Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States, fought between 1861 and 1865. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America, also known as the “Confederacy.” Led by Jefferson Davis, the Confederacy fought against the United States (the Union), which was supported by all the free states and generally by the five border slave states.

There were numerous causes of the civil war, the most obvious being the schism between anti- and pro-slavery factions but also the supremacy of states’ rights, and economic factors.