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Start of the war
After seceding from the union due to Lincolns election, Confederates fired on and captured the union help fort Sumter in South Carolina. This event triggered the start of the civil war. -
First Battle of Bull Run
Lincoln ordered an invasion of Virginia to take the rebel capital of Richmond. The two forces clash at a major rail road center heading into the South and fighting breaks out at a creek called Bull Run. The confederates win this battle and it forces the North and Lincoln to take the South serious and not just as a rebel group. -
Battle of Antietam
The Union forces attacked at Antietam creek, led by general McClellan. The fight lasted all day and no one gained any ground by nightfall. The rebel army was forced to flee to Virginia and McClellan missed his chance to finish off the weak army so Lincoln fired him. This is considered the bloodiest day in all of american history - confederates had 31% causalities and the union had 25% causalities. After Antietam Lincoln makes his historical move of the emancipation proclamation. -
Emancipation Proclamtion
Many people were encouraging Lincoln to free the slaves but he didn't think he had the power to and didn't want to loose the border states. The Union was struggling in the war and if freeing the slaves in the south would weaken the south then he would do it, so he did when Lee was defeated at Antietam. The proclamation freed all slaves in the south, and it was allowed only in the south bc it was allowed by the constitution as a military action. -
Formation of the 54th of Massachusetts
After the emancipation proclamation, black soldiers were allowed into the army. The 54th Mass. was the most famous of all black regiments and in July 1863 they led attacks on Fort Wagner in South Carolina. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Lees army went to Gettysburg when they heard a rumour that there were shoes there, and both army's ran into each other. They fought for three days. The Union was victorious and Lees army retreated. This was considered a turning point for the war for the union. -
Defeat of Vicksburg
Vicksburg was the last stronghold of the confederates on the river. Grant first failed at direct attacks, so he went for a long siege until they surrendered. Grants army prevented the confederates from going in or out of the fort, so the confederates eventually ran out of supplies and surrendered after a month and a half. This was the anaconda plan that they originally had and now they the union had control of the Mississippi river. -
New York City Draft Riots
Many of the working class were unhappy with the new laws that were put into place to draft people of force people to fight in the war. These riots were violent, they torched buildings and destroyed a lot of stores and homes. These riots were performed to protest the unfair laws of forcing eligible working men into the war. -
Gettysburg Address
Lincoln came to Gettysburg to make a speech at the dedication of a cemetery for 3,500 soldiers to be buried there. Lincolns speech was 2 minutes, 272 words. In his speech, he said that those who died cane die for nothing and the nation was founded on "all en are created equal" so Lincoln is going to try to live up to that. Lincoln said they have to fight and win this war to end slavery, -
Shermans March to the Sea
When Grant become the head of the army, he plans to follow Lee to Virginia. General William Tecumseh Sherman will go through the south. Sherman declares a total war where he is at war with anything that supports the enemy. He takes his troops on a 300 mile long 60 mile wide path to th sea where they burned and destroyed anything from the enemy. -
Congress passes the 13th amendment
Lincoln had been urging congress to pass a law to end slavery everywhere. When congress passes the 13th amendment it abolished slavery everywhere and prohibited involuntary servitude and nullified the fugitive slave act and 3/5 compromise. This would be a soon victory for the union in the war and the destruction of the south since their economy was dependent on slaver. -
Creation of the Freedman's Bureau
This is a government organization that tried to help former slaves. They helped look for separated family members and helped educate former slaves. Many schools were set up to help the former slaves and children learn to read an write. -
Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
Lee and Grant met in the town of Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. Lee surrendered ending the war. The terms of surrender were very generous and Grant just wanted Lee to stop fighting and return home. There were hard feelings between the north and the south still and 620000+ soldiers died during the war. The Souths economy is devastated with the abolisment of slavery. A period of reconstruction starts after the war. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Five days after Lee surrenders, Lincoln is shot at Fords Theater in Washington DC by John Wilkes Booth. Lincoln dies the next day in a house across the street from the theater. Booth also had plans to kill the VP and secretary of state. Booth was later killed along with his accomplices. -
Creation of the 14th amendment
Because congress wasn't satisfied with he civil rights act, they wanted to change the Constitution. The 14th amendment was added. It stated that all people born in the US were citizens and had equal rights, and they were all granted equal protection under the law.If any state kept blacks from voting, they would lose representatives in Congress. -
Creation of the 15th amendment
In response to the 14th amendment, the south tried to restrict the voting rights of blacks by passing laws and barriers. The 15th amendment stated that citizens cannot be stopped from voting based on race or colour. This got more black representation in congress. -
End of Reconstuction
In 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes was elected as president, and in 1877, he removed the last of the federal troops from the south. This ended reconstruction and the republicans fight for racial equality, soon after the era of reconstruction, the civil rights movement begins in 1950. -
Case - Plessy v. Ferguson
Segregation is challenged in the supreme court case of Plessy vs. Ferguson. The court ruled that segregation was not against the constitution. They said that they are separate but they are still equal(which wasn't correct). Segregation wouldn't be overturned until Brown v Board of Education in 1954.