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Republican Party is formed
Former members of the Whig party met to establish a new party. This party was to oppose slavery into new western territories. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act passed
The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise. The U.S. now follows the popular sovereignty when new states join the country. -
Abraham Lincoln elected president
Lincoln was elected president over John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen Douglas. He won with 180 electoral votes. -
South Carolina votes to secede from the United States
The General Assembly called for a "Convention of the People of South Carolina" to come to an agreement about secession. They seceded from the union to protect their states' rights and disagreements over taxes. They seceded mainly because they wanted to keep slavery legal. -
Lincoln gives his second inaugural address
In Lincoln's second inaugural address he states that the war is happening because of slavery. -
Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter
Confederate forces attacked the military grassion at Fort Sumter, in South Carolina. The Union forced surrendered at the Confederate army won. -
Lincoln suspends habeas corpus
Lincoln suspended the writ of heabeas corpus. Under this order, commanders could arrest and detain individuals who seemed threatening to military operations. -
First Battle of Bull Run is fought
The First Battle of Bull Run is a fight between the Union and Confederate armies. The confederate side won. -
Jefferson Davis elected president of the Confederacy
Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederate States of America. He ran unopposed and was elected to serve a 6 year term. The confederate states included most of the southern states. -
The Merrimac and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast
This war was a naval war. It was apart of the confederate efforts to break the Union blockade of Southern ports. -
Battle of Shiloh
The battle began when the confederate army launched a surprise attack on Union forces. The Union defended themselves causing the confederates to retreat. The Union army won this war. -
Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
Lee resigned his commission in the U.S. army. He then became the commander of the Confederate army. He then renamed the Confederate army to the Army of Northern Virginia. -
Battle of Antietam
This battle occurred at Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. The Confederacy wanted to invade the north. The Confederacy abandoned their invasion causing the Union to win. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was one of the deadliest in the civil war. The war started because the union wanted to seize the capital of the confederacy and take confederate territory. The war ended after the Union retreated causing them to lose an opportunity to advance further into confederate territory and capture the capital of Richmond. -
Emancipation Proclamation is announced
President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
Battle of Chancellorsville
This battle was fought in Spotsylvania County, Virginia, near the village of Chancellorsville. The Union was trying to destroy the Confederate army of Northern Virginia. The war ended in a Confederate victory with the Union army retreating back to Washington, DC. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The war was between Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War. The war happened because Robert E. Lee (A confederate general) made a plan to invade the north. After the 3 day battle, Lee led his army in a retreat back to Virginia. -
Confederates surrender at Vicksburg
General John C. Pemberton surrendered his confederate army. The victory caused the Union control of the Mississippi River in the Civil War. -
Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address
Lincoln delivered a short speech dedicating the battlefield cemetery at Gettysburg, PA. He also highlighted the sacrifices of the soldiers and thanked them. -
Atlanta is captured
General William Tecumseh Sherman and his troops captured Atlanta. Atlanta was used as a center for military operations and as a supply route by the Confederate army during the Civil War. -
Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election
George McClellan was apart of the Democratic party. Lincoln won with 212 electoral votes and 55% of the popular vote. -
Sherman begins his March to the Sea
The purpose of Sherman's March to the Sea was to "frighten Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause." General William T. Sherman (A Union general) led 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march. The march started in Atlanta, Georgia and ended in Savannah, Georgia. -
Freedman’s Bureau is created
Congress passed “An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees” to provide food, shelter, clothing, medical services, and land to displaced Southerners. This included new citizens too (slaves). -
Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy
Once Virginia seceded, the confederate government moved to Richmond. -
Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox
Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederacy army. Lee surrendered his army because he didn't want to cause anymore destruction to the south. -
President Lincoln assassinated
Lincoln was assassinated at Fort's theater in Washington, DC. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. He was a confederate sympathizer. Robert E. Lee was a commander of confederate armies. After General Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Court house Booth wanted to save the confederacy. -
John Wilkes Booth is killed
John Wilkes Booth was the man who killed Lincoln. Union soldiers tracked him down and found him 12 days after he assassinated Lincoln. Booth was found in a barn but he refused to come out. The barn was set on fire hoping to scare Booth out. Booth was also shot and he died in the barn from the gun shot wound and the fire 3 hours later.