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Creation of the Freedmen's Bureau
The Freedmen's Bureau was established in 1865 near the end of the Civil War in order to oversee lands seized by the Union Army or abandoned in the South during the Civil War. A bigpart of the organization's focus was also on ensuring freed slaves could become self-sufficient. This came by way of establishing schools, helping reunite families separated by war or slavery, and helping black soldiers receive compensation for their services (The National Archives, n.d., "The Freedmen's Bureau"). -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
The assassination of Lincoln is a landmark event in both American history as a whole and the events of Reconstruction. Lincoln's death at the hands of John Wilkes Booth led to his Vice President Andrew Johnson assuming the presidency. With a Democrat assuming the presidency, the trajectory of Reconstruction in the South was greatly altered (Library of Congress, n.d., "Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln"). -
13th Amendment Ratified
A fulfillment of the Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln in 1863, this amendment fully abolished slavery across the United States. Whereas the Emancipation Proclamation applied originally only to the then-Confederate States, the 13th Amendment put the abolishment of slavery into Federal law, even applying to slave states that had stayed in the Union (National Archives, n.d., "13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865). -
Ku Klux Klan is Founded
Shortly after the end of the Civil War, a group met in Tennessee to form the Ku Klux Klan. A white supremacist group, the Klan worked across the South to combat the efforts of Reconstruction to enfranchise freed blacks. Led by Nathan Bedford Forrest and consisting of many Confederate veterans, the Klan used murder and other violent tactics to intimidate freed blacks and oppose Reconstruction efforts. (Equal Justice Initiative, n.d., "Confederate Veterans Establish the Ku Klux Klan"). -
Civil Rights Bill of 1866 Passes
The passing of this Act is important for multiple reasons. despite being vetoed by Andrew Johnson, the Act was the first to codify citizenship in the United States and what it entailed. "full and equal benefit of all laws and proceedings for the security of person and property." The bill enshrined citizenship rights for all people born in the United States, though excluding Native Americans from this. (History, Art Archives: United States House of Representatives, n.d., Historical Highlights). -
Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Amid Congressional frustration over Johnson's opposition to Reconstruction policies in the South, the House of Representatives used his dismissal of War Secretary Edwin Stanton as a cause to impeach him, arguing that dismissing him without Senate approval was prohibited. The Senate ultimately decided not to impeach him. His acquittal set a precedent that presidents would have to commit a crime to be impeached (Library of Congress, n.d., The Impeachment Trial of President Andrew Johnson). -
Force Bill Passed
The first of multiple bills passed to mitigate violence against blacks in the South attempting to vote, own property, serve on a jury, or otherwise utilize their constitutional rights. Passed in response to widespread attacks on blacks by the Ku Klux Klan. The passing of these acts helped to mitigate the violent activities of the Ku Klux Klan, and further reconstruction efforts in the South (United States Senate, n.d., "The Enforcement Acts of 1870 and 1871"). -
Georgia is Readmitted to the Union
The readmission of Georgia into the Union is significant because it marks the last former Confederate State to be readmitted into the United States (William Harris Bragg, 2005, "Reconstruction in Georgia). -
Fifteenth Amendment Ratified
The ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment was a landmark in ensuring civil rights for newly freed Black men by codifying voting rights. Though set in law constitutionally, groups such as the Ku Klux Klan used intimidation and violence in order to dissuade black voters from exercising this right (National Archives, n.d., 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Voting Rights (1870). -
Election of 1876 & Compromise of 1877
A contentious election in which Republican Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Democrat Samuel J. Tilden. The extremely close nature of this election compelled Congress to create an Electoral Commission which conceded the election to Rutherford B. Hayes. Ultimately led to the end of Reconstruction through political dealings between Democrats and Republicans with an agreement for U.S. army occupation of the South to end (National Park Service, n.d., "Reconstruction Era").