At Lincoln's inauguration on March 4, the new president said he had no plans to end slavery in those states where it already existed, but he also said he would not accept secession. He hoped to resolve the national crisis without warfare.
April 1861 -- Attack on Fort Sumter.
When President Lincoln planned to send supplies to Fort Sumter, he alerted the state in advance, in an attempt to avoid hostilities. South Carolina, however, feared a trick; the commander of the fort, Robert Anderson, was asked to surrender immediately. Anderson offered to surrender, but only after he had exhausted his supplies. His offer was rejected, and on April 12, the Civil War began with shots fired on the fort. Fort Sumter eventually was surrendered to South Carolina.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/tl1861.html
January 1863 -- Emancipation Proclamation.
In an effort to PLACATE the slave-holding border states, Lincoln resisted the demands of radical REPUBLICANS for complete abolition.
Another little known fact among todays LIBERALS is that the democratic party was the party of SLAVERY. Oh my gosh don't look so supprised
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/tl1863.html
