The Civil War The Civil War was the bloodiest war in all of U.S. history, fought between the Northern and Southern states. The South saw Abraham Lincoln as a big threat to their way of life, and when he was elected, some seceded. Lincoln devoted himself to save the Union, and the Civil War began on April 12, 1861.
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African Americans Fighting
In need of more soldiers, General Robert E. Lee urged that slaves fight in the war for the Confederacy, but this never occurred. In 1863, however, the Emancipation Proclamation allowed black men to fight for the Union.
"I am naturally anti-slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel." - Abraham Lincoln in a letter to A. G. Hodges |
"Do you know that if it was not for the black men, this war never would have been brought to a close with success to the Union, and the liberty of your race if it had not been for the Negro?" -Martin R. Delany, first black officer in the U. S. military
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Go to "Emancipation Proclamation" page