The Union Shattered

     In the year 1850, the slave states, states with slaves, were rebelling against the free states, states without slaves. Meanwhile, the free states were building up an industry.

     The industrial North now had possession of two-thirds of the country's railroads. In addition to that, the North was also building lots of mills. These mills were used for many things, but the biggest one was spinning cotton to make clothing.

     In 1858, Abraham Lincoln began debating Democratic Illinois senator Stephen A. Douglas. The debates were about the decision if slavery should be banned from moving on, or if it should be decided by the residents on the state. Douglas won in a re-election, although Abraham Lincoln had appealed to lots of voters across the country.

     On April 11, 1861, the South, or the Confederacy, attacked Fort Sumter, a Federally controlled fort in North Carolina. After 34 hours, the exhausted Union surrendered. The Confederacy now had control of Fort Sumter. War had been declared.

     2 years later, on July 1, 1863, some Confederate troops ran into some Union troops. The two fought for two days. Two days later the Confederates surrendered. The Union had won the battle. Or had they? The day that they surrendered, Robert E. Lee felt one more attack would give the Confederacy the victory they needed. With General George Pickett in charge, the walked right into Union fire. A few men made it to the top, but Union reinforcements arrived. The South had been defeated.

     In 1876, the Civil War was over. The South had been defeated. The North continued building up their industry. The South was in bad shape.