Question

Georgia and the Civil War Reading Activity
Georgia’s Story of the Civil War
The morning air in Georgia was cool, but the talk around the farms was heated. Word had
spread that Abraham Lincoln had been elected president, and many Georgians feared that
change was coming. Twelve-year-old Sarah Harper sat on her porch listening as her father
talked with neighbors. They argued about slavery, about whether the government had too
much power, and about what would happen next. Some said Georgia should stay in the
Union; others said it was time to leave and make their own country.
For years, the North and South had disagreed over slavery and states’ rights. Southern
farmers, like the Harpers, depended on enslaved people to work the land. Many in the North
wanted to stop the spread of slavery. The government had tried to calm both sides with the
Compromise of 1850, letting new states decide for themselves and passing a law that forced
runaway slaves to be returned. Georgia agreed to this with the Georgia Platform—but
warned that the state would leave if the North didn’t keep its promises.
A few years later, the Dred Scott court case shocked the nation. Dred Scott, an enslaved man,
asked the Supreme Court for his freedom. The Court said no, claiming enslaved people were
property, not citizens. In Georgia, many people saw this as a victory, while others worried
the country would split apart. When Lincoln won the presidency in 1860, Georgia leaders
voted to secede, joining the Confederate States of America. Church bells rang, and people
cheered—but some feared what was coming.
When war began in 1861, Georgia’s world changed. The Union navy blocked the coast,
keeping ships from leaving or bringing supplies. Families ran out of food and clothes. Still,
Georgians believed the South would win. Then in 1863, President Lincoln announced the
Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that enslaved people in Confederate states were free.
Hope spread among the enslaved, and fear grew among slaveholders.
That same year, Georgians fought in the Battle of Chickamauga. It was a fierce fight—
Confederate soldiers won, but many lives were lost. Soon after, Union forces moved closer.
In 1864, General William T. Sherman and his men marched toward Atlanta, destroying
railroads and factories. When the city fell, fires burned for days. Then Sherman began his
famous March to the Sea, cutting through Georgia from Atlanta to Savannah. He wanted to
end the South’s ability to fight by destroying anything that could be used for war.
Near a small town called Andersonville, a Confederate prison held thousands of captured
Union soldiers. Conditions were terrible—there was little food or clean water, and many
men died each day. By the time the war ended, almost 13,000 prisoners had died there.
When the war finally ended in 1865, Georgia was left in ruins. The land was burned,
railroads were torn apart, and families were broken. Enslaved people were finally free, but
their future was uncertain. The people of Georgia began to rebuild, slowly, from the ashes.
Vocabulary Box (Define each term in your own words)
Term Your Definition
Secede
States’ Rights
Compromise of 1850
Emancipation Proclamation
Blockade
Campaign
Andersonville

Answer 1

Secede: To formally leave or break away from a country or union; for example, Georgia voting to leave the United States and join the Confederacy.

States’ Rights: The idea that individual states should have the power to make their own decisions and laws instead of the national government, especially about issues like slavery.

Compromise of 1850: A group of laws passed to try to calm tensions between North and South—it included rules about whether new territories would allow slavery and strengthened the law that returned runaway enslaved people.

Emancipation Proclamation: An order by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that declared enslaved people in the Confederate states to be free.

Blockade: Using warships to close off enemy ports so goods, soldiers, and supplies cannot get in or out.

Campaign: A planned series of military actions or battles carried out to reach an important goal during a war (for example, Sherman’s campaign from Atlanta to Savannah).

Andersonville: A Confederate prison camp in Georgia where thousands of captured Union soldiers were kept in terrible conditions and many died.