Chapter 27: South Carolina Must Be Destroyed

Chapter 27: South Carolina Must Be Destroyed

The Atlanta Campaign seemed to be over after Sherman invaded Georgia from Chattanooga, Tennessee in May 1864. After winning against Confederate Johnston, Johnston's Army of Tennessee withdrew towards Atlanta, becoming isolated from the rest of the South as Sherman cornered them. In July, President Davis replaced Johnston with the aggressive John Bell Hood.

Hood challenged the Union army through many assaults; finally, he laid a siege on Atlanta and the city fell. This would lead to Sherman's March to the Sea after the city falls. It signals the beginning of the end of the war.

During this time, the northern economy turned out butter and guns. It also had enough manpower and energy to continue westward expansion. Gold production had remained steady, new mines with copper and silver were found, and Lincoln said they had to finish the transcontinental railroad.

New industries formed in the southern economy during the war, like gunpowder mills ordnane plants, and machine shops. The Tredegar Works in Richmond produced iron for weapons for the Confederacy. Still, the Union forces raided much of their new industries and anything of value, especially due to Sherman's March to the Sea. By the end of the war, the South was completely destroyed. Farms were burned and in need of repair, two-fifths of livestock were killed, and two-thirds of assessed southern wealth was gone during the war. After Winfield Scott's Anaconda Plan, the South continued to deteriorate. 

The southern economy which was completely destroyed caused the 1860s to become the decade with the least amount of economic growth; the average income of southerners was two-thirds that of the North. After the war, the southern income continued to fall and didn't rise again for the rest of the 1800s.

Key Terms: 

• scorched earth policy: burn everything in their way; used by Sherman on his way to Atlanta in order to affect everyone (a total war); pioneered idea of hard war. 
• John Bell Hood: appointed by President Davis after Johnston fails at Atlanta; he challenged the Union through many attacks and the city fell.
• Anaconda Plan: (Scott's Great Snake) strategy for subduing the seceding states by Winfield Scott

Questions: 

• In what ways did the scorched earth policy affect the women and children who were left behind on the farms?
• During this time, was the South still suffering from inflation from Davis's flooding of the market with paper dollars?

Citations: 

• McPherson, James M. "27: South Carolina Must Be Destroyed." In Battle Cry of Freedom, 807-830. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988.
• Accessed March 11, 2015. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/civil-war-in-america/april-1861-april-1862/Assets/cw0011000_enlarge.jpg