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Period: to
us history
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Missouri Compromise
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Maine becomes a state
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Missouri becomes a state
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Andrew Jackson inaugurated
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Indian Removal Act
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Tariff of 1832
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Andrew Jackson's second inauguration
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Battle of the Alamo(Starts)
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Battle of the Alamo(ends)
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South Carolina First to Secede
South Carolina officially secedes from the Union, becoming the first state to do so. -
Mississippi Secession
Mississippi secedes from the Union. -
Alabama Secession
Alabama secedes from the Union. -
Georgia Secession
Georgia secedes from the Union. -
Florida Secession
Florida secedes from the Union. -
Lincoln Inauguration
Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the sixteenth President of the United States. In his Inaugural Address he gives a stark warning to the South: he will not tolerate secession. -
Civil War Begins
Confederate forces under General P.G.T. Beauregard bombard Major Robert Anderson and his Union soldiers at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War officially begins. -
Union Surrender at Ft. Sumter
Major Robert Anderson surrenders Fort Sumter to Confederate forces after two days of bombardment. -
Virginia Secession
Virginia secedes from the Union. -
Lincoln Requests Army
Lincoln addresses Congress and requests the enlistment of a Union Army. Congress authorizes a call for 500,000 men. It is clear now that the war will not be short. -
First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run pits Union General Irvin McDowell against the new Confederate army. McDowell is defeated causing a panicked retreat back to Washington, which is about forty miles away. The withdrawal is hampered by the large numbers of spectators who are there to see the battle -
Battle of Shiloh
Union General Ulysses S. Grant's forces are surprised at the town of Shiloh in Tennessee. The ensuing battle results in 13,000 Union and 10,000 Confederate casualties, more than in all previous American wars combined. -
Robert E. Lee Assumes Command
General Robert E. Lee assumes command of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. -
The Seven Days
Over the course of seven days of fighting, General Robert E. Lee attacks George McClellan's Union Army of the Potomac near Richmond, Virginia. Huge casualties cause McClellan to withdraw north towards Washington. -
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run is a resounding victory for Confederate General Stonewall Jackson. Union General John Pope is blamed for the loss and is relieved of his duties after the battle. -
Antietam
The Battle of Antietam is the bloodiest day in United States history. Over 26,000 men are killed, wounded or missing in action on both sides. Though officially a draw, the battle stops General Robert E. Lee's invasion of Maryland and he retreats back to Virginia. -
Preliminary Emancipation
Lincoln issues a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, which declares his intention to free all slaves in any new territory captured by the Union Army. -
Fredricksburg
The Union Army under General Ambrose E. Burnside suffers a horrible defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg in Virginia. Fourteen individual assaults on an entrenched Confederate position cost the Union 13,000 casualties. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. It frees all slaves in territory captured by the Union Army, and orders the enlistment of black soldiers. From this point forward, the Civil War is a war over slavery. -
Military Draft
Congress enacts the first draft in American history, requiring every man to serve in the army unless he can furnish a substitute or pay the government $300. These escape provisions are wildly unpopular with workers and recent immigrants, and lead to draft riots in New York and other northern cities. -
Gettysburg
From July 1 to July 4, the Union Army under General Meade defeats Robert E. Lee's Confederate Army at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. One of the bloodiest battles of the war, Gettysburg is a turning point, and marks the farthest advance of the Confederate Army into northern territory. -
Vicksburg
Far to the West on the Mississippi River, General Ulysses S. Grant takes Vicksburg after a long siege. At this point, the Union controls the entire river, cutting the Confederacy in two. -
Draft Riots
When the government attempts to begin conscription, riots break out in New York and other northern cities. In New York, 120 men, women and children—mostly black—are killed before Union troops returning from Gettysburg restore order. -
Battle of Chickamauga
Union General William Rosecrans is defeated by Confederate General Braxton Bragg at the Battle of Chickamauga, in Tennessee. -
Gettysburg Address
President Lincoln delivers the two-minute Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the National Cemetery at the battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. -
Fall of Richmond
The Union Army captures Richmond, Virginia, which is nearly leveled by shelling and fire. -
Siege of Petersburg
the beginning of the Siege of Petersburg, south of Richmond, the mobile war of the past month ends, replaced by a nine-month siege. -
Sherman Burns Atlanta
Union General Sherman captures Atlanta and burns it to the ground. -
Battle of Nashville
The Confederate Army of the Tennessee is crushed by the Union Army of the Cumberland in Nashville. The war in the West is nearly over. -
Thirteenth Amendment Ends Slavery
The United States Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which will abolish slavery. -
Second Lincoln Inaugural
Lincoln is sworn in for his second term as President of the United States. -
Lee Surrenders
General Robert E. Lee surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant in a farmhouse in the town of Appomattox Court House, Virginia. The war is over. -
Lincoln Shot
Abraham Lincoln is shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C -
Slavery Abolished
The Thirteenth Amendment is ratified by the States. Slavery is abolished.