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Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions written
Thomas Jefferson wrote the Kentucky Resolution which opposed the Alien and Sediation Acts created by Federalists. The Resolution talked about how the Constitution gave no power to the federal government and it was only a compact between the states. The Virginia Resolution was written by James Madison and was much less harsh than the Kentucky Resolution -
Hartford Convention meets during War of 1812
Delegates of New England gathered in Conn. to discuss states rights. They were not happy with the war of 1812 and tried to create new ammendments. By the time their proposlas reached Washington DC the war was over and they were very embarresed -
Missouri Compromise
Accepted Maine as a free state and Missouri a slave state to balance out the power in Congress. Also the 36 30 line was created which banned slavery in the Loussianna territory above the line -
Tariff of Abominations
The US Congress passed the first import tax on goods. It increased the price of thing in the North which helped support the North but it did not help the south. The North was beginning to industrialize but the South was not and many of the things they produced became insignificant. -
South Carolina tries to nullify
South Carolina was very angered by the Tariff the Congress had just accepted and tried to secede from the nation. However Henry Clay tried to revise the Tariff but SC still held its ground. Jackson requested permission to send federal troops to stop the nullification but that didnt happen because Henry Clay created a compromise bill -
Abolition of Slavery Act
Britain did not have any slaves but there were still many slaves in British Colonies. This act abolished slavery in those colonies. -
Texas declares independence from Mexico
linkThe Declaration was created very quickly. It was a lot like the United States Declaration of Independance and declared Texas a free state. -
James Polk Elected
He was nominated to run for the Democratic Part but not a lot of people knew of him. He was the underdog and was able to beat Henry Clay to be the 11th president -
Wilmont Proviso
The Wilmont Proviso was an ammendment that did not allow slavery in the new territory gained from Mexico. The House of Representatives voted for it but the Senate didm't even vote for it. The Wilmont Proviso did not work and people in the South were not fans of it. -
Mexican War
The US wanted Mexican land in order to expand slavery. Mexico did not want to give it up so the US tried to force them to give it up and went to war. The US ended up getting the Mexican land they wanted. -
Fugitive Slave Law enacted.
This was part of the much bigger Compromise of 1850. It put a tougher law on slaves that had escaped but it also made the under ground rail road work even harder to free more and more slaves. -
California enters the Union
California became the 31st state on this day. Gold was discovered in California and they were desperate for a civil government due to the gold rush and increasing population. California became a non slavery state after a big debate in the US congress over whether or not it should be a slave state. -
Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe this book changed many Southerners views on slavery and it showed Slavery in a slaves eyes. It sold more than half of a million copies in the first five years in the US -
Formation of the Republican Party.
Members of the Whig Party began discussing about forming a new part to end slavery. They created the Republican Party. Many states in the South despised the this new Party and when the Republican, Abraham Lincoln, became president South Carolina and other states seceded from American and this sparked the civil war. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act passed
This act was solely Popular Soverignety. It allowed the people in the territories to choose whether they wanted slaver or not. It got rid of the Missouri Compromise including the 36,30 line because slavery was now allowed in the north. This angered a lot of Northerners. -
"Border Ruffians" attack Lawrence
This was during the time when Kansas was refered to as Bleeding Kansas. There was a lot of voilence with people fighting for slavery and people fighting against slavery. Boder Ruffians were people who went in and fought anti slavery groups. When they attacked Lawrence it is only the most popular event -
Charles Sumner attacked
Charles Sumner was an abolitionist who three days before gave a speech that insulted southerners. Preston Brooks was also offended by Sumners speech and beat him with a cane in the U.S. Senate. -
Pottawatomie Creek
John Brown and his follows, who were Free State volunteers, killed five men who believed in pro-slavery. None of them were punished but John Browns sons were held captive. -
dred scott decision announced
The Court concluded that Scott had no right to sue because he was not a citizen. They also decided that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and slavery should be allowed in the territories stated in the Compromise. -
Lecompton Constitution passed
The Pro-slavery people wanted their government to also be pro-slavery so the Bogus Legislature met at a convention in Lecompton. The Free States would not join and the whole constitution is about pro-slavery. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates.
There were 7 different debates between Lincoln and Douglas all through out Illinois. Douglas was a well known Democratic senator while Lincoln was very unknown. Lincoln lost the race for senator in 1858 but beat Douglas in the race for presidency of the United States in 1860. -
Raid at Harper's Ferry
John Brown. an abolitionist, and his followers attacked the US armory and arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Brown was killed for his actions. -
Election of 1860
Lincoln won the election for presidency in 1860. The South was enraged by this because Lincoln wasnt even on the ballots in ten states. Lincoln had only a 40% of the popular vote but almost had 60% of the electoral vote. -
Democrats split in 1860
Many believe that because the Deomocratic split up in 1860 Lincoln was elected president. The split between the three aloud the Republican party to capture most of the votes and win the election. -
Formation of Constitutional Union Party
Formed right before the election of 1860. It was created because of the differences of the North and South. Its members consisted of members from old partys like the Whig Party. This party tried to just completely ignore slavery. -
South Carolina Secedes
After Lincoln was elected president South Carolina was very angered and held a meeting in Charlestown. As a result South Carolina seceded and many other states followed -
Abraham Lincoln inaugurated
Lincoln wanted to keep his support in the North and didnt want more Southern states to secceed. He stated he was not going to get rid of slavery in the states it was already in he just wanted to stop it from spreading and protect the Union -
Attack on Fort Sumter
The Confederate troops were in South Carolina and demanded that the Union surrendered Fort Sumter which was in Charlestown. The Union at first did not surrender but the Confederates opened fire and they were not able to fire back. They surrendered in this was the first battle of the Civil War -
Virginia Secedes
Virginia was right in the middle of the North and South so it took a very long time for them to decided whether or not to secede. After the North took action and attacked the South Virginia finally seceded from the Union. -
First Battle of Bull Run
This was the first major land battle of the Civil war. The confederates had known about the Union troops because of spies and the easily gained victory. This surprised many people. -
Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac
This was the first major naval battle and the first naval battle with ion S Merrimac and was destroying Union wodden boats on the first day, On the next day the USS Monitor came in for the Union. This news of iron sided ships spread through out the world and this tactic was used in future naval battles in future wars. -
Battle of Shiloh
The Union troops after a while were able to push the Confederates along with Beauregard back. On the seventh Beauregard realized he couldnt win and fled. It was a grand victory for the Union -
McClellan Returns to Washington after the Peninsula Campaign
There was very little action by the Union until McClellan marched his soldiers to Yorktown where the Confederate gen. convinced McClellan his confederate soldiers were stronger than they were. After months of on and off fighting McClellan finally left after the "Seven Days Campaign" -
Second Battle of Bull Run
This was a very important victory for the South. Unlike the First Battle of Bull Run once the Union retreated the South followed them -
Battle of Antietam
This was a very bloody battle with nearly 23,000 men killed only 12 hours into the battle. The Union finally stopped the Confederate soldiers and after this Abraham Lincoln created the Emancipation Proclamation -
Battle of Fredericksburg
This was one of the bloodies battles of the Civil War and the first that took place in an Urban area. The Union army suffered many casualties and the Confederates had another great victory. -
Emancipation Proclamation Takes Effect.
Lincoln signed the final emancipation proclamation. Lincoln changed his story from "he was not going to touch slavery in states it already existed" to "ending slavery in rebell states". -
Battle of Chancellorsville
Most of the Confederate army was at Fredericksburg while Lee marched towards the federals. On the first day of fighting Gen. Jackson made a lot of progress but was mortaly wounded. The next day the confederates broke through the Federals line and the federals ran toward the river. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Robert E Lee of the Confederates lost to the Union and this showed everyone who would be the last man standing. Many lives were lost but it was a victory for the Union -
Surrender of Vicksburg
Gen. John C. Pemperton surrendered to the Union Gen. Ulysses Grant at Vicksburg, Mississippi. Grant easily took over Vicksburg and after multiple attempts to save Pemperton he finally surrendered -
Battle at Fort Wagner
This was a complete failure for the Union. On the first attack the confederates lost 12 men while the Union lost over 300. The second attack was made by the 54th reg. which constited of all black Soldiers except for Colonel Shaw who was dead at the end of the fighting. At the end of the second attack the Union lost 246 while Confederates only 36. -
Lincoln Delivers Gettysburg Address
Although it is one of the most famous speeches in History it was only 272 words long. Many people at the time did not like the speech because of its length and people believed that Lincoln misinterpreted why the soldiers were fighting and didnt spend enough time honoring them. -
Grant displays fighting style at Cold Harbour.
Grant and his army were at their peak against Robert E Lee. The battle only lasted 1 hour, some say, but it was the greatest for the Union. -
Atlanta Burns to the ground
Sherman resupplied at Atlanta and then burned everything they didnt use. They didnt want the enemy to be able to salvage anything that they didnt use. This is the Scorched Earth Policy and truly made the Civil war a Total War. -
Sherman Set out for the Sea.
Sherman left Atlanta Towards Savannah and did not reach it until December 22. He promised Lincoln he would have Savannah by Christmas and it was the beginning of the End for the Confederates -
Sherman Reaches Savannah
Sherman reached Savannah and broke through the Confederates defenses 3 days later. On December 20th The Confederates fled north and Sherman now had the sea and the city. -
Lincoln Delivers 2nd Inaugural Address
With the war coming to an end Lincoln needed to make a good speech so the confederacy would still like him but so would the Union. -
Richmond, The Confederate Capital, FALLS...
Part of Richmond waas burned when it fell. However many battlefields still exist. -
Surrender at Appomattox
Robert E Lee Surrendered his army to Ulysses Grant which essentially ended the war. -
Robert E. Lee Surrenders Commission
Robert Lee surrendered to the Union Gen. Ulysses Grant which ended the civil war. Lee had no other option after being drawn out of Richmond and away from the remaining confederate troops.