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Key Causes and Events of the Civil War
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Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis presents resolutions as to why slavery should be allowed in the territories. He also gave reasons as to why the nation should protect slaveholders. His intention was to unite the Democratic party. -
Lincoln gives the Cooper Union Address, in which he validated the Federal Government banning slavery in new territories. This was Lincoln's most influential speech and many people believe it won him the presidency. -
The Pony Express begins going from Saint Louis, Missouri to Sacremento, California. It had 119 stations that were each 12 miles apart. They made it possible for more letters to be delivered in a more timely manner. -
The former members of the American and Whig parties meet in Baltimore and form the Constitutional Union Party, They elect John Bell to be their candidate for president and Edward Everett as candidate for vice president. -
The former members of the American and Whig parties meet in Baltimore and form the Constitutional Union Party, They elect John Bell to be their candidate for president and Edward Everett as candidate for vice president. -
Grace Bedell, an 11 year old girl, writes Lincoln. In her letter she tells him that a beard would make his face look better because it is so thin. Lincoln immediatly decides to let his whiskers grow out. -
Abraham Lincoln is elected the first Republican president with 40% of the popular vote and an electoral majority. His party's platform is the abolishment of slavery. -
In 1860 South Carolina officially breaks away from the United States of America. -
South Carolina is the first state to secede following Lincoln's election. -
The South Carolina Congressmen resign due to secession. However, their names remain on the roll because the Union still does not agknowledge secession. -
Mississppi is the second state to secede from the Union, joining South Carolina. -
Florida is the third state to secede. -
Alabama is the fourth state to secede from the Union. -
Georgia is the 5th state to secede. -
Louisiana is the 6th state to secede. -
Texas is the seventh state to secede. -
The seceded states form the confederate States of America. -
Jefferson Davis was appointed president of the Confederacy. -
The first battle of the Civil War happens at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The battle lasted two days and was a victory for the Confederate forces. -
Union forces under General Ulysses S. Grant, capture Paducah, Kentucky without spilling any blood. This gives the union control of the Tennesse River. -
Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Henry, and ten days later Fort Donelson. -
The confederates surprise attack on Ulysses S. Grant's and his troops at Shiloh on the Tennessee River. 13,000 Union killed and wounded and 10,000 Confederates. -
Davis and the Confederate Congress approve the conscription act. This calls forward any white male ages 18 to 35 to fight for the confederate army. -
Lee attacks McClellan near Richmond, resulting in losses for both armies. -
The Union army is defeated by 55,000 Confederates under Stonewall Jackson and James Longstreet at the second battle of Bull Run in northern Virginia. -
Robert E. Lee invades the North with 50,000 Confederates and heads for Harpers Ferry, northwest of Washington. -
The bloodiest day in U.S. military history as Robert E. Lee is stopped at Antietam in Maryland by McClellan and his troops. 26,000 men are dead, wounded, or missing. -
Lincoln grows impatient with McClellan and his slowness, He replaces him with Ambrose E. Burnside. -
Grant issues an order to bar Jewish people from serving under his command. This is horribly ironic because he is fighting to free a group of people because of the harsh treatment they are receiving. He then discriminates against another group of people simply because they have different beliefs. -
The Battle of Fredericksburg was an early battle of the civil war and stands as one of the greatest Confederate victories. -
President Lincoln issues the final Emancipation Proclamation freeing all slaves in territories held by Confederates and emphasizes the enlisting of black soldiers in the Union Army. -
Grant is placed in command of the Army of the west and given orders to capture Vicksburg. -
The U.S. Congress enacts a draft, affecting male citizens aged 20 to 45, but exempts those who pay $300 or provide a substitute. -
The Union Army lead by Hooker is defeated by Robert E. Lee's smaller forces at the Battle of Chancellorsville in Virginia. -
Stonewall Jackson dies from his wounds suffered at Chancellorsville -
Lee with 75,000 Confederates leads his second invasion of the North, heading into Pennsylvania. -
The war turns as the Confederates are defeated in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. -
Vicksburg surrenders to Grant. It was the Confederates last stronghold. -
The president appoints Grant to command all operations in the west. -
President Lincoln delivers a two minute Gettysburg Address at a ceremony dedicating the Battlefield as a National Cemetery. -
President Lincoln appoints Grant to command all of the armies of the United States. -
A mistake by Grant results in 7,000 Union casualties in twenty minutes during a battle against fortified Rebels at Cold Harbor in Virginia. -
Union forces miss an opportunity to capture Petersburg and cut off the Confederate rail lines. A nine-month siege of Petersburg begins with Grant's forces -
At Atlanta, Sherman's forces battle the Rebels. -
Democrats nominate George B. McClellan for President to run against Abraham Lincoln. -
Atlanta is captured by Sherman's Army. -
Abraham Lincoln is re-elected president, defeating Democrat George B. McClellan. -
After destroying Atlanta Sherman, with 62,000 men begins a March to the Sea. -
Hood's Rebel Army is defeated at Nashville. -
Sherman reaches Savannah in Georgia leaving behind a destroyed Atlanta -
The U.S. Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment. -
A peace conference occurs as President Lincoln meets with Confederate Vice President Alexander Stephens in Virginia, but the meeting ends in failure, the war continues. -
The last offensive for Lee's Army of Northern Virginia begins with an attack of Grant's forces at Petersburg. -
Grant's forces begin a general advance and break through Lee's lines at Petersburg. -
The remaining Confederate armies surrender. This leads to the end of the war. -
Robert E. Lee surrenders his Confederate Army to Ulysses S. Grant at the village of Appomattox Court House in Virginia. -
Lincoln and his wife see a play at Ford's Theater. At the play, John Wilkes Booth shoots the president in the head. -
President Abraham Lincoln dies in the morning due to his injuries. Vice President Andrew Johnson takes over. -
John Wilkes Booth is shot and killed in a tobacco barn in Virginia. -
Abraham Lincoln is buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Illinois. -
New Freedman's Bureau bill passed by Congress. -
Texas repeals the actions of the Secessionist Convention. -
President Johnson vetos the Civil Rights Act of 1866 because it was unconstitutional. -
The United States at peace with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia -
Congress appropriates $100,000 to buy Ford's Theater. -
Congress overrides President Andrew Johnson's veto of the Civil Rights Act. -
Winfield Scott died in West Point, New York -
Congress overrides Andrew Johnson's veto of the Freedman's Bureau bill. -
Congress establishes "general of the armies". -
The U. S. Secret Service begins an investigation into the Ku Klux Klan. -
African Americans in Washington D. C. gain the right to vote in a bill passed over President Andrew Johnson's veto. -
Nebraska becomes a state -
Congress passes the Tenure of Office Act. -
Virginia rejects votes cast by Negroes, who were granted universal suffrage under the Reconstruction Act. -
Congress passes the 2nd Reconstruction Act. -
William P. Seward signs a treaty with Russia buying Alaska for 2 cents an acre. -
President Andrew Johnson demands the resignation of Edwin Stanton, Secretary of War. -
Edwin Stanton suspended by President Andrew Johnson after he clashed with Johnson over his lenient treatment of the former Confederate states. -
Ulysses S. Grant becomes ad interim Secretary of War. -
Russia turns over Alaska to the United States