Civil War-Apr 26

The American Civil War began in 1861, after decades of tensions between northern and southern states over slavery, states’ rights, and westward expansion. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 caused 11 southern states to become independent and form the Confederate States of America (the South) and opposed the Union (the North). The war lasted four years until the Confederate surrendered in 1865. 

It was the costliest and deadliest war ever fought on American soil, with some 620,000 of 2.4 million soldiers killed.