Abe

Lincoln thought that secession was illegal, and was willing to use any kind of force to defend the Union. When the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter and forced its surrender, he called on the states for 75,000 volunteers. Four more slave states joined the Confederacy but four stayed within the Union. And the Civil War began.

In 1858 Lincoln ran against Stephen A. Douglas for Senator. He lost the election, but by debating with Douglas he gained a national reputation that won him the ...