American Civil War - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Overview

The American Civil War (1861–1865) was a civil war

Civil war

A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....

fought in the United States of America. In response to the election

United States presidential election, 1860

The United States presidential election of 1860 was a quadrennial election, held on November 6, 1860, for the office of President of the United States and the immediate impetus for the outbreak of the American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout the 1850s on questions surrounding the...

of Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

as President of the United States

President of the United States

The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

, 11 southern

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

slave state

Slave state

In the United States of America prior to the American Civil War, a slave state was a U.S. state in which slavery was legal, whereas a free state was one in which slavery was either prohibited from its entry into the Union or eliminated over time...

s declared their secession

Secession

Secession is the act of withdrawing from an organization, union, or especially a political entity. Threats of secession also can be a strategy for achieving more limited goals.-Secession theory:...

from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

("the Confederacy"); the other 25 states supported the federal government ("the Union

Union (American Civil War)

During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...

"). After four years of warfare, mostly within the Southern states, the Confederacy surrendered and slavery was outlawed everywhere in the nation.

Unanswered Questions

How was the nullification crisis resolved?

What could Gen Thomas L. Crittenden have done differently at Battle of Chickamauga to make the outcome different?

This is more a question on Civil War Art. It is a silohette of a soldier on a prancing horse. Not sure if it is Union or Confederate. The artist is F...

Whatis the significance of "forty acres and a mule?" Who first used the term?

Loren Holllis served in the Civil War for both Wisconsin and New York. He used and alias name and I have several questions: 1.) It appeared he was ...

I have a small cannon that was given to me, please excuse the measurements because i have to view it from through a window. The barrel is about 48 ...

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Discussions

Information about Major General Thomas J. Wood

What were the key causes of the American Civil War?

Gettysburg Address

Was robert e lee insane at gettysburg?

Would the south have lost at gettysburg if not for picketts charge?

150 Year Old Mystery

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Timeline

1861 American Civil War: The "Star of the West" incident occurs near Charleston, South Carolina. It is considered by some historians to be the "First Shots of the American Civil War".

1861 American Civil War: Florida secedes from the Union.

1861 American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in seceding from the United States.

1861 American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigns from the United States Senate.

1861 American Civil War: The state of Louisiana secedes from the Union.

1861 American Civil War: Texas secedes from the United States.

1861 American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, delegates from six break-away U.S. states meet and form the Confederate States of America.

1861 American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected the Provisional President of the Confederate States of America by the Confederate convention at Montgomery, Alabama.

1861 American Civil War: United States House of Representatives unanimously passes a resolution guaranteeing noninterference with slavery in any state.

1861 American Civil War: The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is adopted.

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