House Divided: Capture of Ft. Sumter Signals Beginning of Civil War
A small garrison of federal troops at Fort Sumter, a new fort under construction in Charleston Harbor, is running out of food and supplies in March, 1861. In response to Commander Anderson's appeal for help President Lincoln sends a ship to re-suppl...
House Divided: Emancipation Question, The
As a practical matter Lincoln believes in gradual emancipation. His army officers ask for specific guidance on what to do with the slaves they find in captured territories. Although Southerners contend that blacks understand it is in their "best int...
House Divided: Early Months of the Civil War
Citizens of North and South rush to volunteer their services, wanting to get into the action before the skirmish is over. Neither side has guns, uniforms, or any kind of organization. Winfield Scott, commanding general for the United States, launche...
House Divided: Political Debate Over Secession
In a message sent to Congress on July 4, 1861, Lincoln disputes any state's right to secede. The Southern states say they would never have signed the Constitution if they had not believed they could withdraw if faced with a grave injustice. In the m...
House Divided: Confederates Attack Southern Forts
Southern states begin attacking federal forts, Fort Pickering in Florida and Fort Sumter in the Charleston harbor. President Buchanan takes a firm stand against this action, but there is little he actually does to intercede. People of both the North...
What Price Freedom: President Johnson Fast Tracks Re-entry of Southern States
At this very difficult time, Lincoln's Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes President. Johnson is a former slaveholder and wartime governor of Tennessee, a loyal unionist Democrat who was put on the ticket to broaden the appeal of the Republican Pa...
Worlds Apart: Economic and Social Life in the South
Dramatic changes in the economic and social life of the North are having a very different impact on the South. Cotton production expands, the invention of the cotton gin opens up opportunities for staple cotton, and the importance of slavery to the ...