What was the cause and effect of a divided America between the Union (northern states) and the Confederacy (southern states) ? Use the phrase "as a result of" in your answer.

As a result of Abraham Lincoln's victory in the 1860 elections, America got divided between the Union and the Confederacy, which faced each other in the Civil War.

Explanation:

The Civil War was a war between the Union, or the North, and the Confederacy, or South, between 1861 and 1865. The main causes of the war were the problem of slavery, the economic backwardness of the South and the fear of losing its special status, and the fundamental difference in thinking and society between both regions.

The Republican Party candidate Abraham Lincoln, who was considered a radical opponent of slavery in the southern states, had won the 1860 presidential election. Thus, it was feared that Lincoln would ban slavery and make the South completely economically dependent on the North. To avoid this, it was decided to secede from the Union and form a separate state.

South Carolina was the first to leave the United States on December 20, 1860, and had often disagreed with the central government, followed by several others. By February 1861, seven states had already seceded: South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. They formed the new Confederate States of America and elected Jefferson Davis as their president. However, the secession of Virginia, the richest and most influential state in the South, from the Union in March 1861 should probably be considered decisive. In addition to it, Tennessee, Arkansas and North Carolina joined the Confederation.

The war began on 12 April 1861, when the rebels attacked Fort Sumter in the state of South Carolina. By 1862 large-scale fighting had developed, with large numbers killed. In September 1862, Lincoln proclaimed the emancipation of slaves. The south had now discovered genius generals in Robert E. Lee and "Stonewall" Jackson, and won numerous victories over the Unionists. Jackson was mistakenly killed by his own troops in the battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863, and Lee was defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg in the state of Pennsylvania in July 1863. In the west, an army under Ulysses S. Grant captured Vicksburg in the state of Mississippi, thus the Unionists took control of the Mississippi River.

By 1864 the end was approaching, as the benefits of the Union in terms of a larger population and a stronger ecomomy began to take effect. Grant and Lee fought fiercely in the state of Virginia in the summer of 1864 and William Tecumseh Sherman captured Atlanta, Georgia. In 1865, Lee surrendered his army to Grant at Appomatox and the war ended.