Senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi became the president of the Confederacy. On the 4th of March 1861, Lincoln was sworn into office. In his inaugural address Lincoln told the people he would not tamper with slavery in the states where it already existed. “I have no purpose, directly or indirectly to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.” Little did the people know what Lincoln was going to do. He later said in his address “In your [the American people] hands, my dissatisfied countrymen, and not mine is the momentous issue of civil war.” Lincoln went on to say he would do everything he could to “preserve, protect, and defend” the Union. THE CIVIL WAR Lincoln believed the Union could be saved without any blood. However, On April 14, 1861 Fort Sumter, at the entrance to the Charleston Harbor in South Carolina, was taken over by the Confederacy. The long Civil War had begun. The Union had claimed the loyalty of 23 states, 22 million people. It was had an industrial economy which could produce rifles, cannons, shoes and everything else an army might need quickly. One thing, however, which the factories could not produce was good generals. Throughout most of the Civil War this would be a constant problem. The Confederacy had 11 states, 9 million people of which almost four million were slaves. Its economy was agricultural. Unlike the Union, the Confederacy “held a monopoly of military talent.” (LPB 73) Soldiers also ...
