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The Kansas Nebraska Act
This Act allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not they wanted slavery within their borders. It served to repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30´. -
Dred Scott Case
This case was one of the most controversial leading up to the Civil War. Dred Scott, a slave, decided to try for his freedom through the legal system. However, the Supreme Court ended up ruling that Dred Scott was not entitled to his freedom despite having previously lived in a free state. This resulted in an even greater amount of tension between the North and the South. -
Elections of 1860
During this United States presidential election, Republican Abraham Lincoln defeated Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell. Lincoln won the election in an electoral college landslide with 180 electoral votes, although he secured less than 40 percent of the popular vote. Upon Lincoln's election, eleven states seceded, and then the Confederate Army fired on Fort Sumter, starting the Civil War. -
Fort Sumter
This was the battle that started the Civil War. Confederate guns around the harbor opened fire on Fort Sumter. At 2:30 pm on April 13th, Major Robert Anderson, garrison commander, surrendered the fort and was evacuated the next day. The Union would not recapture Fort Sumter for nearly four years. Strangely, this place held no real geographic importance of any kind to the North. -
Battle of Antietam
This battle pitted Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia against Union General George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac and was the culmination of Lee’s attempt to invade the north. It was the deadliest one-day battle in all American military history. It was an important geographical landmark. The Confederates actually used the geography to their advantage for this battle, but still lost. -
Siege of Vicksburg
Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant attack Confederate defenses outside the city on May 19-22. If Vicksburg falls, the Mississippi River will be completely controlled by the Union. With the loss of Pemberton's army and this vital stronghold on the Mississippi, the Confederacy was effectively split in half. Vicksburg was surrendered on July 4th, but the fighting began on May 18th. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg, fought in July 1863, was a Union victory that stopped Confederate General Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North. More than 50,000 men fell as casualties during the 3-day battle, making it the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War. -
Gettysburg Address
President Abraham Lincoln was invited to deliver remarks, which later became known as the Gettysburg Address, at the official dedication ceremony for the National Cemetery of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania, on the site of one of the bloodiest and most decisive battles of the Civil War. Lincoln’s 273-word address would be remembered as one of the most important speeches in American history. He called on the principles of human equality and the idea of one union. -
Battle of Atlanta
The Battle of Atlanta was fought just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Union forces commanded by William T. Sherman, wanting to neutralize the important rail and supply hub, defeated Confederate forces defending the city under John B. Hood. Because of its location and commercial importance, Atlanta was used as a center for military operations and as a supply route by the Confederate army during the Civil War. Therefore, it also became a target for the Union army. -
Appomattox
It was one of the final battles of the American Civil War. It was in Virginia that Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, setting the stage for the end of the four-year civil war. After an early morning attempt to break through Union forces blocking the route west to Danville, Virginia, Lee seeks an audience with General Grant to discuss terms. Lee signs the document of surrender. The Army of Northern Virginia formally surrenders and is disbanded.
