Civil War Timeline

Missouri Compromise

Mar 2, 1820

Effort to balance out the slave and free states in the US.

Nat Turner Slave Rebellion

Aug 21, 1831

A slave rebellion that set off a massacre of up to 200 black people and led a new wave of oppression.

War with Mexico

1846

Started with a dispute over the Texas and Mexico border, fights broke out, the US got greedy which led to a War with Mexico.

Wilmot Proviso

Aug 8, 1846

Proposal to prohibit slavery in the land gained by the Mexican American War.

compromise of 1850

1850

series of laws passed that dealt with the issue of slavery. Admitted California as a free state and created new territories of New Mexico and Utah.

Fugitive Slave Act

Sep 18, 1850

Part of the Compromise of 1850, promised that any run away slaves that were caught in the north had to be returned to their owner in the south.

Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin

Mar 20, 1852

A book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that describe the life on a plantation for a slave. Made a lot of people realize how inhumane slavery was.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

May 30, 1854

An act that declared Kansas and Nebraska a "popular sovereignty" territory which allowed the owners of land to decide whether or not slavery was allowed.

Bleeding Kansas

1855

Bleeding Kansas was a series of violent events fought over the issue of slavery. This led to major conflict and one of the events that led to the civil war.

Dred Scott Decision

Mar 6, 1857

Dred Scott was a slave that sued the Supreme Court for his freedom due to the fact that he was held illegally in a free state which would mean he should be deemed free. After gone through the whole system they decided since Scott was a slave, he did not have citizenship, which means he could not sue in the first place.

John Browns Raid on Harpers Ferry

Oct 16, 1859

John Brown was an abolitionist that believed he was put on this earth to end slavery. Him and his sons planned a slave revolt where they invaded a US arsenal and tried to gather slaves to unite with him. No slaves showed up and they lost the revolt.

Abraham Lincoln Elected President

Nov 6, 1860

Lincoln led the Republican Party to a victory in the election of 1860. This angered the southerners because none of them voted for him due to the fact that he does not support slavery.

South Carolina Secedes

Dec 20, 1860

South Carolina was the first slave state to secede from the union right after Lincoln one the election. They blamed it on the hostility of the non slave holding states and decided they would be better off on their own.

Formation of the Confederate States of America

Feb 8, 1861

The six seceded states joined in Montgomery, Alabama to formally establish a new government called the Confederate States of America.

Fort Sumter

Apr 12, 1861

Fort Sumter was where the first shots of the civil war were set off. This led to a long bloody war between the Union and the Confederacy.

Antietam

Sep 17, 1862

This battle was a victory for the Union which gave Lincoln confidence to propose his Emancipation Proclamation which turned the French and British away from the Confederacy.

Vicksburg

May 18, 1863

This battle gave control of the Mississippi River to the Union which also helped in the major turning point of the war.

Gettysburg

Jul 1, 1863

This battle was the main turning point of the war for the Union. Robert E Lee's big plan was exposed to the Union and ended up being a big fail.

Appomattox Courthouse

Apr 9, 1865

This battle was where Robert E Lee and the Confederate States of America surrendered to the Union and ended the civil war.