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"Jim Crow" enters the American cultural language
The term "Jim Crow" was first created by a white actor in the performance "Jump Jim Crow". It then became a racial slur meaning negro. Later, a set of laws, called the Jim Crow Laws, that required racial segregation in public places in states of the former Confederacy, were passed. -
Abraham Lincoln Announces Plans for Reconstruction
After the Civil War, Lincoln wanted to take steps toward reuniting the Confederacy with the Union. He announced plans for reconstruction on December 8, 1863. In his plan he offered a pardon to all who swore an oath to the Union. Once ten percent of the state's voters had taken the oath, the state would be welcomed back into the Union. -
Wade-Davis Bill Receives Pocket Veto
After the Wade-Davis Bill, stating that 50% of voters must take an oath of allegience to the Union before a state was reinstated into the Union was passed, Lincoln vetoed it. He did this because it made it more difficult to heal the broken Union. -
Lincoln Re-Elected President
Abraham Lincoln was re-elected president after having served a four year tern, as the representative of the National Union Party. His most notable competition was George Brinton McClellan, nominee of the Democrat Party. After his re-election, his goals were to end the war and re-integrate the Confederacy into the Union. -
President Andrew Johnson Announces Plans for Reconstruction
Andrew Johnson's plans for reconstruction were similar to Lincoln's, providing pardon to those who took an oath to the Union. It did not, however, provide pardon to confederate leaders and it required states to abolish slavery, rather than achieving a ten percent oath toll, to be re-admitted. This plan, unlike Lincoln's, would not be kindly accepted by Congress. -
Formation of the Freedmen's Bureau
The Freeden's Bureau was an agency that aided freed slaves in need beginning in early reconstruction. They assisted freedmen in obtaining housing, food, etc, and would defend freedmen in times of need. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was killed in Ford theater on April 14, 1865 by John Wilkes Booth. He was killed in an act of vengeance by angry southerners, most famously John Wilkes Booth, an actor, who snuck in to Lincoln's booth at the theater, and shot him in the head, killing him the next day, and leaving the vice president to take his place. -
Black Codes created in Mississippi
The black codes in Mississippi were a series of laws limiting the rights of African Americans after the CIvil War. The black codes gave them certain rights, but denied them the right to testify against whites, perfrom jury duty, vote, and publicly express legal concerns. It also forced African Americans to sign yearly labor contracts. -
Ratification of the Thirteenth Ammendment
The Thirteenth Amendment banned slavery and involuntary servitude in the US, except in cases of criminal punishment. It officially put an end to slavery throughout the United States. It was ratified by the North without hesitation and Johnson encouraged Southerners to ratify it in order to make amends to the Union. -
Ku Klux Klan Created
The Ku Klux Klan was created by six Confederate veterans in the South. It quickly grew to be one of the nation's largest terrorist-neo fascist organizations. The "first KKK" opposed civil rights and promoted racism and white supremacy. They even went as far as killing people to inspire enough fear in to the hearts of blacks that they would not utilize their new rights. -
Civil Rights Act (1866) Enacted
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 was a law that stated all former slaves and residents of the US were citizens (excluding the Natives) and were guaranteed the same rights as white citizens. The bill was first passed in Congress, but then vetoed by Andrew Johnson. It was later enacted again, then vetoed, then passed by a two thirds vote in the House and Sentate. -
Reconstruction Acts Enacted
The Reconstruction Acts were a series of five acts meant to institute better government in the South. They divided the South into five districts under military rule by a general, required states to ratify the 14th Amendment, and had states elect delegates to draft new state Constitutions. -
President Andrew Johnson Impeached
Andrew Johnson was impeached by the House due to a long struggle between him and his bureau and Congress. His biggest offence was the replacement of Edwin M. Stanton, the Secretary of War, whose removal from office broke the Tenure of Office Act. Andrew Johnson's trial was then held in the Senate, where he was nearly removed from office (missed it by one vote). -
Ratification of the Fourteenth Ammendment
The Fourteenth Amendment stated that all those born or naturalized in the United States were United States citizens and their rights, including life, liberty, and property, could not be taken away without due process of law. This Amendment was quickly ratified in the North and reluctantly ratified in the South with urges from Andrew Johnson. -
Ulysses S. Grant Elected President
Ulysses S. Grant originally led his political career based on the principles of Abraham Lincoln, but was later adopted into the Radical Republican party, where he eventually became their delegate for the presidential campaign of 1869. -
Ratification of the Fifteenth Amendment
The Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed US citizens the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. It, however, stated nothing about gender or age, also, there were many loopholes that were found in this Amendment, such as the Grandfather Clause. This amendment was ratified easily by the Radical Republicans using their control over Congress. -
Hiram Revels Elected to Senate
Hiram Revels was the first black Senator for the United States. He served as Senator for Mississippi in 1870 and 1871. As a Senator, he won his vote by a large margin with promises of racial equality. -
Ku Klux Klan Act Enacted
The Ku Klux Klan Act, or Reenforcment Act, gave the government the right to suspend habeas corpus in order to supress the Ku Klux Klan. -
Freedmen's Bureau Abolished
The Freedmen's Bureau was abolished due to the approaching end of the reconstruction era, as well as because of lack of finances and staff. -
Civil Rights Act (1875) Passed
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 guaranteed equal rights to African Americans in public accomodations such as transportation, restrooms, and places of entertainment. It was declared unconstitutional by Congress in 1883. -
Last National Troops Leave South Carolina
During Hayes' presidency, he removed the last national troops from South Carolina, giving the Southern government complete control over their land. He did so in order to follow up on Grant's plans for Reconstruction. This event essentially marked the end of the Reconstruction era. -
Rutherford B. Hayes Elected President
Rutherford B. Hayes was the 19th president of the United States. His election was controversial as the Republican nominee, just before the Democrats came back into power. He oversaw the end of reconstruction and led the US into industrialization. -
Civil Rights Act Overturned (1883)
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 was overturned in 1883 when Congress ruled that it was not specified as constitutional by the 13th or 14th amendments. -
Florida Requires Segregation in Places of Public Accommodation
Florida was the first of the states to require segregation in places of public accomodation, requiring separation in places such as restrooms, transportation, and places of entertainment. Other states followed in their lead, causing the formation of Jim Crow Laws. -
Case of Plessy v. Ferguson
The case of Plessy v. Ferguson was a case that stated that the segregation of blacks and whites was constitutional under the motto "seperate but equal."
