Their economy was ruined, and the enslaved people they relied on were leaving their farms and plantations. Southerners no longer had the will or the resources to continue to fight.
Northerners were tired of fighting, too. They began to say that the Southern states wanted to come back to the Union. But President Abraham Lincoln wouldn’t allow that to happen unless the Southerners abolished slavery. Lincoln was accused of being harsh by Northerners, who claimed that slavery was not an issue about which a lot of people cared. People on both sides pressured their leaders to make peace.
By the end of January 1865, Confederate president Jefferson Davis wanted an armistice. He believed that once Northerners stopped fighting, they would not start again. Eventually, the Union would have to recognize the Confederacy as a separate country. Davis was willing to negotiate to buy time.
Denne historien er fra January 2025: 1865: A Year in the Civil War-utgaven av Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
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Denne historien er fra January 2025: 1865: A Year in the Civil War-utgaven av Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Putting the Pieces Together
Americans needed to begin to put the past behind them, come together, and plan for the future in the spring of 1865. But Abraham Lincoln, the man best equipped to lead them and who had hoped to restore the country as smoothly and peacefully as possible, had been assassinated.
LAST SHOTS
The last Confederate forces in the Civil War didn’t surrender in the spring of 1865 or on a battlefield.
AND IN OTHER 1865 NEWS
A group of African Americans stop at the White House’s annual public reception on January 1, where they shake hands with President Abraham Lincoln.
A Plot to Kill President the
For several months, actor John Wilkes Booth’s band of conspirators had plotted to capture President Abraham Lincoln and hold him hostage in exchange for Confederate prisoners.
Let the Thing Be Pressed
In June 1864, Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant began a nearly 10-month campaign in Virginia.
HEALING THE NATION
President Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office for the second time on March 4, 1865.
A Helping Hand
The spring season is hard in any agricultural society. Plants and animals are too small to eat.
WAR SHERMAN-STYLE
As far as Union Major General William T. Sherman was concerned, the Civil War had gone on long enough.
PEACE TALKS
The fall of Fort Fisher made clear that the Confederacy’s days were numbered. Southerners were tired and hungry.
FORT FISHER'S FALL
Outnumbered Confederate soldiers inside Fort Fisher were unable to withstand the approach of Union troops by land and the constant Union naval bombardment from the sea.
