By 1861, the United States was in trouble. The Southern states were separating from the North. The issue of slavery was pulling the country apart. It was one of the most important times in American history. But President Abraham Lincoln worked to keep the nation together.
When Lincoln became president, about half the states allowed slavery. About half did not. He described America as a “house divided.” A divided country, he explained, “cannot stand.” Lincoln was right. He took office on March 4, 1861. The U.S. Civil War began 39 days later.
The war started when Southern forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Within weeks, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina broke off from the country. With seven other states, they formed a new country called the Confederate States of America (or Confederacy).
Americans fought each other on the battlefields. The conflict was terrible. Historian Harold Holzer told News-O-Matic that Lincoln had one goal. He wanted “to keep the country from breaking in two.” Lincoln “believed that unity and freedom were principles worth fighting for.”
As the Civil War continued, Lincoln made a statement. On January 1, 1863, his Emancipation Proclamation declared “that all persons held as slaves ... shall be free.” He also pushed to pass the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. This officially ended slavery. It’s why people call Lincoln the Great Emancipator.
Later in 1863, Lincoln gave his most famous speech: the Gettysburg Address. The president said all Americans have the right to life and freedom. Lincoln said the country had “unfinished work” to do. “This nation … shall have a new birth of freedom,” he said in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
There was an election in 1864. Lincoln won easily. He knew the war was almost over. Sadly, a man killed Lincoln shortly into his second term. The president died on April 15, 1865. Holzer said Lincoln “at least knew that our country would no longer be divided.”
Hundreds of thousands of Americans died to make their country whole again. It was the deadliest war in U.S. history — by far. But “Lincoln did achieve what he wanted,” Holzer said. The war finally ended in May 1865, and the United States remained as one.
Today, people consider Lincoln one of America’s greatest leaders. “Lincoln still matters very much,” Holzer explained. “Lincoln said at the Gettysburg Address that America had unfinished work to accomplish. That is still true. He wanted our country to be ‘worthy of the saving.’ He saved it for us, so it is our job to make sure it remains worthy.”
Updated April 28, 2020, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Liz Lane
