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The Dred Scott Decision
The Supreme Court ruling of the Dred Scott vs. Sandford case caused an extreme spike in abolitionism. Dred Scott, a slave, was taken into free Illinois territory in 1832 and remained there until 1836, and then relocated to Wisconsin territory. Scott claimed his freedom from slavery and in 1847, took his case to court. The Supreme Court reached a decision in 1857, and Chief Justice Taney delivered the opinion of the court. It was ruled that Dred Scott was property -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a series of five governmental bills that temporarily brought peace between the Southern States and the Northern States over the issue of slavery. The Compromise admitted California as a free state, the new territories acquired from the Mexican-American War would be determined by popular sovereignty regarding their slavery status, and also a series of laws called the Fugitive Slave Laws. Drafted by Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas, and was composed -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas is known as the Border War because of the violent conflicts that arose between Missouri and Kansas over the issue of Slavery starting in 1854. When the Kansas Nebraska act was issued in 1854, there was uproar in society over the status of the new territory. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 stated that no territory above the 36º30ºN line, yet the Kansas-Nebraska Act completely disregarded the previous declarations. Northern society was angered by the fa -
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of debates during the presidential campaign of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. The main issue of the 1858 debates was slavery and the expansion of slavery into western lands. Douglas was in support of popular sovereignty as a compromise between pro-slavery and anti-slavery opponents. Douglas also accused Lincoln of wanting to overthrow state governments that excluded blacks, but Lincoln was simply fight for -
Harpers Ferry
Radical abolitionist John Brown, with a group of 21 men led a raid on the Harpers Ferry Arsenal. Brown and 21 other men, 5 of whom were black, attacked and captured several buildings to secure weapons for his desire to lead a slave uprising. Though only a few died, mostly on Brown’s side, this uprising captured the attention of the nation, abolitionists, and slave owners. Harpers Ferry was a giant spark that helped ignite the civil war. -
Lincon's Election
Senator Abraham Lincoln was elected 16th president of the United States of America on November 6th of 1860, beating Stephen Douglas, with whom he debated with in the famous Lincoln-Debates. L He was the first Republican to be elected into office, despite the fact that he did not win the Electoral College vote of any southern state. Secessionists made it clear that they intended to leave the Union before Lincoln officially took office, which was the very b -
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Union military base located in the recently founded Confederate States. Tensions were high, and President Lincoln did not want to initiate war, yet the base was out of supplies and needed assistance. Lincoln decided to send basic supplies to the troops at Fort Sumter, declaring it as assistance only and not an attack against the Confederacy, though the Confederate states saw it differently. Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered an attack on Fort Sumter, which officially -
The First Battle of Bull Run
The first battle of Bull Run was the first major land battle in The Civil War. It was the first meeting of the Confederate and Union troops, who were both unprepared the impact of the war. The north was expecting a victory, but was shocked when the Confederacy pulled through. The Union suffered 460 casualties, and the Confederacy only suffered 387. Though it was not the bloodiest day in the Civil War, it brought the intensity of war to society, and they realized this war would go on much longer -
The Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam was the single bloodiest day in all of the Civil War. The Union and Confederacy together lost approximately 23,000 lives in one day. This battle was also the first to be fought on Northern Soil. An important factor that leads to the Confederate victory was that General Robert E. Lee sent in his entire army, while General McClellan only sent in about three quarters of his army. This battle was a successful invasion of Northern territory on General Lee’s part, and stimulated -
The Emancipation Proclamation
This document, drafted by Abraham Lincoln, brought freedom to the slaves within the states rebellion against the Union during the War; he essentially declared freedom to a vast majority of the nation’s slaves. The proclamation immediately freed around 50,000 slaves, and eventually over 3.1 million slaves were freed as Union Armies advanced into Confederate territories. The Emancipation Proclamation made slavery the central issue of the war. Though the proclamation did not settle easily within so -
The Battle of Gettysburg and The Gettysburg Address
The Battle of Gettysburg was the northern most battle in the civil war, and also is considered the turning point of the war. It was a Union victory and the Confederate troops retreated back to Virginia, though both sides suffered incomprehensible casualties. In November of 1863, President Abraham Lincoln visited Gettysburg to dedicate the land to those who had perished during the war. The Gettysburg address is one of the most famous speeches ever delivered because of the message behind it. Lin -
The Siege at Vicksburg
The Siege at Vicksburg was the final battle in the Vicksburg campaign of Union office Ulysses S. Grant during the Civil War. Grant attempted to capture the city of Vicksburg after two failed assault attempts on the Confederate Army. The Union army battled for 40 days with very little supplies and terrible living conditions. The Confederate troops were pushed back into a defensive position and protected Vicksburg as along as possible, until they could not fight any more. On July 4th, 1863, the Co -
Andersonville Prison
Andersonville Prison was a Confederate Prisoner of War Camp, located in Georgia, for captured Union soldiers. Approximately 13,000 out of 45,000 Union Soldiers died in prison due to starvation, malnutrition, disease, abuse, and blunt weapon execution from Confederate guards. A group of prisoners known as the Andersonville Raiders attacked fellow inmates for their food and clothing. Many of the deaths associated with Andersonville are considered war crimes. -
The Surrender at Appomattox Court House
The Surrender at Appomattox Court House was a treaty between The Confederacy and the Union that officially ended The Civil War. The surrender of the Confederacy took place in the Parlor of Wilmer McClean. General Lee attempted to Battle the Union Officers, but when Lee learned about the extra forces, Lee had no choice but to surrender. When the Union troops heard of the surrender, they could not help but cheer with happiness, though General Grant put an immediate stop to it. "I at once sent wor -
The Assassination of President Lincoln
President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a southern actor and a confederate supporter. Lincoln was assassinated only 5 days after the end of the Civil War, and he was the first president to be shot while in office. Vice President Andrew Johnson immediately took the presidential position and had to help rebuild America after the Civil War during the Reconstruction Era. -
The Black Codes
The Black Codes were a series of laws put in place by the United States of America after the Civil war that limited the basic human and civil rights of emancipated blacks. These laws were subject to former slave states to help control labor, migration, and other activities of newly freed slaves. The codes offered certain rights to the blacks such as marriage and property, but limited court rights. They could not testify against a white person, serve in juries, vote, or publically express legal c -
The 13th Constitutional Amendment
The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution permanently abolished Slavery within the United States. The Emancipation Proclamation, adopted 2 years previously, helped the general idea of abolishment get underway. The 13th amendment was the first amendment during the Reconstruction Era after the Civil War. “Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any p -
The 14th Constitutional Amendment
The 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution is a reconstruction amendment containing three important: The Citizenship Clause, the Due Process Clause, and the Equal Protection Clause. The Citizenship Clause provides a larger definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred-Scott Decision of 1847, providing blacks with different and much more applicable terms of citizenship. The Due Process Clause forbids both state and local governments from depriving persons of life, liberty, or proper -
The 15th Constitutional Amendment
The 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits all governments in the Untied States, federal, state, and local, from denying a citizen the right to vote based on the race, color, or past of that person. Basically, it ensured the right for black citizens to vote, as well as any other race. This amendment however did not prohibit any tools such as literary tests or poll taxes to be used against citizens.
