
About this episode
April 11, 2026
On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces fired on South Carolina’s Fort Sumter, South Carolina had left the Union the previous December, When Abraham Lincoln took office in March, 1861, seven Southern states had left the Union, forming their own provisional government, The Confederate government rested on the belief that Black men are not equal to white men, Northerners rejected the white southerners’ attempt to destroy the principles of the Declaration of Independence, After the attack on Fort Sumter, Lincoln called for troops to put down the rebellion against the government, The Civil War would take hundreds of thousands of lives at huge cost, But by its end, the institution of human enslavement was destroyed.
Watch today's recording here: https://www.youtube.com/live/g9TUa1Rwd6U?si=T8_KKcHQZElhpnZ-
Get full, free access to Letters from an American here: https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
You can also find me:
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/hcrichardson.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heathercoxrichardson/?hl=en
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heathercoxrichardson
Get full access to Letters from an American at heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/subscribe
Get every episode summarized
Each time Letters from an American publishes, we email you a written briefing from the transcript — the topics, who appeared, and any specific claims, with the ad reads skipped.
Email me new episodesFree for 3 shows. No card needed.
Hosts & guests
No transcript yet
This episode has not been transcribed. Request it and it moves to the front of the queue.
More episodes
More from Letters from an American

The Writing is Already on the Wall
Letters from an American

The Twenty-fifth Anniversary of 9/11
Letters from an American

A Chokepoint for World Trade
Letters from an American

Self-inflicted Problems
Letters from an American