-
Robert E. Lee Surrenders
Robert E. Lee surrenders his 25,000+ Confederate troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in Appomattox, Virginia, which ultimately ended the American Civil War. Lee had no other options as he was forced to abandon the Confederate Capitol of Richmond and was constantly harassed by Union calvary. He main reason of surrendering was to prevent unnecessary destruction to the South. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
On April 14,1865, a famous actor and Confederate sympathizer, John Wilkes Booth, shot Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre, Washington D.C. The crowd interpreted the incident as apart of the production until the First Lady let out a horrifying scream. Several soldiers carried Lincoln to a boardinghouse and placed him on a bed. When the general surgeon arrived at the house, he confirmed that Lincoln could possibly die overnight. -
The 13th Amendment
The authorization of the 13th Amendment abolished slavery within the United States, with the “exception as a punishment for a crime.” Four million African Americans (almost a third of the population of the South) became permanently free. The 13th Amendment was the first of three Reconstruction Amendments adopted in the five years after the American Civil War. -
Reconstruction Act of 1867
The Reconstruction Act of 1867 divided the Confederate states, except for Tennessee, into five military districts. It was mandatory for each state to write a new constitution, which had to be approved by a majority of voters, including African Americans in that state. After meeting the criteria in relation to protecting the rights of African Americans along with their property, the former Confederate states could gain full recognition and federal representation in Congress. -
Andrew Johnson’s Impeachment
President Johnson was impeached by the House of Representatives primarily for violating the Tenure of Office Act. The act made it unobtainable for the president to dismiss important government officials without consent from the Senate. Johnson had wanted to dismiss the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton, and formally did on February 21, 1868. The House of Representatives impeached him by a vote of 126 to 47. Johnson was acquitted by one vote 11 weeks after his trial began. -
The 14th Amendment
The 14th amendment allowed citizenship to all people who were “born or naturalized in the United States,” including former enslaved people and provided all citizens with “equal protection under the laws.” The amendment approved the government to discipline states that decreased citizens’ right to vote by evenly reducing their representation in Congress. -
The 15th Amendment
The 15th amendment restricted states from denying a citizen’s right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” This addition to the constitution allowed African American men, including former slaves, to vote. However, this amendment still denied African Americans the right to vote because of state constitutions and laws, literacy tests, poll taxes, outright intimidation, and the “grandfather clause.” -
Hiram Rhodes Revels Elected as the First Black U.S. Senator
Hiram Rhodes Revels was an African Methodist Episcopal minister who became the first African American to serve in Congress when he was elected by the Mississippi State Legislature to complete the final two years of a term. Although Revels perceived himself as “a representative of the State, irrespective of color,” he also represented freedmen and spoke in favor of reinstating black legislators forced from office in Georgia. -
The Ku Klux Klan Act of 1781
The Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups like the Knights of the White Camelia were formed to terrorize black people along with people who supported them and to abolish black political and economic rights in the South during Reconstruction. Ulysses S. Grant was empowered by the Congress to stop the group’s violence. The act allowed federal troops to make hundreds of arrests in South Carolina, and forced 2,000+ Klansmen to flee the state. -
Civil Rights Act of 1875
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 guaranteed all citizens, despite their color, equal treatment in public transportation, accommodations, public schools, jury services, and more. However, the decision was overturned in the Supreme Court in 1883. In the Civil Rights Cases, the court found that the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution allowed Congress the right to regulate the behavior of states, not individuals.