On April 9th 1865, the Battle of Appomattox in Virginia ended the Civil War. It was the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of the United States, which set off the fuse in 1861 and provoked the secession of ten so-called Confederate Southern states. Lincoln was against slavery, as were the northern states, while the southerners could not imagine for a moment parting with their slaves, who were indispensable labour. After four years of civil war, the Northerners were victorious and slavery was abolished.