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Kansas-Nebraska Act
Repealed the Missouri-Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty. Also produced violent uprising known as Bleeding Kansas. https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Kansas_Nebraska_Act.htm -
Dred Scott v. Stanford
Dred Scott was a Virginia slave who tried to sue for his freedom in court. The case eventually rose to the level of the Supreme Court, where the justices found that, as a slave, Dred Scott was a piece of property that had none of the legal rights or recognition afforded to a human being. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/trigger-events-civil-war -
John Brown's Raid
Abolitionist John Brown leads a small group on a raid against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), in an attempt to start an armed revolt of enslaved people and destroy the institution of slavery. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-browns-raid-on-harpers-ferry -
Lincoln's Election
Abraham Lincoln was elected by a considerable margin in 1860 despite not being included on many Southern ballots. As a Republican, his party’s anti-slavery outlook struck fear into many Southerners. On December 20, 1860, a little over a month after the polls closed, South Carolina seceded from the Union. Six more states followed by the spring of 1861. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/trigger-events-civil-war -
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina by the South Carolina militia. It ended with the surrender by the United States Army. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Sumter -
First Battle at Bull Run
Union and Confederate armies clashed near Manassas Junction, Virginia. The engagement began when about 35,000 Union troops marched from the federal capital in Washington, D.C. to strike a Confederate force of 20,000 along a small river known as Bull Run. https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/first-battle-of-bull-run -
The Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, allowed Union troops to penetrate the Confederate interior. The carnage was unprecedented, with the human toll being the greatest of any war on the American continent up to that date. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/shiloh -
Second Battle of Bull Run
The deciding battle in the Civil War campaign waged between Union and Confederate armies in northern Virginia in 1862. https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/second-battle-of-bull-run -
The Battle of Antietam
Antietam, the deadliest one-day battle in American military history, showed that the Union could stand against the Confederate army in the Eastern theater. It also gave President Abraham Lincoln the confidence to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation at a moment of strength rather than desperation. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/antietam -
The Battle of Vicksburg
Vicksburg’s strategic location on the Mississippi River made it a critical win for both the Union and the Confederacy. The Confederate surrender there ensured Union control of the Mississippi River and cleaved the South in two. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/vicksburg -
The Battle of Gettysburg
On the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s last attempt at breaking the Union line ends in disastrous failure, bringing the most decisive battle of the American Civil War to an end. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-gettysburg-ends -
Sherman Takes Atlanta
U.S. forces swept west and south around the city. At Jonesboro they cut the last railroad supplying Atlanta, forcing General Bell's Confederates to abandon the city. Atlanta Mayor James Calhoun surrendered the city to Sherman in a formal note, saying, “The fortune of war has placed Atlanta in your hands.” The 2nd Massachusetts Regiment reached downtown first and raised the American flag over City Hall. https://www.todayingeorgiahistory.org/tih-georgia-day/sherman-captures-atlanta/ -
Sherman Takes Savannah
Sherman’s army had been sweeping from Atlanta across the state to the south and east towards Savannah, one of the last Confederate seaports still unoccupied by Union forces. Along the way, Sherman destroyed farms and railroads, burned storehouses, and fed his army off the land. In his own words, Sherman intended to “make Georgia howl,” a plan that was approved by President Abraham Lincoln. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sherman-arrives-in-front-of-savannah -
Union Wins Civil War
The war effectively ended in April 1865 when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House in Virginia. https://www.britannica.com/event/American-Civil-War