Civil War Vocabulary

Fill in the blank: Throughout the 1800s, Americans were divided about the issue of slavery. When the antislavery president

Fill in the blank: To protect the practice of slavery, the southern states seceded from the United States to form their own country. The Confederate States of America, or

was founded on March 11, 1861. Lincoln did not want to see the country split into two and so the Civil War between the north and the south began.

Fill in the blank: Most advantages belonged to the north. They had more resources and a larger army. However, they had weak generals and low morale. Many people in the north did not want to die in a war to free southern slaves. Led by the military leader, Robert E. Lee, the Confederate Army had better leadership than the Union army.

The turning point in the war was the

In 1863. This was the only battle fought in northern territory. It was a major victory for the northern army. Robert E. Lee would ultimately surrender in Virginia two years later in 1865.

Fill in the blank: What would happen to slaves was still in doubt. Lincoln was still hesitant to make the war about freeing the slaves. In 1863 he issued an executive order to free the slaves in southern states called the

Although this did not free a single slave, it was an important announcement to the country that ending slavery was one of the northern goals for the war. Slavery officially ended with the ratification of the 13th amendment in January 1865.