Political
Creating an Effective President

It is April 1861. In the first clash of the war, Confederates attack and defeat the Unionists in Fort Sumter. Both President Abraham Lincoln (Unionists) and President Jefferson Davis (Confederates) need strong powers to win the war. However, the Confederates broke away in protest at growing Presidential power. In contrast, the Unionists are fighting to preserve the Union under a strong president.

Confederate Options
Pass laws increasing your power over the Confederate States.
Ask the people of the Confederacy to vote for a law increasing your power over them.
Allow the Confederate States to ignore your wishes – this is a war for freedom!

Union Options
Pass laws increasing your power over the states in the North.
Ask your people to vote for a law increasing your power over the Northern states.
Allow the states in the North to ignore your wishes – this is a war for freedom!

Outcomes
The Confederate states went to war to defend 'state rights' against the powerful President Abraham Lincoln, so they were unwilling to give any power to President Jefferson Davis: even if this risked losing the war! President Abraham Lincoln did not face the same problem. The North was fighting a war to preserve the Union under a strong President. So President Abraham Lincoln was even able to suspend habeas corpus - the right of prisoners to a trial – so he could arrest citizens suspected of being southern sympathizers.

Quiz Questions
Where were the first shots of the American Civil War Fired?*Fort Sumter*Gettysburg*Fort Knox*Antietam
President Abraham Lincoln suspended the right of prisoners to a trial, known as...?*Habeas Corpus*Corpus Christi*Corpo Havus*Habitat Ikea