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Election of 1848
When the Wilmot Proviso failed, they formed a new political party called the free-soil party. They wanted to keep new territories and states free of slavery. -
Compromise of 1850
California was admitted to the union as a free state. It imposed penalties on people who helped escaped slaves.It also outlawed the buying and selling of slaves. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Act required North citizens to help slave catchers and it denied slaves a fair trials. Many African-Americans fled to Canada and some Northern whites refused to obey the act and practiced civil disobedience. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Act organized Kansas and Nebraska territories. Popular sovereignty to decide the issue of slavery. -
The election of 1856
Kansas was divided into two governments. Democrats won the election by characterizing the Republicans as extremists on the slavery issue. -
1857 Pro-Slavery Convention
They tried to push through a state constitution that would allow slavery in Kansas. The Lecompton Constitution, protected slavery and included a bill of rights that excluded freed slaves. -
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Emphasize the divisions over the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Dred Scott decision. Bring Lincoln's opposition to slavery spread to a national audience. Cause Douglas to lose support in the North and the South. -
Marais des Cygnes Massacre
A pro slavery gang guns down 11 unarmed antislavery settlers, on May 19, 1858. -
John Brown's Execution
John Brown's execution day. He was executed because he led a raid on the U.S Arsenal in Virginia to get guns for a slave revolt. They were charged murder and treason against Virginia. -
The Election of 1860
Northern and Southern Democrats split over running Douglas for president. Democratic Party splits, allowing Lincoln's election as president. Both houses of Congress are in northern hands, and an opponent of slavery now will head the executive branch. -
Session of South Carolina
South Carolina repealed it's ratification of the Constitution. they seceded within days of Lincoln's victory because they were worried they wouldn't be able to have slaves. -
Confederate States of America
Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia also succeeded. They met to establish their own government as the Confederate States of America. -
Lincoln Becoming President
lincoln becomes president on March 4, 1861. He was against slavery so he wanted to stop it but the Senate defeated any plans that were against slavery. But he promised not to interfere with slavery where it existed. -
Confederate Congress Draft
In 1862 the Confederate Congress enacted the first military draft in United States history. They also began to draft soilders, which caused riots across the North. -
Battle of Chancellorsville
They hoped to surprise the Confederates from behind and take Richmond. Lee marched west and left 10,000 troops in Fredericksburg and to light campfires so Union forces believed a larger army was their. It was a surprise attack at dinnertime. It happened to be one of Lee's greatest victory. -
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam was the bloodiest day of the Civil War. It halted Lee's advance toward the Union capital, but at a high cost. In the end, it was considered a Union victory because Lee's invasion was stopped and he returned to Virginia. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Northerners came to believe that preserving the Union was not enough and wanted to punish the South and free its enslaved workers. So this document was created to freed enslaved people in all areas that were in rebellion against the United States. It encouraged freedmen to join the Union forces. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Lee decided to invade the North again. The two armies met near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania which then led to a historic three-day battle. -
Lincoln's Assassination
On April 14, 1865 John Wilkes Booth, a southerner shot Abraham Lincoln while he was watching a play at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C . Abraham Lincoln then died the following morning from losing to much blood. -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
After Congress reconvened in 1866 moderate Republicans, who controlled both the House and Senate, proposed two bills. The first bill was to support former slaves and poor whites in the South. This also allowed them to continue building schools and providing other aid. The second bill was to give African-Americans citizenship and guaranteed them to the same legal rights as white Americans.
