American Civil War (apr 12, 1861 – apr 9, 1865)

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The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865, fought between northern states loyal to the Union and southern states that had seceded to form the Confederate States of America.

Cecession of the south
In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of the United States on a political platform that opposed the expansion of slavery, South Carolina seceded from the Union on December 20, 1860. Six more states would follow in the ensuing months: Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. In February 1861, they formed the Confederate States of America, an entity considered illegal by the United States government. On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, a Union fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. This began the first battle of the deadliest conflict in US history, the American Civil War. This primary source set uses documents, illustrations, and maps to explore events and ideas that drove the formation of the Confederate States of America and the United States’ descent into civil war.

Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free.”
The Emancipation Proclamation did not free all slaves in the United States. Rather, it declared free only those slaves living in states not under Union control. ... It also tied the issue of slavery directly to the war.
The purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation was to encourage rebellious states to rejoin the Union.

Union vs. Confederacy
Northern states (the Union) believed in a unitary country, free from slavery and based on equal rights; conversely, Southern states (the Confederates) did not want to abolish slavery and, therefore, formally seceded in 1861.

American acquisition of territory
America acquired their territory through annexation, war and expansion. For example, Texas broke away from Mexico through annexation, US bought Alaska from Russia, etc.

Republicans & Democrats
The Democratic-Republican Party, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s that championed republicanism, political equality, and expansionism. They later split into two factions.

North vs. South
The American Civil War (also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865, fought between the northern United States (loyal to the Union) and the southern United States (that had seceded from the Union and formed the Confederacy). The civil war began primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people.

Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln's position on slavery is one of the most discussed aspects of his life. Lincoln often expressed moral opposition to slavery in public and private. "If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong", he stated in a now-famous quote. "I cannot remember when I did not so think, and feel." However, the question of what to do about it, how to end it given that it was so firmly embedded in the nation's constitutional framework and in the economy of much of the country, was complex and politically challenging.

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