"Civil War and its Consequences."

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

After Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, talk of secession in the South became more serious. In January 1861, the South Carolina legislature voted to secede from the United States of America. Soon afterward, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas also seceded and formed the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis was elected as its president and an army of 100,000 troops was raised.

On April 12, 1861, the Confederate army opened fire on Fort Sumter, at the entrance to Charleston Harbor. Cannon shells were fired for two days, until the Union commander Major Robert Anderson surrendered on April 14. Lincoln's response was to call for 75,000 volunteers to "repossess the forts...which have been seized from the Union." Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina seceded and joined the Confederacy, and the Civil War began.

In Brooklyn, the editors of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle discussed the political implications of a civil war. Editorials from New York City newspapers were sometimes reprinted in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle.

"Civil War and its Consequences" part 1; part 2 (April 15, 1861)

Brooklyn Daily Eagle editorial on the war (April 15, 1861)

"The War - Opinions of the Press." (From the New York News, April 15, 1861)

"The War - Opinions of the Press." (From the New York Herald and other papers, April 15, 1861)

Other suggested Web sites:

The Civil War: A Film by Ken Burns (http://www.pbs.org/civilwar/)

The United States Civil War Center: Index of Civil War Information on the Internet (http://www.cwc.lsu.edu/)

The American Civil War Homepage (http://sunsite.utk.edu/civil-war/warweb.html)

Citation - Document 21
Brooklyn Daily Eagle Online
April 15, 1861
Brooklyn Public Library – Brooklyn Collection
www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/civilwar