Lincoln were not ready to fight against their neighbors, friends, and families to restore the Union. Fighting broke out on April 13, 1861 at Fort Sumter in South Carolina when Confederate rebels went on the offensive. Time would tell that this would be the beginning of the end for the Confederacy as well as the institution of slavery. At the beginning of the war the South seemed to have a political advantage over the North in that they were all united behind one cause and had a President, Jefferson Davis, with a large amount of political experience as well as other admirable qualities. While in the North, Lincoln was dealing with a country divided in three, the Northern Democrats, the radical Republicans, and the conservative Republicans. Leadership skills proved to be one of the most important traits during these trying times rather than political experience. Lincoln was able to show his knack for good politics in that “The Radicals frequently concluded that Lincoln was a prisoner of the conservative wing of the party, whereas conservatives complained that Lincoln was too close to the Radicals” (Enduring Vision, p. 410). By doing this he was able to stay on good enough terms with both sides to speak on his own behalf and squelch any ideas of a separation within the party. In the South Davis was struggling to hold things together, some say “he would rather have led the army than the government” (Enduring Vision, p. 410). Lincoln began acting quite boldly in his handling of the Confederates; he suspended the writ of Habeas Corpus and prosecesion Marylanders were being arrested without having been charged. This as well as strategically placed armies was responsible for the North being able to hold on to the border slave states. With the South losing more and more ground as the war progressed they soon looked to England and France for recognition as a nation as well as support against the overpowering northern force...
