1. 1861: The Civil War Begins

2. Myths About the Civil War and Slavery: The North went to war to end slavery.
The South definitely went to war to preserve slavery. But did the North go to war to end slavery?  
No. The North went to war initially to hold the nation together. Abolition came later. On Aug. 22, 1862, President Lincoln wrote a letter to Horace Greeley, abolitionist editor of the New York Tribune, that stated: “If I could save the Union without freeing any slave, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves, I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone, I would also do that. What I do about slavery and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union.”  
Lincoln’s own anti-slavery feelings were widely known at the time. In the same letter, Lincoln wrote: “I have here stated my purpose according to my view of official duty; and I intend no modification of my oft-expressed personal wish that all men every where could be free.”  

3. Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860, was the first step towards the outbreak of the Civil War
South Carolinians feared the victory of a Republican president would bring an end to slavery & seceded from the USA
By early 1861, 7 Southern states seceded and formed the Confederate States of America

4. Southern Reasons to Break from the United States (Secede)
1. Britain will support the south— cotton 2. Tired of abolitionists 3. North will not care if the south secedes 4. Afraid of Republican control of the Govt. 5. South was losing political control

5. The entire Deep South seceded by February 1861
The Upper South did not view Lincoln’s election as a death sentence and did not secede immediately

6. Protected slavery and states’ rights Outlawed tariffs
The constitution of the Confederacy was similar to the U.S. Constitution except that it:
Protected slavery and states’ rights
Outlawed tariffs
Created a weak national government
Elected Jefferson Davis as Confederate president

7. Lincoln viewed Southern secession as illegal and promised to “preserve the Union”

8. “My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that.” —Abraham Lincoln, 1862

9. When Lincoln sent aid to soldiers, Confederates fired on the fort
In April 1861, federal soldiers refused Confederate demands to vacate at Fort Sumter in SC
When Lincoln sent aid to soldiers, Confederates fired on the fort
The firing on Fort Sumter proved to be the start of the Civil War

10. After Fort Sumter, the upper South states seceded and joined the Confederacy
Not all slave states seceded; Those that stayed in the Union were called “border states”

11. The Confederate States of America
Some wished to “let the South depart in peace”