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Telegraph Invented
In 1844, the Telegraph is invented by Samuel F.B. Morse. At the time, the North had more railroads than the South. This was an advantage because telegraph lines were strung over railroad tracks, so the North had an advantage over the South. (picture from http://www.myptsmail.com/hotdog256/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/first_telegraph.jpg) -
Presidential Election of 1848
In the Presidential Election of 1848, many of the candidates did not discuss the slavery issue, mainly because the topic was so contraversial. A third party, the Free Soil Party, shortly formed and took votes away from the Democratic candidate. This secured a victory for Zachary Tyler. (picture from http://woulfeman.com/ZacharyTaylor%202.jpg) -
Compromise of 1850
California requested to become a free state, which would throw off the current balance. Henry Clay introduced the compromise of 1850, which made California into a free state. It also let New Mexico and Utah decide if they were to be free or slave states, kept slaves legal in Washington D.C., and implemented the Fugitive Slave Law. (picture from http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/images/0090001.jpg) -
Death of President Taylor
Many people opposed the Compromise of 1850, like John C. Calhoun, who thought that the federal government had no right to make laws regarding slavery. President Taylor was going to make a decision on the compromise, but died unexpectedly. Millard Filmore then became President and passed the Compromise of 1850. (picture from http://www.civilwarhome.com/images/comprise.jpg) -
Uncle Tom's Cabin is published
The Abolitionist movement had started growing rapidly beginning in the 1820s, but the book Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe made northerners realize how horrible slavery really was. The South thought this book was mainly lies, however. (picture from http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_MLz5Tv5cTP4/S95Tfa7wg4I/AAAAAAAAAH4/J_-J6pzEu30/s1600/Uncle+Tom%27s+Cabin.jpg) -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
In an attempt to gain southern Democrat support, Stephen Douglas introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This act gave Kansas and Nebraska the decision of whether they wanted to be slave or free states. Douglas originally thought that Kansas and Nebraska would be free states, thus somewhat tricking Democrats, but the plan backfired. (picture from http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/odyssey/archive/03/0320001r.jpg) -
Republican Party is formed
In 1854, the Republican party is formed with their main intent being to put an end to slavery. They were brought about mainly due to the fact that they all despised the Kansas-Nebraska Act that Stephen Douglas had brought about the same year. (pictures from http://www.insidefacebook.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/republicanlogo.png) -
Stephen Douglas and his Presidential Plans
Senetor Stephen Douglas of Illinois saw an opportunity to run for presidency and thought he could get the support of southern Democrats. He also wanted Chicago to have benefits, which he believe could be gotten by granting statehood to Kansas and Nebraska. (picture from http://www.sonofthesouth.net/slavery/pictures/stephen-a-douglas.jpg) -
Election of 1856
In the election of 1858, the Democrats nominated James Buchanan, the Republicans nominated john C. Fremont, and the Know-Nothings nominated Millard Filmore. Democrats supported popular sovereighty, while the Republicans wanted to do away with slavery all together. James Buchanan won the election. (picture from http://johntylerbiography.com/images/james_buchanan_1.jpg) -
Emigrant Aid Society
The Emigrant Aid Society was formed in 1856 and lasted around a year. It's main purpose had to do with the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed Kansas and Nebraska to decide if they were to be slave or free states. The Emigrant Aid Society would send New Englanders to Kansas so that the vote would be in favor of being a free state. Pro-slavery groups also took the same approach. (pricture from http://www.oceansofkansas.com/images2/ks-1872.jpg) -
Bleeding Kansas
On May 21, 1856, pro-slavery groups began looting businesses and homes in Lawrence, Kansas. Lawrence had been a major center of activity for free soiler groups. A few nights later, John Brown led a small group of men to attack and kill five pro-slavery advocates. During the summer of 1856, Kansas was dubbed "Bleeding Kansas", because of all the voilence happening there. (picture from http://www.kshs.org/ksmemory/KM90400cropped.jpg) -
Dred Scott Case
In 1857, Dred Scott, a slave, filed suit against his master. They were living in Missouri, which was a slave state, but Scott said that he had liven in free territories, so he should be considered free. The case was taken to the Supreme Court, which found that Dred Scott would not be freed because he was not technically an American citizen. The Supreme Court also declared that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/DredScott.jpg) -
The Lecompton Constitution
In 1857, Kansas writes their own constitution which became known as teh Lecompton Constitution. Lecompton was the pro-slavery capital in Kansas. Stephen Douglas opposed the Lecompton Constitution because it was not even voted on by Kansas. This is when the Lincoln-Douglas debates began, also. (picture from http://img.kansasmemory.org/thumb500/00043228.jpg) -
Cannibals All! is published
George Fitzhough publishes Cannibals All! in 1857. The book mainly describes northern industrialists as no better than cannibals, and he states that their entrepreneurial mindset is immoral. (picture from http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51UFNHM6LzL.jpg) -
Attack on Harper's Ferry
Many people had turned to violence during this time. John Brown attacked the federal arsenal in Harper's Ferry in Western Virginia, along with twentyone other men. They were met by Robert E. Lee and his men, who stopped them. Brown was then convicted of treason and was executed. (picture from http://www.blackpast.org/files/blackpast_images/John_Brown_at_Harper_s_Ferry__public_domain_.jpg) -
Differences between North and South
The North had the advantages of railroads and telegraph systems, while the South prefered waterways as their means of trade and transport. In 1860, there are an estimated 110,000 factories in the North, and 20,000 factories in the South, therefore showing how prosperous the North could be, even without slaves. (picture from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/East-Boston-Arial-1879.gif) -
Election of 1860
In the election of 1860, Southern Democrats nominate John C. Breckinridge, who supports slavery. Northern Democrats nominate Stephen Douglas. Maryland, Kentucky, and Missour Form the Constitutional Union Party and nominate John Bell. The Republicans nominate Abraham Lincoln. The parties were very split at this time, and Lincoln was elected without a single Democrat vote from the electoral college. (picture from http://www.maniacworld.com/Abraham-Lincoln-Was-Not-a-Saint.jpg) -
The Confederacy
The southern states were outraged at Lincoln's election, and though they had been threatening for some time now to leave the Union, they finally did. On December 20th, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas soon followed. (picture from http://wilybadger.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/600px-battle_flag_of_the_us_confederacy_svg.png) -
The President of the Confederacy
The following February, the representatives of the Confederate states held a meeting in Montgomery, Alabama to form the Confederate States of America. They elected their president, Jefferson Davis. When President Buchanan heard about this, he declared that secession was illegal, but he took no action against it. (picture from http://www.knowledgehouse.info/images/Jefferson_Davis.png) -
The Civil War
On April 10, 1861, Jefferson Davis orders General Beauregard to demand the surrender of Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter refuses to surrender, and on April 12, the first shots of the war are fired. Twentyfour hours later, General Anderson surrenders to the Confederates. (picture from http://www.civilwarhome.com/images/ftsumter.jpg) -
First Battle of Bull Run
General McDowell launches his attack to secure the town of Manassas, Virginia. It came to be known as the First Battle of Bull Run, and it is considered the first major battle of the war. 30,000 men faught from both sides. The Conferates won this battle. (picture from http://answersinhistory.files.wordpress.com/2007/02/bullrun.jpg?w=500) -
Battle of Shiloh
General Ulysses S. Grant led the Union troops to Corinth, Mississippi. Corinth was considered a crucial location because its railroad center was close to the Tennessee-Mississippi border. Confederates met Union troops at Shiloh church and the attack that ensued became known as the Battle of Shiloh. It is considered on of the bloodiest battles to take place in the Civil War. (picture from http://www.civil-war-journeys.org/images/Battle_of_Shiloh_Thulstrup.jpg) -
The Merrimack and the Monitor
The Union planned to block Confederate ports with warships. The Confederates were planning a counter-attack. In March of 1862, the Union launches the Monitor off the coast of Virginia. The Confederate ship, the Merrimack, attacks the Monitor. Both ships were eventually destroyed and no one was declared winner. (picture from http://www.pdxcoinclub.org/gallery/OurLittleMonitor/Monitor_Merrimack_Battle.jpg) -
Union Laws Passed
With most of the Democrats gone to the Confederacy, the Republicans in the Union are able to get a lot of bills passed. Pacific Railroad Act allowed the government to build a railroad from Nebraska to the Pacific Coast. Homestead Act provided free government land issued to people willing to settle in unpopulated territories. (picture from http://www.massrealestatelawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/homestead-stamp.JPG) -
Battle of Antietam
In September of 1862, Confederate General Lee decides that it is time to invade the North and go to Maryland. On the 17 of September, the Battle of Antietam ensues, which forces Confederates to retreat back into Virginia. Afterwards, the South implements a draft. (picture from http://www.amazing-planet.net/slike/american-civil-war-art/battle_of_antietam.jpg) -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, which frees the slaves in the states in rebellion. African Americans are then able and willing to join the military in an effort to free other slaves, even though they recieved lower pay than the rest of the soldiers. In July 1863, Sergeant William Carney is the first African American to win a Congressional Medal of Honor. (picture from http://www.solcomhouse.com/images/3b53030r.jpg) -
The Red Cross
Female volunteers cared for the sick adn wounded souldiers in the Civil War. Clara Barton established the first Red Cross, although most soldiers died there because of the poor sanitation, poor water supplies, and inability to handle human waste. (picture from http://americancivilwar.com/women/Clara_Barton/Clara_Barton_Red_Cross_1905.jpg) -
Lincoln's Re-election Plan
Lincoln's plan to be re-elected was this: Put Grant in command of the Union forces in the East and put General William Tecumseh Sherman in command of the Union forces in the West. Lincoln also changed his Vice President to Andrew Johnson, a Democrat. (picture from http://www.corbisimages.com/images/67/A43ACDC9-DB26-49F8-B384-E9E338CB21B1/IR001062.jpg) -
End of the War
On September 2, 1864, Union forces capture Atlanta, and the war slowly came to and end. On April 2, 1865, General Grant and Lee met and discussed terms of a treaty and signed a resolution. The war was officially over. (picture from http://www.aoc.gov/cc/photo-gallery/images/peace_civil_war_71186_1.jpg) -
President Lincoln is Assassinated
President Lincoln is killed by John Wilkes Booth in Washington D.C. at Ford's Theator while attending a play with his wife. Booth's earlier plans had including kidnapping Lincoln, killing General Grant, and also killing Vice President Andrew Johnson. Booth was eventually captured and killed. (picture from http://lincoln200.delaware.gov/images/photos/20_AssassinationPrint.jpg)
