April 12,1861-April 9,1865.
The American Civil War, widely known in the United States as simply the Civil War as well as other sectional names, was a civil war fought from 1861 to 1865 to determine the survival of the Union or independence for the Confederacy. The 1863 Union siege of Vicksburg split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. In 1863, Robert E. Lee 's Confederate incursion north ended at the Battle of Gettysburg. Western successes led to Ulysses S. Grant 's command of all Union armies in 1864. Emancipation and Reconstruction. At the outset of the Civil War, to the dismay of the more radical abolitionists in the North, President Abraham Lincoln did not make abolition of slavery a goal of the Union war effort. Emancipation changed the stakes of the Civil War, ensuring that a Union victory would mean large-scale social revolution in the South. It was still very unclear, however, what form this revolution would take. 1861 February 9, 1861 - The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer, as president. March 4, 1861 - Abraham Lincoln is sworn in as 16th President of the United States of America. February 9, 1861 - The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer, as president. March 4, 1861 - Abraham Lincoln is sworn in as 16 th President of the United States of America. Fort Sumter Attacked. April 12, 1861 - At 4:30 a.m. The Union victory in the Civil War in 1865 may have given some 4 million slaves their freedom, but the process of rebuilding the South during the Reconstruction period (1865-1877) introduced a new set of significant challenges. Emancipation changed the stakes of the Civil War, ensuring that a Union victory would mean large-scale social revolution in the South. It was still very unclear, however, what form this revolution would take. Abraham Lincoln (National Archives). The Civil War is the central event in America's historical consciousness. While the Revolution of 1776-1783 created the United States, the Civil War of 1861-1865 determined what kind of nation it would be. The Civil War started because of uncompromising differences between the free and slave states over the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in the territories that had not yet become states. Civil War Reconstruction summary: There are two basic areas of topics in regards to The Reconstruction Era. One covers a period from 1865-1877 and is as broad as the U.S. History in its entirety and the other sticks mainly to the Southern states and dates from 1863-1877. This was the reconstruction of both society and state directed by Washington. Time Period of the Civil War. The Civil War started April 12,1861 at approximately at 4:30 am. General Beruregard opened fire with cannons at Fort Sumpter in Charleston,South Carolina. It ended in 1865, but general robert e. lee surrendered his Confederate army to ulysses s. grant on april 9,1865.WHile the remmaining confederate forces surrenered sometime in may 1865. The Civil War started April 12,1861 at approximately at 4:30 am. American Civil War. America’s bloodiest clash, the sectional conflct of the Civil War (1861-65) pitted the Union against the Confederate States of America and resulted in the death of more than 620,000, with millions more injured. 1  Facebook. 2  Twitter. 3  Google. Antebellum Period summary: The Antebellum Period in American history is generally considered to be the period before the civil war and after the War of 1812, although some historians expand it to all the years from the adoption of the Constitution in 1789 to the beginning of the Civil War. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction http://www.historyplace.com/civilwar/ http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/reconstruction http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/civil-war-overview/overview.html http://www.historynet.com/civil-war-reconstruction http://warrensburg.k12.mo.us/soc/civilwar/matt.html http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war http://www.historynet.com/antebellum-period
history of the civil war era time period