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Compromise of 1850
5 laws regarding the issue of slavery were passed. -
The Kansas Nebraska Act
A movement in which territories of Kansas and Nebraska were formed and each side developed an opinion regarding slavery. This act repealed the Missouri Compromise. -
Bleeding Kansas
Period of time when the pro-slave and free-slave settlers fought for control over Kansas, trying to influence whether it would be a slave state or a free state. -
The Dred Scott Decision
The Supreme Court declared the right for slave owners to bring their slaves west into other territories. This went against everything that the new Republican party desired. -
Lincoln – Douglas Debates
7 debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas during an Illinois state election in 1858. The topics discussed at the conference included slavery, state rights, and more political discussion. -
Harper’s Ferry
George Washington established in 1794, and arsenal and armory at Harper’s Ferry. John Brown raided Harper’s Ferry in 1859 in hope to capture the arsenal and instigate a slave uprising. However the attempt was unsuccessful. The day after Virginia seceded from the Union, Federal soldiers burnt down Harper’s Ferry. -
Lincoln’s Election
In 1860, Lincoln won the party's presidential nomination. In 1860 election, Lincoln again faced Douglas. It was held on Tuesday, November 6. The United States had been divided during the 1850s on questions about the expansion of slavery and rights of slave owners. -
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a fort in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. Here in Fort Sumter were the first shots of the Civil War fired (1861). Fort Sumter was originally occupied by the Union until confederate soldiers attacked the fort in a 32 hour battle. The South then gained control of the fort for almost 4 years. -
Bull Run
Bull run was the first main battle of the Civil War in Virginia. The initial attackers were the Union army. However, after a day of fighting, it was the confederate states that reigned victorious against the Union. This battle was a big first impression of The Confederate Army. It convinced the Lincoln administration that this was going to be a long, costly war. -
Antietam
The battle of Antietam was the first major battle of the Civil War fought in the North. This battle/day remains the bloodiest day in American history, with over 22,000 casualties. This Union win allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. -
Emancipation Proclamation
After the Union win in the battle of Antietam President Lincoln was able to issue the Emancipation Proclamation stating “that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves in the rebellious states “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” Although the proclamation did not free any slaves it was a major turning part in the war. -
Gettysburg and Gettysburg Address
The Battle of Gettysburg was a long, hard fought battle resulting in more than 55,000 casualties and immense losses for both armies; there was no clear winner although the North stopped the South’s invasion. This battle led to Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. In the famous speech Lincoln addressed the mass amount of casualties in a way remembered them. -
Andersonville Prison
Andersonville Prison was formally known as Fort Sumter. It was built in early 1864 after the confederate decided to move prisoners together to one prison. During the 14 months it existed, more than 45,000 Union soldiers were kept there. 13,000 of those prisoners would end up dying from various causes. -
Surrender at Appomattox Court House
The battle at Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last of the civil war. It was the final engagement between confederate army general Robert E. Lee and union army lieutenant general Ulysses S. Grant before the confederate army surrendered. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on Friday, April 14, 1865. It occurred five days after the Surrender at Appomattox Court House. He was attending a play at ford’s theater. Lincoln was, at that time, the first United States president to be assassinated. -
Reconstruction
The reconstruction era was from 1865 to 1877. From 1863-1865, Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Jackson both took positions designed to bring the south back to normal as quickly as possible.
