The American Civil War

The American Civil War was a major war that took place (1861-1865) between the United States Northern part and Southern part. The Northern part was called The Union. The Union was ran by Abraham Lincoln. The Southern part was called the Confederacy. The Confederacy was ran by Thomas Jefferson. In the following essay we will discuss the Civil War. Slavery lay at the root of the Civil War. The Republican Party dedicated itself to their desire to see slavery abolished. Southern states had said that if a member of the Republican Party were elected president, they would secede. When the voters choose the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln in 1860, seven slave states voted to leave the union and began to form a Southern confederacy. The American Civil War started with the secession movements of the Southern states of the United States. Thirteen states declared their secession from the United States, joining together to form the Confederate States of America. The thirteen states were Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Missouri, and Kentucky. All of these states were slave states. The rest of the United States where apart of the Union, which were against slavery. The war started off by the Confederates attacking a federal military fort called Fort Sumter in South Carolina. President Lincoln did not like that this was happening so he declared war with the southern states. The Union consisted two million soldiers. The Confederacy army consisted one million soldiers fighting. The Union’s army leader was General Ulysses S. Grant. The Confederacy army leader was general Robert E. Lee. Both generals were hand picked to make sure that their side wins the war. President Lincoln issued blockade of Southern ports from South Carolina to Texas. The blockade stopped the passage of trade goods, supplies, and arms to the Confederacy. The Confederacy made ships called blockade runners to try to invade the blockade. The blockade runners where not to strong enough. The Union destroyed and captured about 1,500 runners. In 1863 Lincoln issued The Emancipation Proclamation which declared the freedom of all slaves in those areas of Confederate States. Emancipation ensured that Britain and France would not help the Confederacy. It also allowed the Union to recruit African-Americans for reinforcements. In 1864 the Union had advantages in