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First Issue Of The Liberator
The Liberator was an anti-slavery newspaper started by Massachusetts abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison. In the Liberator, Garrison passionately wrote about his views on slavery, including his idea that slavery should be ended not slowly, but immediately. The Liberator heavily influenced public opinion. Through the newspaper, Garrison's ideas were heard, and he eventually attracted enough support and followers to start the New England Anti-Slavery Society and the American Anti-Slavery Society. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was proposed by Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky to deal with the issue of slavery. Clay's compromise included adding California as a free state, but other new territories would have no limits on slavery. In addition, the slave trade would be illegal in Washington D.C. Along with the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, which said anybody who helped a runaway slave could be fined or imprisoned. This part of the compromise caused great debate in the country. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin Published
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book written in 1852 by author Harriet Beecher Stowe. This book had a major impact on people's views of slavery during the time period. The book portrayed slavery as a cruel and brutal system that shouldn't be allowed in the U.S. Many people supported the book and it's message, but others strongly opposed it. It was so strongly opposed in the South, that it's sale there actually became banned! This book is credited with helping fuel the abolitionist cause in the 1800's. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was proposed by Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois to help settle the issue of slavery in territories. It would set the region west of Missouri and Iowa as the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. He would repeal the Missouri Compromise and let the people in each territory vote on whether to allow slavery. Northerners protested this plan, while the South was in support of it. In 1854, the act was passed into Congress, but it would cause major problems in Kansas later. -
James Buchanan sworn into office as the 15th President
James Buchanan of Pennsylvania was nominated by the Democratic Party for the Presidential Election of 1856. He was a diplomat and former member of Congress. During the election, Buchanan tried to appeal to Southern whites, and endorsed the idea of popular sovereignty. In the final vote, Buchanan took all the Southern states except Maryland. With 174 electoral votes, compared to 114 for John C. Frémont and 8 for Millard Fillmore, Buchanan won the election and became the 15th President of the U.S. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was an enslaved African American who lived in Missouri. In 1846, Scott decided to sue for his freedom after his owner had taken him into free territory. His case eventually reached the Supreme Court, and their final decision ended up being that Dred was still an enslaved person. The Court ruled that slaves were property, not U.S. citizens. As such, Dred had no right to bring a lawsuit. Republicans and antislavery groups were outraged at this, and called the Court's ruling a crime. -
John Brown's Raid at Harpers Ferry
On October 16, 1859, abolitionist John Brown led a raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia. His target was a federal arsenal. The goal was to arm enslaved African Americans so they could start a revolt against slaveholders. Fortunately, local citizens and federal troops defeated the raid, but it had already killed many. John Brown was tried and convicted of treason and murder, and as punishment, he was to be hanged. Although the hanging split views in the North, his death rallied abolitionists together. -
Abe Lincoln elected President of the United States
In the presidential election of 1860, the main question was whether the Union would continue to exist afterwards, since regional differences were dividing the nation. Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas, and Southern Democrats nominated John C. Breckinridge. The Constitutional Union Party chose John Bell as their candidate, and Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln. With the Democrats divided, Lincoln won a clear majority of electoral votes, and ultimately became our 16th President. -
South Carolina seceded from the Union
After the Republicans won the election of 1860, Southern states debated succession from the Union. On December 20th, 1860, South Carolina officially voted to secede from the Union. They used state's rights to justify succession, saying that since each state had voluntarily chosen to enter the Union, they could leave at any time. By 1861, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia had joined South Carolina in succession. They called themselves the Confederate States of America. -
Battle at Fort Sumter begins
Just after taking office, President Lincoln received a message from Fort Sumter, a U.S. fort on an island guarding Charleston Harbor. The message said the fort was low on supplies and the Confederates were demanding its surrender. Lincoln sent an unarmed group to the fort with supplies, but Jefferson Davis ordered his forces to open fire before the Union supplies could arrive. After two days, facing a hopeless situation, the Union surrendered. This battle marked the beginning of the Civil War. -
First Battle of Bull Run
On July 21, 1861, about 30,000 Union soldiers commanded by General Irvin McDowell attacked a small Confederate force led by General P.G.T. Beauregard in northern Virginia, near a river called Bull Run. This was to be the first major battle of the Civil War. At first, the Union drove the Confederates back, but then the Rebels rallied and issued a savage counter attack. The Union was forced to flee. The defeat shocked the North, and showed that the war was actually going to be long and difficult. -
Emancipation Proclamation goes into effect
At first, Lincoln saw the Civil War as a battle for the Union, not a fight against slavery. However, abolitionists eventually convinced Lincoln to make the war about ending slavery. He later announced that he would issue the Emancipation Proclamation, which would free all enslaved people in Confederate territory. On January 1st, 1863, it was put into effect. When issued, it showed the government declared slavery to be wrong, and showed that a Union victory would end slavery in the United States. -
Battle of Gettysburg begins
In July 1863, Confederates led by General Robert E. Lee entered the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, looking for supplies. It was there they encountered the Union, and fighting began. Union troops at first retreated, and though the Confederates tried to push them back even more, they held firm. Lee's next strategy was to try and charge the enemy, but the attack, called Pickett's charge, ended in failure. Although each side lost about 24,000 men, the battle turned the war in favor of the Union. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
Even after Lincoln won reelection and the South's defeat was inevitable, the Confederacy still had the will to fight. To break this will, William Tecumseh Sherman burned much of the city of Atlanta. Then he had his troops march through Georgia toward the Atlantic, burning cities and crops as they went. The trail of destruction became known as Sherman's March to the Sea. On the way, thousands of African Americans left to follow the army to freedom. Sherman hoped the march would help end the war. -
The Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
On April 9, 1865, General Ulysses S. Grant and General Robert E. Lee met in a small Virginia town called Appomattox Court House to bring a formal end to the Civil War. The two men shook hands and talked a little, then Grant offered his terms. Grant said if Lee surrendered, he would allow his troops to return home with food and their supplies. Lee, knowing the war was over, surrendered, and the war was officially over. As it turned out, America’s deadliest war ended with dignity and compassion! -
Lincoln's Assassination
On the night of April 14, 1865, President Lincoln was watching a play at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C. All of a sudden, actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth snuck up behind the President and shot Lincoln in the head. Hours later, Lincoln died. News of his assassination swept across the nation, leaving almost everyone mourning the death of the man who helped bring an end to slavery and helped restore the Union. Vice President Andrew Johnson replaced Lincoln as president.
