Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
President Lincoln gets advice on what to do about Fort Sumter and decides to send someone there to assess the garrison’s condition.
Three Confederate commissioners go to Washington to negotiate the peaceful transfer of Fort Sumter from U.S to Confederate hands.
Jefferson Davis works to obtain foreign recognition for the new Confederacy as Federal military officers resign to go South.
The Confederacy adopts a permanent Constitution, similar to the U.S. but with key exceptions.
The Provisional Confederate Congress enacts new laws, including those to bolster national defense and issue national currency.
Many of Abraham Lincoln’s advisors recommend abandoning Fort Sumter, but Lincoln considers a different course of action.