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Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was significant because it was a set of 5 laws that resolved divisions over slavery from the Mexican-American War. To please the North, this compromise provided that California would be admitted to the Union as a free state. To please the South, a new and more effected fugitive slave law was proposed. For residents of Utah and New Mexico, a provision allowed popular sovereignty. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed people to choose whether slavery would be allowed within their borders. This act repealed the Missouri Compromise, which angered the North who supported it. In the South, however, the Southerners defending the proposed legislation. The opposing forces soon clashed after the Act was passed, and each side rushed into Kansas to populate it in order to win the vote on slavery. The aftermath of the election led to "Bleeding Kansas", which led way to the Civil war. -
Dred Scott Court Case
Dred Scott believed that he was a free man because he had lived in Illinois, a free state, and Wisconsin, a free territory, after being brought there by his slave owner from Missouri, a slave state. The case took years, but the Supreme Court decided to rule against him. They stated that he lacked a legal standing to sue because he could never be a citizen. The court ruled that being in a free territory didn't make a slave free. -
Abraham Lincoln is elected President
Abraham Lincoln had been elected by the Republicans. Besides Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, John C. Breckinridge, and John Bell had vied for office. The outcome had been significantly controversial because Lincoln took the victory with less than half the popular vote and no electoral votes from the South. In fact, most Southerners were so mad that they succeeded from the Union -
Bull Run
This was the first bloodshed battle of the Civil War. The Union army had gained the upper hand to begin in the morning, but the Confederates had fought back, led by General Stonewall Jackson. By the afternoon, the Confederates took the first victory. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation after having the power to do so. The Emancipation Proclamation did not automatically free slaves because it applied only to areas behind Confederate lines, outside Union control. However, the war began to have a moral purpose. Instead of just a struggle, it became a fight to free slaves. -
Battle of Gettysburg
After the consecutive Confederate victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville , Gettysburg had been a turning point in the war. The battle had gone on for 3 days and had a total of about 50,000 deaths.The Union army came to fight on day 3, in the open field battle, having the higher ground advantage, after renewing its barrage. The Union army had finally defeated the Confederate. -
Battle of Vicksburg
Vicksburg was one of the two remaining Confederate strongholds on the Mississippi River. Grant was adamant on winning this battle, and he started by weakening the Confederate defenses surrounding Vicksburg. After successfully doing so, Grant rushed to Vicksburg and barricaded the residents into caves. It got to the point where the Confederate army asked for terms of surrender. The Battle of Vicksburg had completely cut the south in half, and the Union army came on top once again. -
Freedmen's Bureau
The Freedmen's Bureau had been established by Congress. The Bureau provided food, clothing, hospitals, legal protection, and education for former slaves and poor whites. This was a success of Reconstruction. -
Reconstruction Plans
Reconstruction was the period where the United States began to rebuild after the Civil War, lasting from 1865-1877. A group of people, who called themselves the Radical Republicans, had a plan to punish the South, have black suffrage, 50% loyalty, and abolished slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment. Then there was Andrew Johnson, who had the idea that there was no need for the 10 percent plan, brought up by Lincoln before his death, as long as they abolished slavery. -
Appomattox Court House
In the Virginian Town of Appomattox Court House, Lee and Grant met in a private home, arranging a Confederate surrender after the Confederate capital, Richmond, had been destroyed. The Confederate soldiers got what they wanted during this meeting, and the Union army won. After four years, the Civil War was over. -
Lincoln's Assassination
Five days after Lee surrendered, Lincoln decided to go see a British comedy with his wife. Unfortunately, Lincoln did not make it to the end, because he was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth. With this, he could not implement his plans for reunifying the nation, and the presidency went over to Andrew Johnson. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment had abolished slavery. This was significant because slavery had been an issue for so long and so many people fought against it. This was a huge success for the Reconstruction Era. -
Andrew Johnson Impeachment
The Radicals thought Johnson was blocking Reconstruction, they tried to find grounds on which to impeach him. They found that he removed Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton, from office in 1868, violating the the Tenure of Office Act. The House had impeached Johnson, but one vote from the Senate allowed him to stay in office. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment stated that all persons born in the United States were citizens. This amendment prevented states from denying rights and privileges to any U.S. citizen. This was intended to overrule and nullify the Dred Scott decision and was a success in the Reconstruction Era.
