The northern states promptly began ratifying the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution which would outlaw the institution of slavery. Lincoln’s home state of Illinois became the first to ratify the amendment on February 1, 1865, but Maryland, New York, and West Virginia also ratified the amendment by February 3. It seemed to most observers that the northern states, long opposing the institution of slavery, welcomed ratification of the anti-slavery amendment, thus emphatically confirming why the war was being fought. To the majority of northerners, ending slavery was—and remained—the primary reason for continuing the conflict against the South. Even for Confederate citizens who initially argued that the war was based on states’ rights the outlawing of slavery in the North confirmed the true reason for the American Civil War.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.