Union States Facts & Worksheets

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The Union refers to the national government of the United States of America during the Civil War (1861-1865). President Abraham Lincoln headed the twenty free states and five border states. In opposition was the Confederacy, composed of eleven slave states.

See the fact file below for more information on the Union States. Alternatively, you can download our 22-page Union States worksheet pack to utilize within the classroom or home environment.

Facts & Information

Historical Background: President Abraham Lincoln

• Many historians have praised Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. During his term of office, he prioritized military victory, which necessitated mastery of skills as a strategist and diplomat.
• He devised a winning strategy by maximizing supplies, finances, staffing, and geography. Because of his cooperation, even with his enemies, he was able to manage Washington smoothly.
• Rather than challenging them to destructive wars, Lincoln turned them into competitors for excellence.

Republican Congress

• The Republican Congress was able to turn the different sectors of the nation into good shape through the laws it passed, including the Homestead Act, the Morrill tariff, and the National Banking Act.
• Southern states expected the Republican administration to abolish slavery. This, along with the rights of the states they wanted to protect and their disagreement with the Republicans’ promotion of tariff laws, were the reasons for their rebellion.
• The Union’s primary goal was to reunify the secessionist Southern states into the nation. However, as the Civil War progressed, the Union worked on its opposition to the institution of slavery. Instead, they desired to make money from land, industry, and transportation systems.
• Lincoln had influential Congressional leaders who could rely on the legislation to focus on war issues:
  • Charles Sumner on foreign affairs.
  • Justin Smith Morrill on land grants and tariffs
  • Lyman Trumbull on legal issues
  • Thaddeus Stevens on taxation and spending
  • William Pitt Fessenden on finances
• On military and reconstruction issues, Lincoln frequently clashed with the opposing faction leaders, Radical Republicans Stevens and Sumner. In dealing with the Confederacy, the Radical Republicans dominated the moderate and conservative factions of the Republican Party in a joint committee. The dominant committee was actively opposed to the Confederacy.
• During the 37th and 38th Congresses, the commanders responsible for military defeats were identified. With the discovery came renewed hope for the Union’s victory. They did not, however, pay attention to personal failures.
• The committee did not consider United States Military Academy graduates at West Point because most of its alumni led the opposing army. Instead, they turned to political generals with a good track record.

Copperhead Democrats

• Northern Democrats who opposed the war and wanted to settle it peacefully formed a large faction known as the Copperheads. They hoped to restore the Union, not lose the South and the slavery system. However, they realized that the Confederacy would not willingly rejoin the United States.
• Clement L. Vallandigham of Ohio was the faction’s most well-known member. He was a Congressman who served as the Democratic Party’s chairman in Ohio and lost an election for governor in 1863.
• The Copperhead Democrats in the Midwest were the faction’s most powerful members. Because they included business interests in their movements, Irish Catholics dominated those in the East.
• The Democratic Party was deeply divided in 1861, with most members supporting war efforts while others, including the Copperheads, desired peace.
• An election for the Indiana legislature was held in 1862, causing further divisions. Even though the Democrats controlled the legislature, war efforts were not impacted.
• Washington was instrumental in establishing an official leave of absence for Hoosier soldiers so that they could return home and vote in elections in 1864. Even those who had been Democrats before the war voted Republican.
• Irish Copperheads in Pennsylvania emphasized coal mining because the government required it more than the federal draft laws.
• The Democrats nominated George McClellan for president in 1864, and he ran on an anti-war platform.
• Some historians associate the Copperheadism movement with Jacksonian Democracy, which advocated for an agrarian society rather than an industrialized society.
• The faction started to collapse in September 1864, along with the fall of Atlanta.
• Even after the war, Democrats bore the burden of their opposition to Lincoln because he successfully saved the Union and abolished slavery.

Economy

• Even while managing a large army and navy, the Union economy prospered as a result of the war.
• Republicans in Washington worked on industrialization, which included factories, productive farms, national banks, and a modern railroad system connecting various commercial establishments. The South was opposed to it and wanted to promote agriculture for the benefit of slavery.
• Because the Northern Democrats were weakened and the Confederacy began, the Republicans were forced to levy new taxes. New taxes were imposed as a financial sacrifice for patriotism.
• The Treasury was established in 1860 to fund the government’s small-scale operations, which relied on land sales and customs while imposing low tariffs. Salmon P. Chase, the Department Secretary, was not eager to fund the war at the expense of the economy.
• People were encouraged to sell supplies to the government because they were paid in cash, unlike the Confederacy, which issued paper promissory notes for property purchases, causing even loyal Confederates to conceal their property from the Confederacy.
• The North’s financial system successfully raised funds by profiting from patriotism.
• The government bonds co-existed the taxes as a major source of income. As planned by banker Jay Cooke, small denominations were sold to people to be publicized, promoting patriotism. Only national banks were permitted to issue banknotes.
• In addition, the government printed paper money known as “greenbacks,” which caused inflation.
• The North established a system of national banks to achieve their goal of industrial expansion, which was regarded as the most significant measure they took in terms of war. Several new banks were allowed to open with the condition that they obtain government bonds. Farms, buildings, factories, and businesses became profitable for the country.

Unionists

• The term “Unionists” referred to people who did not support the Confederacy but lived in border and southern states. The Confederates also referred to them as “Homemade Yankees.”
• They were not northern sympathizers, but many of them were against secession. However, when the Confederacy was formed, many of them backed it.
• East Tennessee did not fully support the Confederacy and considered the Unionists influential state leaders such as governors Andrew Johnson and William G. Brownlow.
• Most Unionists in Kentucky worked to keep the state from seceding.
• West Virginia became a new state in 1863 because Unionists dominated it and only a few people practiced slavery.
• Except for South Carolina, approximately 100,000 Southern Unionists served in the Union Army during the Civil War, while the remainder supported the Confederacy.
• The 1st Alabama Cavalry Regiment was one of its units, and it personally escorted William Sherman on his march to the sea.
• During the Reconstruction period, beginning in 1865, many Southern Unionists turned “scalawags” by supporting the Republican Party.

Union States Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle that includes everything you need to know about the Union States across 22 wonderful pages. These are ready-to-use Union States worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the many events, places, and people that make up the states. These worksheets are cross-curricular and can be used in Social Studies as well in English Language Arts.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

• Union States Facts
• Civil War Map Reading
• Famous People
• Loyal to the Union
• In-between: Border States
• Civil War Soldiers
• Union Theaters
• Generals and Commanders
• Before the War
• Painting Analysis
• Union or Confederate?

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the 11 states that left the Union?

The Union refers to the national government of the United States of America during the Civil War (1861-1865). President Abraham Lincoln headed the twenty free states and five border states. In opposition was the Confederacy, composed of eleven slave states. 

What did the Union states stand for?

The Union’s primary goal was to reunify the secessionist Southern states into the nation. However, as the Civil War progressed, the Union worked on its opposition to the institution of slavery. Instead, they desired to make money from land, industry, and transportation systems.

How many states are in the Union?

President Abraham Lincoln headed the twenty free states and five border states.

Why did the North fight the South?

Most northern states fought for reunification against the independence that the southern states wanted.

Why did the South leave the Union?

Southern states expected the Republican administration to abolish slavery. This, along with the rights of the states they wanted to protect and their disagreement with the Republicans’ promotion of tariff laws, were the reasons for their rebellion.

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Link will appear as Union States Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, March 8, 2018