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Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay's plan could not pass as a complete package because too many members of Congress objected parts of it. New President Millard Fillmore supported some form of a compromise. Congress finally passed a series of 5 separate bills in August and September of 1850. Fillmore believed that they had settles conflict between the North and South. The Compromise of 1850 ended up splitting the country in half. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The book called the fugitive slave act a "Nightmare Abomination" and was published in 1852. It sold more than 300, 000 copies in the first year, but sales of the book were banned in the South. The book had a dramatic storyline and showed slavery as an inhuman system. The book was based off of real facts and Abraham Lincoln claimed that it caused the war. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was caused by John Brown who believed that God chose him to end slavery. Brown and his sons killed 5 supporters of slavery. In October in 1856, the bloodshed finally stopped, but the events made the hostility level rise between the North and the South. -
Dredd Scott Decision
Before 1857, a portion of slaves were uccessful in sueing for freedom. Dred Scott was a slave whose household moved from slave state to free state, then back to slave state. Dred Scott wanted to sue for freedom because he lived in a free state. His case went to the Supreme Court and Chief Justice Roger B. Taney said he was ¨property¨ under the 5th Amendment. Dred Scott was declared a slave. Anti-slavery groups were outraged. -
Lincoln Douglas Debates
The Lincoln Douglas debates were a series of debates held all around the state of Illinois. The last debate was on October 15, 1858. Thousands came to watch the debates and the main topic was slavery. In Freeport, Lincoln questioned Douglas on popular sovereighnty and Douglas´s reply cost him some support in the South. Lincoln eventually lost the election, but he earned a big national reputation. -
Raid on Harpers Ferry
After the 1858 elections, Southerners felt threatened by growing Republican power. John Brown led 18 men in a raid and the target was the arsenal. Brown killed 5 proslavery Kansans, but failed in getting any African Americans to help. Brown was eventually convicted of treason and murder after they were defeated by local citizens and federal troops. It was a rallying point for abolitionists and the South became scared. -
Election of 1860
After the raid, call for secession grew and Southerners thought that Lincoln and his position made it hopeless. Voters in the North and South no longer tolerated each other. Republican victory encouraged slave revolts. -
South Carolina Secedes
South Carolina seceded from the Union. -
Mississippi Secedes
Mississippi was the second state to secede. -
Florida Secedes
Florida was the third state to secede. -
Alabama
Alabama was the fouth state to secede. -
Georgia
Georgia was the fifth state to secede. -
Louisiana
Louisiana was the sixth state to secede. -
Texas Secedes
Texas was the seventh state to secede. -
Fort Sumter
Southern forces were attempting to seize as many Union forts in the South as possible. Lincoln told Southern leaders the North would not fire unless fired upon first. Southern forces fired...the war had begun! -
First Battle of Bull Run (Battle of Manassas Junction)
Northern forces marched from Washington D.C. expecting a quick victory. After initially pushing the Southern forces back, Southern forces charged at the Union forces charged at the Union soldiers with their "rebel yell", forcing the North to retreat. -
Monitor vs. Merrimack (Battle of Hampton Roads)
The South had covered an abandoned Northern ship with iron in an effort to break the Union blockade. The North countered with their own ironclad. The ships fought to a draw, but it is considered a Union victory. They kept the South in the harbor. -
Battle of Shiloh (Pittsburg Landing)
Led by General Ulysses S. Grant, the North defeated the South in the bloodiest 2-day battle of the Civil War. Grant earned the reputation as a "butcher" of men. Congress wanted him removed but Lincoln responded: "I can't spare this man; he fights." -
Capture of New Orleans
Union forces, led by Admiral David G. Farragut surprised the South capturing New Orleans. The city was a major trade city of the South and its capture meant less supplies for Confederate Soldiers. -
Battle of Antietam (Battle of Sharpsburg)
Due to General McClellan's hesitation the North was attacked by Lee's forces. The North was able to hold off the South in the bloodiest single day battle of the war. The hesitation of McClellan caused Lincoln to replace him. Also, it convinces Lincoln to write the Emancipation Proclamation. -
Seige at Vicksburg
Over 9 months Grant led a siege on Vicksburg, finally gaining victory on July 4th ,1863. The North now gained control of the Mississippi river, thus splitting the Confederacy in 2. This victory President Lincoln named /grant commander of the U.S. army. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln understood that taking a stand against slavery would make Britain and France less likely to aid the South. The E.P. freed all slaves within any state in rebellion against the U.S. This allowed African Americans to join the military and led to the 13th Amendment. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Northern and Southern forces met by accident at Gettysburg. The first 2 days saw the South push the North back to cemetary ridge. On the 3rd day Lee sent General Pickett over the ridge where they were easy targets for the North. The South had to retreat. The failed charge was known as "Pickett's charge". -
Sherman's March to the Sea
Union General William T. Sherman led 60,000 soldiers from Atlanta to Savannah. This was to frighten Georgia's population. They did not destroy but they stole food and livestock. They burned things of people who fought back. -
Surrender at Appomatox
Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his 28,000 troops to Grant. This was in the parlor of the courthouse. Union forces had cut off Lee's retreat to North Carolina when he was taking his army from Richmond after Petersburg. -
Lincoln's Assassination
John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the head during a performance at Ford's Theatre in D.C. He shouted the Virginia state motto as well. Booth escaped and ran away, but the Union army eventually executed Booth.
