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Abolitionist John Brown attempts to start a slave rebellion by taking over the Harpers Ferry arsenal. Many people in the North consider him a hero.
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Abraham Lincoln was from the northern part of the country and wanted to put an end to slavery. The southern states didn't want him president or making laws that would affect them.
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South Carolina became the first state to secede, or leave, the United States.
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The southern states form their own country called the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis is their president.
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The South attacks Fort Sumter South Carolina and starts the war.
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within a short period of time Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas all leave the Union to join the Confederacy.
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President Lincoln issues an executive order freeing many slaves and laying the groundwork for the Thirteenth Amendment.
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General Lee, the leader of the Confederate Army, surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant at The Appomattox Court House in Virginia.