Abraham Lincoln by Susan Sloate

Author:Susan Sloate [Sloate, Susan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-307-77582-5
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2010-12-21T16:00:00+00:00

8

The North Against the South

ALTHOUGH LINCOLN ESCAPED unharmed from the Confederate murderers in Baltimore just prior to his inauguration on March 4, 1861, the unrest in the country quickly grew worse—especially in the South.

A number of meetings had already been held in some Southern states, where cries of war were being heard. The news of Lincoln’s election was the last spark Southerners needed to revolt. The state of South Carolina seceded from the Union, ten other Southern states followed, and the Confederacy was formed. This new country would govern its own affairs and have its own army to preserve its Southern traditions, including slavery. War between the states of the North and the states of the South was now inevitable.

Lincoln faced other problems, too. One of his first responsibilities was to appoint a cabinet of advisers. Many of the men Lincoln considered for important government positions had their own political goals. William Seward of New York had held presidential ambitions, but Lincoln appointed him secretary of state. Salmon Chase, who hoped to run for the presidency in 1864, was appointed secretary of the treasury.

Many of Lincoln’s advisers believed him to be a softhearted, not-very-able administrator. Secretary of State Seward hoped to gain control of the administration by telling Lincoln what to decide on important matters of state. Fortunately, Lincoln had his own ideas about governing the country. He particularly wanted to keep the Union whole, but as the Southern states announced their secession one after another, he realized that a war between the states could not be avoided.

On April 12, 1861, barely a month after Lincoln’s inauguration, the North and South began what was to become four years of bloodshed that would leave a legacy of grief and bitterness. Confederate soldiers in South Carolina watched, steely eyed, as Northern troops tried to bring food and supplies to Fort Sumter, the only Union fort left in that rebellious Southern state. Southerners raged and the Confederate soldiers opened fire. The Civil War had begun.

Curiously, there was a two-month silence before the first major battle of the war was fought. Lincoln, who had no background or experience in military matters, wanted to leave the fighting of the war to a well-trained and experienced general. His first choice was a brave Virginian named Robert E. Lee, but Lee could not bring himself to fight a war against his home state. Though he did not totally believe in the Southerners’ point of view, he resigned from the Union army and became a general in Confederate forces in 1861.

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