On this day in 1858, future U.S. president Abraham Lincoln warns of the growing danger of civil war. "A house divided against itself, cannot stand," he says. "This government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. It will become all one thing or all the other."
On this day in 1861, the Confederate States adopt their own constitution. The document is largely a carbon copy of the existing U.S. Constitution, but includes new language entrenching the rights of slave owners.
Today in 1945, the Allies begin firebombing Dresden. 25,000 civilians perish in the inferno. A young American POW by the name of Kurt Vonnegut is forced by the Germans to help recover bodies afterwards. The experience inspires him to write his anti-war novel Slaughterhouse-Five.
On this day in 1861, Mississippi leaves the Union. "Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery," the state's declaration of secession declares.