-
Fugitive Slave Law
The Fugitive Slave Law required that all persons held in labor that escape to another state mus be returned if caught. However this law did not sit well with the northern states and many made individual laws to prohibit the jailing of such runaways. -
Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions Written
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison wrote the Vrginia and Kentucky Resolutions. These documents argued that the states had the right to nullify federal laws. -
Hartford Convention
A meeting was held to consider the problems of New England during the war of 1812. The meeting was held at Hartford, CN. -
Missouri Comrpomise
The Missouri Compromise was passed by Congress to end the first of many problems to do with the expansions of slavery. The Compromise introduced Missouri as a state with no restrictions on slavery. -
Tariff of Abominations
The Tariff of Abominations (as it was known in the south) was a protective tariff designed to protect industry in the north. They wanted to put a tax on goods so as to get more money for the north, but the south would have had to pay more money for goods they did not produce. -
South Carolina Tries To Nullify
South Carolina, as well as other southern states, believed that if a law was found to be unconstitutional or destructive by any means, they had the right to nullify. The Ordinance of Nullification issued by South Carolina in 1832 foreshadowed the state's announcement of secession nearly 30 years later -
Abolition of Slavery Act
This document abolished slavery in the majority of the British Empire after already abolishing slave trade in 1807 with a fine for any one caught. -
Texas Declares Independence from Mexico
After fighting long and hard for their Independence, Texas finaly got it. On March 2nd, 1836, Texas signed their declaration of independence from Mexico. -
James Polk Elected
James Polk, the unsuspecting victor in the 1844 election, lead the U.S. to victory against Mexico over the annexation of Texas. He was responsible for much of the expansion of the southwest. -
Mexican War
The Mexican War was mainly fought over the conflict of the annexation of Texas, between the U.S. and Mexico. The U.S. won, recognizing the U.S. annexation of Texas, New Mexco, and California. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso claimed that there would not be slavery in any state aquired by the Mexican War or after that time. It was introduced by David Wilmot, a man who was not opposed to slavery at all. -
California Enters the Union
In 1849, Californians sought statehood and, after heated debate in the U.S. Congress arising out of the slavery issue, California entered the Union as a free, nonslavery state by the Compromise of 1850. -
Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
This book was written by an active abolitionist who wanted to depict the cruelties of slavery. It is said that this story is the groundwork for the Civil War. -
Formation of Republican Party
The Republican party was formed by northern states in response to their opposition to the Kansas Nebraska Act. The members were all abolitionists against slavery. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas Nebraska Act served to over ride the Missouri Compromise. It stated that the people of Nebraska and Kansas could decide wehter or not they would be slave or free states. -
Border Ruffians Attack Lawrence
"Bleeding Kansas" (as it was called due to the violent outbreaks) was the sight of many attacks after the Kansas Nebraska Act. Border Ruffians ransacked Lawrence, Kansas which was known to be a staunch free-state area. -
Charles Sumner Attack
Preston Brooks, a congressman from South Carolina, viciously attacked Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner at the United States Senate. It was all due to a controversy over a speech he had given three days prior. -
Pottawotomie Creek
On the night of May 24, 1856, John Brown and some of the volunteers to his anti-slavery cause murdered five men settled along the Pottawatomie Creek in southeastern Kansas. The victims though not themselves slave owners, were known associates to those enforcing slavery. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was one of many slaves to sue for his freedom, claiming that he was moved to free states and could not legally be held in service anymore. He lost his case, but the proceedings that went on during trial would bring many new opinions and concerns to the rising controversy. -
Lecompton Constitution
This document encouraged slavery and protected the rights of slave holders. When put to a vote, the people of Kansas rejected it because it took away their freedom as a state. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The Lincoln Douglas debates were a series of debates between the two men discussing slavery and the state of the country. The opinions that arose during these debates were strong in swaying some persons to each side of the issue. -
Raid at Harper's Ferry
The Raid at Harpers Ferry was when John Brown and his followers attacked the U.S. Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Brown wanted to seize the arsenal because he thought that it would cause an uprising in the slaves nearby and they would come to aid him in his fight. -
Election of 1860
The election of 1860 had 4 candidates from 4 different parties. The democrats, who were in favor of popular sovereignty, the north and south republicans, who were in favor of slavery, and the constitutional union, who simply ignored the issue and took no side. -
Democrats Split in 1860
The northern Democrats supported Douglas for President in 1860, but the southern Democrats withheld support for Douglas. The South demanded that Douglas support a federal slave law. The Douglas supporters pointed out that to do that would drive the northern Democrats into the Republican Party. -
Formation of Constitutional Union Party
the Constitutional Union Party sought to participate in the 1860 election for president. They wanted to to avoid stressing any side of the slavery issues, so they left it out of their campaign completely. -
South Carolina Secedes
Between the controversy of slavery and all the other issues of freedom goin on in the states, many were concerned about the direction of the country. When Abraham Lincoln was elected president, South Carolina felt threatened and saw it fit to secede from the United States. -
Virginia Secedes
Following the example of South Carolina, Virginia seceded from the union following the election of republican Abraham Lincoln. -
Abraham Lincoln Inagurated
Abraham Lincoln's main goal was to keep the principle of liberty intact in the United States, but many were unhappy about his election because they feared he would go after slavery. -
Attack on Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter was occupied by Union soldiers with a diminishing food supply. On April 12, Confederate guns rang announcing the beginning of the Civil War. -
1st Battle of Bull Run
The Union army goal was to cut the railroad at Manassas and move on to Richmond. Although they were winning in the early stages of the battle, the Confederates came out on top. -
Battle of the Monitor and the Merrimac
During the evacuation of Manassas, a naval battle was occuring between the Confederates and the Union at the mouth of the James River. -
Battle of Shiloh
A Union army had moved through the Tennessee River deep into Tennessee and was encamped principally at Pittsburg Landing on the west bank of the river. Confederate forces launched a surprise attack on Grant there. The Confederates achieved considerable success on the first day, but were ultimately defeated on the second day. -
McClellan Returns to Washington after the Peninsula Campaign
The Campaign was a major Union attack against the Confederate capital of Richmond led by Major General George B. McClellan in the spring of 1862. After moving his Army of the Potomac by boat to Fort Monroe on the Atlantic coast in late April, McClellan planned an advance toward Richmond. -
2nd Battle of Bull Run
Confederate troops cut off the Union communications with Washington D.C. After heavy fire and constant attack, the Confederates came out on top. -
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam fought on September 17, 1862, near Sharpsburg, Maryland, and Antietam Creek, as part of the Maryland Campaign, was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Northern soil. It was the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with about 23,000 casualties. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
The Battle of Fredericksburg was one with the most soldiers of the Civil War. The Union soldiers tried to cut of the southern side of the Confederates on Prospect Hill. -
Emancipation Proclamation Takes Effect
The Emancipation Proclamation freed all the slaves of the Confederates and allowed them to fight in the war if they were fit enough. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville is best known to be a radical sucess for Robert Lee who divided his small troops to consume the Union and take an astounding victory. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The BAttle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the war when the Union took it's clear advantage and forehadowed their win. -
Surrender of Vicksburg
Pemberton retreated back to Vicksburg, and Grant sealed the city by the end of May. In three weeks, Grant's men marched 180 miles, won five battles, and took 6,000 prisoners. -
Battle at Fort Wagner
Fort Wagner was a beachhead fortification on Morris Island, South Carolina, that covered the southern approach to Charleston harbor. It was the site of two American Civil War battles in the campaign known as Operations Against the Defenses of Charleston in 1863, and is considered one of the toughest beachhead defenses constructed by the Confederate States Army. -
Lincoln Delivers Gettysburg Address
Lincoln's speech was meant to dedicate the cemetery to soldiers that had died in the battle of Gettysburg. It was very brief but packed with emotion and the urging of something to happen. -
Grant Displays Fighting Style at Cold Harbor
-
Sherman Set out for the Sea
Sherman's MArch to the Sea was used to shoe the Confederates were weak and so was their government. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea was meant to prove to the Confederacy that their government could not hold up to invasions. Sherman and his troops marched all the way to Savannah, using the scorched earth policy to destroy the land behind them. -
Lincoln Delivers 2nd Inaugural Address
-
Richmond Falls
After months of the Union troops pushing toward Richmond, they finally capture the city, signifying the close end to the war. -
Surrender at Appomattox
Grant and Lee peacefully agree on the terms of surrender to end the war that had plagued their land for so long.
