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that a slave was not a citizen but property
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first national debet over slavery
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Mississippi secedes from the Union.
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Florida secedes from the Union.
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Georgia secedes from the Union.
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Louisiana secedes from the Union.
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Texas secedes from the Union.
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The Constitution of the Confederate States of America is signed in Montgomery, Alabama.
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Confederate forces under General P.G.T. Beauregard bombard Major Robert Anderson and his Union soldiers at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War officially begins.
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Surroundin area taken over by SC, except fort sumter
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Virginia secedes from the Union.
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Lincoln addresses Congress and requests the enlistment of a Union Army. Congress authorizes a call for 500,000 men. It is clear now that the war will not be short.
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General Robert E. Lee assumes command of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.
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Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which declares his intention to free all slaves in any new territory captured by the Union Army.
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Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. It frees all slaves in territory captured by the Union Army, and orders the enlistment of black soldiers. From this point forward, the Civil War is a war over slavery.
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From July 1 to July 4, the Union Army under General Meade defeats Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. One of the bloodiest battles of the war, Gettysburg is a turning point, and marks the farthest advance of the Confederate Army into northern territory.
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Far to the West on the Mississippi River, General Ulysses S. Grant takes Vicksburg after a long siege. At this point, the Union controls the entire river, cutting the Confederacy in two.
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The Confederate Army of the Tennessee is crushed by the Union Army of the Cumberland in Nashville. The war in the West is nearly over.
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The Thirteenth Amendment is ratified by the States. Slavery is abolished.
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The Union Army captures Richmond, Virginia, which is nearly leveled by shelling and fire.
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Abraham Lincoln is shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C.
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General Robert E. Lee surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant in a farmhouse in the town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The war is over.
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Lincoln does not regain consciousness after being shot. He dies from his wound.
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General Joe Johnston, leading the largest Confederate Army still in existence, surrenders in North Carolina.
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The Thirteenth Amendment is ratified by the States. Slavery is abolished.