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Lincoln elected President of the US
Abraham Lincoln, who had declared "Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free..." is elected president, the first Republican, receiving 180 of 303 possible electoral votes and 40 percent of the popular vote. -
Jefferson Davis elected President of Confederate US
Jefferson DavisThe Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer, as president -
The Civil War BEGINS!
Battle of Ft. SumterThe South attacks Fort Sumter South Carolina and starts the war. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln issues an executive order freeing many slaves and laying the groundwork for the Thirteenth Amendment. -