Timeline, March 1861

Abraham Lincoln is Inaugurated the 16th President of the United States
The new president announces that he will not interfere with the institution of slavery where it currently exists. He calls the act of secession by the southern states an unconstitutional act. Lincoln’s hope is for preservation of the Union without bloodshed. “In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine,” he proclaims, “is the momentous issue of Civil War.” (Wagner 47)

Date	Key Events for March 1861
March 4, 1861	Abraham Lincoln Inaugurated The new president pledges to hold the nation together as their Union under the Constitution is “perpetual.” The U.S. Senate convenes a special session of 37th Congress.
11	The C.S.A. Congress Adopts the Confederate Constitution
16	1st Session, Provisional Confederate Congress adjourns.
28	The special session of 37th U.S. Congress adjourns.