Who Was President During the Civil War?

The American Civil War was a war between the United States and the Confederate states. Between 1861 and 1865, the Confederate States of America had formed a country with the main goal of safeguarding the institution of slavery. During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was president. Jefferson Davis was the leader of the Confederate States.

The practice of slavery had been mainly concentrated in southern states where slaves were used as laborers in farms. Plantation farming, with the use of cheap slave labor, was central to the southern economy.

In the industry-driven north, many people believed that the practice of slavery was wrong and immoral. The southern states felt threatened by the beliefs of the northerners and were convinced that slavery was going to be abolished by the common government. The states that left the Union were Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, and Texas. The civil war began when South Carolina bombarded Fort Sumter which was among a number of forts in the southern states that had soldiers from the United States. The United States won the American Civil War in 1865.

Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln's early years can be traced back to a log cabin in Kentucky where he grew up. In his early career years, he worked as a shopkeeper and a self-taught lawyer before joining politics. Soon after his election as president in 1860, the southern states seceded due to his anti-slavery stance. His goals during his tenure were to abolish slavery and keep the United States as one country after the southern states left the Union. He, therefore, declined to recognize the independence of the Confederate States of America. In April 1865, he was assassinated by a southern sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth.

Jefferson Davis

Jefferson Davis was born eight months earlier and 100 miles away from the birthplace of President Abraham Lincoln into a military family. He had a distinguished military career where he served as a Lieutenant under Colonel Zachary Taylor, his father in law and the Future President of the United States. In 1845, he was elected and joined the US House of Representatives before resigning shortly after in 1846 to serve as a colonel in the Mexican-American War where he gained fame as a hero. He also served as Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce before returning to the Senate. Jefferson Davis was chosen as Provisional president of the Confederacy in a Confederate convention in Alabama. He was the only President of the Confederate states during the course of the war.

The Threat To Civil War Battlefields By Development

In the course of the war, 384 battles have been identified as having a notable effect on the greater war. A significant number of the battlefields have however been developed and turned into housing developments and shopping malls. Veterans and concerned citizens are advocating for the preservation of all battlefields where Americans fought and died.