Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War This timeline of events leading up to the American Civil War describes and links to narrative articles and references about many of the events and issues which historians recognize as origins and causes of the Civil War. The pre-Civil War events can be roughly divided into a period encompassing the long-term build-up over many decades and a period encompassing the five-month build-up to war immediately after the election of Abraham Lincoln as President in the Election of 1860, which culminated in the Fall of Fort Sumter (April 1861). Since the early
Commemoration of the American Civil War The 2010 Conference topic of "Race, Slavery and the Civil War: The Tough Stuff of American History and Memory is held in September of that year at Norfolk State University, Norfolk, Virginia and chaired by historian James O. Horton, PhD. A sampling of that day's panel are: David Pitcaithley, PhD on "Causes of the Civil War and Public History," and Ira Berlin, PhD speaks on "The African American Soldier." Edna Medford, PhD of Howard University discusses that in the quest for Black rights there must be a dismantling of the contemporary social and legal systems within that Southern culture that