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The Civil War (1861-65) was a social and military conflict between the United States of America in the North and the Confederate States of American in the South. A result of long developing tensions between the North and South, the war had two immediate triggers: the 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, and the resulting secession of seven Southern states by February 1861. Combat began on 12 April 1861 at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, and quickly intensified as four more states joined the Confederacy. Although many Confederate and Unionist leaders believed the war would be short, it dragged on until 26 May 1865, when the last major Confederate army surrendered. More than 620,000 people died as a result of the conflict, and property damage was estimated at $5 billion. In the end, the victory of the United States meant the preservation of the Union and the abolition of slavery with the 13th Amendment (1865).
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