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The South Secedes
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Lincoln declares a state of insurrection and calls for 75,000 volunteers to enlist for three months of service.
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Lincoln orders a blockade of all Confederate ports.
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Julia Ward Howe, inspired after seeing a review of General McClellan's army in the Virginia countryside near Washington, composes the lyrics to "The Battle Hymn of the Republic." It is published in the Atlantic Monthly in February 1862
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President Lincoln issues General War Order #1, calling for a general Union offensive. General-in-chief McClellan ifnores this order.
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General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Henry, Tennessee. Ten days later he accepts the “unconditional and immediate surrender” of Fort Donelson. These victories open up the state of Tennessee for Union advancement.
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Battle of the armored warships, the Monitor and the Merrimac
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Frustrated by the inaction of McClellan, Lincoln removes him as general-in-chief of the Union armies but leaves him as head of the Potomac.
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An act of Congress forbids slavery in federal territories but not in the states.
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Emancipation Proclamation takes effect. (It actually frees no slaves at this time, though.)
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Arizona Territory is formed
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The Idaho Territory is formed.
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Pro-Union West Virginia is admitted as the 35th state, it's constitution mandating gradual emancipation of slaves.
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Period: to
Battle of Gettysburg
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President Lincoln proclaims the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.
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Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg Address
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The use of "In God We Trust" approved for coins.
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Radical Republicans opposing Lincoln nominate General John Fremont as Presidential candidate.
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Republican Party in Convention nominates Lincoln as Presidential candidate.
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Nevada is admitted to the Union as the 36th state.
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Abraham Lincoln wins Presidential election by less than half a million votes.
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Salmon P. Chase, a Radical Republican who has resigned as Secretary of the Treasury after disagreements with Lincoln, is appointed by the President as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. It is a wise and conciliatory move on Lincoln' part.
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The U.S. Congress proposes the 13th amendment, which prohibits slavery.
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The Freedmen's Bureau is founded by Congress to aid former slaves.
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Abraham Lincoln inaugurated for second term.
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Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Court House
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Lincoln assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford Theater. Secretary Seward is stabbed by a co-conspirator.
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Ratification of 13th Amendment
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Congress authorizes new coin called a nickel.
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Nebraska becomes 37th state.
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U.S. acquires Alaska from Russia
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impeachment charges against President Andrew Johnson
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Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina all readmitted to the Union in the "Omnibus Act".
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U.S.Grant wins Presidential election in a landslide victory.
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Number of Judges on the Supreme Court rises to 9
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Internal Revenue and Tariff Act of 1870 is adopted by Congress.
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Civil Service Commission formed by Grant reluctantly.
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Grant wins second term as President
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Slaughterhouse Cases heard in the Supreme Court
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The Wiskey Ring Scandal - one of the Many scandals to plague Grant's terms of office
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Colorado becomes 38th state to join the Union.
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R.B Hayes wins Presidential election through Congressional decision.
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First Flag Day
