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South Carolina secedes from union
The South was afraid that Lincoln would outlaw slavery while in office. This would have created a problem for the South since its way of life depended on slaves. -
Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation
In September of 1862, after the Union's victory at Antietam, Lincoln issued a preliminary decree stating that, unless the rebellious states returned to the Union by January 1, freedom would be granted to slaves within those states. -
Sherman captures Atlanta
During the Atlanta Campaign, the 90,000 soldiers who marched in the summer of 1864, made 11 stops. Before they captured the city, President Lincoln’s reelection campaign had been in trouble. -
Freedman Bureau
As the Civil War ended in 1865, Congress created the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Land, popularly known as the Freedmen's Bureau, to help former slaves make the transition to freedom. -
13th Amendment
On this day in 1865, the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, officially ending the institution of slavery, is ratified. -
Ku Klux Klan
A group including many former Confederate veterans founded the first branch of the Ku Klux Klan as a social club in Pulaski, Tennessee, in 1866. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment declared rights. It secured the rights of former slaves. The amendment provides a definition of citizenship. -
Commercial and financial panic
The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis which triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879, and even longer in some countries. The depression was known as the "Great Depression" until the 1930s, but is sometimes now known as the Long Depression. -
Whiskey Ring Scandal
On May 10, 1875 the Treasury Department, led by Secretary Benjamin Bristow, seized distilleries in St. Louis, Chicago, Evansville and Milwaukee. -
Compromise of 1877
The Democrat and Republican Parties finally made a deal in 1877 in what became known as the Compromise of 1877, the Democrats agreed to give Hayes the victory in the presidential election he had not clearly won. In return, the new President agreed to remove the remaining federal troops from southern states.