In a speech at the Cooper Institute in New York, Abraham Lincoln attacks slavery and insists that the Federal government has "the power of restraining the extension of the institution.
The Pony Express begins
Abraham Lincoln is elected as President of the United States
Crittenden Compromise
convention of the South Carolina legislature votes to secede from the Union
7 States Secede from the Union
Kansas is admitted as a state
Fort Sumter is bombarded and surrenders to South Carolina troops led by P. G. T. Beauregard.
Lincoln orders a blockade of all Confederate ports
the Battle of Bull Run
General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Henry, Tennessee.
Union General Ulysses S. Grant prevails at the Battle of Shiloh in Tennessee
Stonewall Jackson wins Battle of McDowell in Virginia.
Lee forces McClellan’s army to retreat, ending the threat to Richmond in the Seven Days’ campaign.
The Battle of Antietam, Maryland, exacts heavy losses on both sides.
Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, which declares that slaves in the seceded states are now free.
President Lincoln signs a federal draft act
the Battle of Gettysburg is fought in Pennsylvania
