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The Fugitive Slave Act was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. This act forced any federal official, who did not arrest a runaway slave, to pay a fine.
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On May 30,1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed. It allowed the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide for themselves using popular sovereignty whether they wanted to be free or slaves.
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The Civil War Began on April 12, 1861 and shots were fired on Fort Sumter
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The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was passed by the Senate on April 8, 1864, and by the House on January 31, 1865.
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The Impeachment of Andrew Johnson was one of the most dramatic events in the political life of the United States during Reconstruction. It occured on Febuary 24, 1868 in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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The 14th Amendment prohibited states from depriving any male citizen of equal protection under the law. No matter what race they were.
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Republican Ulysses S. Grant was elected President of the United States. Grant received 214 of 294 votes in the Electoral College. But the victory in the popular vote was 306,000 out of 5.7 million votes.
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John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company was started in Ohio. Rockefeller has been in the oil business since 1863 and in 1868, Standard Oil was formed as a partnership
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On April 25, 1898, America delcared war on Spain after the sinking of Battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898.
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Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Austria) was assassinated in Sarajevo by Bosnian Serb during an official visit to the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo. His death was an event that led to World War I.
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Germany invaded Belgium. Once that happned, that was the beginning of World War I.
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The British used the first tanks ever used in battle, at Delville Wood. The tanks were good for breaking through brabred wire.
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On a day called "Black Tuesday," stock market prices began droping. The stock market crashed when prices kept dropping, and by the end of November, the stock market lost $30 billion.
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Japan invaded China in 1937.This initiated World War II in the Pacific.
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On September 1, 1939 Germany Invaded Poland. That started World War II in Europe.
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On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. The bomb had 20,000 tons of TNT, and it destoyed the city, killing tens of thousands of people.
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President Truman signed the Executive Order 9981. Its stated "It is hereby declared to be the policy of the President that there shall be equality of treatment and opportunity for all persons in the armed services without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin."
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On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks was arrested in Montgomery, Alabama because she didn't give her seat up for a white man. This act of nonviolent resistance sparked the Montgomery bus boycott which was an eleven-month struggle to end segregation on the city’s buses.
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Soviets launched their first man‑made satellite; Sputnik. The satellite was 359 miles in space an was launced to show that they were scientifically superior to the US
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On April 16, 1963, Martin Luter King Jr. was arrested and jailed during anti-segregation protests in Birmingham, Alabama. In jail, he wrote, "Letter from Birmingham Jail," arguing that individuals have the moral duty to disobey unjust laws.
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On February 21, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon arrived in China for an official trip. He was the first U.S. president to visit the People's Republic of China and it was an important event because the U.S. was seeking to improve relations with a Communist country during the Cold War.
