Civil war (apr 12, 1861 – may 26, 1865)

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The United States gained the territory it has today by 1853 through various purchases and treaties. As new states were to be added left and right, the question of whether these states should have slavery or not became a scorching topic. This led to a deepening ethical divide about slavery, which affected various states' economies, views, and general disposition. This climaxed when abolitionist Abraham Lincoln was elected into presidential office. Immediately afterward, 11 states seceded to form the Confederate States of America. On April 12th, 1861 confederate forces fired on a US fort, officially marking the start of the war. Lincoln requested military troops to defend against an insurrection, which subsequently caused 4 more states to join the Confederacy. Over the next couple of months, skirmishes would be fought, and a group of countries broke away from Virginia, to join the Union as West Virginia. Over the next seven months battles would be fought; most won by Federal forces; and an act would be passed to confiscate property used to help the South. Another year of mostly indecisive war passed until, on January 1st, 1863 The Emancipation Proclamation came into effect. This doctrine stated that all enslaved people in rebelling states were considered to be free, and also allowed for black people to enlist in the US military. In two months, drafting started taking place in the north. The Confederate Congress passed an act that demanded the execution of white officers who ordered black troops, and the enslavement of those very troops. After a siege on Vicksburg, the Mississippi River was under Union control. In New York, draft riots broke out as people were angry at how the draft system favored the rich. Abraham Lincoln issued an order in response to the Confederate Congress, which proclaimed that for every prisoner of war executed in the South, one would be executed in the North. A few months later Lincoln issued a proclamation Stating that anyone who partook in the rebellion would be pardoned if they swore fealty to the United States. Two months later, 109 US officers escaped a Confederate prison. A new prison camp was subsequently set up 18 days later. On April 15, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. After 4 years of war, the last of the Confederate forces surrendered on May 26, 1865.

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