The Civil War was arguably the darkest moment in the history of America. For the first time brother fought brother and The Union had to fight to stay whole. Southern states believed in their right to own slaves and though Lincoln formally addressed that he would not interfere with that right, the southern population believed that Lincoln's election would be, "the greatest evil that has ever befallen this country." This wedge driven squarely at the Mason-Dixon line tore the United States in two, one half believing in slavery while the other half strongly opposing it. The social tensions between the north and the south began with the election of 1860. The south favored J. C. Breckenridge, while the north favored Abraham Lincoln. Anyone who knows anything about history knows that Lincoln won the 1860 election and became our 16th president. This enraged the south due to Lincoln's view that slavery should not spread to the un-unionised territories, and so South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas seceded from the union shortly after the election. This created a huge communal deviation, as former kinsmen, now turned foe, were locked in combat - The Union of the north and the Confederacy of the south. At the start of the war, no African Americans were allowed to fight for either side. A law passed in 1862, however, allowed them to fight for northern states, though after the war a larger scale enlistment process was implemented for African Americans. Also in 1862, the first draft laws were put into affect for the Confederate army. A similar law was passed for the Union in 1863. These laws forced certain members of the population to enlist in their respective armies. Such laws caused great objection, as the rich were exempt from the draft. The vexation of the population was the fuel for several riots in the north, the worst of which left some one hundred people dead in New York. Finally,...