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Republican Party is formed
Former members of the Whig Party meet to establish a new party to oppose the spread of slavery into the western territories. This is now known as the Republican Party. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act passed
Kansas-Nebraska Act passed repealed the Missouri Compromise. It created 2 new twrrotories. -
South Carolina votes to secede from the United States
South Carolina was the first state to secede from the United States, leading to SC joining in on the Union. -
Abraham Lincoln elected president
Abraham Lincoln ran as Republican against John C. Breckinridge who ran as a Southern Democrat. He won the election on November 6, 1860. -
Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter
Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter, this officially started the American CIvil War. -
Lincoln suspends habeas corpus
Lincoln suspends habeas corpus to give military authorities the necessary power to silence dissenters and rebels -
First Battle of Bull Run is fought
The first battle of Bull Run is fought, and it was known as the first major battle of the Civil War. The confederates had won this battle. -
Jefferson Davis elected president of the Confederacy
Jefferson Davis ran unopposed and was elected to serve for a six-year term for the president of the Confederacy. -
The Merrimac and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast
The Merrimac and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast are also called the Battle of Hampton Roads. This was a naval engagement. This was history's first duel between ironclad warships and the beginning of a new era of naval warfare. -
Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh was a success to the Union Army. It allowed Grant to begin an operation in the Mississippi Valley. -
Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Because of this the originally named Confederate Army now is named Army of Northern Virginia. -
Battle of Antietam
The battle of Antietam was a battle during the Civil War. This battle lasted for 12 hours. This was the deadliest one-day battle in American history. The cause was from Abraham Lincoln declaring freedom to slaves, more specifically in the south. The union claimed victory. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was hosted in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The battle was between the Confederate army and the Union army. This is one of the greatest Confederate victorys. -
Emancipation Proclamation is announced
Around the 3rd year of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln came out with the Emancipation Proclamation. This shook up the country even more because the Emancipation Proclamation announced; "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
Battle of Chancellorsville
Battle of Chancellorsville was a huge victory for the confederacy. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg lasted from July 1–3, 1863. The Battle kicked off the Civil war in a very impactful way. Robert E. Lee had a plan to invade the North to stop the war. The Union had won the Battle of Gettysburg. -
Confederates surrender at Vicksburg
Confederates surrender at Vicksburg. After a long amount of time with low resources, and supplies the Confederate surrender. The garrison surrendered on July 4. -
New York City draft riots
New York City draft riots happened because the anger of working-class New Yorkers over a new federal draft law during the Civil War sparked five days of some of the bloodiest and most destructive rioting in U.S. history. -
Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address
Lincoln gives his Gettysburg address in Gettysburg. He was in that specific location to salute the fallen soilder. This speech was very detrimental because he addressed the new laws of Civil rights and slaves. -
Atlanta is captured
Atlanta is captured by the Union forces commanded by William T. Sherman, wanting to neutralize the important rail and supply hub, defeated Confederate forces defending the city under John B. Hood. -
Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election
Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election by a wide range. Lincoln won with 55% of the popular vote. -
Sherman begins his March to the Sea
Sherman begins his March to the Sea happened to frighten Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause. Sherman's soldiers did not destroy any of the towns in their path, but they stole food and livestock and burned the houses and barns of people who tried to fight back. -
Congress passes the 13th Amendment
Congress passes 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. -
Freedman’s Bureau is created
Freedman’s Bureau is created to provide food, shelter, clothing, medical services, and land to displaced Southerners, including newly freed African Americans. -
Lincoln gives his second inaugural address
Lincoln gives his second inaugural address. This speech heals the wounds from the Civil War. -
Richmond falls to the Union Army
Richmond falls to the Union Army was the most significant sign that the Confederacy is nearing its final days. -
Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy
Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy because the move served to solidify the state of Virginia's new Confederate identity and to sanctify the rebellion by associating it with the American Revolution. -
Abraham Lincoln ASSASSINATION
John Wilkes Booth appeared at the Ford's Theatre in Washington and shot Lincoln in his private box. The original plan was for Lincoln to be kidnapped and exchanged for thousands of Confederate prisoners, but that plan had failed. The reasoning? Booth thought Lincoln was attempting to overthrow the South. -
John Wilkes Booth is killed
John Wilkes Booth is killed in Port Royal, Virginia. He was assassinated by Boston Cobert. -
Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox
Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox because Lee decided to surrender his army in part because he wanted to prevent unnecessary destruction to the South.
