program. 1  Obs. a proclamation. a prospectus or syllabus. 2  the acts, speeches, musical pieces, etc. that make up an entertainment, ceremony, etc. a printed list of these. 3  a scheduled broadcast on radio or television. 4  a plan or procedure for dealing with some matter.
Trent Affair: 1861-1862. The Trent Affair was the diplomatic crisis that potentially brought Great Britain and the United States closest to war during the first year of the American Civil War.
The Civil War began on April 12, 1861 with the attack on Fort Sumter in the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina. The killing of Col. Elmer Ellsworth, a friend of President Lincoln, in late May 1861 galvanized public opinion. He was considered a martyr to the Union cause.