The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 between the Northern and Southern states over the issues of slavery and states' rights. Several Southern states seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. The war began after the election of President Abraham Lincoln, who opposed the expansion of slavery. Though the Union and Confederate armies fought across many battlefields, the war ended in April 1865 with the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee to Union General Ulysses S. Grant.

1. Introduction
• The American Civil War divided the American
nation. People had to decide whether to
support the North or the South.
• It can be measured in five Aprils. It began in
April 1861 and ended in April 1865. General
Robert E. Lee, who led the Southern troops,
surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, the
commander of the Northern Army.

3. Why did the war start?
• Some of the states in the South decided that
they didn’t want to be part of the United
States anymore. They wanted to govern
themselves.
• The newly elected President, Abraham
Lincoln, did not believe they had the right to
secede from (= leave) the Union.

4. Why did the Southern states want to
leave the Union?
• The South depended on slaves to work on
their huge farms (plantations). Crops were
their main business. Many Northerners,
whose economy was based on industry, not
farming, didn’t believe it was right to buy and
sell humans.
• The Southern states were afraid the
government in Washington, D.C, would take
away their right to own slaves.

6. Which states left the Union?
• 11 states left the Union to form a confederacy
(a group of states that works together but
allows each state to keep its own laws). These
were called the Confederate States of
America.
• The border states were slave states that had
not declared a secession from the Union.
Some of them later joined the Confederacy.

8. The troops of the North vs the troops
of the South
• The troops of the North were called the Union
Army, Federal Army or Yankees and wore blue
uniforms. The Union flag was the Stars and
Stripes.
• The troops of the South were called
Confederates or Rebels and mostly wore grey
uniforms. The first Confederate flag was called
the Stars and Bars, but later the Rebel Flag
was adopted.

10. Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln signed it in January, 1863,
proclaiming the freedom of slaves in the ten
states that were still in rebellion. It made the
eradication of slavery an explicit war goal, in
addition to the goal of reuniting the Union.

12. How did life change after the war?
• It took a lot time for the South to recover from
the ruin of the war. Farmland had to be
reworked without the use of slaves.
• The Northern states gained a lot of power, but
it was at the cost of many lives.
• Most ex-slaves had no education or money.
Public places were divided by color. Many of
them moved into the North only to find low-
paying jobs.