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The U.S. Constitution Goes Into Effect
The Constitution went into effect once nine out of the 13 states ratified it, which occurred on June 21, 1788. -
Bill of Rights Ratified
Articles 3 to 12, ratified December 15, 1791, by three-fourths of the state legislatures, constitute the first 10 amendments of the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights. -
U.S. Supreme Court rules Dred Scott not free in Dred Scott v. Sanford Legal Case
Legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court on March 6, 1857, ruled (7–2) that a slave (Dred Scott) who had resided in a free state and territory (where slavery was prohibited) was not thereby entitled to his freedom. -
Southern Secession Begins
On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first Southern state to declare its secession and later formed the Confederacy. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas all left the Union by February 1. On February 4, delegates from all these states except Texas met in Montgomery, Alabama, to create and staff a government called the Confederate States of America -
The Civil War Begins
The Civil War began when Confederate warships bombarded Union soldiers at Fort Sumter, South Carolina on April 12, 1861. -
The Emancipation Proclaimation is Ratified
On September 22, 1862, Lincoln had issued a preliminary proclamation that he would order the emancipation of all slaves in any state (or part of a state) that did not end their rebellion against the Union by January 1, 1863. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
The Civil War Ends
The war ended in Spring, 1865. Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865. -
The Black Codes are passed by Southern states
In the United States, the most notorious Black Codes were laws passed by Southern states in 1865 and 1866, right after the Civil War. These laws had the intent and the effect of restricting African Americans' freedom, and of compelling them to work in a labor economy based on low wages or debt. -
Involuntary Servitude is Made Illegal in the U.S.
Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States. The 13th amendment, which formally abolished slavery in the United States, passed the Senate on April 8, 1864, and the House on January 31, 1865. -
All 3 Reconstruction Amendments are Ratified
Between 1865 and 1870, during the historical era known as Reconstruction, the Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution were ratified to establish political equality for all Americans.
