when the time for the next elections came, it was clear that the most important question would be slavery. there were four candidates, but a northerner called abraham lincoln won the election. in his inaugural address lincoln warned the southerners that they shouldn't destroy the union of the states, but they didn't listen. in february 1861 eleven southern states formed their own union, which was called the confederacy, but abraham lincoln wouldn't let them split up the country. and so the civil war began. the north (their army was called the union army) was actually more powerful than the south: as you remember, they had more men, and their factories produced weapons and supplied the northern army with everything it needed. but the confederacy had one big advantage: they didn't have to invade the north, they just had to protect their own land and homes. at that time a lot of people thought that it would be possible. so at first, the confederacy had more luck; their men were better trained and fought with more spirit. just as in the revolutionary war, americans from the south were once again fighting for their independence. the union soldiers were getting tired. after they lost some important battles, the anti-slavery idea wasn't enough to inspire them any more. the southerners felt that just one more big victory would be enough to win the war.
I had celebrated my last birthday in a very unusual way. I wanted to invite my friends for the party and birthday cake, and we were already planning all the details with my mother, but over sudden my small sister got seriously sick, and emergency took her with my mother to the hospital two days before my birthday. I felt myself lost, extremely worried about my sister, and helpless. All of my friends were already invited to the party and I didn’t know what to do. I called my best friend to talk about my problems and cancel the party, but he told me: “Let’s take the cake and go to the hospital!” Why didn’t I think about it myself? I called all my friends and asked them what did they think about the party in the hospital – and they all agreed to this plan. My father arranged the cake in the hospital, and some balloons for decoration, and also he invited a funny clown for all the children. The party was short, but very nice and filled with joy and happiness. We were playing games, laughing and eating my birthday cake, and I was very happy to be with my family, friends, and all the children from the hospital.
