The American Civil War began after Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. Southern states seceded from the Union after Lincoln's election because they believed he wanted to end slavery. Eleven Southern states formed the Confederate States of America, with Jefferson Davis as President. The Civil War started when Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina in 1861. While the North had advantages in population and industry, the South had advantages in fighting close to home and supplies, as well as skilled generals and soldiers at the start of the war.

1. The American Civil
War

2. Presidential election of
1860
In 1860, Stephan Douglas and Abraham
Lincoln ran against each other again,
this time for president.
Lincoln had become well known from
their debates about slavery.
This time, Lincoln won, becoming the
16th president.

3. Southern States secede
 Lincoln received no support in the South because they
believed he wanted to end slavery. Since there were
so many more people in the North, he won the election
anyway.
 As soon as Lincoln won the election, the South started
to secede. This means the South split from the Union.
They no longer wanted to be part of the United States.
 Supporters of secession based their arguments on the
idea of states’ rights. They said they had voluntarily
joined the union, so they could leave when they
wanted.

4. Confederate States of America
 On December 20, 1860, South
Carolina became the first state to
secede.
 They were followed by Mississippi,
Florida, Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana, and Texas.
 The eleven states that had seceded
formed the Confederate States of
America.
 They named Jefferson Davis as
president.
 They wrote a new Constitution
which made slavery legal.

5. Civil War
A civil war is a war between people of
the same country.
There have been many civil wars, but
one of the worst happened in America.
The American Civil War was fought to
keep the South from leaving the Union.
Slavery was the major issue that
separated the North from the South.

6. The Civil War began at Fort Sumter.

7. Fort Sumter was in the South, and the
Union had a hard time defending the
fort.
There were 23 states in the Union
(North) at the beginning of the war.
There were 11 states in the
Confederacy (South) at the beginning
of the war.

9. North’s Advantages
The North some many advantages.
They had many more people and
also had more factories, which could
be used to make weapons
The Union also had many more miles
of railroad tracks.

10. South’s Advantages
 The South’s main advantage was that they were fighting
at home.
 This would mean that they would be closer to their
supplies.
 They also would fight harder because they were
protecting their homes.
 The Confederacy also had superior generals and better
trained soldiers.
 The South was also being supplied by England at the
beginning of the war. England wanted to keep trading
for the South’s cotton.