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Missouri Compromise
In an effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, the Missouri Compromise was passed in 1820 admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Furthermore, with the exception of Missouri, this law prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36° 30´ latitude line. http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Missouri.html -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 consists of five laws passed in September of 1850 that dealt with the issue of slavery. -
Fugitive Slave Act is passed
The Fugitive Slave Law or Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 -
Uncle Tom's Cabin is Published
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), changed forever how Americans viewed slavery, the system that treated people as property. It demanded that the United States deliver on the promise of freedom and equality, galvanized the abolition movement and contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War. The book calls on us to confront the legacy of race relations in the U.S. as the title itself became a racial slur. http://www.harrietbeecherstowecenter.org/utc/ -
Kansas-Nebraska Act is Sighned into Law
After the bill passed on May 30, 1854, violence erupted in Kansas between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers, a prelude to the Civil War. http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/kansas.html -
Dred Scott decision in the Supreme court
Scott argued that his time spent in these locations entitled him to emancipation. http://www.history.com/topics/dred-scott-case -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown, a staunch abolitionist, and a group of his supporters left their farmhouse hide-out en route to Harpers Ferry. Descending upon the town in the early hours of October 17th, Brown and his men captured prominent citizens and seized the federal armory and arsenal. Brown had hopes that the local slave population would join the raid and through the raid’s success weapons would be supplied to slaves and freedom fighters throughout the country. http://www.civilwar.org -
South Carolina secedes from the United States
The white population of South Carolina strongly supported the institution of slavery. Voices cried for secession. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first Southern state to declare its secession. -
Abraham Lincoln Takes Office
He was a successful war president to the extent that he was able to control the revolutionary forces unleashed by his election and Southern secession, maintain the democratic principles that were the bedrock of the nation, and achieve a military victory. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
Confederates bombarded Fort Sumter for 36 hours which starts the American Civil War -
First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas (the name used by Confederate forces), was fought on July 21, 1861. It was the first major land battle of the American Civil War. -
Battle of Shiloh
fought April 6 – 7, 1862, in southwestern Tennessee. A Union army under Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant had moved via the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing on the west bank of the river. Confederate forces under Generals Albert Sidney Johnston and P. G. T. Beauregard launched a surprise attack on Grant there. The Confederates achieved considerable success on the first day, but were ultimately defeated on the second day. -
Battlle of Antietam
Was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. -
Reconstruction Begins
From 1863 to 1869, Presidents Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Johnson took a moderate position designed to bring the South back to normal as soon as possible. January 1, 1863 to March 31, 1877 -
Emancipation Proclamaton takes affect
President Abraham Lincoln signs the final Emancipation Proclamation, which ends slavery in the rebelling states. A preliminary proclamation was issued in September 1862, following the Union victory at the Battle of Antietam http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-emancipation-proclamation-takes-effect -
Battle of Vicksburg
May 18-July 4, 1863 In May and June of 1863, Maj. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s armies converged on Vicksburg, investing the city and entrapping a Confederate army under Lt. Gen. John Pemberton. On July 4, Vicksburg surrendered after prolonged siege operations. http://www.nps.gov/hps/abpp/battles/ms011.htm -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg started on July 1, 1863, when Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia met Gen. George Meade’s Union Army of the Potomac. During the three-day battle, about 165,000 soldiers clashed in and around the small town of Gettysburg (battle-era population: 2,400). http://www.gettysburgfoundation.org/37 -
Sherman's March to the Sea
the most destructive campaign against a civilian population during the Civil War (1861-65), began in Atlanta on November 15, 1864, and concluded in Savannah on December 21, 1864.
http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-641 -
Confederacy Surrenders at Appomattox
The surrender at Appomattox Court House occurred in April 1865 when Confederate general Robert E. Lee submitted to Union general-in-chief Ulysses S. Grant, all but ending the American Civil War (1861–1865). After the fall of Richmond on April 2–3, Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia had retreated west to the village of Appomattox Court House when, on April 9, the well-positioned Army of the James forced them to raise a white flag. http://encyclopediavirginia.org/Surrender_at_Appomattox -
Abraham Lincoln is Assassinated
The assassination occurred five days after the commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, General Robert E. Lee, surrendered to Lieutenant General Ulysses S.
