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Abraham Lincoln's most famous accomplishments can be linked to the end of America's Civil War. Lincoln pushed for the 13th Amendment, which officially abolished slavery. He also signed a bill to create the first transcontinental railroad.
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He wanted the south to choose things and not be forced by the north but no one cared so they did it anyway. He wasn't a fan of reconstruction, oh and he bought Alaska. He was eventually impeached.
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Grant pushed the 15th amendment through. This gave Americans the right to vote regardless of race, color, of precious condition of servitutde. In his second term, he continued to back southern Reconstruction with force if necessary.
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Shortly after Hayes's inauguration, his administration came through with the Compromise of 1877. This, which was created to please southerners upset with Reconstruction, officially demilitarized the south. Also, in 1880 his Secretary of State restricted Chinese immigration.
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Garfield's six month term revolved around petty issues of patronage. It was soon discovered that the Republican party was involved in the Star Route Scandel. He was shot July 2, 1882 and died that September of blood poisoning.
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Chester Arthur vetoed a law which wanted to completely restrict Chinese immigration. However, because of anti-Chinese feelings in the US, he did end up signing the Chinese Exclusion Act. This bill, renewed two more times, wound up completely halting Chinese immigration until its repeal in 1943.
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Grover Cleveland's first term saw the birth of the Presidential Succesion Act in 1886. It also saw the Interstate Commerce Act, which regulated railroad lines. Finally, it saw the creation of the Dawes Severality Act - this granted citizenship to Native Americans if they were willing to renounce their tribal affiliation.
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Harrison's Dependent and Disability Pensions Act provided veterans and their children with pensions if a nonmilitary related cause made them disabled. He also had the distinction of passing the first law attempting to get rid of monopolies, the Sherman Anti-trust Act. Harroson imposed a 48% tariff on imported goods - a widely unpopular decision.
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Cleveland's second term took place during the Panic of 1893 - a small economic depression which resulted in riots and business failure. He pleaded with Congress to overturn the Sherman Silver Purchase Act. He also refused to annex Hawaii, believing it to be "wrong".
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McKinley annexed Hawaii, despite the fact that Cleveland had refused to in his term. On February 15, 1898, the Maine Incident occured - a US battleship stationed near Cuba sank of mysterious causes. Outrage over this sparked the Spanish-American War.
