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The Freedmen's Bureau established.
Provides assistance to emancipated African Americans. Abolished in 1872 -
Robert E. Lee Surrenders
Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomatox Court House. Joseph E. Johnston's surrender in North Carolina on April 18 effectively ends the Civil War. -
President Abraham Lincoln assassinated.
Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes president. -
13th Amendment ratified
Abolishes slavery in the United States. -
Black Codes enacted.
Southern states enact laws restricting rights of African Americans. -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
Confers citizenship on African Americans and guarantees equal rights. -
Memphis Race Riot
White civilians and police kill 46 African Americans and destroy 90 houses, schools, and four churches in Memphis, Tennessee. -
New Orleans Race Riot
Police kill more than 40 black and white Republicans and wound more than 150. -
Ku Klux Klan
A secret organization to intimidate African Americans and restore white rule is founded in Pulaski, Tennessee -
Reconstruction Acts
Congress divides the former Confederacy into five military districts and requirs elections in which African American men can vote. -
President Johnson's Impeachment Trial
By one vote, the U.S. Senate fails to remove the president from office. -
Fourteenth Amendment ratified.
Guarantees due process and equal protection under the law to African Americans. -
Ulysses S. Grant elected President.
The former Union general becomes the 18th president.