Causes:
- Long-standing tension between the northern and southern states over issues such as slavery, states' rights, and economic development.
- Growing abolitionist movement in the North, opposing the practice of slavery on moral grounds.
- The election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860, representing the anti-slavery Republican Party.
Events:
- Confederate forces attack Fort Sumter in South Carolina, triggering the outbreak of the war.
- Both sides mobilize massive armies and fight numerous battles across the country.
- Key battles include the Battle of Antietam, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the Battle of Vicksburg,
- President Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, declaring freedom for enslaved people in confederate states.
- The Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant gradually gain momentum, capturing key Confederate territories and resources.,
Outcome:
- The Union's victory in 1865 results in the preservation of the United States as a single nation.
- Slavery is abolished throughout the nation and the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution ratified in 1865, formally outlawing the institution.
- Reconstruction Era begins, aiming to rebuild the Southern states, reunite the country, and ensure the civil rights of newly freed people of color.