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March 14, 1861 Lincoln is President
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States. He served from March 1861 until April 1865 when he died. Lincoln was assassinated. -
April 12, 1861 Fort Sumter
It was named after General Thomas Sumter, Revolutionary War hero. Fort Sumter was built following the war of 1812. There was widespread support from the North and South. -
April 14, 1861 Lincoln calls out Militia
After the surrender of Fort Sumter, Lincoln called up 7500 militiamen to put down a rebellion against the authority of the federal government. It all changed the political situation in Virginia. Fort Sumter had just been fired upon and the war was on. -
1861 Choosing Sides
Americans were worried by the question of which states would join the secession movement and which would remain loyal to the Union. Virginia was already a confederate state. The western part of the state had not broken away from the state to form West Virginia. Missouri had declared that she would remain an armed and neutral state. -
Advantages of the North
The primary advantage that the North had over the South was manufacturing capability. The North had already had an Industrial revolution. It also had the ability to produce better weapons and more weapons. -
Advantages in the South
The South had better generals. It also grew cotton which Europe needed. And it fought on own land. -
June 1861 Four slave states stay in Union
Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware were the slave states. When Lincoln was elected president, the South Carolina legislature perceived a threat. Calling a state convention, the delegates voted to remove the state of South Carolina from the Union. It led to the South to secede. -
King Cotton
King Cotton was a slogan used by southerners to support secession from the United States. The slogan was successful in mobilizing support by February 1861. Since the Europeans had large stockpiles of cotton, they were not injured by the boycott. -
Anaconda Plan
It was Winfield Scott’s plan to defeat the Confederacy. Scott’s idea was that a Union blockade of the main ports would weaken the Confederate economy. Lincoln adopted the plan but overruled Scott’s warnings against an immediate attack on Richmond.
