Question

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
Comprehension Questions
1. Why did Georgians disagree about whether to stay in the Union?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
2. What was the purpose of the Compromise of 1850 and the Georgia Platform?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
3. What did the Dred Scott decision say about enslaved people?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
4. How did the Union blockade affect life in Georgia?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
5. What was the goal of Sherman’s March to the Sea?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
6. Why was Andersonville prison such a tragic part of Georgia’s history?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________
7. How did Georgia change by the end of the Civil War?
_________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________

Answer 1

Vocabulary Box (define each term in your own words)
- Secede: to formally leave or withdraw from a country or political union (for example, a state leaving the United States).
- States’ Rights: the idea that individual states should have powers and decisions independent from the federal government.
- Compromise of 1850: a set of laws meant to ease tensions between North and South by letting some new territories decide about slavery and by including a stronger law to return runaway slaves.
- Emancipation Proclamation: President Lincoln’s 1863 order that declared enslaved people in the Confederate states to be free.
- Blockade: using ships to close a coast so goods and people cannot get in or out.
- Campaign: a planned series of military actions or battles in a region to achieve a goal.
- Andersonville: a Confederate prison camp in Georgia known for terrible overcrowding, lack of food and water, and the deaths of many Union prisoners.

Comprehension Questions
1. Why did Georgians disagree about whether to stay in the Union?
Many Georgians argued about slavery and states’ rights. Some wanted to protect slavery and give states more power, so they wanted to leave; others wanted to stay in the Union for political or economic reasons.

2. What was the purpose of the Compromise of 1850 and the Georgia Platform?
The Compromise of 1850 tried to calm the nation over slavery by making agreements about new territories and passing a stronger fugitive slave law. Georgia accepted the compromise through the Georgia Platform but warned the state would leave the Union if the North did not honor its side.

3. What did the Dred Scott decision say about enslaved people?
The Supreme Court ruled that enslaved people were property, not citizens, and therefore could not sue in federal court; the decision also limited Congress’s power to ban slavery in the territories.

4. How did the Union blockade affect life in Georgia?
The Union blockade closed Georgia’s ports, stopping ships from bringing in supplies or shipping goods out, which caused shortages of food, clothing, and other necessities for civilians and soldiers.

5. What was the goal of Sherman’s March to the Sea?
Sherman aimed to destroy the South’s ability to fight by wrecking railroads, factories, and supplies and to break Confederate morale by using “total war” as his troops marched from Atlanta to Savannah.

6. Why was Andersonville prison such a tragic part of Georgia’s history?
Andersonville was overcrowded and lacked food, clean water, and shelter, causing disease and starvation; nearly 13,000 Union prisoners died there, making it one of the deadliest prison camps.

7. How did Georgia change by the end of the Civil War?
By 1865 Georgia was physically and economically ruined—fields and towns burned, railroads destroyed, and many families broken. Enslaved people were freed, but the state faced a difficult and uncertain rebuilding period.