US History - The American Civil War InfoQuest

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The American Civil War (1861-1865) was a war between the states, predominantly the Northern States called "The Union" and the Southern States called "The Confederacy". This war was a civil war in which two groups within the same country were fighting each other. Initially, The Confederacy was fighting to preserve their way of life which included the practice of slavery, and The Union was fighting to preserve the union of states which included the former southern states. We know this through evidence from a speech by Abraham Lincoln when he was running as a Republican for Senator from Illinois in 1858. His words at his nominating convention certainly foretold a grim reality and his fortitude to prevent such an outcome. In that speech Lincoln proclaimed;

"A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided."

A few short years after that speech, Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, would be elected the 16th President of the United States in November of 1860. The South Carolina legislature perceived it as a threat. Calling a state convention, the delegates voted to remove the state of South Carolina from the union known as the United States of America. The secession of South Carolina was followed by the secession of six more states—Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas–and the threat of secession by four more—Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These eleven states eventually formed the Confederate States of America. Lincoln's worst fears had come to fruition, a "Nation Divided".

Let's explore the people, battles, and turning points of the American Civil War!

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