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Invention of the Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney’s cotton gin allowed for a faster and more efficient way to process cotton. It was a simple and easy to use machine. This helped make slavery more important to the south, vastly expanding it. -
The Missouri Compromise
When Missouri applied to be a state, as a slave state, there were many contentious arguments. There was debate over the spread of slavery and the legislators that would give the pro-slavery side a majority in Congress. Eventually an agreement was reached. Missouri was allowed to become a slave state, but Maine was to be created as a free state. Also, a line was drawn through the country that divided the north and south as free and slave states. -
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
A slave named Nat Turner started an insurrection in Southern Virginia. About 60 white people were killed and militia and artillery were needed to stop it. 55 slaves were executed and hundreds more lynched over the rebellion. It was the bloodiest slave rebellion in the Southern U.S. The few rights black people held in the U.S. were taken away. -
Publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a national bestseller by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It depicts the cruelty of slavery and empowered many to join the cause of abolitionists in the North. This further separated the North and the South from each other. -
Abraham Lincoln Gets Elected
Lincoln’s election in 1860, further divided the nation. He was opposed to slavery and wanted to stop it, causing many in the Southern States to hate him. None of the states in the South voted for him and his election started talks about splitting amongst them. This served as a major factor for the cause of the Civil War. -
The South Breaks off From the Country
Due to the many differences in ideologies and rifts between the Northern and Southern States, multiple states broke off from the country. This was fuelled by many events, such as the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and Lincoln’s election. South Carolina seceded first, on December 20, 1860, with many southern states following its path. -
Standoff at Fort Sumter
When the South separated from the U.S., they demanded that all property that belonged to the U.S. government that was part of their land be given up. The fort was not resupplied and a standoff ensued. Confederate General Pierre G.T. Beauregard, who was in charge of the Confederate forces there was then ordered to attack the fort and attacked it on April 12. The Union forces surrendered and were evacuated the day after. There was only one casualty in the battle. This started the Civil War. -
1st Battle of Bull Run
A Union volunteer army led by Brigadier General Irvin McDowell marched from Washington D.C. to Virginia. Confederate forces under Pierre G.T. Beauregard stayed on the other side of Bull Run, a creek that separated the two forces from each other and defended the railroad junction at the town of Manassas. The Union troops attacked, but failed. The Confederates then counterattacked, which led to a panicked retreat of the entire Union force there. This was the first actual battle in the Civil War. -
Battle of the Ironclads
The clash of two ironclad ships was the first battle between two ironclad ships. The Confederate ironclad was defeating Union ships until the Union ironclad approached it. The battle that happened after ended in a draw, with both ships retreating to resupply and recover. -
Shiloh
On April 7, 1862, Confederate forces attacked troops under General Ulysses S. Grant in Pittsburg Landing. The Union forces were able to win the battle, creating an opening for Grant to begin an operation in the Mississippi Valley later in that year and which ended in attacking Vicksburg, the last Confederate-controlled area along the Mississippi River. -
Antietam
After being defeated by General George B. McClellan during a battle in an invasion of Maryland, Lee gathered his forces and decided to make a stand. He chose the village of Sharpsburg, which had the Antietam Creek. McClellan then attacked Lee’s position soon after. After bloody fighting, there were 23,000 casualties on both sides. Lee then moved his troops back to Virginia. The battle repelled Lee from Mayland and gave Lincoln the opportunity to deliver the Emancipation Proclamation. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was a declaration that gave slaves in the South freedom. This happened after the battle of Antietam because Lincoln needed a victory before declaring it. It strengthened the Union politically and militarily due to the fact that it added moral power to what the Union was fighting for. -
Fredericksburg
At the beginning of November that year, Major General Ambrose E. Burnside led the Army of the Potomac to invade Richmond before General Lee’s army could block him. He did not make it in time, with Lee fortifying the area he needed to travel through at Fredericksburg. After a series of bloody failed Union attacks, Burnside retreated. -
Chancellorsville
Major General Joseph Hooker launched an attack to try to pry General Lee out of Fredericksburg. He dislodged Lee who marched some of his troops away. The Union troops fell back to Chancellorsville. Lee split his army and two and attacked Hooker’s troops. Hooker had to fall back and abandon his campaign. This battle is considered to be General Lee’s best victory. -
Vicksburg
Forces under General Ulysses S. Grant marched to Vicksburg. It ended up being a siege against the Confederate defenses there. There was bloody fighting and the Confederate troops’ numbers were being whittled down by illness and combat. Eventually, Confederate troops surrendered on July 4. The siege lasted 47 days. This in combination with another Union victory at Port Hudson five days after, allowed the Union army to control the entire Mississippi River. -
Gettysburg
During the summer of 1863, Confederate General Robert E. Lee launched an offensive to invade the North. He had many recent victories during battles in the South and wanted to win on northern land. The Union forces following him met him at Gettysburg. Lee’s forces were beaten and they fell back. The battle was a major victory for the Union and many see it as the turning point in the war. It had around 51,000 casualties for both sides, making it the bloodiest single battle of the entire war. -
Capture of Richmond
After an invasion by the Union into the South, Union troops under Ulysses S. Grant tried to capture Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. After 10 months of trying to infiltrate the city and a desperate attack by Lee, Union forces attacked the defensive line protecting Richmond. The Confederate government fled the city right before it was captured. This was one of the biggest signs that the Confederacy was nearing its end. -
Appomattox
On April 9, 1861, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 troops to General Ulysses S. Grant. He was cut off from the surviving Confederate forces in North Carolina and was surrounded. Many Confederate troops deserted his army. With no chance of escaping, Lee declared his willingness to surrender. The terms of surrender were drafted and agreed to. This ended the American Civil War. -
Lincoln’s Assassination
Five days after the surrender at Appomattox, John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the back of his head at Ford’s Theatre. This was a desperate attempt by Booth to save the Confederacy. Booth was a well known actor who had secretly Confederate sympathies but stayed in the North. Booth and his co-conspirators fled, but they were soon caught and killed by Federal forces and the nation mourned for their leader. -
13th Amendment Ratified
After the bloody fighting of the Civil War, the 13th Ammendment was created to end slavery. After being ratified by Georgia on December 6, 1865, slavery was effectively ended in the U.S.
