Chapter 25

In This Chapter

The president and Congress

Obtaining men and supplies

Creating a navy

U nlike the states of the Confederacy, the states of the Union were largely untouched by the hand of war. The Union was also able to bear the economic burden of the war more easily. But President Lincoln faced problems similar to those of President Davis in conducting the war.

The Union army and navy were completely unprepared for war and had to be built from scratch; the war consumed money at an unimaginable rate, creating the need for astronomical sums of funds to flow through the treasury. The war also consumed men at astronomical rates; the struggle to keep the ranks filled and meet the huge manpower requirements of a two-theater war was unremitting. Lincoln, like Davis, had to contend with a fractious Congress. Moreover, Lincoln had the problem of maintaining a weak political coalition while fending off increasingly strong anti-war efforts.

In the end, Lincoln and the Republican Party maintained the political coalition and marshaled resources far better than the Confederacy, which contributed significantly to final victory. But in all the hoopla over winning the war, the public forgot that while the war was going on, the Republican Congress had been busy passing legislation that would have far-reaching effects on the future of the nation. Even in the midst of a war, the country was experiencing rapid change.

Abraham Lincoln as President and War Leader

One of Lincoln’s great challenges as president was to glue together a coalition of political groups ranging from old Whigs and Know-Nothings to suspicious conservative Northern Democrats and radical abolitionist Republicans. Fragile political alliances in the Border States also had to be maintained. To add to his trouble, he had to convince these groups that his war policy was the right one and that his strategy for winning the war was sound. The military defeats in the troubled years of 1861–1862 pushed Lincoln toward emancipation as an essential element in the strategy for winning the war. Emancipation angered everyone: The radicals wanted to go further, and the conservatives wanted to slow down. Even in the last brutal years of 1863–1865, Lincoln held the coalition together. It is a tribute to his political skills that he was able to accomplish this feat.

Lincoln by all appearances was unimpressive. Tall and awkward, wearing rumpled clothing, his big hands and feet and homely face gave him a rough look that sophisticates in Washington found amusing. He told people who asked about his policies that his policy was to have no policy. He never seemed to tire of telling jokes and stories, often at inappropriate times. But Lincoln possessed a shrewdness for politics that few understood or appreciated. Lincoln could make even the most insufferable glad-hander believe that he had bested the president, when just the opposite had occurred. This was one reason why his cabinet, filled with egoists, cranks, and hardheads, worked so well and accomplished so much. Lincoln also exhibited a mastery of the English language that has rarely been equaled. He put the power of words into the equation of war, making clear for everyone what the war meant and why it was worth the cost.

Financing the War

Like the Confederacy, the Union had no preparation for financing the war. But unlike the South, the North had significant financial resources at hand. These resources, though initially unresponsive to the demands of the war, were quickly retooled and modernized to form the basis for what has become the nation’s current financial and banking system.

Borrowing money: Loans and bonds

At first, the government financed the war as it had always financed its wars — by borrowing money. Just like any other borrower, the government went to the banks. Government borrowing amounted to a little over a billion dollars. But loans were insufficient, and the government had to seek other sources of income. During the war, about $1.5 billion worth of bonds were issued promising to pay 6 percent interest redeemable after 5 years, and for a period of up to 20 years. Nearly 1 million people in the North bought these bonds as an expression of patriotism and support for the war. These bond campaigns, heavily publicized and marketed, became the model for the great war-bond drives of World War I and II.

Taking money: Taxation

In 1861, Congress passed an income tax on incomes over $800. A year later, Congress got the hang of the taxation process and began putting taxes on everything imaginable, creating a Bureau of Internal Revenue to help collect the money. Income tax brackets were set up, with ever-lower incomes feeling some tax bite and upper income brackets getting hit the hardest. Eventually, incomes of $10,000 and above were subject to a tax of 10 percent. Excise taxes were imposed on nearly every consumer item, especially tobacco and liquor (both still favorites of the government today). Taxes were imposed on nearly every product or service. These taxed items included luxuries, raw materials, manufactured items, corporate dividends, and Federal employee’s salaries. There were taxes on licenses, and even newspaper advertisements. The tariff was increased, not only to protect domestic manufacturers, but also to squeeze additional revenue from the cheaper foreign imports. Taxes brought in about $600 million.

Making money: Greenbacks

The pressure for funds grew so rapidly that the Union government had to turn to printing paper money. In 1862, Congress passed the Legal Tender Act. The name of the law is important because unlike Confederate paper money, greenbacks (as they were called) were considered money, equal to gold or silver. This status, plus the public’s confidence in the worth of this paper prevented inflation from getting out of hand. The $450 million in greenbacks issued throughout the war represented only about 16 percent of the total debt, but the widespread use of greenbacks helped to create a national currency. The National Banking Act, passed in 1863, showed the growing financial strength of the Federal government. This act was intended to replace the pre-war, chaotic, state banking system and currency with a national currency and federally chartered banks.

Comparing the effect

The result of the North’s heavy emphasis on taxation over issuing paper money to finance the war is seen in comparing the inflation rates of the Union and Confederacy during the four years of war. In the North, the inflation rate ran about 80 percent. Very high, but manageable, when compared to the Confederate inflation rate of 9,000 percent.

Running the War: Congress and the President

The struggle over who ran the war continued until the war was over. Lincoln used his constitutionally ill-defined powers as Commander in Chief to issue orders and directives to military commanders and issue the Emancipation Proclamation. Congress, on the other hand, believed its constitutional responsibility to provide for the army and the navy and appropriate funds gave it the power to run the war. While Lincoln still held most of the cards, Congress made sure that someone was watching over his shoulder. This ever-present watcher took the form of the Joint Committee on the Conduct of the War. The committee was dominated by radical Republicans, Thaddeus Stevens from the House and Charles Sumner (recipient of the famous caning; see the sidebar in Chapter 2) from the Senate, whose agenda was to abolish slavery using the war powers of Congress. None of the radical Republicans had any military experience, yet impatient with the pace of the war, they spent a great deal of time investigating senior officers in the Army of the Potomac, most of whom happened to be Democrats. The committee had broad subpoena powers and, therefore, was a force to be reckoned with. While often creating a painful spectacle to watch, as the committee members dissected battlefield decisions and second-guessed Generals, they also did some good, tracking down corrupt contractors and identifying egregious wastes and inefficiencies in the use of government funds.

Non-Wartime legislation

The war was a boon for the Republicans. For years, the slavery controversy had prevented regional political alliances from dealing with legislation intended to support westward expansion and settlement. The Southern congressmen had always opposed every internal improvement measure, mostly because they felt that the South would not see any measurable benefit from it. Now without a Southern voting bloc in opposition, the Republican-dominated Congress passed higher tariffs (which the South had always opposed), legislation for the construction of a transcontinental railroad (which the South wanted to go through the Southwest); and the Homestead Act 1862. This act allowed anyone who occupied 160 acres of western government land for five years and paid a nominal fee to obtain outright ownership of it. To encourage western growth, Congress passed the Morrill Land Grant Act, which authorized Federal land grants to establish agricultural and mechanical colleges. All modern fans of the big-college football and basketball powers out west owe thanks to the 37th Congress of 1862.

Shoddy

“Shoddy” is a term invented in the Civil War for Union uniforms made by unscrupulous contractors who took sweepings, scraps of cloth, and lint, and then glued and pressed the materials together to make a uniform jacket. Although the jacket looked as serviceable as any other jacket, it immediately fell apart when worn, usually when the material became damp with sweat or rain.

Opposing and disloyal: The peace democrats

Northern Democrats were critical to the success of the war effort. Lincoln needed their cooperation and support to win the war. The Democrats were split into three groups. The War Democrats were strong supporters of Lincoln’s policies. The Conservative Democrats mistrusted Lincoln’s war aims and were uncomfortable with emancipation. This group hoped to see the Union restored as it was before the war. The third group was the Peace Democrats. This group was small, but very vocal, with a power base among urban Catholic immigrants and within the Midwest states of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, where Southern sympathies were strong. The Peace Democrats opposed the war and advocated negotiation and compromise. As Union fortunes on the battlefield shifted, the Peace Democrats became stronger. The Republican press called them Copperheads, implying their opposition to the war was as dangerous as the copperhead snake. The Peace Democrats wore this label as a badge of honor. It is said that some even took to wearing liberty-head copper pennies on their lapels to identify themselves. To head off the opposition, Lincoln, using his role of Commander in Chief as justification, suspended the writ of habeus corpus, authorizing summary arrests to stop anyone from disrupting the war effort or acting disloyally. Individuals were subject to arrest and trial by military court. In 1863, Congress gave the president formal power to suspend the writ but allowed the accused to be brought before a grand jury to determine whether an indictment should be issued. Throughout the war years, about 14,000 Americans were arrested and held for disloyalty or suspicion of being disloyal.

Clement L. Valandingham

Ohio congressman Clement L. Valandingham was the descendent of a Virginia family and married to the daughter of a Maryland planter. Probably the most prominent Copperhead, he was an open opponent of Republican war policies and simply wanted to see the Union restored to pre-war conditions. By “pre-war conditions,” he meant the state of the Union in 1820, before the slavery issue had been raised. On May 1, 1863, the Ohio Democrat made a public speech decrying Republican policies and calling for a negotiated settlement of the war, using France as an intermediary. He told the crowd that the war was not for the restoration of the Union, but for radical abolitionist goals. He was promptly arrested for disloyalty by General Ambrose Burnside, the recent commander of the Army of the Potomac who now was hidden away, tending to administrative duties in Ohio. The hapless Burnside thought that he had done a sterling service for the country, but as usual, he had badly miscalculated. Valandingham was tried by military court, found guilty of treasonous acts, and imprisoned in Cincinnati. Valandingham used his imprisonment to grandstand and badger the Republican administration: “I am a Democrat — for the Constitution, for law, for the Union, for liberty — this was my only crime.’” Burnside’s blunder embarrassed the government enough that Lincoln commuted Valandingham’s sentence and banished him to Confederate territory. Not finding the Confederacy to his liking, Valandingham ran the blockade and went to Canada. Despite facing the penalty of imprisonment if he returned from exile, Valandingham disguised himself with a pillow in his shirt and a false mustache and returned to the United States in time to denounce Lincoln publicly in the 1864 presidential election. Lincoln ignored him.

Fighting the War

With their large industrial and commercial base, the states of the North made the transition to war production with relative ease. In fact, the economy grew and expanded during the war. The mechanization of farm production — a trend that has continued until our own time — took hold, allowing men to join the army and have the wife and children still plant and harvest a bountiful crop. Shipbuilding grew enormously to meet the needs of the navy and internal transportation. Railroads expanded, as well, under the necessity of providing transportation. In factories throughout the North, machines took over for people to meet the demands of the armies. The North was on its way to becoming the dominant economic powerhouse of the country.

Drafting soldiers

After the first enthusiastic response to Lincoln’s call for 75,000 three-month volunteers in April 1861, the number of volunteers dwindled, especially after the Union defeats in Virginia. To avoid political fallout, Lincoln arranged in July 1862 to have the state governors politely request that the president call for 300,000 more volunteers to serve three years. This quota was much harder to fill. To meet the demands for manpower, the Federal government began calling state militia units into Federal service for nine months. Congress did not pass a national conscription law until March 1863. This law made men between the ages of 20 and 45 eligible for three years of military service. A drafted man, however, did not have to serve (protecting one’s political viability not being an acceptable excuse). He could hire a substitute to serve in his place, or the draftee could buy his way out of service by paying $300. Because this was equal to half a year’s pay for the average laborer — only about 86,000 men took advantage of this option before it was ended in 1864. The draft brought in 46,000 men, with another 118,000 serving as substitutes. Needless to say, draftees and substitutes were not given a warm welcome in veteran combat units made up of three-year volunteers. Like the draft in the South, the Northern draft laws were intended to stimulate volunteering, rather than serve as the main pipeline for replacements.

To further stimulate volunteering, recruits received a cash bounty from the Federal government. In 1861, the bounty offered was $100; in 1864, it was increased to $300. A veteran who re-enlisted received an extra $100. Additional bounties were frequently offered by towns. Depending on the cash inducements a state also offered, a volunteer could make big money. This practice encouraged fraud in the form of bounty jumping — a soldier would enlist in one place, get his cash bounty, promptly desert, enlist in another place with a false name, and start all over again, usually deserting for good when the scam had run its course. After milking the system, some Union deserters formed bandit gangs in western Pennsylvania, robbing and plundering.

Resisting the draft

No Federal law comes without some sort of Federal bureaucracy to enforce the law. The draft law was no different. As the war moved into its third and fourth years, Federal officers enforcing the draft were met with obstruction and disaffection, violence and threats. The Democrats were especially vocal in their opposition to the draft law and its enforcement. At times, Federal troops or state militia units had to be called out to quell disturbances. One of these disturbances became the greatest riot in U.S. history. Horatio Seymour, governor of New York, was as hostile to Lincoln as some Southern governors were to Davis. Many New York City residents had strong Southern sympathies because of trade and commercial ties and an equally strong animosity toward the Lincoln administration. Irish immigrants were especially opposed to both abolition and emancipation.

In July 1863, just two weeks after the battle of Gettysburg, Irish mobs opposing the draft fought police for three days, lynched Blacks, and burned down a Black orphan asylum. On the fourth day of the violence, Union troops arrived in the city fresh from Gettysburg and in no mood to put up with such violence from people not in uniform. They shot enough of the rioters to calm things down quickly and allow the police to restore order.

Building a navy

The U.S. Navy had 1,457 officers, 7,500 men, and 90 vessels ostensibly in service when the war began. Only half of these ships were in actual serviceable condition. Of those serviceable, only fourteen vessels were available for duty against the Confederacy. To meet the requirements of the Anaconda Plan, which called for a naval blockade of the South’s 3,500 miles of coastline, bays, and rivers from Virginia to Mexico, the government had to put ships afloat, and support and repair them for as long as it took to strangle the South. Diplomatically, ships afloat also put teeth into Lincoln’s declaration of a blockade against the South. To meet these demands, the navy took just about anything that could float — steamboats, ferryboats, fishing boats, river boats, yachts, tugs, and even barges were converted into warships, mostly in name only. To give them a military look, army cannons were anchored to the decks and sheets of iron or tin were nailed onto their sides. Within eight months, the U.S. Navy had 264 vessels floating at sea. By 1862, the number had nearly doubled.

In the meantime, the navy sought to recruit new sailors, and the vast resources of the North were put to work producing fast, agile, and powerful warships capable of running down the sleek blockade runners, as well as the shallow draft gunboats and ironclad warships capable of operating along rivers and bays. By the end of the war, the navy had 6,000 officers and 45,000 men serving on more than 600 ships, most of which were steam-powered, including 60 ironclads. Both the Union and Confederate navies sought to control sea lanes and rivers, which were so vital to the Confederacy’s survival. As the blockade became more efficient, it became clear that the final outcome of the war would be determined not only on land, but also at sea, as the Union navy took the offensive in 1864 and 1865 to close the last ports available to the South.

Building an Economy: Northern Industrial Production

Northern industry experienced a general downturn after secession, primarily because its major market, the Southern states, had left the Union. The government’s demand for uniforms, shoes, iron, copper, coal, leather, weapons, wagons, and machinery soon made up for the loss of the Southern market. Northern industry not only expanded during the war, but production technology expanded also, making factories more efficient and therefore more profitable. Wartime labor shortages were filled with women and children. Northern industry not only produced war goods, but it was also able to produce consumer goods. In effect, the North’s economy, without the Southern states, was producing enough to support itself and fight a major war lasting four years. It was a startling achievement that foreshadowed the vast war-making power of the U.S. economy in two world wars.