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The Republican Party or GOP (Grand Old Party) was formed in 1854. It was formed to combat the spread of slavery and would later oppose the Kansas Nebraska act. -
The Kansas Nebraska act repealed the Missouri Compromise and created two new territories that allowed popular sovereignty which allowed the people to choose whether the territory would be a free or slave state. This would later lead to a series of violent conflicts between pro and anti-slavery forces known as "Bleeding Kansas". -
On November 6th, 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States. -
Just four days after the election, South Carolina called for a convention of the people to discuss secession. While South Carolina entertained the idea of secession before, tensions were rising between the north and the south making secession more likely. On December 17th, in a unanimous vote of 169-0, South Carolina voted to secede from the United States. -
The battle of Fort Sumter was a bombardment launched by the South Carolina militia. The battle ended with the surrender of the United States soldiers. This is considered the beginning of the Civil War. -
Lincoln suspended the rit of habeas corpus to give military powers the necessary authority to silence rebel soldiers and militias. the suspension allowed for the arrest and imprisonment of individuals who were seen as a threat to the United States Military. -
This battle was the first major conflict of the Civil War. Union and Confederate soldiers fought near Manassas Junction, Virginia. The battle ended in a Confederate victory pushing the Union forces back to Washington D.C. -
On election day, Jefferson Davis was elected President of the Confederacy. The election was only to confirm the decision that the Confederate congress already made -
Also known as the Battle of Hampton Roads, This was the first naval duel between ironclad warships. While it was not a clear victory, it marked a new age of naval warfare -
The Battle of Shiloh was fought in southwestern Tenessee. It ended with a union victory allowing them to penetrate the Confederate interior. To this day, this battle remains the bloodiest battle in American history with more than 23,000 dead and wounded -
The Confederate forces were renamed the Army of Northern Virginia when Robert E. Lee assumed command in a battle to defend the city of Richmond from the Union forces. He would become the best general the Confederates had. -
Also known as the Battle of Sharpsburg, was the deadliest one-day battle in American history. This battle showed that union forces can still fight back against the Confederacy after a series of defeats. It also gave Lincoln the confidence to announce the Emancipation proclamation. -
Despite the Union's previous victory, the Battle of Fredericksburg was a crushing defeat for the union. Led by Robert E Lee, this victory acted as a boost for the Confederate hopes of victory. -
President Abraham Lincoln announced the emancipation proclamation after 3 years of civil war. It declared that "all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free." -
The battle of Chancellorsville was a bloody assault by the Union army in Virginia which failed to encircle and destroy the Confederate army in Northern Virginia. While a major confederate victory, general Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded by his own men after he was mistaken as a union soldier in the middle of the night. -
The battle of Gettysburg was the most important battle of the Civil war. If the Confederates won, it would pretty much confirm their victory. If the union won, it would be a major turning point in the war and would kill any chances of Europe intervening. The battle would end with a Union victory destroying Lee's hopes for a quick end to the war after the battle. -
One of the most successful Union campaigns, The Confederacy was split in two after General John C. Pemberton surrenders to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Vicksburg, Mississippi.
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The most destructive and violent riots in American history, the main reason for these riots was the passing of a new draft law but were soon turned towards the fear of black people stealing white New Yorker's jobs. The rioters set the city's black orphanage on fire and lynched many African Americans. After four days of rioting, Union troops returned from Gettysburg to finally end the riots. -
The Gettysburg Address is a speech that U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on the afternoon of November 19, 1863. -
The battle of Atlanta was part of the Union's summer Atlanta campaign. The battle cut off a main Confederate supply line and influenced the 1864 presidential election.
