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Election Of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is elected 16th president of the United States. He was the first Republican president in the nation who represents a party that opposes the spread of slavery in the territories of the United States. He carried 17 states in the election along with 1,865,908 popular votes and 180 electoral votes. -
South Carolina Secedes
The southern states threatened to secede if Lincoln became president. Since he became president, South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union. After that many other Southern States whom are pro-slavery follow. -
Jefferson Davis becomes president of the Confederate States of Ameria
The southern states that seceded create a government at Montgomery, Alabama, and the Confederate States of America are formed. Jefferson Davis is given the first President of the Confederate States of America at Montgomery, Alabama. He ran without opposition, and the election simply made the decision that had been confirmed by the Confederate Congress earlier. -
First shots at Fort Sumter, South Carolina
Southern forces fire upon Fort Sumter in South Carolina. At 4:30 am, shore guns opened fire on the island fort. The civil war had formally begun. -
Lincoln issues blockade against South
Lincoln calls for a naval blockade of the south’s coastline, part of the Anaconda Plan. The blockade prevents the transportation of goods or people into or out of an area. This also gained control of the Mississippi River, which would split the Confederacy into two. -
Robert E. Lee takes control of Confederate forces
Robert E. Lee chooses to defend the Confederacy in the Civil War. He says, ‘as much as he believes in the Union’s cause, he could never go against his own home state Virginia’. Just two days later after Lee resigns from the U.S. Army, he is assigned by the governor of Virginia to command the Virginia forces for the Confederate Army. -
Richmond becomes Confederate capital
After the fall of old capital, Montgomery, Alabama, the new capital now became Richmond, Virginia. Richmond, holding the title the longest was one of the three capitals of the confederacy. The Union threatened to take Richmond but Lee luckily held them off and the retreated back to Washington. -
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam was the ‘bloodiest battle of the civil war’ in which 25,000 men were killed or wounded. It took place in Antietam Creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Even though the Union victory was clear, after the battle, Lincoln fired McClellen. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation issued by Lincoln, which was an executive order that freed every slave in the confederate states. This had very little effect though, many slaves were in places too far away from the Union, and so the Southern whites wouldn’t listen to the Proclamation. Lincoln was uneasy about this. -
Gettysburg, PA
This battle dashes Robert E. Lee’s hopes for the South and a successful invasion of the North. The fighting began on the 1st when a Confederate force captured Gettysburg. The battle went for 3 days with a Union victory. -
Vicksburg, Mississippi
Confederate force surrenders to the Union Army under Ulysses S. Grant. The capture of Vicksburg gives the Union control of the Mississippi River, a vital supply line for the Confederate states in the west. At Gettysburg, Lee begins his retreat to Virginia. -
Gettysburg Address
A dedication to all the soldiers who lost their lives in Gettysburg, President Lincoln delivers his speech (Gettysburg Address). The speech was given the National Cemetery at Gettysburg. -
Ulysses S. Grant takes command of Union Army
Ulysses S. Grant is appointed lieutenant general, a rank revived at the request of President Lincoln. Grant assumes command of all Union Armies in the field the following day. Not having many accomplishments as other men, Lincoln sees something in him. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
General Sherman’s Army of Georgia begins their march to the sea on November 16, 1864. They march in the direction of the coastline, trying to demolish any Southern supplies in their path. The march is successful. -
Appomattox Courthouse, VA
After an early morning attempt to break through Union forces blocking the route west to Danville, Virginia, Lee seeks an audience with General Grant to discuss terms. That afternoon Lee signs the document of surrender. On April 12, the Army of Northern Virginia formerly surrenders. -
Assassination of Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is assassinated at Ford’s theatre by actor John Wikes Booth in Washington D.C. This occurred the same day on the same day, Fort Sumter, South Carolina is re-occupied by Union troops. -
13th Amendment
Lincoln urged congress to try again to end slavery. The 13th Amendment then passed, by the years end, 27 states, including 8 in the South, had ratified the amendment. From that point on, slavery was banned in the United States. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment stated that all people born in the U.S. were citizens and had the same rights. All citizens were granted, “Equal protection the laws.” However, the amendment did not establish black suffrage. Instead, it stated that any state that kept African Americans from voting would lose representatives in Congress. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment stated that citizens couldn’t be stopped from voting “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” The amendment was ratified on 1870. The 15th Amendment did not apply to women.
