United States: 150 Years Later, US Civil War Still Resonates.

Section: General News - This month marks the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the U.S. Civil War - a conflict that nearly tore the United States apart. Eleven southern states seceded from the Union and formed the Confederate States of America, vowing to maintain their economic system based on agriculture and slavery.

On April 12, 1861, Confederate soldiers fired on Union troops at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. It was the first act of open aggression by the South against the North. After four years of bloody battles, the Confederates surrendered.

Today, the war between the states still resonates with Americans, and in some ways, the nation is still healing from that division.

Record casualties Well over a half million Americans died during the Civil …