History

  • Mar 4, 861

    Abraham Lincoln becomes President

    Abraham Lincoln becomes President
    Abraham Lincoln becomes President
  • The Fugitive Slave Act Passes

    The Fugitive Slave Act Passes
    The act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state
  • 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' Is Published

    'Uncle Tom's Cabin' Is Published
    it was an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe
  • Bleeding Kansas' Riots Shock Northerners

    Bleeding Kansas' Riots Shock Northerners
    Republicans used Bleeding Kansas to gain support among northerners by arguing that the Democrats clearly sided with the pro-slavery forces perpetrating this violence.
  • Charles Sumner Attacked by Preston Brooks on the U.S. Senate Floor

     Charles Sumner Attacked by Preston Brooks on the U.S. Senate Floor
    representative Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, used a walking cane to attack Senator Charles Sumner,
  • Dred Scott Loses His Case to Be Free

    Dred Scott Loses His Case to Be Free
    having lived in a free state and territory did not entitle an enslaved so the was decision argued that, as someone's property, Scott was not a citizen and could not sue in a federal court.
  • Kansas Voters Reject the Lecompton Constitution

    Kansas Voters Reject the Lecompton Constitution
    having the opportunity to reject the constitution altogether in a referendum, overwhelmingly rejected the Lecompton Constitution by a vote of 10,226 to 138.
  • John Brown Raids Harper's Ferry

    John Brown Raids Harper's Ferry
    the raid was to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry,
  • Pony Express

    Pony Express
    The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders.
  • Crittenden Compromise

    Crittenden Compromise
    it was an unsuccessful proposal to permanently enshrine slavery in the United States Constitution,
  • South Carolina secedes

    South Carolina secedes
    he first state to secede from the federal Union
  • Kansas admitted to the Union as a free state

    Kansas admitted to the Union as a free state
    Kansas is admitted to the Union as free state. It was the 34th state to join the Union.
  • Confederate States of America is established

    Confederate States of America is established
    representatives from the six seceded states met to formally establish a unified government,
  • The South Creates a Government

    The South Creates a Government
    At a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, the seven seceding states created the Confederate Constitution
  • Morrill tariff

    Morrill tariff
    The Morrill Tariff was an increased import tariff
  • American Civil War begins at Fort Sumter

    American Civil War begins at Fort Sumter
    It ended with the surrender by the United States Army, beginning the American Civil War
  • Ex Parte Merryman, federal court case which objected to Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus

     Ex Parte Merryman, federal court case which objected to Lincoln's suspension of habeas corpus
    Lincoln suspended the writ of habeas corpus between Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia to give military authorities the necessary power to silence dissenters and rebels.
  • First Battle of Bull Run

    First Battle of Bull Run
    it was the first major battle of the American Civil War
  • General McDowell Is Replaced

    General McDowell Is Replaced
    Union officers often were unable to rally their men until they had reached the safety of Washington so President Abraham Lincoln removed McDowell from command of the Army
  • Battle of Belmont

    Battle of Belmont
    t was the first combat test in the American Civil War for Brig. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant
  • The Battle of Shiloh

    The Battle of Shiloh
    a two-day conflict was at that point the bloodiest battle in American history
  • Homestead Act

     Homestead Act
    Act accelerated the settlement of the western territory by granting adult heads of families 160 acres
  • Stonewall" Jackson Defeats Union Forces

    Stonewall" Jackson Defeats Union Forces
    Jackson defeated Banks and pursued him until the Union Army crossed the Potomac River into Maryland
  • The Battle of Seven Pines

    The Battle of Seven Pines
    two-day battle in the Peninsular Campaign, in which Confederate attacks were repulsed, fought 6 miles
  • Pacific Railway Act

     Pacific Railway Act
    offered government incentives to men of talent who are willing to invest in developing the nation's first transcontinental rail line.
  • Morrill Land Grant Colleges Act

    Morrill Land Grant Colleges Act
    The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges
  • A New Commander of the Union Army

    A New Commander of the Union Army
    Major-General Henry Halleck was named general-in-chief of the Union army.
  • Pope's Campaign

    Pope's Campaign
    his campaign was to aid McClellan's Peninsula Campaign by drawing troops away from Richmond or at least preventing Jackson from reinforcing General Robert E. Lee and his troops,
  • Battle of Antietam

    Battle of Antietam
    showed that the Union could stand against the Confederate army in the Eastern theater.
  • The Battle of Fredericksburg

    The Battle of Fredericksburg
    It featured the first opposed river crossing in American military history as well as the Civil War's first instance of urban combat.
  • Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation

    Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation
    The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free.
  • Battle of Arkansas Post

     Battle of Arkansas Post
    Federal combined operation against a Confederate position on the Arkansas river that succeeded but at too high a cost
  • National Banking Act of 1863

    National Banking Act of 1863
    The act allowed the creation of national banks, set out a plan for establishing a national currency
  • The 1863 Conscription Act

    The 1863 Conscription Act
    conscription law authorizing a national draft.
  • The Battle of Chancellorsville

    The Battle of Chancellorsville
    it resulted in a Confederate victory that stopped an attempted flanking movement by Maj. Gen. Joseph
  • Battle of Port Gibson

     Battle of Port Gibson
    the battle was between Union and Confederate forces during the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War
  • Battle of Gettysburg

    Battle of Gettysburg
    Robert E. Lee's plan to invade the North and force an immediate end to the war failed
  • The Vicksburg Campaign

    The Vicksburg Campaign
    The Vicksburg campaign was a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater
  • New York City draft riots

    New York City draft riots
    the anger of working-class New Yorkers over a new federal draft law during the Civil War
  • the Battle of Chickamauga

    the Battle of Chickamauga
    Chickamauga was the largest Confederate victory in the Western theater
  • Winter Quarters at Brandy Station

    Winter Quarters at Brandy Station
    officers spent a great deal of time at camps such as the one in this photograph, taken of officers of the 1st Brigade, Horse Artillery
  • The Battle of Spotsylvania

    The Battle of Spotsylvania
    the second major engagement in Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign,
  • The Battle of Cold Harbor

    The Battle of Cold Harbor
    Lee had prevented Grant from breaking through the Confederate lines to capture Richmond, less than 10 miles away
  • National Banking Act of 1864

    National Banking Act of 1864
    the Bank Act established the Office of Comptroller of the Currency, and permitted banks to obtain federal charters and issue national bank
  • The Siege of Petersburg

    The Siege of Petersburg
    Petersburg campaign was a series of battles around Petersburg, Virginia,
  • Wade Davis Bill

    Wade Davis Bill
    The Wade-Davis Bill required that 50% of all voters in the Confederate states, as opposed to Lincoln's proposed 10%,
  • Nevada becomes a state

    Nevada becomes a state
    Nevada became the 36th state on October 31, 1864, after telegraphing the Constitution of Nevada to the Congress
  • Abraham Lincoln Is Re-Elected

    Abraham Lincoln Is Re-Elected
    Lincoln's victory made him the first president to win re-election since Andrew Jackson
  • Sand Creek Massacre

     Sand Creek Massacre
    marked a turning point in the relationship between American Indian tribes and the Federal Government
  • General William T. Sherman's March to the Sea

    General William T. Sherman's 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.
  • Fort Fisher, North Carolina

    Fort Fisher, North Carolina
    admiral David D. Porter's squadron of warships had subjected Fort Fisher to a terrific bombardment
  • Sherman Marches through North and South Carolina

    Sherman Marches through North and South Carolina
    union General Sherman moved from Georgia through South Carolina, destroying almost everything in his path.
  • Freedman's Bureau

    Freedman's Bureau
    An Act to establish a Bureau for the Relief of Freedmen and Refugees
  • United States Civil War ends

     United States Civil War ends
    Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate arm
  • Andrew Johnson becomes President

    Andrew Johnson becomes President
    Andrew Johnson became President of the United States upon the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln
  • Fallen Richmond

    Fallen Richmond
    the fire which raged along the waterfront but fortunately had stopped short of Thomas Jefferson's capitol
  • Civil Rights Act of 1866

    Civil Rights Act of 1866
    declared all persons born in the United States to be citizens, without distinction of race or color
  • Abraham Lincoln assassinated

    Abraham Lincoln assassinated
    served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination
  • Cornell University founded under the 1862 Morrill Act

    Cornell University founded under the 1862 Morrill Act
    Cornell University's endowment is founded dually on Ezra Cornell's own funds and on Indigenous peoples' dispossession
  • The Fall of the Confederacy

    The Fall of the Confederacy
    The Civil War officially ended on May 13, 1865, and the Confederate States of America ceased to exist
  • 13th Amendment

    13th Amendment
    it abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime.
  • Civil Rights Act of 1866

    Civil Rights Act of 1866
    declared all persons born in the United States to be citizens, without distinction of race or color
  • The Calaveras Skull is discovered in California

    The Calaveras Skull is discovered in California
    Purported to be evidence of humans in North America during the Pliocene epoch, it turns out to be a hoax.
  • Solomon Foot Dies

    Solomon Foot Dies
    Former member of the United States Senate
  • Memphis Race Riot

    Memphis Race Riot
    attack by members of the white majority on Black residents of Memphis, Tennessee
  • The U.S. Congress approves the minting of a nickel 5-cent coin

    The U.S. Congress approves the minting of a nickel 5-cent coin
    Congress authorized the creation of a new American coin: the five-cent piece composed of copper
  • Jesse James

    Jesse James
    a bank and train robber in the American Old Wes
  • The Austro-Prussian War

    The Austro-Prussian War
    This war was fought between Prussia and Austria, Hanover, Bavaria and Saxony
  • The Judicial Circuits Act

    The Judicial Circuits Act
    reduces the number of United States circuit courts to nine and the number of Supreme Court justices to seven.
  • New Orleans Race Riot

    New Orleans Race Riot
    Police kill more than 40 black and white Republicans and wound more than 150.
  • Ku Klux Klan founded

    Ku Klux Klan founded
    is an American white supremacist terrorist and hate group
  • West Virginia University

    West Virginia University
    West Virginia University is established in Morgantown, West Virginia
  • Tenure of Office Act

    Tenure of Office Act
    it stated that a President could not dismiss appointed officials without the consent of Congress.
  • The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is established

    The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is established
    is the second oldest public university in the state
  • Reconstruction Acts

    Reconstruction Acts
    a outlined the conditions under which the Southern states would be readmitted to the Union following the American Civil War
  • Alaska Purchase from Russia

    Alaska Purchase from Russia
    United States reached an agreement to purchase Alaska from Russia for a price of $7.2 million.
  • Nebraska becomes a state

     Nebraska becomes a state
    president Andrew Johnson reluctantly signed the proclamation declaring Nebraska's statehood.
  • The Grange founded

    The Grange founded
    The Patrons of Husbandry, or the Grange, was founded in 1867 to advance methods of agriculture, as well as to promote the social and economic needs of farmers in the United States.
  • Kidder massacre:

    Kidder massacre:
    A Sioux and Cheyenne war party kills U.S. Second Lieutenant Lyman Kidder, along with an Indian scout and ten enlisted men in Kansas.
  • Medicine Lodge Treaty

     Medicine Lodge Treaty
    Medicine Lodge Treaty
  • Angola Horror

    Angola Horror
    49 people are killed in a train crash in Angola, New York