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Rhode Island becomes the first of the Colonies to introduce anti-slavery laws. It will make more evident the difference between Northern an Southern states.
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The Declaration of Independence asserts the sovereignty of American colonies. It, also, sets a precedent in outlining the rights of the people.
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This invention, created by Eli Withney, revolutionises cotton production in the South, and tobacco becomes the most profitable trade commodity.
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The Western territories are acquired by the United States from France. This event will result in decades of discussions about westwards slavery expansion.
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The United States bans the import and export of slaves, one year after Great Britain abolished the slave trade. Northern states start ending slavery while Southern states cotton production and slavery expands.
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Political balance between North and South is maintained by admitting that exists slave and free states. The North dominates the House of Representatives and the South wants to correct the balance. Missouri is admitted to the Union as a slave state but in the future, it is setted that only would be admitted those states that were free.
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Congress is denied interference in the slave trade between states. Many abolitionist tracts make reference to the act to highlight Northern complicity towards the institution of slavery.
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Douglas and Lincoln engage in seven debates during the election campaign. Their speeches serve as a base for discussion of the problem of slavery and its future. Despite Lincoln lost that election, much of what he said went on to form his presidential campaign in 1860.
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John Brown attempts to lead an armed slave insurrection by seizing a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He believed slavery could only be ended by violent means. This event is often seen as the last notable flashpoint of sectional tension before the outbreak of the Civil War.
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Abraham Lincoln becomes the 16th President of the United States. He wins the presidential election without Southern votes.
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After South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas all commit to secession. These states form the Confederate States of America, elect Jefferson Davis as their president and draft a constitution that is similar to the original, except for explicit support of slavery.
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Hostilities at Fort Sumter force Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina to side with the Confederacy. The first major battle of the Civil War occurs when public and political demands push an unprepared Union army into battle in Virginia. The arrival of Confederate reinforcements ensures them a victory.
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Congress approves of the enrolment of black troops in the Union militias. This constitutes a marked departure from a policy of turning away black soldiers keen to enlist.
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Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation, stating that slaves inside the rebelling Confederacy were 'thenceforward, and forever free'.
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The nation’s first conscription act is passed by Congress.
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Confederate General Robert Lee invades Pennsylvania but is routed by the Union army. Confederate forces are kept out of Union territory for the rest of the war.
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Under General William Sherman’s command, the Union army captures the Confederate stronghold of Atlanta and embark on a campaign of destruction aimed at breaking the will of the Confederate army.
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Lincoln is re-elected carrying the electoral college vote and a slim majority of the popular vote.
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Laws against conspiracy are tightened and habeas corpus suspended in order to stop Confederate desertions; Jefferson Davis even makes a desperate bid to arm the slaves which is rejected by his Congress.
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Union reinforcements arrive at the Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia and secure General Lee’s surrender. This marks the end of the Civil War.
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A group of Confederate sympathisers from Maryland plot to assassinate President Lincoln. The president is shot in his box at the Ford Theatre in Washington D.C. by John Wilkes Booth and dies early the next morning.
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After a great deal of political wrangling, the Thirteenth Amendment abolishing slavery is ratified.
