Election of 1860

 The topic of the expansion of slavery and the rights of slave owners had been very controversial in the 1850s. Because of these issues, in 1860 the Democratic Party broke into Northern and Southern fractions, along with the creation of the Constitutional union Party. As a result of this split in the Democratic Party, the Republican Party (which was dominant in the north) secured enough electoral votes and Abraham Lincoln was elected into office.
                The four candidates were Abraham Lincoln from the Republican Party, John C Breckinridge from the Southern Democratic Party, Stephen A Douglas from the Northern Democratic Party, and John Bell from the Constitutional Union.
Abraham Lincoln
John C Breckinridge
John Bell
Stephen A Douglas

States' Rights and Nullification

In 1828 a protective tariff on imported goods was enacted. The southerners disapproved because it made the cost of goods not made in the US higher. John C Calhoun from South Carolina declared that states had the right to nullify federal law. The tension rose and almost started a war and even though no war started, the tensions remained dangerously high. Eventually a new tariff was enacted that decreased the cost of imported goods. After this, the importance of states’ rights had never been higher.