1. “A House Divided Against Itself Cannot Stand”
Abraham Lincoln and the Outbreak of Civil War

2. A House Divided
In my opinion, it [conflict over slavery] will not cease, until a crisis shall have been reached, and passed. A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved -- I do not expect the house to fall -- but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.

3. Lincoln’s Background
Lincoln was born in a Log Cabin__ in 1809 in Kentucky but grows up in frontier settlement in Indiana Territory_.
_His Mother__ dies when Abe is 9 years old after a painful weeklong illness.
His sister and infant brother die early on

4. Lincoln Grows up in a log cabin

5. Lincoln’s Father Smacked Lincoln around while he was growing up.
Treated Lincoln like a slave, working him hard and collecting all money_ earned
Did not encourage _education_

6. A Tough Start
Despite his father, Lincoln wants to live a worth-while life, make a mark for himself
Lincoln is a tall and skinny man (6’5’’). He was often times made fun of for being, awkward and gangly. Not self confindent_
No formal education past elementary school.

7. Lincoln sought education on his own

8. Lincoln Suffers from Depression his Entire Life
Talks to friends about suicide on multiple occasions- writes a poem on the subject
Has crazy dreams of his own death_
_Ann Rutledge_ dies when Lincoln is 26
(His first love)
Read poem after this slide.

9. Lincoln Enters Politics
At age 22 Lincoln moves to Illinois__ whose state motto is “Land of Lincoln” where he studies law.
Elected and serves _4 terms in the State Legislature

10. National Politics
In 1834 the Whig party is created in opposition to _Republican_ Democrats.
Elected to the Federal House of Representatives in 1846_ as a Whig.
Opposes the Mexican American War and the slave trade in the District of Columbia

11. Mary Todd Lincoln
At age 43, Lincoln marries Mary Todd Lincoln who is also a manic _depressive._
Abe and Mary Todd have four children together, but three of four die before adulthood.

12. The Kansas Nebraska Act
Attacks the spread of slavery into the Nebraska_ Territory as a result of the Kansas Nebraska Act.
I hate it [the act] because of the monstrous injustice of slavery itself. I hate it because it deprives our republican example of its just influence in the world — enables the enemies of free institutions, with plausibility, to taunt us as hypocrites — causes the real friends of freedom to doubt our sincerity, and especially because it forces so many really good men amongst ourselves into an open war with the very fundamental principles of civil liberty.

14. Run for the Senate and President
In 1858 Lincoln runs against Stephen A. Douglas for the seat in the U.S. Senate_.
In the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, Lincoln warned that "The Slave Power" was threatening the values of republicanism.
Lincoln is narrowly defeated but makes a name for himself on the issue of slavery and is selected by the newly formed Republican_ party to run for president.

16. The Presidential Election of 1860
In 1860 Lincoln wins the election receiving _59__% of the electoral votes

17. Popular Vote
Lincoln only receives _40_% of the popular vote

18. Secession
Immediately following the election, in December, 1860, South Carolina votes to leave the __Union__.
Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas and Louisiana follow.

19. Is Secession Constitutional?
James Buchanon, who is still president until March, is on his way out and does not want to deal with the issue.
“The South has no right to secede, but I have no power to prevent them”.

20. Lincoln becomes President amongst a divided nation
Lincoln is so unpopular in the _South_ that he has to be smuggled into Washington D.C. at night in March 1861.

21. Why did the South Secede?
State’s Rights?- The idea that individual states have the right to make their own policy and not be forced to follow federal laws.
What “right” were the Southern states fighting to defend?
_5th Amendment – Protection of Property_(slaves)_

22. Why did the South Secede? II
Economics?- The Southern economy is based on the production of cotton.
What is necessary for the South to produce the cheap cotton which they export around the world?
__slaves__

23. Why did the South Secede III
Southern Pride?- Slavery was their “way of life”. Anyone who threatened their livelihood was their enemy.

24. What did the North think of Slavery?
While some in the North hated slavery because they felt that it was wrong, most people held no opinion of it at all, and some even condoned it because abolishing it would be bad for business.
Most Northerners will fight in the Civil War to defend the Union, not to abolish slavery.

25. Last Attempt at Compromise
Crittenden Compromise- Following session, a final attempt to bring both sides together. Missouri Comp. line drawn west thru new territories. Slavery on bottom, No slavery on top.
Lincoln despised_ the compromise.
A House Divided Can Not Stand!!!!!!

26. Lincoln’s Dilemma
Lincoln believed that slavery was wicked, backward, and an offense to the nation's republican ideals. At the same time, he saw no peaceful way to alter such a monumental and seemingly permanent feature of the national landscape. He knew slavery was evil, but he believed that a direct attack on the institution could only result in an even greater evil, the breakup of the Union and the destruction of the only significant democratic nation in the world.

27. Two Great Evils
“Well I too, go for saving the Union. Much as I hate slavery, I would consent to the extension of it rather than see the Union dissolved, just as I would consent to any GREAT evil, to avoid a GREATER one. But when I go to Union saving, I must believe, at least, that the means I employ has some adaptation to the end. “

28. The First Shots are Fired
At 4:30 A.M. on April 12, 1861, the Confederate forces opened fire on Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
After 34 hours of bombardment, the Fort surrenders
On April 15 Lincoln proclaims the existence of a rebellion “too powerful to be suppressed” and calls for 75,000 troops to crush the rebels. The __Union__ must be preserved

29. The War Begins

31. Lincoln’s Struggle with the War
Lincoln did not want the war and agonizes over it constantly
Openly _cries__ when friends die during the war
Talks with soldiers on an ambulance cart
Exposes himself to open fire

32. Lincoln on the Front Lines

33. Lincoln Meets with Officers