CHAPTER XXI: The Furnace of the Civil War

REVISED

1. Why was the first battle of Bull Run so important to the war?
2. Why did George McClellan fail in his Peninsular Campaign?
   
3. Why is the battle of Antietam considered to be such a turning point in the war?
   
4. What effect did Fredrick Douglass have on the war?
   
5. What was the intent of the Emancipation Proclamation? How well did it achieve its goal?
   
6. If Antietam is regarded as such a turning point battle, why is Gettysburg even more famous?
   
7. How did U.S. Grant and W.T. Sherman conquer the West?
   
8. Why did Sherman embrace "total warfare"?
   
9. Why is Robert E. Lee considered by many historians to be the best general in all American history?
10. Why is Grant generally well regarded? What kinds of criticisms can be made about each commander?
    
11. Which candidates and which groups of supporters opposed each other in the election of 1864?
    
12. What events helped insure Lincoln's victory in 1864?
    
13. What happened on the night of April 14, 1865 at Ford's Theater?
    
14. How did the Lincoln's death affect the South?
    
15. What were the costs of war for the U.S.?