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(B) Lincoln Douglas Debates
Lincoln Douglas Debates were a series of debates between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. The two had these debates in 1858 as they were running against each other in the Illinois state election. Lincoln and Douglas were well known for their debates about slavery. The two politicians would later run against each other again, this time for president. -
(B) Lincoln won the election
Lincoln won the election of 1860, Becoming the 16th president. He was a Republican from a small farm in Illinois. He ran against two southern democrats; John C. Breckinridge and Stephen A. Douglas. He won more than half of the electoral votes, and about 2 million in the popular vote. -
(S) South seceded
The south seceded on December 20, 1860. They were the first to leave the union. Many after followed South carolina, like Florida and Mississippi followed son after. After eleven states seceded, they formed the Confederate states of America. Leaving the union wondering what to do. The secession of those eleven states caused the civil war. -
(S) The Battle of Fort Sumter
The first battle that marked the beginning of the Civil war was the Battle of Fort Sumter. The Battle of Fort Sumter took place in Charleston, South Carolina, which was a Union base that was in the rebelling South. The battle took place from April 12-14, 1861. There were no casualties during this battle, but both sides realized that they needed to improve themselves in order to win. When the Confederacy won, the North realized that the war would not be quick and easy as they thought. -
(N) The Battle of Anteniam
The battle happened on September 17, 1862 near Sharpsburg, Maryland. It was the single bloodiest day in american history with 23,000 deaths. It was the first time the Confederacy invaded the North in the Civil War. The Union won. -
(B) Emancipation Proclamation
The emancipation proclamation declared that all the slaves in the Confederate states were to be set free. Abraham Lincoln told the slaves that were now free, they could go and fight for the Union army and navy. This changed the focus of the war, made it turn to slavery as its focus. This made Lincoln think he would get more soldiers to help fight the south in the Civil War. But, the south ignored Abraham's Emancipation Proclamation. -
(N) Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg took place in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania from July 1-3, 1863. This battle became known as the bloodiest battle of the Civil War. There were 95,000 Union soldiers, and 75,000 Confederate soldiers fighting in this battle. After about 50,000 men had been killed or wounded, the Union ended the battle by defeating the South. -
(B) Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg address is remembered as one of America’s most important speeches, because he invoked principles of human equality, and transformed the Union struggle for life and liberty. He did all of that in only 273 words. -
(N) Lincoln's Reelection
Lincoln was reelected in 1864. It was no surprise that the civil war president would run again. He ran against George Brinton McClellan, he was a democrat and from Philadelphia. Abraham Lincoln won against McClellan,with the popular vote. The war was still going on and the union needed Linclon to be able to win the war. -
(S) Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman’s March to the Sea started in Atlanta, Georgia, and ended in Savannah, Georgia. The goal of this march was to frighten people in Georgia into leaving the Confederacy. The Union did this by destroying everything in their path, also known as total war. The march started on November 15, 1864, and went until December 21, 1864. -
(N) Lincoln's Assassination
On April 14, 1865, five days after the end of the Civil War, Lincoln was assassinated at Ford’s Theater. He was attending a comedy play, when John Wilkes Booth came into his box and shot him in the head. Many people don’t know this, but John Wilkes Booth was actually a very well-known actor, which made it easier for him to assassinate Lincoln at the theater. They rushed Lincoln over to a building across the street, where he died the next day. -
(B) Reconstruction started
Right after the war ended, starting over was key. President Abraham Lincoln declared that he wanted to rebuild the south. Most of the fighting happened in the south, making more devastation and more to clean up. Reconstruction was from 1865 to 1877. The goal of Reconstruction was to rebuild a nation that was broken. -
(S) Confederacy surrender
The end of the Battle of Appomattox Courthouse, General Robert E. Lee surrendered. The states were finally at peace on April 9, 1865. -
(B) Johnson became president
Andrew Johnson became the 17th president of The United States. He was Lincoln’s vice president, who took his place when Lincoln was assassinated. He was the first president to be impeached. Although he was impeached, he was not removed from office. He didn't run for a second term. -
(B) 13th amendment
The 13th amendment said that slavery was no longer allowed in the U.S. After this amendment was ratified, a huge part of then then souths work was lost. Down in the south, a huge part of their labor. -
(S) KKK
Founded in 1866, the Ku Klux Klan used intimidation and violence targeted towards republican leaders. At least 10% of black legislators became targets or victims for the KKK. They usually wore white robes and hats and carried out their attacks at night. -
(S) Black Codes
Black Codes were laws passed by Southern states that limited the new-found freedom and rights of African Americans. Black Codes made it seem like African Americans were being put back into “slavery”. Some examples of black codes would include African Americans working on farms as servants, not being able to hold public meetings, and they couldn’t rent land. -
(B) 14th amendment
This amendment was ratified on July 28, 1868. This amendment granted citizenship to all people born or naturalized in the U.S. It said that state governments could not “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.” This law helped with the black codes and made them become a citizen of the U.S. This helped to show that african americans are citizens now. -
(S) Jim Crow Laws
They were state and local laws that enforced racial segregation. The Supreme court said that the Jim Crow Laws were acceptable, only if they were separate, but equal. Most of the time, the thing the white people used were better than black ones. -
(B) 15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment was passed in 1870. The 15th Amendment gave African American men the right to vote, which was a big step for African Americans. After this amendment was passed, many women’s rights activists became angry at the fact that an African American got to vote before they could.
