GED Study Guide | Social Studies Lesson 7 The American Civil War

Part One: Watch this short video lesson about the American Civil War. Be sure to pause and take notes about useful information.

(Transcript)
The American Civil War officially began in 1861. It was the result of years of tension between Northern and Southern States. You see, in 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President. President Lincoln was anti-slave and Republican. These values and beliefs did not go over well with the Southern States, who relied heavily on slavery to run their plantations. So later that year, seven Southern States seceded from the Union and created the “Confederate States of America.” Secede means to formally withdraw from an alliance of federation. Other major sources of conflict included: legal and moral issues of slavery, the rights of the states versus the authority of the Federal government, and Westward Expansion.

We refer to the Northern States as the Union, and to the Southern States as the Confederacy. The leader of the Union Army was General Ulysses S. Grant, and the leader of the Confederate Army was General Robert E. Lee.

Because the country was divided in half, often families were divided, too. Brothers living in the North were forced to fight their brothers living in the South. Once the fighting began, four more states joined the Confederacy.

In the beginning, it seemed as if the Confederacy would win because they had a very well-trained military and had strong opinions about their way of life that they were willing to defend. But by 1863, the Confederate strength was weakening. They lacked the industries required to create war supplies and they were unable to produce enough food to sustain themselves. The Union was also suffering from food and supply shortages, but they had access to the railway system and they had well-established manufacturing and industrial systems in place.

By the summer of 1863, the Confederacy began to wear down. Most of the war has been fought on Southern land and the people and the property were beginning to show signs of destruction. President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This document freed all slaves in the Confederacy on January 1, 1863.

In 1865, the Confederacy surrendered to the Union. Over the next 12 years, America entered a period of Reconstruction. During this period, federal troops oversaw the rebuilding of the South. Schools were established for former slaves, roads were rebuilt, and cities and homes were reconstructed. Although the Civil War ended slavery, it not not entirely solve racism. In the years to follow, Americans would continue to battle for equality in issues of Civil Rights. Enjoying this video? Subscribe to our YouTube channel so you don’t miss out on future updates.

[nomanabdullah]

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[Chaltimbanque]

Hi there ! I just wanted to thank you for this video. I am not taking on the GED exam. I am just a French English teacher, and I was looking for a short yet good audio document about the American civil war for my pupils, and it looks like I've found it !

[sheggy]

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[sydneyblessed]

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[zackcarriere]

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[blancachavez]

Good she explained I understand better thanks

[MelvonCarter]

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[AudiobloodTV]

Jesus the music is getting louder. its so distracting....
I mean Daft Punk - Get Lucky (ukulele cover) is good and all but... im trying to pay attention to the material

[rickdurvin]

This is malarkey, the south and the north where not in war over slavery it was the basic freedom rights slaves fought for the south gladly and after the war was over quite a few of the northern states still had slaves and there where rules on how to treat slaves if not followed your slaves where most likely taken away and they where fed given a roof to sleep under so i gladly stand by my words and say the people who won the war are the ones who write the story books