America in the 1860s and 1870s 4 Abraham Lincoln 1861 1865 12 Andrew Johnson 1865 1869 26 Ulysses S Grant 1869 1877 36 The Presidency in War and Peace 48 Cabinet Members 54 Timeline 56 Presidents of the United States 60 Index 62 Further Reading 64
America in the 1860s and 1870s 4 America in the 1860s and 1870s In 1860 America was a land torn apart by the issue of slavery In November of that year Abraham Lincoln a tall intense lawyer from Springfield Illinois was elected president of the United States A thoughtful and highly intelligent man Lincoln ran as the presidential candidate of the new Republican Party Founded in the mid 1850’s this party opposed the expansion of slavery into the U S territories west of the Mississippi River The South hated and feared Lincoln Many southerners were convinced he would try to destroy slavery even though he believed and had stated over and over again that he had no legal authority as president to end slavery in states where it already existed Lincoln’s election led to one southern state after another to secede or withdrawal from the Union Washington Territory Oregon Unorganized Territory Minnesota New Hampshire Vermont Maine Nebraska Territory Wisconsin Michigan New York Utah Territory California Kansas Territory New Mexico Territory Indian Territory Iowa Missouri Arkansas Indiana Ohio Illinois Kentucky Tennessee Mississippi Alabama Georgia Texas Louisiana Pennsylvania D C Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Florida Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut New Jersey Delaware Maryland Free States Slave States Territories Conflict over the issue of slavery caused southern states to secede from the Union in the 1860s Citizens of Charleston watch as Confederate troops bombard Fort Sumter on April 12 1861
