Identify the roles and positions of the Union (North) and the Confederacy (South) during the conflict.

Two Sides, Two Visions

When the Civil War began in April 1861, the country split into two opposing sides. The Union (the North) was made up of the states that remained loyal to the federal government, led by President Abraham Lincoln. The Confederacy (the South) was formed by eleven states that seceded, or withdrew, from the United States to create their own nation, the Confederate States of America, led by President Jefferson Davis, with its capital eventually in Richmond, Virginia.

Each side had a different goal. The Union's stated goal was to preserve the United States as one nation and prevent the Southern states from leaving. The Confederacy's goal was independence — the right to govern itself as a separate country and preserve a plantation-based economy built on slavery. Because the Confederacy was fighting a defensive war on its own soil, it only needed to survive and outlast the North's will to fight. The Union, on the other hand, had to invade, occupy, and defeat the South to force it back into the nation.

Border States

Not every slave state joined the Confederacy. Four border states — Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware — allowed slavery but stayed in the Union, often because Lincoln worked carefully not to push them toward secession (Maryland surrounded Washington, D.C., making its loyalty especially critical).

Worked Example: Sorting the Sides

Imagine a simple chart. Union: 23 states, includes all Northern free states plus the four border states, President Lincoln, goal = preserve the Union. Confederacy: 11 states (including Virginia, South Carolina, Georgia, and Texas), President Davis, goal = independence and the preservation of slavery. When classifying a state or leader, first ask: did this state secede and join the Confederacy, or did it stay loyal to the federal government?

Common Pitfall

Students often assume every Southern, slaveholding state fought for the Confederacy. Remember the border states: they permitted slavery but never seceded. Also avoid confusing "the South" with "the Confederacy" — the Confederacy refers specifically to the eleven states that formally left the Union, not simply a region of the country.