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Period: to
US History 1846-1930s
Origins of the Civil War, Civil War and Reconstruction, The Expansion of US Power from the 1840s to the 1930s -
War With Mexico Begins
Mexico claimed the Nueces River as its border, while the US claimed the Rio Grande. Troops from both sides conflicted at the Rio Grande, and the Mexican army opened fire. The war began, as blood was shed on American soil. -
USA settles dispute with Britain over Oregon
The dispute was settled with the signing of the Oregon Treaty. The 49th parallel was the deciding factor. Britain got land north of it and the US got land south of it. Both sides figured it was not worth and trouble or war so they compromised. -
The Wilmot Proviso
Democratic Congressman David Wilmot introduced an amendment to President Polk with $2 million to assist in peace talks with Mexico. The brief amendment stated that slavery would not be permitted in any land gained from Mexico. This amendment would have been smart in many ways; however, it was rejected by congress in 1846-1847. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends US-Mexican War
This treaty ended the Mexican-American War in favor of the United States. The US gained 525,000 square miles of Mexican land, and this includes present day Arizona, California, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and Nevada. Mexico also gave up all its claims to Texas and the Rio Grande was now the USA's southern border. -
Comprise of 1850
Senator Henry Clay tried to avert a crisis between North and South. The Fugitive Slave Act was amended and slave trade in Washington D.C. was abolished. It also admitted California as a free state, gave Utah and New Mexico the option of slavery through popular sovereignty, and made it easier for the South to recover fugitive slaves. -
Implementation of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
The new Fugitive Slave Act had three key features: officials who arrested a fugitive slave were entitled to a bonus, a slave owner's claim that a slave was a fugitive was a sufficient cause for arrest, and if arrested fugitive slaves could not claim trial by jury nor legally represent themselves. The south implemented this because the slave states they were making territorial concessions in order to make up for the new states and territories becoming non-slave states. -
Publication of 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'
The publication of the famous novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' an anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel outlined the horrors of slavery and was a worldwide best seller. This was a step in the direction of a non-slavery United States. Beecher Stowe wrote the book for the purpose of showing the world how awful and degrading slavery is. -
The Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden purchase was a treaty signed in 1854 in which the US agreed to pay Mexico ten million dollars for 29,670 square miles. This was for Arizona and New Mexico that was part of Mexico at the time. The purchase would provide land for the transcontinental railroad. It would also solve conflicts between Mexico and America. There was still tension from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This eased tensions between the two. -
Formation of the Republican Party
In Ripon, Wisconsin, members of the former Whig Party came together to establish a new party that opposed slavery and the spreading of it. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery in their territory. This act served as a repeal to the Missouri Compromise of 1820. Stephen Douglas drafted this act partly for the construction of a railroad system. -
Bleeding Kansas
This was a series of violent political confrontations between the anti-slavery "Free-Staters" and the pro-slavery "Border Ruffians." This event can be directly tied to the Kansas-Nebraska Act in that border ruffians would travel to one of the states to shift the voting population in favor of allowing slavery. John Brown was also a key player in this event. -
Dred Scott judgment
Dred Scott was a black man that had been taken to free states by his owners. He felt he had power because of this he sued for his freedom. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court. The trial resulted in a 7-2 decision presented by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. Scott had lost and the court had denied his request. -
Treaty of Tianjin with China
This was a treaty that ended the first part of the second Opium War with China. There were British trader that effectively traded Opium within China's borders despite the laws of their government. Russians and Americans were trying to be neutral but was impossible to do so at the time of war. -
The Lincoln-Douglas debates
Also known as 'The Great Debates,' the Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. These debates took place to see who would be the US Senate from Illinois. Lincoln was the Republican candidate and Douglas was the Democrat candidate. -
Raid on Harper's Ferry
The Raid on Harper's Ferry was an effort managed by abolitionist John Brown to start an armed slave rebellion by taking over a US arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Brown did this in an attempt to spark up a revolt in the entire slave community. -
Abraham Lincoln elected as president
Lincoln had won the famous election of 1860. He went up against John C. Breckenridge, John Bell, and Stephen Douglass. He was the first Republican to win presidency and won 40 percent of the popular vote. He was elected because he was believed to preserve the Union and abolish slavery all together. He gained recognition and respect from the famous Lincoln-Douglass debate in 1858. This is where he stated his views and many people loved and followed them. -
South Carolina secedes from the USA
South Carolina became the first slave state in the south to secede from the United States. The citizens and leaders of the state of South Carolina believed Lincoln's main purpose in running for office was to abolish slavery and destroy their culture and way of life. -
Six other states secede from the USA
South Carolina was the first to secede from the Union in 1860, but six other states soon followed. The states were Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. They did so because they felt the Union was not listening to them. They wanted slavery while the North did not. -
The Confederacy established
The Confederacy was made up of eleven southern states that seceded from the Union. South Carolina was the first followed by 10 more. They seceded because they wanted to keep slavery and opposed Northern views. They felt that the election of Abraham Lincoln would have ended slavery and therefore they needed to get away. That was their way of life and if he was president, they felt he would take it away. -
Lincoln inaugurated as president
Replacing outgoing President of the United States James Buchanan, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as president in Washington D.C. Lincoln defeated Stephen Douglas, John Breckenridge, and John Bell in the 1860 election. -
CSA forces take Fort Sumter
General P.G.T. Beauregard opened fire on the US garrison holding Fort Sumter. He was the leader of the Confederate states' army. At 2:30 p.m. Major Robert Anderson, commander of the garrison, surrendered the fort and it was evacuated the next day. This was thought of as the event that started the Civil War. -
Suspension of 'Habeas Corpus'
Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, which states that if a prisoner feels he has been arrested without good reason, he can ask the court to release him. Lincoln suspended this right because of John Merryman, a man that was arrested for attempting to hinder Union troops from going into Baltimore. He attempted to use habeas corpus, but Lincoln had already suspended his right to do so. -
Four more states join Confederacy
Four additional slave states joined the Confederacy, which includes Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas. These states seceded for the reason being that President Lincoln used force by sending in troops in the recapture Fort Sumter and other seized federal property in the South. -
Four slave states decide to stay in USA
These four states include Maryland, Kentucky, Delaware and Missouri. By doing this, the state capital was not surrounded by confederate states, which was a huge factor in the factor in the Civil War. These states stayed in the Union mostly because they were a pro-Union government. West Virginia can also be counted as a border state. -
Jefferson Davis elected president of CSA
Jefferson Davis was the first elected president of the Confederacy. He ran unopposed and served a six year term. He attended West Point and served in the Mexican American War. He had much more military experience than Lincoln but lacked people skills and motivation for the new CSA. Overall Lincoln is considered to be the better president of the two. -
Trent Affair, danger of British intervention
The Trent Affair was a diplomatic incident during the American Civil War. It threatened to go to war with the United Kingdom. Charles Wilkes of the U.S. Navy captured two Confederate diplomats from a British ship. The British were not happy and protested angrily. The men James Mason and John Slidell were sent by president Jefferson Davis to secure British and French recognition that the CSA was a sovereign nation. They were caught in the act of doing so. -
USA abolishes slavery in Washington, DC
President Lincoln signed an act abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia. By doing this, it was an important step in the long road toward full emancipation of African-Americans. -
The Homestead Act
Abraham signed it into play to encourage Western migration. The deal was settlers would be provided 160 acres of public land. In exchange, settlers would pay a small filing fee. There had to be five years of continuous residency before they received ownership of the land. -
Battle of Chattanooga
Led by General Ulysses S. Grant, this ended up being another victory for the Northern side. This was a series of battles fought in Tennessee between the Union and Confederacy. -
Battle of Antietam
This was the first Northern victory in the Civil War. Here, the Confederacy made their way into Northern territory where they were met by Union troops. This was the bloodiest single-day battle of the war. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln wrote it to abolish slavery. He said that if the Southern States did not back down from rebellion by January 1, 1863, than it would officially come into effect. Lincoln wanted to wait until a big Northern victory to publish the proclamation. The proclamation came into play after the Battle of Antietam. -
The Vallandigham Case
When Clement Vallandigham, a man from Ohio, addressed a crowd of 10,000 people, his speech was about two hours long and talked about his opposition to the war and everything President Lincoln stood for. Five days later, he was arrested, denied habeas corpus, and sentenced to imprisonment for the remainder of the war. Later, Lincoln exiled Vallandigham to the south, but he escaped to Canada. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Battle between the US army and the forces of the Confederacy. It was fought in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This was a famous battle in the Civil War, as it was the only battled fought on Union soil. -
US Congress passes Wade-Davis Bill; vetoed by Lincoln
The purpose of the Bill was to reconstruct the South. It was written by Senator Benjamin Wade of Ohio and Representative Henry Winter Davis of Maryland. It passed in congress by a vote of 73 to 59. It required 50 percent of the Confederate white males to take a loyalty oath to the Union in order to be readmitted. Lincoln pocket vetoed the bill because he wanted to be more lenient. He proposed that instead of 50 percent, 10 percent. -
Atlanta falls to US forces led by Sherman
General Sherman marched through Georgia and took Atlanta in a no-mercy march. Using total war, Sherman and Ulysses S. Grant targeted buildings, citizens, and armed soldiers and created an immense amount of destruction. This was a key event as the Civil War was winding down. -
The Milligan Case
Lamdin P. Milligan was charged with treason for allegedly planning to free Southern prisoners of war in the Northern state of Indiana. He was tried by a jury, and sentenced to death by hanging, and he could not appeal by habeas corpus due to its suspension. By the time of the date of Milligan's hanging, the war was over, Lincoln had been assasinated and he was sentenced to life in prison by President Johnson. While in prison, Milligan had appealed to habeas corpus, and was released. -
Lincoln defeats McClellan to be re-elected as US president
McClellan told the people and tried to make them believe that he was the "peace candidate". He ran on the platform to try and bring the Civil War to a speedy end. Lincoln almost lost and America had not re-elected a president since Andrew Jackson in 1832. During that summer of the Civil War over 65,000 Union soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing-in-action. This caused any Americans to want the prolonged war to come to an end as quickly as possible. Lincoln won by popular vote. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
More formally known as the Savannah Campaign, this was a military campaign conducted through Georgia by General Sherman. This was a bold move by Sherman; he used total war while deep in enemy territory, eventually coming out successful with the upper hand in the war. He also did this with little supply lines. -
13th Amendment to the Constitution
The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate in Congress. This actually ended slavery rather than the Emancipation Proclamation. -
CSA capital, Richmond, falls to US forces
The Confederate government moved from Montgomery, Alabama to Richmond, Virginia. It was only 100 miles from the Union Capital of Washington D.C. People caught wind of the attack they put all their faith in Robert E. Lee. He was late to react and the Union took over the South's capital. -
USA defeats CSA army
The war ended as Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. Robert E. Lee had little to no resources left to fight a battle against a strong and momentous Union army. -
CSA commander Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox
Robert E. Lee surrendered his 28,000 troops to Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Courthouse. This effectively ended the Civil War, and the Union claimed victory. -
Lincoln assassinated
John Wilkes Booth was a famous actor and loved the Confederacy. He shot and killed President Lincoln at a play at Fords's Theatre in Washington. The attack came 5 days after the Civil War had officially come to an end when General Robert E. Lee surrendered at the Appomattox Courthouse. -
Andrew Johnson appointed president
Andrew Johnson served as the 17th President of the United States. Formally known as Abraham Lincoln's vice president, Johnson was sworn in after Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. -
Civil Rights Act
Passed by Congress over the veto of Andrew Johnson. This act declared that all persons born in the United States were inevitable citizens, without regard to race, color, or previous condition. This was extremely important, especially to ex-slaves that wanted their children to become official US citizens. -
The Purchase of Alaska
The USA acquired Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. There was a variety of reasons for this purchase: expand the Pacific coastline of US, good fishing, spread US rule, stay on good terms with Russia,and a peaceful acquisition. -
14th Amendment to the Constitution
This was classified as one of the Reconstruction Amendments that followed the end of the Civil War. The Amendment focuses on the issues of citizenship rights and equal protection of laws for everyone. It was proposed based on the problems of a former slave. This helped black people in society but there was still work to be done to create an actual equal society. -
Ulysses S. Grant becomes US president
Grant was the commanding general for the Union in the Civil War and led the Union to victory, becoming an American hero. He was later elected as 18th President of the United States, working to implement Reconstruction and abolish anything left that had to do with slavery. -
The Great Sioux War
The war was against the federal government of the United States versus the native people that lived on the lands. They were known as the Plains Indians because of where they lived. Some major events that took place were the Grattan Massacre, Fetterman Fight, Battle of Rosebud, Battle of Little Bighorn, and the Wounded Knee Massacre. This eventually resulted in American victory and they took over their lands and sent the natives to reservations where it was hard to survive. -
President election leads to inauguration of Rutherford B. Hayes
The election of 1876 was one of the most contradictory ones of all time. Samuel J. Tilden of New York outpolled Hayes with the popular vote. The final was 184 to 165. It was then realized that there were 20 votes that were uncounted. It turned out that Hayes won by one vote. Many believed it was fixed. -
The Dawes Act
The Dawes Act that was also known as the General Allotment Act was adopted by congress in 1887. It authorized the president of the United States to survey American Indian tribal land and divide it for individual Indians. -
Spanish-American War; acquisition of Cuba, Hawaii, and the Philippines
The Spanish-American War started with Cuba trying to become free from Spanish rule. The United States got involved because they felt it would be a good business opportunity but instead they said they wanted to help. The war was quick; the US came into Cuba and swept the Spanish in a matter of weeks. The US acquired Hawaii and the Philippines by means of imperialism. Hawaii became a state later in 1959 and the Philippines was seen as its own state in 1946. -
The Philippine Organic Act
The Philippine Organic Act was a basic law for the Insular government. It was enacted by congress and written by Henry A. Cooper. This was to say that America technical controlled the government and civil affairs of the islands located in the Philippines. This was a nice way of saying the US was an imperialist country. -
President Roosevelt issues the Monroe Corollary
President Roosevelt was very aggressive when it came to exploration in the Caribbean and Latin America. He was known a "the Big Stick". The Monroe Corollary was to ensure that Europe stays out of Western Hemisphere affairs. -
First World War breaks out in Europe
The event that cause the Great War was the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist. It was the Central Powers verse the Allied Powers.The Central powers were Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire. The allied powers were Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and Japan. The US joined the allied powers two years after the war had started. -
Introduction of the Panama Canal
This canal really helped the US in becoming a major world power. By creating this canal, it connected the US to a quicker route to the Pacific Ocean. By helping Panama fight off Colombia, the US was given permission to work on the canal. It was built largely with American money and above all with US engineering skills and initiative. -
The Zimmerman Telegram
A telegram that was intercepted by Britain, originally from Germany to Mexico, stated that Mexico should sneakily attack the USA and ambush them if the USA went into the World War on the side of the allies. Woodrow Wilson was furious, and it was inevitable that the US would enter the war after the decoding of the telegram. -
USA enters the first World War
The US joined the allied powers in 1917. Major General John J. Pershing brought more than 2 million US troops to fight on the battlefields of France. The Allies were really struggling at the time and Germany had taken over much of Europe. If the US had not joined when they did, it may have been a different outcome. -
President Wilson issues the 14 points
The 14 points was a series of principles trying to ensure peace around the world. It was used for the negotiations after WWI. Only one of the 14 points was actually published or put into action. In some cases people say that it was a failure but it had some good ideas in it. -
Treaty of Versailles
This treaty was the most important treaty after World War I. The treaty ended war and conflict between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed exactly 5 years after the assassination that started the entire war. All countries were in attendance of the signing. -
Washington Naval Conference
After the First World War, tensions were uneasy about the amount of armed forces each country should have. The Washington Naval Conference was put together just for that reason. Meeting at Washington DC, the attendees consisted of the leaders of countries of USA, Japan, Britain, France, Italy, Japan, China, Portugal, Belgium, and the Netherlands. They all agreed to reduce the size of their battleships and aircrafts. This eased tensions in the post-war world. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
This was an international agreement not to use war to resolve disputes or conflicts between nations. Named after its authors, Frank B. Kellogg and Aristide Briand. Many nations, including the US and major European powers signed the pact, but they failed in practice. Many states that signed were at war by 1941.
