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The Compromise of 1850 was signed into law. The Compromise admitted California into the Union as a free state, outlawed the slave trade in Washington DC, and opened slavery in western territories to popular sovereignty.
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After the decision of slaver in Kansas was opened to popular sovereignty, violence erupted in Kansas and even in Congress.
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Abolishionist John Brown attempted to lead a slave revolt at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. The raid failed, but instilled fear throughout the south.
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Abraham Lincoln wins the Presidential Election of 1860.
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South Carolina becomes the first state to seceede from the Union.
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The first shots of the Civil War are fired at Fort Sumter in South Carolina
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The Battle of Antietam was a major turing point for the Union in the war, as things prior to this battle were generally going in favor of the Confederacy.
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The Emancipation Proclamation was an order given by President Lincoln declaring the freedom of slaves in the south.
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The battle in Gettysburg, PA produced the largest number of casualities in the war, and it generally seen as the biggest shift in power from the Confederacy to the Union.
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Viewed as another turning point in the war, the Union army takes control of the Confederate stronghold, splitting the Confederacy in two halves.
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Robert E. Lee was forced to surrender at the Battle of Appomattox. Virginia officially surrendered at Appomattox, and the remaining southern states and armies soon followed suit, thus ending the United States Civil War.
