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The Underground Railroad
The system that blacks were escaping slavery in the South and traveled to the North in hope of freedom. Harriet Tubman made 19 trips to the south and led more than 300 slaves to freedom. -
Compromise of 1850
This compromise stated that California was admitted to the Union as a free state, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed to apprehend runaway slaves and return them to their masters, and the buying and selling of slaves (but not slavery) was abolished in the District of Columbia. -
Dred Scott Decision
Court ruled slaves as property, and the constitution gives citizens the right to own property. This meant that Dred Scott, a slave in a free state, must remain a slave and not receive freedom. -
Election of 1860
The election between Abraham Lincoln, John Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen Douglas divided the nation when Abraham Lincoln won. The South seceded because Abraham Lincoln gave knowledge to anti-slavery ideas. -
Southern Secession
After Abraham Lincoln was elected president, South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union. The rest of the confederate states soon seceded from the Union also. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
First battle of the civil war when Confederate forces under General Beauregard bombard Union forces under Major Robert Anderson at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. Confederate victory. -
First Battle of Bull Run
First major battle of the war when Union General Irvin McDowell is defeated and retreats back to Washington. The withdrawal is held up by the many spectators who were there to see the battle. -
Battle of Antietam
It was the first battle to be fought on northern (Union) soil. Robert E. Lee and George McClellan faced off near Antietam creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland. The result was inconclusive but there were more than 22,000 casualties. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation granted freedom to the slaves in the Confederate States if the States did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863. In addition freedom would only come to the slaves if the Union won the war -
Battle of Gettysburg
This battle was considered the turning point of the war. Northerners were enthusiastic about "breaking the charm of Robert E Lee's invincibility." Union Victory (with General Ulysses Grant) -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment officially abolished slavery in the United States. All slaves were freed. However, strict laws were placed on slaves and they struggled to obtain a job and find a home and often ended up in jail because breaking the law was inevitable. -
Freedmen's Bureau Founded
This organization was established by Congress to help former black slaves and poor whites in the South in the aftermath of the Civil War. It was later abolished due to lack of funding. -
Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
After evacuating Richmond, General Lee’s troops were soon surrounded, and on April 7, Grant called Lee to surrender. On April 9, the two commanders met at Appomattox Courthouse, and agreed on the terms of surrender. -
Abraham Lincoln Assassination
John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln at the Petersen
house in Washington D.C. and killed him. This caused his vice president, Andrew Johnson, to become president. -
Ku Klux Klan
The foundation started out as patrol group to enforce previous slaves to follow their strict laws. As the organization grew however, force and harsh practices were used on Blacks, even if they weren't breaking a law. They soon became labeled as a terrorist group and the government shut the organization down. However, the institution still exists today
