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First issue of The Liberator
William Lloyd Garrison, an abolitionist from Massachusetts, started a newspaper called,"The Liberator." It influenced the antislavery movement. -
The Compromise of 1850-passed
This law states that California will be a free state, which means that Utah and New Mexico will choose slavery using popular sovereignty. Also, ending the domestic slave trade in Washington, DC, and making it easier to recover fugitive slaves. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin published
Harriet Beecher Stowe was a writer who made a major impact on public opinion. Her book portrayed slavery as a cruel and brutal system. It was even banned in the South. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act-passed
Stephen A. Douglas, a senator from Illinois, passed this act. It stated that popular sovereignty would decide if slavery would be allowed in Kansas and Nebraska Territories. It also repealed the Missouri Compromise. Northerners didn't like this act, the Southerners did. -
James Buchanan sworn into office
Buchanan was our 15th president of the Unites States. He was the only president to be elected from Pennsylvania. -
Dred Scott decision
Scott was an enslaved African American who lived in a free state. There for, he thought he was free. He wanted to bring the case to court, and when he did, they said that he was breaking the law. He was not a citizen, the decided that he was still a slave. The South was happy, but the North was not. -
John Brown's raid at Harper's Ferry
Brown tried to take over a federal arsenal, he hoped to get weapons for African Americans so that they could revolt against their owners. Brown was defeated by the federal army, and later hung. Some Northerners saw him as a martyr. -
Abraham Lincoln elected president.
Lincoln was our first ever Republican president. -
South Carolina secedes from the Union
South Carolina will be the first slave state to secede. Many states will follow. -
Battle at Fort Sumter begins
Fort Sumter was a U.S. fort, guarding Charleston Harbor. Abraham Lincoln, the president at that time, received a message stating that the fort was low on supplies. When Lincoln said that he would send supplies, the confederates saw it as an act of war. Lincoln then sent an unarmed group to the fort. The Confederates started to shoot cannons at the fort. Major Anderson tried to defend it, but they were outnumbered. The North then had to surrender, and surprisingly nobody was hurt. -
First Battle of Bull Run
Union General Irvin McDowell took his army to fight against Generals' Beauregard and Johnston. The North launched several attacks, but could never break through the "wall" of Confederates. After stopping Union attacks, Confederates counterattacked, and the Union troops retreated back into Washington, D.C. General McDowell was blamed for the Union loss and was replaced by General McClellan. -
Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect
Abraham Lincoln stated in the Emancipation Proclimation that all slaves we now, and forever free. So, 3 million slaves were free in the Confederate states on January 1st, 1863. -
Battle of Gettysburg
On July 1st, General Robert E. Lee rushed 25,000 soldiers to Gettysburg and the Union army was pushed back. On July 2nd, Confederate troops made several assaults, but they were met with heavy Union fire. On July 3rd, the Union tricked the Confederates into thinking they weren't going to fire their cannons, so the South marched up the hill, and got bombarded by Union cannons. The North won, but they lost over 23,000 soldiers. -
Sherman's March to the Sea begins
Union General William T. Sherman and his 62,000 troops began to march in Atlanta. They destroyed railroads, bridges, telegraph lines, manufacturing plants, and plantations along the way. When they reached the Savannah, they met 10,000 Confederate soldiers who were defending the port. The Confederates had no chance, so they abandoned the city. -
The Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army at Wilmer McLean's home in Virginia, effectively ending the Civil War. -
Lincoln's Assassination
John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor, shot Lincoln in the back of the head at a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. This occurred only 5 days after the surrender at the Appomattox Courthouse.
