1860 – On December 20 South Carolina secedes from the Union. President James Buchanan told Congress that no state had the right to secede, but the federal government had no right to stop a seceding state. Six other states seceded by the time Lincoln took office.

1861 – In February, the seven seceded states form the Confederate States of America and name Jefferson Davis president. The seceding states seized all federal properties, but President Buchanan, although unaggressive, refused to yield Fort Sumter, an island fort off Charleston, even after South Carolina demanded it. In April, the Confederates seized the fort after a two-day attack. The Civil War had begun.

First Battle of Bull Run fought in July. Before the Battle of Bull Run, Northerners expected a short and easy war. However, after the Confederates' victory at Bull Run that illusion was dispelled. Morale and President Lincoln's confidence in his officers sank.

1862 – Battle of Shiloh in April. After a two-day battle in Shiloh, Tennessee, General Ulysses S. Grant won a narrow victory that enabled the North to occupy Corinth, Mississippi, the hub of several important Southern railroads.

Confederacy passes the Conscription Act. White males between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five were subjected to three years military service. However, the only white male on a plantation could claim exemption if he owned twenty or more slaves. Any draftee could avoid service if he furnished a substitute.

In late August, the Confederates emerge victorious at the Second Battle of Bull Run.

Lincoln's plan to capture Richmond had to be postponed.

In September, General George McClellan defeats General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Antietam. However, despite the victory of the bloodiest conflict of the war to date, General McClellan squandered an opportunity to destroy most of the Confederate forces. Lincoln was annoyed and in November removed McClellan as commander of the army of the Potomac.

The Homestead Act permits any citizen or prospective citizen to purchase 160 acres of public land for a small fee after he had lived on it for five years. This Act led to rapid growth in the West.

The Morrill Act transfers public land to state governments. The state was to use revenues from the sale of the land to finance public education. Many state colleges and universities (called land-grant institutions) were founded as a result.

1863 – Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation freed the slaves inside the Confederacy, but did not apply to the border slave states, which had not seceded. Thus, no one was really freed by the announcement, as Lincoln had no control over the slaves in the South. However, when Union forces began occupying Southern states, slaves were freed. Almost 200,000 of the freed slaves served the Northern cause. The document also signalled that the war was being fought not just to keep the Union, but to end slavery as well.

In July, 50,000 killed or wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg. Poor judgment on behalf of General Lee and General George Meade marked the battle. Lee made a foolhardy attack and Meade refused to pursue him. Both generals offered their resignations, but neither was accepted. The South had no one to replace Lee and only Lee's brilliance could repair his mistake, and Lincoln feared that the replacement of another general would worsen the morale of the troops and public. The Northern victory, however, could be considered the turning point of the war, as Gettysburg would mark the point of the farthest Southern advancement.

In November, Lincoln delivers the "Gettysburg Address" at the dedication of the Gettysburg National Cemetery.

In July, Grant captures Vicksburg, Mississippi after a six-week siege. Within days, Port Hudson, Louisiana was captured and placed Mississippi in Union control, thereby dividing the South.

New York City draft riots break out. By March, Congress was forced to pass a national draft law. According to provisions, an individual could exempt himself by hiring a substitute or paying a commutation fee of $300, about a year's salary for an ordinary worker or farmer. In July, largely Irish workers rioted for four days, angered by these provisions, which they considered discriminatory toward the poor. Over 100 people were killed before order was restored, and many African-American homes, businesses, and even an orphanage were burned by rioters who held blacks responsible for the war.

In December, Lincoln outlines his plan for Reconstruction. Lincoln's plan was lenient. He would sign pardons for prominent rebel leaders if they swore allegiance to the United States. He ensured that property, excepting slaves, would be returned to the rebels, and when a minimum of 10 percent of the qualified voters in a state swore allegiance to the United States and forswore slavery, they could organize a state government. He did not demand political equality for blacks, and later recognized pro-Union governments in Louisiana, Arkansas, and Tennessee that granted only white men the right to vote.

1864 – The Wilderness Campaign. A month-long series of conflicts in the area of northwestern Virginia cost the Union 55,000 men (killed, wounded, or captured) and the Confederacy 31,000. Grant had hoped to cut off Lee from Richmond, and perhaps capture his entire army. Grant was forced to change strategies.

Lincoln reelected in a landslide. His reelection, however, was only ensured by late summer military victories: Navy Commander David Farragut won a dramatic victory in Mobile Bay and General William T. Sherman captured Atlanta. Lincoln's opponent, former Union commander George McClellan, proclaimed the war a failure and called for a peace conference. When told that his position implies acceptance of disunion, he responded that the foremost condition of peace would be preservation of the Union. His campaign lacked credibility.

General Sherman's march from Atlanta to the sea. Sherman burned towns and plantations along the way in an effort not only to deprive the Confederate army of materials, but also to break the will of the Southern people themselves. He and his troops marched sixty miles to Savannah, which surrendered.

Lincoln vetoes Wade-Davis Reconstruction Bill. The Bill stated that a majority (not Lincoln's 10 percent) of a state's white males would need to pledge their allegiance to the United States before a constitutional convention could be held. Delegates to the convention had to be comprised of those who had never borne arms against the United States. The Bill made Lincoln realize that his reconstruction plan would have to be modified if it were to obtain Congressional approval. Lincoln was assassinated before he revealed his modifications.

1865 – The House passes the Thirteenth Amendment, which freed all slaves without compensating their owners.

Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia. Realizing that further fighting was futile, Lee surrendered on April 9. Nine days later, General Joseph E. Johnston surrendered to Sherman near Durham, North Carolina. Jefferson Davis refused to accept defeat and tried to escape to Texas to plan further action. He was apprehended in Georgia. Three million had fought in the Civil War and 600,000 died.

On April 14, John Wilkes Booth assassinates Lincoln as he watches a play in Ford's Theater, Washington, D.C. Andrew Johnson becomes president.

Freedmen's Bureau established to distribute food to millions of former slaves, to establish schools staffed by missionaries, and, to a lesser extent, to settle blacks on their own lands. Later, Johnson vetoed a bill to expand the powers of the Freedmen's Bureau, but Congress overrode his veto.

Congress establishes the Joint Committee on Reconstruction. The Committee was created as a reaction to President Johnson, who inaugurated his reconstruction plan while Congress was in recess.