Civil War
History: Civil War Causes, Date, & Battles
The Civil War in the United States began in 1861, after decades of simmering tensions between northern and southern states over slavery, states’ rights and westward expansion. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede and form the Confederate States of America; four more states soon joined them. The War… learn more
The Civil War Film by Ken Burns
Beginning with a searing indictment of slavery, this first episode dramatically evokes the causes of the war, from the Cotton Kingdom of the South to the northern abolitionists who opposed it. Here are the burning questions of Union and states' rights, John Brown at Harpers Ferry, the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, the firing… learn more
The US American Civil War
The US American Civil War was the greatest war in American history. 3 million fought - 600,000 paid the ultimate price for freedom. And a war for freedom it was. The desire for freedom traveled deeper than the color of skin and farther than the borders of any state. There are hundreds of thousands of… learn more
US National Park Service: The Civil War
4,000,000 freed. 750,000 dead. 1 nation saved. From 1861 to 1865, the American union was broken as brother fought brother in a Civil War that remains a defining moment in our nation's history. Its causes and consequences, including the continuing struggle for civil rights for all Americans, reverberate to this day. From the battlefields to the homefront,… learn more