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First Issue of The Liberator
The Liberator, anti-abolitionist handbills sometimes led to violent clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions. For the entire generation of people that grew up in the years that led to the Civil War. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a bundle of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850, which made a four-year political deal between slave and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican–American War. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin Published
Uncle Tom's Cabin, is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by the U.S. Congress on May 30, 1854. It allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. -
James Buchanan Sworn in as 15th President
James Buchanan was the 15th president of the United States. He served from 1857 to 1861, during the build-up to the Civil War. -
Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott Decision was an 1857 Supreme Court case that ruled the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, neither Congress nor territorial legislatures could limit slavery in U.S. territories -
John Brown Raid at Harper's Ferry
John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry was an effort by white abolitionist to initiate an armed slave revolt by taking over the arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. -
South Carolina Secedes from the Union
South Carolina, calling for a convention to secede from the Union. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina secede. -
Abe Lincoln Sworn in as 16th President
On Monday, March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was sworn into office. That morning, he and President James Buchanan left the Willard Hotel, on there way to the Capitol. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the surrender of Fort Sumter, near Charleston, South Carolina, that started the American Civil War. -
First Battle of Bull Run Begins
The first major land battle of the United States Civil War. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, as the nation approached its third year of the Civil War. -
Battle of Gettysburg Begins
The largest military conflict in North American history begins when Union and Confederate forces collide at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. -
Sherman's March to the Sea Begins
Union General William T. Sherman begins his expedition across Georgia by passing the industrial section of Atlanta and pulling away from his supply lines. For the next six weeks, Sherman’s army destroyed most of the state before capturing the Confederate seaport of Savannah, Georgia. -
The Surrender of Appomattox Court House
Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered approximately 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in the front of Wilmer McLean’s home in Appomattox Court House -
Lincoln's Assassination
Shortly after 10 p.m. actor John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential box at Ford's Theater, and fatally shot President Abraham Lincoln.
