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Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was passed by Congress on September 18, 1850. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required all slaves to be returned to their owners, regardless if they were in a free state or not. If the slaves did not cooperate then they would be fined or killed. This act, made people pick a side if they were pro-slaves or not. As tension rose, this was one of the main events leading to the Civil War. -
Uncle Toms Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was originally published on March 20, 1852. It was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This book was written to inform people about the harsh reality of slavery. This anti-slavery book was a best seller for a long time, and helped influence how people saw the injustice of slavery. -
Abraham Lincoln getting elected
Abraham Lincoln became the 16 president on November 6, 1860. Something significant about him being elected is, how he was the first Republican to become the president. He won about 40 percent of the popular votes, and won the election with 180 electoral votes. -
Fort Sumter
Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard decided to bomb Fort Sumter, after hearing of Abraham Lincoln's plan to resupply the Union soldiers there. The bombing started the Civil War and the Battle of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. On April 13, after 34 hours of fighting, the Union surrendered. Fort Sumter is significant because was the first battle and started the Civil War. -
First Battle of Bull Run
The Union initiated the First Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861. Both sides fought at a stream named Bull Run. Most people thought the Unions would win, but the Confederates won the battle. This was a very important battle of the civil war, and made everyone realize just how violent this war was going to be. -
Battle of the Ironclads
The battle of the Ironclads took place in Virginia. The Confederate ironclad ship was called the Virginia the and the Union ship was called the Monitor. The battle started on March 9, 1862 and lasted for a total of four hours. The ironclads were shooting cannons at each other, but the cannon balls just bounced off the iron ships, not causing any severe damage. Both ships backed out and neither side won. This battle showed how ironclads are much stronger in defense than wooden ships. -
Shiloh
The battle of Shiloh started on April 6, 1862. The Confederates had a surprise attack against the Union in Tennessee. The Confederates had some success the first day, but weren’t able to beat the Union on the second, causing the Union to win this battle. After the Union won the battle of Shiloh it allowed them to get greater control of the Mississippi river Valley. Both sides of the war learned about strategy, and how gruesome the civil war was after participating in this particular battle. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull run took place from April 29-30, 1862. This battle also was in Virginia. The Union attacked first, but later surrendered causing a Confederates win. This stopped the Union from pursuing Eastern Virginia, and helped set up the Confederate invasion of Maryland. -
Antietam
The battle of Antietam was one of the bloodiest battles of the whole civil war. This battle took place on September 17, 1862, and was also known as Battle of Sharpsburg. Confederate General Robert E Lee hoped to beat the Union, to try and force them to surrender. After a gruesome 12 hours, the fighting stopped. The Union had won. This battle was significant because it stopped the Confederate invasion into the North. Also allowing Lincoln was to announce the Emancipation Proclamation -
Frederickburg
The battle of Fredericksburg took place in Fredericksburg, Virginia and was one of the largest battles of the civil war. This battle took place from December 11-15, 1862. The Union surrendered because of the amount of casualties they had suffered, making the battle of Fredericksburg one of the best Confederates wins. This was one of the Union army lowest point in the war. -
Emancipation Proclamation
On January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln presented the Emancipation Proclamation. The Emancipation Proclamation was a document trying to free the slaves. But the only slaves that were freed, were the ones under control of the Confederacy. The document did allow black soldiers to join the Union troops. Although the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t cease slavery, it showed how the Union was doing all they could to try to abolish it. -
Chancellorsville
The battle of Chancellors started on April 30,1863 and took place in Virginia.General Robert E Lee split his men, which was one of his most strategic moves of the civil war.The Union had significantly more men fighting in this battle, but were unable to beat the Confederates.This caused the Union to be setback significantly in their plans for the South.The battle ended on May 6, 1863.This battle is known for Thomas Jackson getting shot and dying from pneumonia on May 10, 1863. -
Vicksburg
The battle of Vicksburg started on May 18, 1863, and lasted 47 days. Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant sieged the Confederates, after the Union was unsuccessful on the battlefield. The Confederates surrendered on July 4, 1863. The battle of Vicksburg caused the Confederates to split into two. -
Gettysburg
The Union arrived in Gettysburg on June 30, 1863. When the Confederates arrived the next day, the Battle of Gettysburg began. The next day was the most brutal of this battle. The Confederate soldiers attacked from both sides. The Confederates tried to attack on July 3rd, but they ended up having too many deaths and failed. General Robert E. Lee surrendered the next day. This stoped Lee’s invasion of the North, had the most casualties, and was a huge turning point in the war. -
Chickamauga
The battle of Chickamauga was fought on September 18-20, 1863. Even though the Confederates won this battle, they suffered from more casualties. The Confederates had 18,000 casualties, and the Union had about 16,000. This made Chickamauga have the second most casualties in the whole war. But in the Western theatre it had the most. -
Chatanooga
There were three battles of Chattanooga. They took place on November 23-25, 1863. The names were Battle of Orchard Knob, The Battle of Lookout Mountain, and the Battle of Missionary Ridge. The Union won, which forced the Confederates to go back to Virginia. The Union had about 5,800 casualties, while the Confederates had about 6,600. After winning, the Union had access to Georgia. -
13 Amendment
Since the Emancipation Proclamation didn’t abolish slavery completely, the 13 Amendment was made. It was passed by Senate on April 8, 1864, and by Congress on January 31, 1865. It was put in effect on December 6, 1865. This amendment completely stopped slavery in the U.S. -
Appomattox Courhouse
The Appomattox Court House is located in Virginia. This is where Confederate General Robert E Lee surrendered to Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant. This took place on April 9,1865. The Appomattox court house is so significant, because when General Lee surrendered it ended the civil war. -
Lincoln assassination
Abraham Lincoln was shot on April 14, 1865 at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C., by John Wilkes Booth. He was shot only five days after the Confederates surrendered the war. Booth was originally going to kidnap him, but after Lincoln didn’t show, Booth hatched a new plan to kill him. Booth was upset that Lincoln said he was going to give Black people that fought in the war, the right to vote. Abraham Lincoln was announced dead the next day. Most of the country was devastated about his death. -
Battle of Palmito Ranch
The Battle of Palmito Ranch took place on May 12 and May 13, 1865. Even though the Confederate General had surrendered, some of the Confederates weren’t ready to surrender.When the Union troops saw the Confederates, they both knew of what happened at the Appomattox Court House. Union Colonel David Branson attacked the Confederates.The Confederates ended up winning, but didn’t gain anything. Even though the war was over, the Battle of Palmito Ranch is considered the last battle of the civil war.