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Abraham Lincoln wins a four-way race for President of the United States. Although he does not win a popular majority and is not even on the ballot in nine southern states, he earns enough electoral votes to beat all other opponents. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln
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South Carolina officially secedes from the Union, becoming the first state to do so. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_South_Carolina
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Mississippi secedes from the Union. http://www.shmoop.com/events/history/us/the-civil-war.html
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Florida secedes from the Union.
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Alabama secedes from the Union. <a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama' >http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama
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Georgia secedes from the Union. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(U.S._state)
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Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the sixteenth President of the United States. In his Inaugural Address he gives a stark warning to the South: he will not tolerate secession. http://www.shmoop.com/events/history/us/the-civil-war.html
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Congress and requests the enlistment of a Union Army. Congress authorizes a call for 500,000 men. It is clear now that the war will not be short. http://www.lincolnsarmy.com/Lincoln addresses
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The Confederate ironclad USS Merrimac battles the Union ironclad USS Monitor in Chesapeake Bay. The battle is a draw but it makes wooden ships obsolete and ushers in the era of steel warships, changing naval warfare forever. http://www.kawvalley.k12.ks.us/schools/rjh/marneyg/archived_projects/2000Projects/00Monitorvs_MerrimackMWE.htm
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Union General Ulysses S. Grant's forces are surprised at the town of Shiloh in Tennessee. The ensuing battle results in 13,000 Union and 10,000 Confederate casualties, more than in all previous American wars combined. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Shiloh
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General Robert E. Lee assumes command of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_E._Lee
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Over the course of seven days, General Robert E. Lee attacks George McClellan's Union Army of the Potomac near Richmond, Virginia. Huge casualties cause McClellan to withdraw north towards Washington. http://www.answers.com/topic/battle-of-gaines-mill
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Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. It frees all slaves in territory captured by the Union Army, and orders the enlistment of black soldiers. From this point forward, the Civil War is a war over slavery. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Proclamation
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Congress enacts the first draft in American history, requiring every man to serve in the army unless he can furnish a substitute or pay the government $300. These escape provisions are wildly unpopular with workers and recent immigrants, and lead to draft riots in New York and other northern cities. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selective_Service_System
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Over the course of three days, General Robert E. Lee divides his army in the face of a larger enemy, and manages to defeat the Union Army led by "Fighting" Joe Hooker. The North suffers 17,000 casualties, the South 13,000. http://www.shmoop.com/events/history/us/the-civil-war.html
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Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson dies from wounds sustained when he is mistakenly shot by his own troops at Chancellorsville. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_Jackson http://www.shmoop.com/events/history/us/the-civil-war.html
