In March 1861, when Abraham Lincoln took the oath as the sixteenth president of the United States, the country had been struggling with the question of slavery for years. Kansas was bleeding from it, laws had been broken over it and in early February, seven southern states had finally seceded because of it and formed the Confederate States of America. In Kansas, pro-slavery and anti-slavery partisans engaged in a bloody war for control of the territorial …showed first 75 words of 1283 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1283 total…a great man who could accomplish very challenging tasks. The effects of his presidency shaped the entire union and will continue to influence us for many years to come. Works Cited: Basler, R. P. The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln. 1953. Crenshaw, Ollinger. Slaves States in the Presidential Election of 1860, The. January 1945. Marrin, Albert. Commander in Chief: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. November, 1997. Oakes, James. Slavery and Freedom: An Interpretation of the Old South. May, 1998.