AP Notes, Outlines, Study Guides, Vocabulary, Practice Exams and more!

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

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. The North had the advantage in almost every category: population, industry, money, navy.

Both sides turned to a draft, the nation’s first. The draft was very unpopular and many riots broke out.

Subject: 
US History
Subject X2: 
US History

Need Help?

We hope your visit has been a productive one. If you're having any problems, or would like to give some feedback, we'd love to hear from you.

For general help, questions, and suggestions, try our dedicated support forums.

If you need to contact the Course-Notes.Org web experience team, please use our contact form.

Need Notes?

While we strive to provide the most comprehensive notes for as many high school textbooks as possible, there are certainly going to be some that we miss. Drop us a note and let us know which textbooks you need. Be sure to include which edition of the textbook you are using! If we see enough demand, we'll do whatever we can to get those notes up on the site for you!