The American Civil War took place between 1861 and 1865. A civil war is a war fought between different regions of a country. The American Civil War was fought between the North and the South. Shortly after the election of President Abraham Lincon, eleven southern states seceded from the union. After only six weeks in office, Abraham Lincon declared these acts of southern succession illegal. Lincon then requested that Congress allow him to use 500,000 troops to help crush the very threatening rebellion in the South. Massive sections of the South were destroyed in the process by the North attempting to regulate the South. The land was destroyed, as was the social and economic structure. In 1862, Lincon began freeing southern slaves. On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincon issued the Emancipation Proclamation. When the proclamation was issued, it was clear that the war was now about slavery. The Emancipation Proclamation freed many, but not all, slaves. It was not until December 1865 that the Thirteenth Amendment was ratified. The Thirteenth Amendment states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime of which the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or in any place subject to their jurisdiction.” » (American Constitution). When the slaves were freed, southerners were driven crazy because slaves were their primary means of making money. Hatred toward the North caused a small group to become one of the largest hate groups in American history. The Ku Klux Klan was first formed in the town of Pulaski, Tennessee in 1865. The Ku Klux Klan initially began as a fraternity group comprising six Confederate veterans and...... middle of paper. ..... The Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. March 12, 2014. Goldberg, David J. “Unmasking the Ku Klux Klan: The Northern Movement Against the KKK, 1920-1925.” » Journal of American ethnic History v15 n4 (summer 1996): 32.History.Com Staff. “The Ku Klux Klan.” History.com. A+E Networks, 2009. Web. March 9. 2014. .PBS “The Rise of the Ku Klux Klan.” American experience. WGBH Educational Foundation, 1996. Web. February 27, 2014./general-article/grant-kkk/>.Seneil. “Social, Economic, and Political Changes After the Civil War.” Triond, September 16, 2009. Web. March 12, 2014. .American Constitution. Amendment XIII (modified 1865).