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Civil War Begins
Tensions grew between the United States and the newly established Confederacy, made up of seven seceded states insistent on keeping their slaves to fuel their economy. These tensions erupted when a Confederate naval fleet under General P.G.T. Beauregard opened fire the Union's Fort Sumter in Charleston Bay. The Union was forced to surrender the fort. The United States then called on volunteers to stop the Southerners. The Civil War has begun. -
Battle of Bull Run
The North felt the fervor of war. They believed that the South stood no chance against their superior numbers and economy. They soon found themselves surprised. Abraham Lincoln ordered Irvin McDowell to attack Confederate forces in Virginia. However, Confederates received word of this through spies in the Union. They were able to prepare with additional troops. The Union lost horribly, and they began to realize the war would be hard and long. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act was an act passed by Congress offering citizens or freed slaves that are heads of their household up to 160 acres of land as long as they lived on the land for five years. Before the Civil War, Republicans were unable to pass the Homestead Act due to fierce Southern opposition. Due to secession during the Civil War, Republicans were free to pass it, resulting in 420,000 square miles of territory being claimed. -
The Gettysburg Address
The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle in Civil War History with over 50,000 casualties. It resulted in a Union victory, with Robert E. Lee, the Confederate general, retreating to Virginia. Abraham Lincoln was offered the chance to make a speech remarking Gettysburg, and he accepted it. He explained how the Union must be preserved, and he drew from the Declaration of Independence to define the Civil War as a fight for equality with the statement, "All men are created equal." -
Civil War Ends
Robert E. Lee is forced to surrender at the Appomattox Court House when his army is surrounded by the Union army led by Ulysses E. Grant. Grant showed his respect and goal to peacefully reinstate the Confederacy back to the Union by allowing Lee to keep his horse and sword. Although this marked an agreement between the North and South, an official treaty wasn't made until June. -
Lincoln's Assassination
Lincoln, while watching "Our American Cousin" at Ford's Theatre in Washington, was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate sympathizer angry with the outcome of the Civil War. After a chase that involved over 10,000 federal officials, Booth and his conspirators were caught and executed. -
13th Amendment
Despite the Founding Fathers writing that all men were created equal, slavery was not prominently considered an ethical issue until Lincoln attempted to push the 13th amendment (which outlawed slavery except as a form of punishment) to Democrats. Democrats did not whole heartily support the amendment until several Union victories instilled trust in Lincoln. This amendment was one of many that attempted to fight in the struggle for racial equality, which would continue well into the 20th century. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors defeated federal troops led by General Armstrong Custer near Little Bighorn river in Montana. The U.S. had found gold on Native American territory and broke a previous treaty to take it. When ordered by the U.S. government to move to reservations, Native Americans refused, so federal troops were deployed to force them. Custard was unsuccessful, however, when he found himself outnumbered by many Native Americans led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull. -
Purchase of Alaska
Russia did not want Alaska anymore because it was far away, underpopulated, and difficult to defend against their rival at the time, Great Britain. William Henry Seward, the Secretary of State under Andrew Jackson, saw an opportunity to acquire Alaska. Despite initial skepticism of the deal (partly due to Jackson's unpopularity), Americans were impressed with number of natural resources, namely gold, located in Alaska. Alaska became the 49th state. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
The U.S. government, was worried about any rebellion from Native Americans. One such possibility was the Ghost Dance Movement, which taught Natives that they must re-follow traditional customs taken away from them by white people in order to defeat them and retake their land. The U.S. army eventually found Ghost Dance members near Wounded Knee Creek and slaughtered around 150 of them. Some believe the U.S. army seeked revenge for the events at Little Bighorn. -
First Olympic Games
The first Olympic games occured in Athens, Greece under the rule of King Georgios I. However, it was a French baron, Pierre de Coubertin, that actually proposed the idea at a Paris conference, where it gained unanimous support from 78 countries.This support largely came from Roman and Greek fascination across European countries. 60,000 spectators watched as 280 males from 13 countries competed in a variety of events (running, shooting, fencing). -
Annexation of Hawaii
The U.S. profited from Hawaii's sugar business and created a constitutional monarchy for them that stripped many of the monarch's powers. However, a monarch named Liliuokalani refused to recognize America's constitutions and instead made her own that increased her authority. Dole, an American sugar dealer, held a coup that eventually stripped her powers. It remained a republic under Dole under 1989, when its strategic position during the Spanish American war made America annex it.
