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Compromise of 1850
This compromise took place in September of 1850. California was admitted as a free state,New Mexico and Utah could decide, no slaves in Washington D.C., and Texas would give up claim to New Mexico territory. -
Fugitive Slave Act
This act was passed on September 18. 1850 and required all citizens to apprehend runaway slaves. This would be a victory for the South, and would lead to the rise of abolitionists that wanted to end slavery. Harriet Tubman escaped slavery in 1849 and led over 300 slaves to freedom. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was a series of violent acts between those for slavery and those against it. The Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854 involved popular sovereignty which allowed the people to decide if slavery was legal or not in their state. This was a key factor is the uprising of the civil war. -
Abraham Lincoln is elected President
In the election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln is elected president without getting any votes from the south. This causes the South to be outraged and elect their own, Jefferson Davis, as President. South Carolina is the first to leave the Union, with the six other states following, forming the Confederate States of America. -
Battle of Bull Run
This was the first major battle of the Civil War. The Union was winning until Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson's Virginian's made a stand. The confederates end up taking victory. -
Drafts
During the civil war, soldiers were drafted into service. The Confederate draft began in April of 1862, and the Union draft began in March of 1862. This lead to a peace group called the "copperheads" that were against Lincoln and the war. -
Antietam
This is known as the bloodiest day in American history. Lee and the confederates invaded the North the battle ends up being a draw with 12,000 killed in the first 3 hours. The Emancipation Proclamation would be issued 5 days later -
Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. This proclamation freed all enslaved people in rebellious states. This was also a strategy to keep foreign countries from helping the confederates. -
Chancellorsville
This battle took place in May of 1863 and was Robert E. Lee's greatest victory; however, it was also his most costly loss. The south won the battle through a 12 mile surprise attack in the woods. This was also the battle that Lee's companion, Stonewall Jackson, was shot and killed. -
Gettysburg
This battle was the turning point of the Civil War. It took place on July 1-3, 1863. In just three days, nearly 50,000 were killed for the Union victory. On November 1863, Abraham Lincoln gave the "Gettysburg Address". This speech made the people realize that the United States needed to unite again. -
Vicksburg
This battle took place on July 4, 1863 in Vicksburg, Mississippi. This battle was important because the Union's victory split the South in half and proved that Grant was a great general. -
Freedmen's Bureau
The Freedmen's Bureau , was established in 1865 by Congress to help provide food, shelter, and education for former black slaves and poor whites in the South after the damage due to the Civil War. -
Tenure Act
This act was passed in 1867 and made illegal for the President to fire or remove certain office-holders without the approval of Congress. -
14th Amendment
This amendment was passed on July 9, 1868 and declared that all people born in the United States were citizens. This also prevents former CSA from holding political office. -
15th Amendment
This amendment was passed in 1870 and gave African American men the right to vote by declaring that no citizens could be denied the rights to vote biased on color, race, or previous servitude,