When it became apparent that Lincoln would be elected to become the next president, secessionists – fearing for their rights to practice slavery – made apparent their plans to leave the Union: in his first inaugural address Lincoln quoted from one of his previous speeches:
"I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."
Lincoln's reasons for not wanting to outright abolish slavery despite his deep moral objections to it are no doubt similar to those of the founding fathers, it was simply too large of an institution to do away with quietly and without conflict or strife; while the founding fathers were already dealing with too much strife as it was to do anything about it, Lincoln had planned to simply stop the expansion of slavery and let it die out on its own. Unfortunately, that is not how it was to be; and by February 1, 1861 South Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida had seceded the Union and formed the Confederate States of America.
"I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so."
Lincoln's reasons for not wanting to outright abolish slavery despite his deep moral objections to it are no doubt similar to those of the founding fathers, it was simply too large of an institution to do away with quietly and without conflict or strife; while the founding fathers were already dealing with too much strife as it was to do anything about it, Lincoln had planned to simply stop the expansion of slavery and let it die out on its own. Unfortunately, that is not how it was to be; and by February 1, 1861 South Carolina, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Florida had seceded the Union and formed the Confederate States of America.
Engraving of bombardment of Fort Sumter.
Major Robert Anderson, commander of Fort Sumter in South Carolina, sent for provisions from Washington; this action sparked Confederate forces to fire upon Fort Sumter: on April 12, 1861, the war had begun. Thirty-four hours later the fort was evacuated and three days after Lincoln called on all states to send forces -a total requested 75,000 volunteers- to “preserve the Union” which Lincoln believed was still intact despite the transgressions of the seceded states. In fact Lincoln considered the Civil War to be suppressing rebellion rather than actual war. The call to arms forced the remaining states to make a choice between the Confederacy or the Union; while the attack on Fort Sumter bolstered some states into military action -Ohio could have filled the entire quota of 75,000 men alone- other states made the decision to join the Confederacy instead: North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee and Arkansas voted to secede – Kentucky remained neutral.
Lincoln greatly expanded his military powers as commander and chief during wartime, he went so far as to suspend habeas corpus in order to arrest thousands of suspected confederate sympathizers throughout the war; doing so put Lincoln above the law, essentially making him the most powerful man in American history. Naturally this sparked some controversy, and while history may view the actions Lincoln took as necessary, he came under heavy attack during his own time from antiwar democrats known as copperheads. Lincoln also instituted martial law in order to subdue dissent such as anti-war newspapers and people protesting the war.
General Lee (left) surrendering to General Grant (right) at Appomattox.
Lincoln refused to budge on the issue of slavery and his first action in abolishing it in the Confederacy was to sign the Confiscation Act on August 6, 1861, that authorized judiciary proceedings to confiscate and free slaves that were used to support the Confederate war effort; the law saw little practical use, rather it was symbolic of the political support to abolish slavery.
The Battle of Antietam in September of 1862 was the military victory Lincoln was waiting for to declare that he would be publishing his Emancipation Proclamation that coming January; the proclamation said that all slaves in the Confederate territories were forever free and they were actively freed as Union armies advanced. It neither outlawed slavery nor made the ex-slaves citizens but it did make the abolition of slavery a military objective alongside reuniting the Union.
The Confederacy lacked reinforcements and the battle of attrition soon tilted in the Unions favor. Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens met with Lincoln at Hampton Roads to negotiate peace; Lincoln refused any negotiation with his sole purpose being to end all fighting and the meeting ended without conclusion. On April 9, 1865, General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox: the war was over.
The Battle of Antietam in September of 1862 was the military victory Lincoln was waiting for to declare that he would be publishing his Emancipation Proclamation that coming January; the proclamation said that all slaves in the Confederate territories were forever free and they were actively freed as Union armies advanced. It neither outlawed slavery nor made the ex-slaves citizens but it did make the abolition of slavery a military objective alongside reuniting the Union.
The Confederacy lacked reinforcements and the battle of attrition soon tilted in the Unions favor. Confederate Vice President Alexander H. Stephens met with Lincoln at Hampton Roads to negotiate peace; Lincoln refused any negotiation with his sole purpose being to end all fighting and the meeting ended without conclusion. On April 9, 1865, General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox: the war was over.