William Seward Senator from New York. Senator who was for antislavery, was very religious, would not compromise. Later became the major rival of Abraham Lincoln for the presidency. When Lincoln won the presidency, he became the secretary of state for him. Had a nickname called "Higher Law" due to his religious beliefs in Christianity.

Edwin M. Stanton He was a politician who seceded Simon Cameron as secretary of war c1860. He caused a kind of civil war within Congress by opposing Lincoln at almost every turn. This only added to the problems that Lincoln had to deal with during the Civil War.

Robert E. Lee The General of the Confederate troops; he was prosperous in many battles; was defeated at Antietam in 1862 when he retreated across the Potomac; this halt of Lee's troops justified Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation; he was defeated at Gettysburg by General Mead's Union troops; surrendered to General Grant at Appomattix Court House on April 9, 1865.

Thomas J. Jackson stonewall", Lee's chief lieutenant, killed by own men at Chancellersville

Ulysses Simpson Grant A Northern general who helped gain victory for the union. His first successful victories came at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers in February 1862. These victories opened a door for the Union to the rest of the south. Eventually Grant was given command of the Union forces attacking Vicksburg. This would be his greatest victory of the war. Grant was made General-in-Chief after several more impressive victories near Chattanooga. Grant's final victory came when he defeated General Robert E. Lee at Richmond and forced him to surrender at Appomattox Court House in Virginia in April 1865.

Jefferson Davis From 1860-1865, he was the president of the Southern Confederate States after their succession from the Union. During this time he struggled to form a solid government for the states to be governed by. From the beginning, he lacked the power necessary for a strong government because the southerners believed in states rights. Aside from being sick, he worked hard with solidating the civil government and carrying out military operations. The truth of the matter is that no one could have pulled it off successfully.

George B. McClellan George B. McClellan was a general for northern command of the Army of the Potomac in 1861; nicknamed "Tardy George" because of his failure to move troops to Richmond; lost battle vs. General Lee near the Chesapeake Bay; Lincoln fired him twice.

William T.Sherman He commanded the Union army in Tennessee. In September of 1864 his troops captured Atlanta, Georgia. He then headed to take Savannah. This was his famous "march to the sea.". His troops burned barns and houses, and destroyed the countryside. His march showed a shift in the belief that only military targets should be destroyed. Civilian centers could also be targets.

Merrimack The Merrimack was a former wooden warship. The Confederates plated it with iron railroad rails. They renamed it the Virginia. The Virginia easily wrecked Union Navy ships and threatened to destroy the whole Navy. The Confederates later destroy the ship to keep it from the Union. This marks the end of wooden ships.

Monitor (1862) a small Union ironclad built in about 100 days to stop the Confederate ship, the Merrimack. The Merrimack, which was a former U.S. wooden warship destroyed two wooden Union ships in the Chesapeake Bay and threatened the Yankee's plan of blockading all Southern ports. The Union built the Monitor and transported it to the Chesapeake. On March 9, 1862, in 4 hours, the Monitor, or the "Yankee cheesebox on a raft," fought the Merrimack "to a standstill."

Thirteenth Amendment This Amendment was made to forbid slavery, making slavery and involuntary servitude both illegal. It could only be used as a punishment for crime. This Amendment was ratified in 1865, after the war was over. The South had to ratify it to be readmitted to the Union.