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Texas becomes annexed
Texas becomes admitted to the union as the 28th state as a slave state under the 11th president James Polk. This further complicates the sectionalism divide as slave states might pop up along with Manifest Destiny. -
Dred Scott Sues
Dred Scott was a slave whose owner moved (with Scott) to a free state and then back to the South. The court ruling stated that slaves could not sue, Scott was to remain a slave, and that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. This meant that slavery could invade the north without any boundaries. -
Mexican-American War Begins
A battle for land where Mexico was fighting to keep what they thought was their property while the U.S. desired to retain the disputed land of Texas and obtain more of Mexico’s northern lands to ensure the promise of Manifest Destiny. million. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty was signed of Feb 2 in the Villa de Guadalupe Hidalgo.It ended the Mexican American War, entitled the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits and Settlement between the U.S and the Mexican Republic. As a result, America gained 1/2 of Mexico's land while it payed Mexico back $15 million. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The act was passed by the United States Congress as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern slave-holding interests and Northern Free-Soilers. It required all escaped slaves to be brought back to their slave masters regardless of where they are found. -
Compromise of 1850
A set of laws passed in 1850 that were meant to resolve the dispute over the status of slavery in the territories.The Key elements included the admission of California as a free state, Fugitive Slave Act, and Slavery is banned in District of Columbia., as well as other bills. This was drafted by the Great Compromiser Senator Henry Clay from Kentucky -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
A book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that boosted opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act. It conveyed the moral principles of abolitionism. It targeted English women and displayed every women's worst nightmare of having their child ripped away from them. It sold 300,000 copies and led to a greater sentiment against slavery in the North. -
Harriet Tubman begins the Underground Railroad
Harribet Tubman began her work with the Underground Railroad
She helped many slaves escape from the South. On her first trip, Tubman brought her own sister and her sister's two children out of slavery in Maryland. -
Gadsden Purchase
The United States purchases parts of modern-day Arizona and New Mexico. This opened the road for the construction of a transcontinental rail line from New Orleans to Los Angeles and expanded the terriroty of the United States. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
This act allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. This concept is called popular sovereignty. -
Dred Scott Dies
Dred Scott did not get to enjoy his freedom very long after he was freed. He died nine months later Sep 17 1858 and left a legacy regarding slave's rights in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case. -
South Carolina begins the succession from the Union
States succeed from the Union and join together to form the Confederate States of America (CSA) In order: South Carolina (seceded December 20, 1860) Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee (seceded June 8, 1861). -
Inaguration of Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln is inaguarted and becomes the 16th president of the U.S. This is the start of the term that will have a lasting impact on the turn of events regarding the Civil War and slavery to come. -
The Civil War begins
The Confederates bombarded Union soldiers at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The Union took this as a revolt against the Union because it was a military base. The Civil War started because of uncompromising differences between the free and slave states -
Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln in his speech declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." Translation : Slaves are fto be free in the states who aren't under the Union Control. -
Battle of Gettysburg begins
Confederate General Robert E. Lee decided to invade the North. He hoped such a move would further demoralize the Peace Democrats and if successful, convince the Europeans that they should extend diplomatic recognition. However, after three days of fighting, the South has huge casualities and will never be able to mount such an offensive or be as Northern position ever again. -
Ending of the Battle of Gettysburg
War lasts 3 days.
The Union won the whole war -
Gettysburg Address
The famous four scores and seven years ago speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln dedicating at Soldier's National Cemetery, a cemetery for Union soldiers killed at the Battle Of Gettysburg during the American Civil War. Lincoln announces that the Civil War is not only a fight for preserving the Union, but a, "new birth of freedom that would bring true equality to all of its citizens." -
13th Amendment
13th amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude except as a punishment for crime in the U.S. In Congress, it was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, by the House on January 31, 1865, and was finally ratified on Decemeber 6, 1865 -
U.S. Bureau of Refugees/ Freedmen and Abandoned Lands
This is popularly known as the Freedmen's Bureau.
It was established by Congress and help former black slaves and poor whites in the South due to the results of the U.S. Civil War. -
Lincoln Assasinated
John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the head at Ford's Theater ultimately leaving a fatal blow to the president. This drove the Reconstruction Era under Andrew Johnson delivering the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution. -
Civil War Ends
The Northern armies were victorious due to the surrender of Robert E. Lee knowing that he did not have then men or resources to compete with the North. The rebellious states eventually returned to the Union. -
Black Codes
Ex-Confederate states passes laws that limited freedpeople's rights, freed slaves, such as and of compelling them to work in a labor economy based on low wages or debt (sharecropping). -
Reconstruction Act of 1867
This act restarted Reconstruction in the 10 Southern states that refused to ratify the 14th Amendment. It also divided the 10 "unreconstructed states" into 5 military districts under military forces to enforces these laws. -
XIV Amendment
14th Amendment was ratified on July 9,1868. It addressed citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil War. -
Ratification of the 15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment forbid any states to deny citizens the right to vote on the grounds of race, color,or "previous condition of servitude." This meant that both white and black men could vote.
