The Civil War and Reconstruction Chapter Notes | Social Studies for Grade 4 PDF Download

Introduction

The Civil War and Reconstruction is an important chapter in American history. The Civil War was a big fight between the northern states, called the Union, and the southern states, called the Confederacy, from 1861 to 1865. They fought because they disagreed about things like slavery and how the country should be run. After the war, Reconstruction was a time when the country worked to rebuild and bring the states back together. It was also a time to help people who were freed from slavery start new lives. This chapter will teach you about how the war started, the big battles, how people lived during the war, how the war ended, and what happened during Reconstruction.

The Civil War

The Beginning of the War

• The northern states wanted to keep the country together and end slavery.
• The southern states wanted to keep slavery and have their own rules.
• The southern states decided to leave the United States and form their own country, called the Confederacy.
• The northern states, called the Union, wanted to stop the South from leaving.
• Abraham Lincoln was the President of the United States during this time.
• The war began when Confederate soldiers attacked a Union fort called Fort Sumter in South Carolina in April 1861.
• Both sides started gathering soldiers and preparing for a big fight.
• The Union had more people and factories, which helped them make weapons and supplies.
• The Confederacy had strong soldiers and knew the land well, which helped them in battles.
• People in the North and South had different ideas about what the war was about, but slavery was a big reason for the conflict.

The First Battle of Bull Run to Gettysburg

• It was the first big battle of the Civil War.
• The Confederacy won this battle, showing the war would not be short or easy.
• Many battles followed, like the Battle of Antietam in 1862, which was very bloody.
• The Battle of Antietam was the deadliest single day of fighting in the war.
• In 1863, the Battle of Gettysburg happened in Pennsylvania.
• Gettysburg was a huge battle that lasted three days.
• The Union won the Battle of Gettysburg, which was a turning point in the war.
• After Gettysburg, the Confederacy started to lose more battles.
• Abraham Lincoln gave a famous speech called the Gettysburg Address after the battle.
• The Gettysburg Address talked about freedom and keeping the country together.
• These battles showed how hard both sides fought and how many lives were lost.

War Tactics and the Home Front

• Soldiers used guns, cannons, and horses during the war.
• The Union used a plan called the Anaconda Plan to squeeze the Confederacy by blocking their ports and taking control of rivers.
• The Confederacy tried to defend their land and attack the North when they could.
• Both sides built forts and trenches to protect their soldiers.
• Generals like Ulysses S. Grant for the Union and Robert E. Lee for the Confederacy led the armies.
• On the home front, people in the North and South helped the war effort.
• Women worked as nurses, made clothes, and helped in factories.
• People grew food, made weapons, and raised money for soldiers.
• In the South, life was hard because of food shortages and battles happening on their land.
• In the North, factories made supplies, but families missed their loved ones who were fighting.
• Slaves in the South sometimes escaped to help the Union or find freedom.

The End of the War

• By 1864, the Union was winning more battles.
• General Ulysses S. Grant led the Union army and made plans to defeat the Confederacy.
• General William T. Sherman, a Union leader, marched through the South, capturing cities like Atlanta.
• Sherman’s march weakened the Confederacy by destroying supplies and railroads.
• In April 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia.
• This surrender marked the end of the Civil War.
• The Union won the war, and the country stayed together.
• Slavery was ended in the United States after the war.
• Abraham Lincoln was happy the war ended but was killed by an assassin in April 1865.
• The war caused a lot of damage, and many people died, but it helped make the country stronger.

Reconstruction

• The country worked to rebuild after the war’s damage.
• The government wanted to bring the southern states back into the United States.
• People who were freed from slavery, called freedmen, needed help to start new lives.
• The government created the Freedmen’s Bureau to help freed slaves with food, schools, and jobs.
• New laws, called the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, were made:
  • The 13th Amendment ended slavery in the United States.
  • The 14th Amendment gave citizenship to people born in the United States, including freed slaves.
  • The 15th Amendment gave Black men the right to vote.
• Some people in the South did not like these changes and made life hard for freedmen.
• Reconstruction helped rebuild the country but faced many challenges.
• By 1877, Reconstruction ended, and the South made new laws that limited rights for Black people.