In his Jan. 29 letter, Rick Barker claims that the Civil War was fought because some states ignored the 13th Amendment. On Feb. 13, Philip Wasserman challenged that statement. Then on Feb. 18, Mr. Barker suggested an online search to see who was right. I did it the old-fashioned way, by looking in a book. Here’s what I learned.
In 1860 there were 18 free states and 15 slave states. Eleven of those 15 slave states later seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. Here’s a chronology of the Civil War:
• Dec. 20, 1860: South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union.
• Feb. 4, 1861: Confederate States of America was formed in Montgomery, Alabama.
• April 12, 1861: Confederate forces attacked Ft. Sumpter, South Carolina, in the first battle of the Civil War.
• Jan. 1, 1863: President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation freed all slaves in the Confederate states.
• Jan. 31, 1865: The 13th Amendment abolishing slavery in all states was proposed.
• April 9, 1865: Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virgina, ending the Civil War.
• April 14, 1865: Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth.
• Dec. 6, 1865: The 13th Amendment was ratified and became law.
Conclusion: The Civil War was fought over slavery, but the 13th Amendment was not the cause, it was the result. The confederacy could not have ignored the 13th Amendment since it did not exist until after the war ended.
In fact, no state has ever violated the 13th Amendment.
Jack Crawford
Saugus
