The American Civil War was a civil war in
the United States from 1861 to 1865, fought
between northern states loyal to the Union
and southern states that had seceded from
the Union to form the Confederate States of
America.
The civil war began primarily as a result
of the long-standing controversy over the
enslavement of black people.
War broke out in April 1861 when secessionist
forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina
just over a month after Abraham Lincoln had
been inaugurated as the President of the United States
The loyalists of the Union in the North, which
also included some geographically western
and southern states, proclaimed support for
the Constitution.
They faced secessionists of the Confederate
States in the South, who advocated for states'
rights to uphold slavery.
Of the 34 U.S. states in February 1861, seven
Southern slave-holding states were declared
by their state governments to have seceded
from the country, and the Confederate States
of America was organized in rebellion against
the U.S. constitutional government.
The Confederacy grew to control at least a
majority of territory in eleven states, and
it claimed the additional states of Kentucky
and Missouri by assertions from native secessionists
fleeing Union authority.
These states were given full representation
in the Confederate Congress throughout the
Civil War.
The two remaining slave-holding states, Delaware
and Maryland, were invited to join the Confederacy,
but nothing substantial developed due to intervention
by federal troops.
The Confederate states were never diplomatically
recognized as a joint entity by the government
of the United States, nor by that of any foreign
country.
The states that remained loyal to the U.S.
were known as the Union.
The Union and the Confederacy quickly raised
volunteer and conscription armies that fought
mostly in the South for four years.
Intense combat left between 620,000 and 750,000
people dead.
The Civil War remains the deadliest military
conflict in American history, and accounted
for more American military deaths than all
other wars combined until the Vietnam War.
The war effectively ended on April 9, 1865,
when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered
to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at the Battle
of Appomattox Court House.
Confederate generals throughout the Southern
states followed suit, the last surrender on
land occurring June 23.
Much of the South's infrastructure was destroyed,
especially its railroads.
The Confederacy collapsed, slavery was abolished,
and four million black slaves were freed.
VidyPedia.com is the Youtube of Wikipedia,
every topic is simply explained in a short video
If you like our video please like, share and
subscribe to our channel for more videos like
this, please also leave us a comment below
and tell us what topics you want us to cover next
