APUSH Chapter 20: Girding for War: The North and the South

Chapter Themes
The over-arching theme of chapter 20 is that both sides prepared for war. The North relied on numbers to their advantage, the South hoped for England to intervene on their side, and the border states were in the balance. After Ft. Sumter started the war, keeping the border states were Abe’s top concern. These were slave states that hadn’t left the nation. Throughout the war, Abe would make concessions to “keep them happy.” The border states never left. All along the South felt that England would help them. The idea was that King Cotton’s dominance would force the English into helping the Southerners. This never happened, largely because Uncle Tom’s Cabin had convinced the English people of slavery’s horrors. The North had the advantage in almost every category: population, industry, money, navy. Both sides turned to the nation's first draft. The draft was very unpopular and many riots broke out.

Chapter Outline

 * On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated president, and in hi inaugural adress, he stated that there would be no conflict unless the South provoked it
 * He marked restoration of the union as his top goal
 * He doubted that the Union would split due to geographic problems
 * Also, a split country brought up questions about the sharing of national debt and the allocation of federal territories