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Elected President of the U.S.
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States. -
Secede
South Carolina became the first of eleven southern states to secede from the United States. Ultimately Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia would follow. -
Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America organized in Montgomery, Ala., and elected Jefferson Davis president. The Confederate capital moved to Richmond, Virginia, not long after Virginia seceded in April 1861. -
Inauguration
Lincoln is inaugurated. -
Start of Civil War
President Lincoln issued a call for troops after Confederates in Charleston, South Carolina, fired on Union-held Fort Sumter, initiating the Civil War. -
Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run at Manassas, Virginia -
First Confiscation Act
Congress passed the First Confiscation Act which invalidated the claims of slave owners to escaped slaves who had been used on behalf of the Confederacy; Lincoln signed into law. -
Joint Resolution
Lincoln submitted to Congress a joint resolution proposing a federally compensation emancipation plan. Both houses of Congress passed the resolution in April, but state legislatures in the effected states failed to respond. -
Federal Territories
Congress outlawed slavery in federal territories; Lincoln signed into law. -
Militia Act
Congress passed the Militia Act, which authorized the employment of African Americans in the military, freedom for those who were enslaved, and freedom for their families if owned by those disloyal to the Union. Lincoln signed into law. -
Emancipation Proclamation Draft
Lincoln presented a draft Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation to his cabinet. Secretary Seward suggested waiting for a Union military victory before issuing a proclamation. -
Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam considered a Union victory. This battle is called the bloodiest single day of the Civil War. -
Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that as of January 1, 1863 "all persons held as slaves within any State, or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." -
Final Emacipation Proclamation
Lincoln signed the Final Emancipation Proclamation, which freed all slaves not residing in specified Union-controlled areas of the Confederacy, and authorized enrollment of African Americans into the military. -
Gettysburg
This was one of the most important wars for the North. Lee orders the Confederates to march straight toward the Union lines! The charge was a disaster for the Confederate troops. There were 51,000 casualties making this the most casualties in a battle out of the entire Civil War. -
Gettysburg Address
Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the national cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania -
Proposed Constitutional Amendment
United States Senate passed a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery -
Re-elected
Lincoln re-elected president -
Proposed 13th Amendment
United States House of Representatives passed the joint resolution proposing a thirteenth constitutional amendment abolishing slavery, which the Senate had passed in April 1864. The proposed amendment was sent to the states for ratification. -
End of Civil War
Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War. -
Assassinated
Abraham Lincoln shot at Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth. -
Died
Lincoln died at 7:22 a.m. on April 15. -
Ratification
Ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
