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Dred Scott Case is Decided
The Supreme Court Rules that just because Scott lives in free territory, that does not make him a free man. It is also decided that since he was not free, he had no right to sue in federal court. In addition, the court rules the Missouri Compromise of 1820 to be unconstitutional. It states that territories where slavery is abolished, also, has no right to free slaves, since that interferes with slaveholder's "property rights." This would be one cause of the Civil War. -
Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown, a devout abolitionist believing God to have chosen him to free the slaves, leads a group to do just that on toward the ferry; however Robert E. Lee, a commander of U.S. forces, sends marines to stop them. They later kill ten of Brown's men, and capture Brown alive. Brown will be sent to his death in the coming days. -
Lincoln is Elected President
Abraham Lincoln wins the 1860 Presidential Election, despite the fact that his name did not even appear on most Southern ballots, being elected to become the 16th President of the United Sates of America. -
South Carolina Secedes from the Union
South Carolina, claiming to advocate "states rights," along with slavery, as a necessary means to their economy, is the first state to formally leave the Union, in part due to the controversial election of President Abraham Lincoln. -
The Civil War Begins
The Confederate States attack Fort Sumter, causing President Lincoln to order a retaliatory attack, where Union troops responded with force, initiating the American civil war. -
First Battle of Bull Run
The Confederacy launches the first attack of the Civil War, following Ft. Sumter, on unprepared Union troops, leading to a decisive Confederate victory; this leads the Union to more accurately realize the extent of time and resources "putting down this rebellion" would require. -
Jefferson Davis Elected President of the Confederacy.
Jefferson Davis was re-elected from interim president to a full six-year-term president of the Confederate States of America, as per the Confederate Constitution, running without opposition. -
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam becomes the single bloodiest battle of the civil war, resulting in just under 23,000 casualties, but also becoming a strategic Union victory, halting Lee's invasion into the North. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issues the (controversial) Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves (legally, as according to the U.S.) across the Confederate and Union States alike in the hopes of inducing slave revolts within the Confederacy. Technically, as slaves were considered property, Lincoln, as per the U.S. Constitution, did not have the power to do this, and, as such, this would not be "legal" until the thirteenth amendment. -
Gettysburg Address
President Abraham Lincoln gives his famous and inspirational speech in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, allowing the people of the remaining Union states to look past the depression of civil war, to the hopeful future reconstruction might bring with their victory. -
The Civil War Ends
Confederate General Robert E. Lee formally surrenders to Union General Ulysses S. Grant and the United States, admitting defeat in the Civil War, and creating the opportunity for the secessionist states to rejoin the union, on several conditions, at Appomattox Courthouse, in Richmond, VA. -
Lincoln Assassinated by John Wilkes Boothe
Lincoln, enjoying a play at Ford's Theatre, is shot in the head and mortally wounded by one John Wilkes Boothe, who snuck into the President's booth, while the president's bodyguard was neglecting his duties, regardless of numerous death threats on Lincoln. -
The Confederate Government Disbands
Following General Robert E. Lee's surrender General Ulysses S. Grant, and the loss of the Civil war on his part, the Confederate civilian government has no choice but to formally dissolve, having never officially surrendered to the Union. -
Last Confederate Surrender
The last remaining Confederate force, aboard the warship CSS Shenandoah, surrenders at Liverpool, England, marking the last battle of the civil war. -
Ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime, essentially confirming the legality of Lincoln's prior Emancipation Proclamation.
