Who was the President of the United States during the Civil War?

The President of the United States during the Civil War was Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln became the nation’s 16th president on March 4, 1861, just weeks before Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter. His election in November 1860, on an anti-expansion-of-slavery platform, helped trigger the secession crisis, though the war’s deeper causes included slavery, sectional political conflict, and disputes over federal authority.

As commander in chief, Lincoln directed the Union war effort while navigating military defeats, political opposition, and divisions within his own coalition. He appointed and replaced several generals before settling on Ulysses S. Grant as general in chief. Lincoln also issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, changing emancipation into an official Union war aim and authorizing Black men to join the Union armed forces.

Lincoln won reelection in 1864 and was president when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered in April 1865. Lincoln was assassinated on April 14 and died the following day. Vice President Andrew Johnson then succeeded him, which is why some timelines mention Johnson at the war’s very end.