American Civil War American Civil War The American Civil War (also known by other names) was a war fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865. The Civil War is the most studied and written about episode in U.S. history. 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 shortly after Abraham Lincoln had been inaugurated as the President of the United States. The loyalists of the Union in the North proclaimed support for the Constitution. They faced secessionists of the Confederate
Diplomacy of the American Civil War Diplomacy of the American Civil War The diplomacy of the American Civil War involved the relations of the United States of America and the Confederate States of America with the major world powers during the American Civil War of 1861–1865. The United States successfully prevented other powers from recognizing the Confederacy, which counted heavily on Britain and France to enter the war on its side to maintain their supply of cotton and to weaken a growing opponent. Every nation was officially neutral throughout the war, and none formally recognized the Confederacy. The major nations all recognized that the Confederacy had