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Period: to
Civil War and Reconstruction
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Florida Secedes
Florida secedes from the Union with a vote of 62-7. -
Battle at Fort Sumter
The battle at Fort Sumter occurs leading 4 more states to secede from the Union. -
Emancipation Proclamation Issued
Abraham Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation - freeing all slaves still held in states in rebellion. -
Battle of Gettysburg Ends
Turning point in the Civil War, last time the South invades the North, Union victory. -
Freedmen's Bureau Created
The Freedmen's Bureau is created, the goal is to aid African Americans with their new found freeedom. It was most successful in the area of education. -
Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
The Confederacy led by General Robert E. Lee surrenders, ending the Civil War. -
Abraham Lincoln Assassinated
Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford's Theater. -
Thirteenth Amendment Ratified
Slavery is abolished. -
Andrew Johnson Impeached
Johnson is impeached as a result of breaking the Tenure of Office Act. He won the trial by one vote and remained in office. -
Fourteenth Amendment Ratified
Amendment granted citizenship and equal protection to all people born in the United States, making former slaves citizens. -
Fifteenth Amendment Ratified
Amendment is ratfied which prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". -
Hiram Revels - "The first black Senator"
Hiram Revels is elected to the Senate to represent Mississippi, becoming the first African American to serve in the US Senate. -
William "Boss" Tweed Exposed
Tweed, the leader of Tammany Hall, which controlled Demoratic politics in New York is exposed by Thomas Nast for embezzling government funds. -
Great Chicago Fire
A fire breaks out killing hundreds and destroying about 3.3 square miles in Chicago, Illinois. -
Credit Mobilier Scandal
A railroad construction company is exposed in participating in bribes of Congressmen. -
Salary Grab
Congress votes to give itself a large raise and to make it retroactive. The law is eventually repealed. -
Financia Crisis
A financialcrisis grips the nation after years of inflation and speculation. -
Whiskey Ring
A scandal involving diversion of tax revenues in a conspiracy among government agents, politicians, whiskey distillers, and distributors. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
Lt. Colonel George Custer and his Seventh Cavalry are defeated by the Sioux resulting in the deaths of 268 Americans. -
Reconstrucion Ends
The Compromise of 1877 is passed - Republican Rutherford B. Hayes becomes president and promises to remove federal troops from the South, ending Reconstruction.
