-
Period: to
Antebellum Era
-
first public library
The nation's first tax-supported public library is founded in Peterborough, New Hampshire. -
John Tyler becomes President
John Tyler becomes the first vice-president to become President by succession, taking power upon the death of 68-year-old William Henry Harrison, who died of pneumonia. Harrison is the first U.S. president to die in office. -
Charles Dickens tours America
Thirty-year-old British writer Charles Dickens first journeys to America. But the tour does not go well; Dickens finds Americans rude and vulgar. -
First Telegraph
Inventor Samuel F.B. Morse transmits the message, ''What hath God wrought!'' from Washington to Baltimore as he opens America's first telegraph line. -
sewing machine is invented
sewing machine invented by the French tailor, Barthelemy Thimonnier -
U.S. declares War on mexico
The Mexican American War begins with the first battle at Guadalupe Hidalgo. -
Order of the Star Spangled Banner
The Know-Nothing (or American) Party is founded as the Order of the Star Spangled Banner, a nativist organization and secret society in New York under the leadership of James W. Barker. -
Yellow Fever Pandemic
A Yellow Fever epidemic kills over 10,000 people during the summer in New Orleans, a fatality rate of approximately 22%. -
Period: to
the war
-
Lincoln Election
Republican Abraham Lincoln is elected president. -
South Succeeds
When Abraham Lincoln, a known opponent of slavery, was elected president, the South Carolina legislature perceived a threat. Calling a state convention, the delegates voted to remove the state of South Carolina from the union known as the United States of America. The secession of South Carolina was followed by the secession of six more states -- Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas -- and the threat of secession by -- Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Ca -
Lincoln takes action
President Lincoln issued a war order authorizing the Union to launch a unified aggressive action against the Confederacy. General McClellan ignored the order. March 1862 -- McClellan Loses Command. -
Raid on Harpers Ferry
Union General McClellan defeated Confederate General Lee at South Mountain and Crampton's Gap in September, but did not move quickly enough to save Harper's Ferry, which fell to Confederate General Jackson on September 15, along with a great number of men and a large body of supplies. -
Antitam
On September 17, Confederate forces under General Lee were caught by General McClellan near Sharpsburg, Maryland. This battle proved to be the bloodiest day of the war; 2,108 Union soldiers were killed and 9,549 wounded -- 2,700 Confederates were killed and 9,029 wounded. The battle had no clear winner, but because General Lee withdrew to Virginia, McClellan was considered the victor. The battle convinced the British and French -- who were contemplating official recognition of the Confederacy -- -
Emancipation Proclamation
In an effort to placate the slave-holding border states, Lincoln resisted the demands of radical Republicans for complete abolition. Yet some Union generals, such as General B. F. Butler, declared slaves escaping to their lines "contraband of war," not to be returned to their masters. Other generals decreed that the slaves of men rebelling against the Union were to be considered free. Congress, too, had been moving toward abolition. In 1861, Congress had passed an act stating that all slaves emp -
Abe Lincoln re-elected
The Republican party nominated President Abraham Lincoln as its presidential candidate, and Andrew Johnson for vice-president -
Surrender at Appomattox
General Lee's troops were soon surrounded, and on April 7, Grant called upon Lee to surrender. On April 9, the two commanders met at Appomattox Courthouse, and agreed on the terms of surrender. Lee's men were sent home on parole -- soldiers with their horses, and officers with their side arms. All other equipment was surrendered. -
Lincoln Assassination
President Lincoln was watching a performance of "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., he was shot by John Wilkes Booth, an actor from Maryland obsessed with avenging the Confederate defeat. Lincoln died the next morning. Booth escaped to Virginia. Eleven days later, cornered in a burning barn, Booth was fatally shot by a Union soldier. Nine other people were involved in the assassination; four were hanged, four imprisoned, and one acquitted. -
Final surrenders by confederates
Remaining Confederate troops were defeated between the end of April and the end of May. Jefferson Davis was captured in Georgia on May 10. -
Period: to
reconstruction
-
13th amendment abolished
Abolishes slavery in the United States. -
New Orleans Race Riot
Police kill more than 40 black and white Republicans and wound more than 150. -
Ku Klux Klan
A secret organization to intimidate African Americans and restore white rule is founded in Pulaski, Tennessee. -
Ulysses S. Grant elected President
The former Union general becomes the 18th president -
First Black Senator
Hiram Revels of Mississippi elected to U. S. Senate as the first black senator -
15th Amendment ratified
Extends the vote to all male citizens regardless of racer or previous condition of servitude. -
First Black Governor
P. B. S. Pinchback, acting governor of Louisiana from December 9, 1872 to January 13, 1873. Pinchback, a black politician, was the first black to serve as a state governor, although due to white resistance, his tenure is extremely short. -
Civil Rights Act
Guarantees equal rights to African Americans in public accomodations and jury service. Ruled unconstitutional in 1883. -
Reconstruction ends
President Rutherford Hayes withdraws federal troops from the South protecting the Civil Rights of African Americans.
