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Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was an attempt to smooth out the confrontation between the slave states of the South and the free states of the North. Because of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was amended which forced all states to return escaped slaves. Slavery in Washing, D.C., was abolished. -
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Civil War: Freeway to Freedom
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The Kansas Nebraska Act
The Kansas Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, allowing the act of slavery in the North. The Kansas Nebraska Act imposed that the issue of slavery would be determined by the residents of each territory. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was the first fighting over the slavery issue. Settlers arrived from the Union and from the Confederacy to Kansas to try to influence the popular sovereignty vote. Because they fought over this issue for so many years, there was a lot of blood shedded. Eventually, Kansas entered the Union as a free state in 1861 -
The Dred Scott Decision
A slave who forever changed the definition of property. A federal court ruled that he (Scott) was a citizen, but the Supreme Court ruled otherwise. In an 1857 plurality opinion, Chief Justice Roger Taney said that African-Americans could never become United States citizens. -
Lincoln - Douglas Debates
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, ran against each other for an Illinois Senate seat in 1858. The hot topics out of seven were slavery and popular sovereignty. Lincoln was a free-soiler opposing expansion of slavery in the new territories, while Douglas supported the option of popular sovereignty towards slavery in the new territories. -
Harper's Ferry
John Brown gathered men; 16 white men, three free black men, one freed slave, and one fugitive slave to conduct a revolt and gain freedom. He was an extremist version of an abolitionist who thought slavery was to be abolished by the use of violence. Sadly there was lack of communication with the slaves and Brown was imprisoned. -
Lincoln's Election
Abraham Lincoln won the election in 1860 and was inaugurated as president on March of 1861. Although he won, the southern states did not want Lincoln to become president because they did not agree with his policies. He believed slavery shouldn't be spread into new territory. As the years passed, he came to realize that he wanted to abolish slavery. Lincoln freed slaves across the country. -
Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the first battle of the American Civil War and signaled the start of the war. The Union Army was attacked by the Confederate Army from all sides and eventually surrendered. -
Bull Run
The first major battle of the Civil War along Bull Run a small river. It resulted in a Confederate victory unexpected for the North. Abraham Lincoln encouraged the war despite McDowell feeling’s(Union Commander) that the troops weren’t ready. The slow movement of the Union troops, allowed Beauregard(Confederate commander) to call General Johnston for reinforcements. After fighting on the defensive for most of the day, the Confederates pushed back the Union army causing them to retreat. -
Antietam
The first battle to be fought on northern soil in Maryland. General Lee decided to be on the offensive & led the Southern forces North in hopes of a victory to convince Great Britain & France to recognize the Confederacy as a nation. In the bloody war, The Confederate army was using all their men in contrary to the Union. The Union army claimed victory after Lee began to retreat back to Virginia. Lincoln used this victory, to give the Emancipation Proclamation speech. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln gave the Emancipation Proclamation speech after the Battle of Antietam. The Emancipation Proclamation freed all slaves in the Confederate states and allowed the free slaves to join the Union Navy and Army. It didn't free slaves in the border states but with the new slaves fighting in the Union side, it helped the North win the war and expand the area of freedom as they progressed through the South. It also paved the way for the Thirteenth Amendment. -
Gettysburg Battle
The battle took place over three days near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Confederates outnumbered the Union the first day causing them to retreat to the south side of town. General Lee wanted to finish off the Union troops, but his troop delayed and the Union set up their defenses. On the second day, both troops were at full force. General Lee decided to make an all or nothing attack toward the Union army & sent General Pickett with 12,500 men to fight. They were defeated and the army retreated. -
Gettysburg Address
A short speech given by Abraham Lincoln at the dedication ceremony for the National Cemetery of Gettysburg. His speech cited principles of human equality, it gave hope that the states would unite and all slaves would be freed, and called for society to look into the future and realize that they can overcome this war. -
Andersonville Prison
The South’s largest prison for captured Union soldiers built in Georgia by slaves. It was known for its unhealthy conditions and high death rates. This Confederate military prison became necessary after the collapse of the prisoner-exchange system between the North and South over disagreements about the handling of black soldiers. The prison lacked food supplies, health supplies, proper housing, and space for the thousands of Union prisoners. -
Surrender at Appomattox Court House
Confederate General Lee surrendered his Army to Union General Ulysses near the town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. This was the start of the end of the American Civil War. The Confederate forces were retreating from Richmond to meet Confederate reinforcements in North Carolina and continue fighting. The Union Army cut off their retreat. Stripped of food and supplies, Lee decided to surrender. They could return home and keep their horses as long as they turned in their rifles. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth assassinated the president of the United States who led the Union to victory over the Confederate Army. Booth was desperate to save the Confederacy. The attack was only five days after the surrender at Appomattox Court House, ending the civil war. Lincoln was assassinated while watching a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. His death was not taken lightly. The public was distressed, surprised, and confused. -
Reconstruction
The Reconstruction Era was tense. The radicals in the North wanted to punish the Confederate states. The Confederate states didn't know another way of life since their economy was based on slave labor. The North started to gain more Confederate territory, laws that had restricted blacks from certain acts were lifted. The fourteenth amendment stated that any male citizen had his basic rights, regardless of race. Anti-black groups were created and whites started gaining supremacy again.
