When Abraham Lincoln is elected in 1860, many southerners believe that he and the Republican Party will try to abolish slavery everywhere in the U.S. When S. Carolina said that the state would secede, Pres. Buchanan chose to do nothing thinking that the new president could deal with it. Lincoln explained in his inaugural address that he would not touch slavery where it existed, he just did not want to see it spread to the west. The governor of S. Carolina did not believe him so fired on Fort Sumter.

1st. Battle of Bull Run: In July 1861, both armies met on the battle field of Virginia about 25 miles from D.C. Some congressmen actually took their families to watch the battle from nearby hills. The North appeared to be winning when all of a sudden the fight turned and the South chased the Yankees off of the battle field. The Confederates decided not to continue their advantage by attacking Washington. This was a big mistake.

Conscription or forcing men into the army is started for both sides as the war goes longer than either side expected. Riots broke out in the North against conscription (the draft). Lincoln kept replacing his generals for not taking the offensive and attacking the South.

The Emancipation Proclamation was passed after the Battle of Antietam. The Proclamation will say that slavery is no longer legal, but it only applied to the Confederate States and did not say that slavery would end forever.

The Battle of Gettysburg, 1863, will take place in Pennsylvania. The armies actually ran into each other by accident, and both sides started sending in reinforcements. The battle would last for three days with both sides taking heavy losses. Eventually, Robert E. Lee will retreat back into Virginia and the U.S. declared victory. Lincoln would write The Gettysburg Address which will be a short speech declaring that the battlefield would become a national monument honoring the dead of both sides. This speech is considered to be one of the best political speeches ever made.

Please go to youtube.com and type in : Causes of the Civil War Watch: Four causes of The Civil War ( 10 min 47 sec. )

Then type in: Battle of Bull Run and watch : (1861) The First Battle of Bull Run ( 3 min 52 sec)