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Republican Party is formed
former Whig members meet to create the Republican Party in Ripon Wisconsin -
Kansas-Nebraska Act passed
Repealed the Missouri Compromise, also created two new territories and also allowed for popular sovereignty -
Abraham Lincoln elected president
Lincoln was the first republican president. Lincoln becoming president was a problem for some people because he was against the expansion of slavery. His election was part of the civil war outbreak. -
South Carolina votes to secede from the United States
South Carolina still wanted slavery -
Lincoln gives his second inaugural address
When President Lincoln gave this speech seven states were already seceded from the US. His second speech he used to close slavery. -
Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter
The bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston by the South Carolina militia, the US army surrendered and it started the Civil War -
Lincoln suspends habeas corpus
Gives military authority to necessary power to silences dissenters and rebels -
Richmond becomes the capital of the Confederacy
When Virginia succeeded they changed the Confederacy capitol to Richmond -
First Battle of Bull Run is fought
The first major land battle in the Civil War -
Jefferson Davis elected president of the Confederacy
Decision made by confederate congress, he was president of the confederate states -
The Merrimac and the Monitor fight of the Virginia coast
History's first duel between ironclad warships and the beginning of a new era of naval warfare -
Battle of Shiloh
This battle allowed Union troops to penetrate the confederate area -
Robert E. Lee is named commander of the Army of Northern Virginia
When he was elected commander, the Confederate Army of the Potomac was renamed the Army of Northern Virginia. He defended Richmond forces from the Union -
Battle of Antietam
The union won this battle, it was the deadliest one day battle. Gave President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity to announce the Emancipation Proclamation. -
Battle of Fredericksburg
This battle started to target Richmond, Virginia which was the capital of Confederacy. This was one of the largest and deadliest battles. The union lost the battle because of mismanagement by their generals. -
Emancipation Proclamation is announced
Lincoln announced the proclamation when the US was approaching the third year of war -
Battle of Chancellorsville
General Robert E. Lee's greatest military victory. A major battle of the Civil War -
Battle of Gettysburg
The battle stopped the confederate momentum in the East. During this issue, this battle was the bloodiest. This battle was between the Union and Confederate where Union won. -
Confederates surrender at Vicksburg
The Confederates couldn't obtain sources from the Mississippi. The last route for getting sources was closed -
New York City draft riots
violent disturbances in Lower Manhattan by the angry working class of New York -
Lincoln gives his Gettysburg Address
President Lincoln gave a speech at the close of ceremonies dedicating the battlefield cemetery at Gettysburg. -
Atlanta is captured
General William T. Sherman captured Atlanta which was a huge loss for the Confederacy because he had taken the Deep South's major manufacturing center and railroad hub -
Abraham Lincoln defeats George McClellan to win re-election
Near the end of the civil war, Lincoln won the popular vote with 55% and the electoral college 212-21. -
Sherman begins his March to the Sea
Union General William T. Sherman begins his expedition across Georgia by torching the industrial section of Atlanta and pulling away from his supply line -
Congress passes the 13th Amendment
The 13th amendment was passed on January 31 and was ratified on December 6. The 13th amendment abolished slavery -
Freedman’s Bureau is created
This provided food, shelter, clothing, medical services, and land to displaced Southerners -
Richmond falls to the Union Army
Confederate lines broke after a nine month siege, the retreat of the army left the Confederate capital of Richmond defenseless, 25 miles to the north -
Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox
Effectively ended the Civil War. One of the most memorial moments in American History -
President Lincoln's Assassination
John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater in Washington DC because Booth wanted confederacy to be restored -
John Wilkes Booth is killed
Union soldiers tracked John Wilkes Booth down to a farm Virginia 12 days after he killed President Lincoln and he was murdered.