Lincoln's election posed a serious threat to the interests of southern planters. They certainly don't want a man who advocates the abolition of slavery to be president. In order to regain their long-held national leadership, they launched a rebellion before Lincoln took office. 1860 12, South Carolina was the first to declare its independence from the Federation, and then slave States such as Mississippi and Florida also left the Federation one after another. 186 1 In February, they announced the establishment of the American Confederacy, elected Jefferson Davis, the owner of the big plantation, as president, and formulated the Constitution, declaring that black slavery was the foundation of the Confederacy: "Black people cannot be equal to whites, and black slave labor is a natural and normal state."

1861April 12, the confederacy declared war and quickly captured the Sumter fortress where the federal government troops were stationed. Lincoln had to declare his opposition to southern operations. Lincoln himself did not advocate the abolition of slavery in a radical way. He believes that slavery can be restricted first, and then abolished gradually by peaceful means. The key is to maintain the unity of the Federation. Under the control of this idea, the northern government did not prepare for the war at all, but rushed to fight, while the south had a plan, well-equipped and well-trained army. Therefore, although the north has advantages in many aspects, it was defeated by the south, and even the capital, Washington, was almost broken by the rebels.

The defeat of the north on the battlefield caused strong dissatisfaction among the broad masses of the people, and demonstrations broke out in many cities, demanding that the government take measures to reverse the war. Lincoln realized that if he wanted to win this war, he must mobilize the enthusiasm of farmers, abolish serfdom and liberate black slaves.

1862 In May, Lincoln signed the Homestead Law, which stipulated that every American public could get 160 acres of land in the west by paying the registration fee of 10, and become the legal owner of this land after five years of continuous farming. This measure fundamentally eliminated the possibility of southern slave owners seizing land in the west, and at the same time met the urgent demands of the broad masses of farmers, which greatly stimulated the enthusiasm of farmers for their heroic struggle. 1in September, 862, Lincoln personally drafted the draft of The Emancipation Proclamation. On June 1 863 65438+1October1,The Emancipation Proclamation was officially promulgated, announcing that slavery in rebel states would be abolished from now on, and freed slaves could be called to join the federal army. Declaring the freedom of slaves fundamentally disintegrated the fighting capacity of the rebels and gave the northern army a powerful source of soldiers. During the civil war, the number of blacks who directly participated in the war reached 6.5438+0.86 million. They fought bravely, and one in three blacks gave his life for the cause of liberation. 1863 put forward the programmatic slogan of "of the people, by the people and for the people", thus making the war a mass revolutionary struggle.

The promulgation of these two decrees is a turning point in the civil war, and the battlefield situation is more and more favorable to the north.

1 863 July13, the two sides fought the largest battle since the civil war in Gettysburg, north of Washington. The two sides fought fiercely for three days and nights, and the northern army hit the southern army hard, causing the southern army to lose 36 thousand people. From then on, the northern army began to enter the counterattack, and the southern army had to defend.

On July 4th this year, the Union Army won another victory in Vicksburg. Vicksburg, located on the Mississippi River, is a cliff 200 feet above the water. The rebels guarding the cliff are condescending and can directly threaten the ships passing by the river with artillery fire. It is very difficult to attack this fortress from below. As early as the end of 1862, Grant, with the assistance of the navy, led troops to attack this fortress several times, but all failed. 1863 In April, Grant implemented a new attack plan, first destroying all the strongholds around the fortress, and then surrounding Vicksburg. The navy also came to help, attacking by land and water at the same time, violently shelling the fortress, and the deafening cannon sounded for 47 days. On July 4, the rebels trapped in the fortress ran out of ammunition and were forced to surrender. This time, the North Army captured 29,000 rebels.

Then, the northern army quickly pursued the rebels with the autumn wind sweeping away the leaves, and captured Richmond, the rebel capital, on April 3 1863. On April 9th, robert lee, commander-in-chief of the rebels, led 28,000 down archers to surrender to Grant in Abo Mattox village. The four-year civil war ended in victory in the north.

The civil war is called the second American revolution after the War of Independence. Lincoln became a symbol of black liberation. But the slave owners hated him very much. 1April, 8651On the evening of the 4th, Lincoln was assassinated by a thug who was bought by a southern slave owner while watching a play at the Ford Theater in Washington. Lincoln's unfortunate death caused great shock at home and abroad, and the American people deeply mourned him. More than 7 million people stopped on both sides of the road to pay tribute to the funeral procession, and 6.5438+0.5 million people paid tribute to Lincoln's body. Lincoln was an outstanding politician. He made great contributions to the development of American society and was revered by the American people. In the eyes of Americans, his prestige even surpassed that of Washington.