-
Period: to
The Civil War
The Missouri Compromise was just the beginning. Nobody really knew that 40 years later, a real long-term fight would break out between two regions of the same country. We can't figure out what the North (Union) and the South (Confederacy) were exactly fighting for. However, slavery, Lincoln's election, and economic differences were some major topics that only led to this. -
The Missouri Compromise
Early in the 1800s, a compromise centered around slavery westward expansion hit the boiling point. In 1819, Missouri requested admission to the Union as a slave state which would stop the balance between both free and slave states. Congress ordered this two-part compromise to keep the peace and passed an amendment that drew an imaginary line across the former Lousiana Territory. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Who knew a novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe could change everything, including the way Americans view slavery? The novel demanded that the United States provide freedom and equality for all. President Lincoln claims this was the prime reason the Civil War broke out. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act created Kansas and Nebraska territories. It repealed the MIssouri Compromise and allowed settlers in Kansas to determine whether it would be a free or slave state by popular sovereignty. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas is a term used to describe the violence during the settling of the Kansas territory. Proslavery and free-state settlers came to Kansas to infleunce the decision of Kansas being a free state or slave state. VIolence broke out until John Brown came to the rescue, leading abolitionists in the state. Kansas was then a free state. -
Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott vs. Sanford Supreme Court Case was one of the events that caused the Civil War. The Supreme Court stated that no African American could be a citizen in the United States. They promoted slavery, saying that the federal government had no authority to ban slavery in federal territories. -
Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln is now President of the United States, much to the South's dismay. The Democratic Party split in two, the North and South, over their opinions on slavery. Lincoln, a Republican, earned enough electoral votes to beat other opponents, though only polled 40% of the popular vote. Seven southern states declared secession before his inauguration. -
Secession
South Carolina is the first southern state to secede from the Union. Six other states, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas follow them and form the Confederate States of America. -
The War Begins...
...with the attack on Fort Sumter in South Carolina. General Beauregard in command of the Confederate forces, opened fire on the Union defense, leading them to their first victory. -
The Anaconda Plan
General Winfield Scott devised a plan for the Union to win the war. It was named after the great snake that wrapped itself around its enemies and crushed them. Although rejected at first by Lincoln for a simpler plan, it was revisited as the Union looked to end the war. The first step was to blockade the South's ports to prevent trade with Europe. Then, they would cut the South in half by taking control of the Mississippi River. Next, they would cut the Eastern half in two and capture Richmond. -
First Battle of Bull Run
Union and Confederate Armies clashed near Manassas, Virginia with 35,000 forces versus 20,000 in the South. The Confederate defeated General Irvin McDowell of the North which gave them confidence. This led the North to realize that winning the war wouldn't be easy. A series of long, bloody fights were ahead of them. -
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest day of battle in the civil war. Though originally a draw, the battle stops General Lee's invasion of Sharpsburg, Maryland and he retreats to Virginia. Over 22,000 casualties occurred. -
The Emancipation Proclomation
It's a new year of the bloody war, and Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclomation. It frees all slaves captured by the Union army and orders enlistment of black soldiers. While the document didn't free a single slave, it was a turning point, transforming the fight into a battle over slavery. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
General Robert E. Lee divides his army in the face of a larger enemy and defeats the Union Army led by Joseph Hooker. This was one of the greatest Southern victories of the war. Stonewall Jackson dies in a friendly fire. -
Battle of Vicksburg
Far to the West on the Mississippi River, General Ulysses S. Grant takes Vicksburg after a 6-week long siege. At this point, the Union controls the entire river, cutting the Confederacy in two. This surrendered the last fortification on the Mississippi River in Southern hands. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Union Army defeats Lee's Confederate army. It was one of the bloodiest battles as well as the turning point of the war. Lee ordered an attack on July 3 known as ¨PIckett's Charge¨ at Cemetery RIdge but eventually failed. President Lincoln presented the Gettysburg Address, and the South lost 2/3 of their army. -
Sherman's march to the sea
General WIlliam T. Sherman begins his famous march to the sea, where Sherman led 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. The purpose of this march was to frighten Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the Conferderate cause. Sherman and his soldiers burned houses and stole food from people who tried to fight back. -
Appomattox Court House Surrender
As he was coming short on army and resources, General Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant. This marked the end of the war and the beginning of reconstruction. Over 600,000 people, soldiers and members of both sides, died. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham LIncoln is shot by John WIlkes Booth and died on April 15, 1865. As a result, Andrew Johnson became President of the United States for the Reconstruction period. The hunt for Booth took 10,000 troops, detectives, and police. -
Slavery Abolished
The thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution officially abolished, or cancelled, slavery and was raitified by the legislatures of 27 of 36 states. -
Ku Klux Klan
The KKK, formed in early 1866, was a white Confederate organization whose goal was to terrorize African Americans and their white allies. Members of the klan wore white robes and hood to cover their faces. Klansmen rode by night into homes of African American voters, shouting threats and burning wooden crosses.
