North and South America was called Union and Confederate states respectively. African-Americans formed a major populace and there was a large schism that existed between these two forms of states.
Abraham Lincoln, who was the congress person and person of state legislature of Illinois belonged to Republican Party had supported for the non-spreading of slavery in confederate states, His speeches were revolving around preventing the freedom of union states.
Gradually, the African Americans started to claim their citizenship and protested which made Lincoln to declare Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. This measure had a deep impact and sought to end slavery and all the insubordinate states were engrossed into union states.