SlaveryThe American Civil War occurred around the time President Abraham Lincoln was elected on November 6, 1860. Southern states were not happy that Republicans were considering have an anti-slavery law. This caused all of the Confederate states to secede from the other colonies and elect a new president, Jefferson Davis. Slavery played an important role in the Civil War and was one of the causes that provoked it. Even though President Lincoln attempted to bring back the Confederate States by maintaining slavery where it already existed, the Confederate States were unimpressed and opened fire on Fort Sumter. President Lincoln repeatedly insisted that this war was not about freeing slaves but about reuniting the Confederate States. the Confederates didn't believe it. While the Confederates used slaves to aid them in the war by working in factories, hospitals, and armories; the north refused help from its slaves. After President Lincoln issued the final Emancipation Proclamation, they began accepting slaves into the military to help them win the cause. They were discriminated against and p...