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Presidency
Abe Lincoln was elected the president receiving 180 of 303 possible electoral votes. -
Secession from Union
South Carolina secedes from the Union. Followed within two months by Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. -
Civil War
The civil war was the beginning of the civil rights movement. The war was the result of a large controversy over slavery in America. -
Confederate States
The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis, a West Point graduate and former U.S. Army officer, as president. -
Gen. Pierre Beauregard
At 4:30 a.m. Confederates under Gen. Pierre Beauregard open fire with 50 cannons upon For Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War begins. -
Proclamation
President Lincoln issues a Proclamation calling for 75,000 militiamen, and summoning a special session of Congress for July 4. -
Final Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln issues the final Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in territories held by Confederates and emphasizes the enlisting of black soldiers in the Union Army. The war to preserve the Union now becomes a revolutionary struggle for the abolition of slavery. -
Vicksburg
The last Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi River surrenders to Gen. Grant after weeks of siege. -
Frederick Douglass
The president meets with abolitionist Frederick Douglass who pushes for full equality for Union 'Negro Troops.' -
Abolished Slavery
The thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution , passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, is finally passed...Slavery is abolished.
