top of page
Abraham Lincoln
Holding a Nation Together
Decision 1 of 3 · ≈5 minutes
WASHINGTON D.C. · APRIL 1861
Send food to the Union fort, and dare the Confederacy to fire first.
The fort has only weeks of food left.
Read the situation below and make your decision
Lincoln has been president for six weeks. Confederate forces are surrounding Fort Sumter, a federal garrison in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is running out of food.
Lincoln must decide whether to resupply it. If he does, the Confederacy will almost certainly attack, starting a war. If he does not, he effectively abandons federal property and legitimizes secession.
His cabinet is divided. Secretary of State Seward advises evacuation. General Scott says the fort cannot be held. Lincoln has never held military command.
You know only what Lincoln knew in 1861.
YOUR DECISION
Resupply the fort
Send an unarmed supply ship and force the Confederacy to fire first.
And you may be the one remembered as starting the war after all.
Evacuate and seek negotiation
Withdraw federal troops to avoid triggering war.
And the Union looks like it's giving up before it began.
bottom of page