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Uncle Tom's Cabin Published
Harriet Beecher Stowe published this book. It talked about families being sepearted at slave auctions. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Stephen Douglas proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. He believed Kansas and Nebraska should be admitted and that their slavery would be determined by popular sovereignty. This act repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had forbidden slavery above the 36, 30' line. -
Preston Brooks Beating of Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner, a Senator from Massachusetts, was an abolitionist. In a meeting on the Senate, he gave a speech called "The Crime Against Kansas," condemning slavery and the South Carolina senator, Andrew Butler. An enraged senator from South Carolina, Preston Brooks, beat Sumner with a cane until he was bleeding and unconcious on May 22nd, 1856. -
Brown's Pottawatomie Massacre
John Brown led a band of his followers to Pottawatomie Creek and hacked 5 suprised men to pieces. They thought the men were proslaveryites. -
Buchanan defeats Fillmore and Fremont for Presidency
Buchanan, Democrat candidate, easily beat hs two opponents, even though he polled less than the majority of the popular vote. -
The Supreme Court Rules Against Dred Scott
The Dred Scott Decision The Dred Scott decision involved Congress deciding the fate of a black man, Dred Scott, and his family. In this decision, Congress declared that they had no power to prehibit slavery in federal territories. This put controversy about slavery between parties, starting the Civil War. They said Dred Scott could not sue for his freedom because he was not a citizen, he was property. -
Panic of 1857
It was the worst pyschological crash of the 19th century. The impouring California gold helped inflate the currency, and the demands of the Crimean War overstimulated the growing of grain. Over 5,000 businesses collapsed in a year, and unemployment and hunger grew in urban areas. -
Tariff of 1857
This tariff reduced duties to 20% on dutiable goods, the lowest point since the War of 1812. Financial misery descended like a black pall. -
Lecompton Constitution Rejected
Pro-slavery Kansas people devised The Lecompton Constitution. The people were not allowed to vote for or against the Constitution as a whole, but for the constitution either with slavery or without slavery. Whatever the outcome, there would still be black bondage in Kansas. -
Lincoln-Douglas Senate Election Debates
Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, challenged Stephen Douglas, a Democrat, to a series of debates. They had seven meetings that ranged from August to October in 1858. They competed for the US Senate seat from Illinois. The most famous debate was in Freeport, Illinois, where Lincoln asked if the Court's decision or the people's prevailed. Douglas won the seaat. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown led 21 men to raid a federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Within 36 hours, most of his men had been captured or killed. He planned to arm slaves with weapons for a rebellion. But the U.S. Marines captured him, along with his men on October 18th. -
The 1860 Presidential Election
Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, defeated John Breckenridge (Southern Democratic), John Bell (Constitutional Union), and Stephen Douglas (Democratic). Lincoln ranked at the bottom when it came to popular votes, making him a minority president. -
The Secession
The Secession Between the States After President Abe Lincoln, a republican, was elected president, many southern states decided to secede from the Union. They named themselves the Confederates, not sharing the same ideas on slavery as the Union. This is how the two armies of the Battle of Gettysburg were formed. -
South Carolina Seceding from the Union
Four days after Lincoln was elected President, South Carolina called a special convention.They met in Charlestown and unanimously voted to secede from the Union. -
Election of Jefferson Davis to Confederacy Presidency
Jefferson was elected to be the President of the Confederacy after the secession of the southern states. He was known to defy public opinion. He believed in a strong central government and fought with supporters of state's rights until the end. The capital of the Confederacy was located in Richmond, Virginia. -
Firing On Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter was located in Charlestown. Lincoln informed South Carolina that he would be sending food and that the expedition was to provision his garrison. He said no reinforcements would be sent.The Union naval force then set out towards Fort Sumter. The South Carolinians opened fire on the fort. After 36 hours of bombardment, the Union garrison surrendered. -
First Battle of Bull Run
It was a Union attack thrity miles southwest of Washington on a smaller Confederate force. Union soldiers acted like they were going to a sporting event. During the battle, "Stonewall" Jackson and his Confederate army stood strong. Confederate reinforcements apperared suddenly and caused the Union soldiers to flee. -
Lincoln suspends Habeus Corpus
He did this so that anti-Unionists might be summarily arrested. He went against the chief justice's ruling that safeguards of habeus corpus could only be set aside by the authorities. -
Trent Affair
A Union warshhip was cruising on high seas near Cuba and stopped a British mail steamer, the Trent, and forcibly removed two Confederate diplomats bound for Europe. -
The Merrimack and the Monitor
The Merrimack, renamed Virginia, was a wooden Confederate warship with iron old railroad tracks placed on the side. It destroyed 2 Union warships. In 100 days, the Union built the Monitor. It fought the Merrimack for 4 days to a standstill. -
Battle of Antietam
The battle took place at Antietam Creek, Maryland, between Robert E. Lee and George McClellan. Two Union soliders found Lee's battle plans wrapped in a packet of 3 cigars. McClellan caused Lee to retreat across the Potomac, but did not pursue hm. McClellan was permanately removed from his field command. It was one of the bloodiest battles of the war. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation President Lincoln declared that all people held as slaves within the states that had seceded from the Union were free. This provoked a war for freedom, and led up to the Battle of Gettysburg. -
The South Invades the North
General Robert E. Lee General Robert E. Lee received permission from his government to invade the North. He was hoping that this invasion would interfere with the northern peace movement and the Union War effort. -
The Burning Bridge
The Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge Just days before the Battle of Gettysburg, the Union Army burned down the bridge over the Susquehanna River. They did this to stop the Confederate's advance. -
The Union Calvary Enters Gettysburg
The Union Enters Gettysburg On this day, John Buford's Union calvary division scouted ahead and entered Gettysburg. When they entered, they discovered clues about the Confederates being close by. Then, John Buford called in the Union infantry. They were getting ready to have the battle they'd been waiting for. -
The First Shot of the Battle
The Beginning of the Battle The Battle of Gettysburg started on this day, July 1, 1863. The first shot was fired three miles northwest of Gettysburg, and the battle begun. -
Battle of Gettysburg
This battle was fought between Robert E. Lee and George G. Meade. George Pickett's charge for the Confederates failed, breaking the heart of the Confederate charge. The battle went on for 3 days, with the win belonging to the Union. They did not allow the Confederate peace mission to go through the Union line. -
Pickett"s Charge
Pickett's Charge General George E. Pickett received orders from General Robert E. Lee to charge the Union line straight on. Pickett's infantry did that on the third day of the battle, ten thousand of them dieing. This was the climax of the Battle of Gettysburg. -
Thanksgiving
The Proclamation of Thanksgiving Today President Lincoln proclaimed the fourth day of November Thanksgiving. He did this not only to be thankful for everyone's harvest, but to give thanks for the peace throughout the country and for the soldiers. -
The Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address President Abraham Lincoln presented the Gettysburg Address to honor the soldiers that died in the Battle of Gettysburg. He dedicated part of the battlefield as a national cementary for the soldiers who had lost their lives. -
Wade-Davis Bill
Senator Benjamin Wade and Congressmen Henry Davis wanted the bill, requiring 50% of all voters in 1860 to take an iron clad oath of allegiance. This meant that they would swear they had never voluntarily aided the rebellion. -
Lincoln's Second Election to the Presidency
Lincoln's reelection fell in the midst of the Civil War. Some of his own party doubted him, and others supported the Secretary of the Treasury, Salmon P. Chase, wanting his to succeed Lincoln. His Republican Party joined with the War Democrats, forming the Union Party. He also had his running mate be Andrew Johnson to attract the War Democrats and the Border States. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
A general for the Union, William Tecumseh Sherman was entrusted with Georgia's conquest. He captured Atlanta in September and burned the city in November. They left their supply base and lived off of the country for 250 miles until they reached the sea at Savannah. They burned buildings, twisted railroad tracks, and destroyed supplies destined for the Confederate army. He used the tactic of total war to cut a 60 mile path of destruction through Georgia. -
13th Amendment Passed
It ended all of slavery, and came to be passed 8 months after the war had ended.The amendment came with Lincoln's reelection in 1864. Once Georgia ratified the amendment on December 6, 1865, slavery ceased to exist in the United States. -
Surrender at Appomattox
Northern troops captured the Confederate capital, Richmond, and cornered Lee at the Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. Ulysses S. Grant met with Lee on Palm Sunday to discuss generous terms of surrender. They ended the war in the living room of a man who had his kitchen destroyed at the beginning of the war. -
Radical Reconstruction
President Johnson made an ill conceived propaganda tour around te country to push his plan. -
Ku Klux Klan
Founded in TN, these nightriders would go to a cabin of an upstart black and hammer on the door, requesting a glass of water. He would then pour it down a rubber attatchment concealed beneath his mask and gown. He then would say it was the first taste of water he'd had seen he'd been killed at the Batlle Of Shiloh. -
Johnson's Impeachment
In 1867, Congress passed the Tenure of Office Acts over Johnson's veto. This meant he had to have the consent of the Senate to dismiss appointees. Going against the act, Johnson dismissed secretary of war, Stanton, without the Senate's consent. The House of Rep. voted to impeach him, but he was found not guilty. Johnson's attorneys said he dismissed Stanton to test the act's constitutionality in front of the Supreme Court. -
14th Amendment Passed
This amendment granted citizenship to "all those born or naturalized in the United States." It also expanded the protection of civil rights by saying states could not deny any person "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." It was the heart of the Republican program for Reconstruction. -
15th Amendment Passed
This amendment allowed all black men to vote. Even though it was ratified on this date, it would not fully come into affect until a century later. The South still had ways, including poll taxes, to disenfranchise the African Americans while voting. -
Reconstruction Ended
Reconstruction only gave benefits on blacks and virtually extinguished the Republican party in the house for nearly 100 years..
