Summarize events leading up to the outbreak of the Civil War. Why were the events described in the telegram considered an act of war? What steps did President Lincoln take in response?
The events leading up to the outbreak of the Civil War began with the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. This election was seen as a victory for the anti-slavery Republican Party, and it caused several Southern states to secede from the Union. In April 1861, Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, which was a federal military installation. This attack was considered an act of war because it was a direct attack on a federal installation.
In response to the attack, President Lincoln declared a state of emergency and called for 75,000 volunteers to join the Union army. He also issued a blockade of the Confederate states, which was meant to prevent them from receiving supplies from abroad. He also issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared that all slaves in the Confederate states were free. These actions were meant to put pressure on the Confederate states to return to the Union.