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SC Secedes (VM)
CitationThe northern and southern states of America had been disagreeing on issues such as slavery for years before this event. The southern states believed that slavery was their right and they needed this free labor in order to produce the cotton which they exported to Britain. When Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, South Carolina seceded from the union. This not only led the way for many other southern states, but also, showed the leaders of the country that the union could be broken -
Secession of Other Key States (VM)
CitationClosely following South Carolina, five states seceded from the Union including Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana. Six months later, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee seceded as well. These states formed the confederacy and created their own constitution, which was very similar to that of the Union. The creation of the confederacy angered Lincoln and led to the civil war. -
Fort Sumter (VM)
CitationThe American Civil War began on April 12, 1861 when Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter. Abraham Lincoln had sent supplies to soldiers within the fort and confederate forces believed he was supplying them with ammunition to fight. While this battle resulted in no deaths, it led to the bloodiest war in American history. -
Battle of Bull Run (VM)
CitationThis battle was called the Battle of Bull Run by the north because of the stream where it was fought, and the battle First Manassas by the south because it was fought in Manassas, Virginia. This confederate win was achieved because of the south's knowledge of the Union's plan to attack the left flank. This loss for the Union showed that the south would not give up, despite the Union's many economic advantages. 5,000 soldiers died due to this battle, 3,000 of which were from the Union. -
Monitor v. Merrimack (KS)
On March 8, 1862 history was made because the 1st Confederate ironclad came down the Elizabeth River into Hampton Roads to attack the U.S. blockade. The Merrimack had prevented McClellan from using the James River. The Monitor had prevented the Confederates hopes of breaking the Union blockade. Merrimack and Monitor were blown up.
Significance: The battle is notable as history's first duel between ironclad warships and as the beginning of a new era in naval warfare. -
Peninsula Campaign (VM)
CitationGeneral George G. McClellan led 100,000 Union soldiers by sea to the peninsula between the York and James rivers to the east of Richmond, the confederate capitol. McClellan's plan to outflank the confederates in hopes of attacking their capitol was unsuccessful because of his slow-moving pace and inability to fight small confederate forces. This was a time where the Confederate generals Lee and Jackson became well-known for their tactics and skill. -
Antietam (KS)
On September 17, Hooker sent a powerful assault on Lee’s left flank that began the bloodiest day in American Military History. The Union assaults eventually pierced the Confederate Center. Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout the 18th, while removing his wounded south of the river. McClellan did not renew the assaults. Eventually Lee withdrawed.
Significance: No other single day of American history before or since has been so deadly. -
Emancipation Proclamation (KS)
Lincoln issued this as America faced its 3rd year of the Civil War. This proclamation stated that all people held as slaves should be freed. This applied to only the states that had seceded from the Union.
Significance: This confirmed that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. It added moral force and strenghtened the Union. -
Vicksburg (KS)
General Ulysses S. Grant convereged on Vicksburg and trapped the Confederate army. On July 4, Vicksburg surrendered after siege operations. The loss of Pemberton's army had a stronghold on the Mississippi River and the Confederacy was split in half.
Significance: Grant's successes in the West boosted his reputation, leading ultimately to his appointment as General-in-Chief of the Union armies. -
Gettysburg (KS)
This battle occured over three hot summer days. By the end it involved 160,00 Americans. More Confederates died than Unions. The battered Rebels finally began to give away and the Union won. Lincoln wrote a short, bitter letter to Meade that was never delivered saying he missed a "golden opportunity" to end the war.
Significance: Over time, Gettysburg Address and its words - government of the People, by the People, for the People - have come to symbolize the definition of democracy itself. -
Election of 1864 (TS)
CitationAbraham Lincoln (Republican) won his second term of presidency in the Election of 1864. Despite the fact that no president had served more than one term in the past thirty years and his choices regarding the Civil War, the Democratic Party sufferred a dichotomy, and the cards were turned in Lincoln's favor.
Lincoln's re-election was vital to the reconstruction of the Union and the solution to slavery between free and slave states. HIs re-election was a testimony to the democracy of America. -
Sherman's March (TS)
[Citation](<a href='http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-641)' >Citation</a>General William T. Sherman marched through Georgia to the Atlantic Ocean to prove the Union's ability to invade and the incapability of the Confederacy to stop them. The march left behind a starving population and destroyed government buildings in Georgia. Sherman's March ended on December 21, 1864 when the city of Savannah fell.
Sherman's March was the most destructive attack during the Civil War and was a significant act in the end of the Civl War. -
Surrender at Appomattox (TS)
CitationAfter an agreement between General Robert E. Lee and General Grant to meet at the Appomattox Courthouse to discuss General Lee's surrendering of his army, the last conflict of the Civil War broke out. Lee peacefully surrendered to Grant, yet the soldiers couldn't go out without a fight.
This was the bloodiest battle and the absolute end of the Civil War. -
Lincoln's Assassination (TS)
Abraham Lincoln was shot while attending a comedic play at the Ford Theatre on April 14, 1865. John Wilkes Booth stepped into the Presidential box and shot Lincoln in the back after the play was over. Along with Lincoln, the Secretary of State, William Henry Seward was attacked by Booth's friend, Lewis Paine.
Lincoln's Assassination was an enormous controversy and devastation to many of his fans and the Republican Party. This also delayed the suffrage of blacks. -
13th Amendment Ratified (TS)_
CitationThe 13th Amendment outlawed slavery within America. This ratification came eight months after the end of the Civil War which some say was fighting for slavery and some oppose.
The ratification of the 13th Amendment completley changed the lifestyle of many southerners and definitely for blacks in the south. Although they were not granted full freedom, they outlived the cruelty of slavery.
