10-day forecast. 1  Weather News. 2  Dangerous surf will threaten some beachgoers this weekend AccuWeather. 3  Big Sur usually canât keep people away.  Several states at risk of hail, floods during stormy Easter weekend AccuWeather.
Abraham Lincoln, a self-taught Illinois lawyer, legislator and opponent of slavery, was elected president in November 1860âbut by the time of his inauguration in March 1861, seven Southern states had seceded, and the Civil War began a few weeks later.
Lincoln Memorial. Soon after Lincoln became president, seven southern states seceded in response to the president's condemnation of slavery. One year later, four more states seceded and in April 1861 the Civil War started. During the war, Congress approved the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery in the United States.