-
Unifying the Country
Union soldiers entered Tennessee, Arkansas, and Louisiana. Lincoln apointed military governors to maintain order in the South. -
Proclamation of Amnesty
All Southerners that took an oath of loyalty to the United States. Also, they were required to accept the new proclamations concerning slavery. If they did this they were pardoned. -
Wade-Davis Bill
Required the majority of the adult white male population to take an oath of allegiance to the Union. After they did this they could create a new state govenment. -
Freedman's Bureau
Issued 30,000 rations a day for the next year to prevent mass starvation. The Bureau also helped those formerly enslaved to find work. -
End of the Civil War
General Lee surrenders to General Grant at Appomattox. This event officially ends the Civil War. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
On this day President Lincoln was killed at Ford's Theatre. His Vice-President, Andrew Johnson, became his successor. -
Formation of the Joint Committee of Reconstruction
This committee was formed to rebuild the Union. It was also made as an alternative to Johnson's Plan. -
The Thirteenth Amendment
This amendment abolished slavery in the United States. This was the result of the Civil War. -
Black Codes Enacted
Laws created in the South to restrict the rights of African Americans. This law led to the Civil Rights Movement later in history. -
Creation of the Klu Klux Klan
On this date the Klu Klux Klan was formed by six Confederate veterans. The first meeting was in Teennessee. -
African American Cavalry Units
Many African Americans joined the U.S. cavalry. Those stationed in in the Southwest were called "buffalo soldiers". -
The Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act granted citizenship to everyone born in the United States. The only exclusion of this right was for Native Americans. -
Military Reconstruction Act
This act divided the former Confederacy into five districts, with only Tennessee excluded. A Union general was placed in charge of each district. -
Violence in Memphis, Tennessee
Here white mobs killed 46 African Americans and burned down black homes, churches, and schools shortly after the introduction of the 14th Amendment. This violence convinced moderate Republicans to support the amendment. -
The Fourteenth Amendment
This amendment granted citizenship to all born in the United States and declared that state govenrments could not strip anyone of the rights to life, liberty, or property. Native Americans were not given these rights because they were seen as tribal citizens. -
Attack on New Orleans Convention
Here delegates at a New Orleans convention were attacked by a white mob. This convention was made to support African American voting rights. -
Johnson Refuses to Uphold the Tenure of Office Act
Johnson fired the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, because he wanted to challenge the Tenure of Office Act. Stanton barricaded himself inside of his office and refused to leave. -
Johnson's Impeachment
On this day the vote to convict Johnson of high crimes and misdemeanors failed. The vote was only one short of succeeding. -
Election of 1869
Former General Ulysses S. Grant became President on this day. His presidency lasted for two terms. -
Fifteenth Amendment
This amendment guarunteed voting rights to all American citizens. By this date enough states ratified this amendment to make it part of the Constitution. -
Klu Klux Klan Act
This act outlawed outlawed Klan activities. It resulted in the arrest of more than 3000 Klan members. -
The Panic of 1873
An economic crisis occured on this day because of bad railroad investments. A panic insued that caused many banks and businesses to shut down, and caused the stock market to plummet. -
The Compromise of 1877
Rutherford B. Hayes was nominated by the Republicans for his moderation and for being untainted by corruption. The Democrats nominated Samuel Tilden who tried to end corruption in New York. Confusion in the Electoral College brought the vote to a 15 person commission. After many debates Hayes was elected. -
The End of the Reconstruction
President Hayes gave the order to end the Reconstruction on this day. This order removed federal troops out of the South, but by restoring power to the Southerners this event led to the disenfranchisement of African Americans. -
Debt Peonage
Even after the 13th Amendment was ratified a new form of slavery continued in the South. Many African Americans payed off their debts through the same forced labor that they were faced with during times of slavery.
