What events were sparked by the election of Abraham Lincoln?
1 Answer
The decision by six southern states to secede from (to leave) the United States and form their own country was sparked by the election of Abraham Lincoln.
Explanation:
In 1860, there were 18 "free states" that did not allow slaves, and 15 "slave states" that permitted slavery. When Lincoln was elected, the slave states feared that he would introduce legislation to stop the practice of slavery which the southern states believed was essential to their economies.
Six slave states seceded shortly after the election and formed the Confederate States of America. Eleven of the 15 slave states eventually seceded.
In April 1861, soon after Lincoln was inaugurated in March, the army of the original states of the Confederacy attacked the U.S. military base at Fort Sumter, beginning the Civil War.
Lincoln did not plan to free the slaves when he was elected, although his party, the Republicans, had campaigned on the issue. Eventually he came to that decision. To Lincoln, the goal of the northern states was to preserve the union of all states. He issued the final Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863. It covered only the states of the Confederacy. Other states abolished slavery on their own.
In 1864, Lincoln persuaded Congress to approve the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. This Amendment ended slavery everywhere.
