150-Year Anniversary ยท March 1861
On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the sixteenth president. His address was firm yet conciliatory: he denied any intention to interfere with slavery where it existed, declared secession legally void, and pledged to hold the federal forts. 'We are not enemies, but friends,' he closed, appealing to the 'better angels of our nature.'
On March 11 the Montgomery convention adopted a permanent Confederate constitution. The two republics now faced each other across an uncertain border, each claiming the loyalty of the divided nation.
The most pressing problem awaiting Lincoln was Fort Sumter, whose garrison was running short of supplies. The decision of whether to resupply it would determine whether the crisis ended in compromise or in war.
Lincoln's inauguration in March still left Fort Sumter unanswered. The war that followed is introduced on the American Civil War homepage.