-
Period: to
coming of civil war
-
discovered gold
James Marshall discovers gold at John Sutter's sawmill near Sacramento, Calif. -
resues slave
A Boston crowd rescues Shadrack, a fugitive slave, from court custody -
seven debates
Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, candidates for the US Senate from Illinois, hold seven debates. The Democratic majority in the Illinois legislature reelected Douglas to the Senate. -
bull run
At the first battle of Bull Run, near Manassass, Va., Confederate forces rout a Union army. -
captured new orleans
Capt. David G. Farragut captures New Orleans -
rioting
The New York City Draft Riots. Four days of rioting leave a thousand people dead or wounded before troops brought from Gettysburg restore order. -
capital punishment
michigan first state to abolish capital punishment -
abolish slavery
The 13th Amendment to the US Constitution abolishes slavery -
seward's icebox
Seward's Icebox." Russia sells Alaska to the United States for $7.2 million, or less than 2 cents an acre. -
first black u.s senate and representative
Hiram R. Revels of Mississippi becomes the first African American to serve in the US Senate. Joseph H. Rainey of South Carolina becomes the first black Representative. -
prospectors trustpass
The discovery of gold leads thousands of prospectors to trespass on Indian lands the Black Hills in Dakota territory. -
railroad strikes
The Great Railroad Strikes begins in Marinsburg, W. Va., after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad imposes a 10 percent wage cut
