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Nat Turner Slave Revolt
Resulted in the deaths of fifty-one southern whites. Pushed the need for the emancipation of slaves. -
William Lloyd Garrison Published The Liberator
A weekly newspaper of abolitionist ideals. -
American Anti-Slavery Society Begins
Demanded an immediate end to slavery. -
Sarah Grimke's Letters on the Equality of the Sexes and the Condition of Women published
Demanded equal rights and attacked Catharine Beecher's belief that women were subordinate to men. -
Henry Highland Garnet's "Address to the Slaves of the United States of America"
Encouraged slaves to rebel. -
Women's Rights Convention at Seneca Falls
Demanded equal social status and legal rights for women. -
Harriett Tubman Escapes from Slavery
Sparked the desire to return to slave-holding states and free her people. -
Compromise of 1850
Strengthened Fugitive Slave Laws in the south and admitted California as a free state. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Provided southern slaveholders with legal weapons to capture slaves who had escaped to free states. -
Sojourner Truth Delivered her "Ain't I a Woman" Speech
Rebuked anti-feminist arguments. -
Harriet Beecher Stowe Published Uncle Tom's Cabin
Helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War. -
Bleeding Kansas
Violent civil confrontations over the legality of slavery in the proposed state of Kansas. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Allowed the people of Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether or not to admit slavery. -
Republican Party Founded
New party that opposed the expansion of slavery. -
Dred Scott Decision
Stated that African Americans were not citizens and could not file a suit against the United States court. -
Lecompton Constitution
Contained clauses protecting slavery and a bill of rights excluding blacks. -
Panic of 1857
Caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
1858 debate between Democratic senator Stephen A. Douglass and Republican adversary Abraham Lincoln over slavery extension. -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
Aimed to start a slave revolt/destroy the institution of slavery. -
Democratic Party Splits into Northern and Southern Halves
Split over the issues of slavery and the 1860 election. -
South Carolina Secedes from the Union
Resulted in response to free states rejecting the Fugitive Slave Acts. -
Abraham Lincoln Elected President
Led to the Civil War. -
Confederate States of America Founded
Led by Jefferson Davis, they seceded in response to the presidential election of Lincoln. -
Firing on Fort Sumter
First battle of the American Civil War. -
Battle of Antietam
Bloodiest day in American History. Resulted in Lincoln issuing the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Union victory that stopped Confederate general Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Led the way to total abolitionism in the U.S. -
Gettysburg Address
Honored Union soldiers and the battlefield cemetery succeeding the Battle of Gettysburg. -
General U.S. Grant Assume Command of Union Troops
Then-Major General Ulysses S. Grant became lieutenant general of the U.S. Army, leading all Union troops against the Confederacy. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
William Sherman and his army captured Atlanta, Georgia, an important transportation center for the Confederacy. -
Abraham Lincoln Reelected
Obliterated the Confederacy. -
Lincoln Assassination
Conspired to revive the Confederate cause. -
Congress Passed the 13th Amendment
Banned slavery in all American states. -
Lee Surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House
Union forces started to gain control of Virginia thus signaling the start of the end of the Civil War. -
Andrew Johnson Became President
Assumed office after the assassination of Lincoln. -
Johnson Announced Plans for Presidential Reconstruction
Set up four requirements for southern states to return to the Union. -
Arrival of Scalawags and Carpetbaggers in the South
Northerners started to migrate to the south to perform ex-slave labor for profit, while Southerners profited from the newly-acquired laborers. -
Ku Klux Klan formed
Used scare tactics to oppress minorities and perpetuate white supremacy. -
U.S. Granted Elected President
Marked the first Republican win during the Reconstruction Era. Grant was the youngest president ever elected at the time. -
Freedman's Bureau Established
Created to assist former slaves and poor whites in the south after the Civil War. -
Civil Rights Act Passed over Johnson's Veto
Although Johnson vetoed it, Congress passed it stating that all citizens are equally protected by the law. -
First Congressional Reconstruction Act passed
Laid out the process to for readmitting Southern states into the Union. -
Creation of the Radical Republicans
Created to prevent the Confederacy from reviving after the Civil War. -
14th Amendment Ratified
Granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the U.S." -
Andrew Johnson Impeached
First U.S. president to be impeached. -
15th Amendment Ratified
Granted African American men the right to vote. -
Period of "Redemption" after the Civil War.
Southern white Democrats wanted to redeem the south by regaining political power. -
Slaughterhouse Cases (Supreme Court)
A citizen's "privileges and immunities, as protected by the 14th amendment against the states, were limited to those spelled out in the Constitution. -
U.S. v. Cruikshank
Led to an allowance of violence and deprivation of rights against the newly freed slaves. -
Compromise of 1877
Formally ended the Reconstruction Era.
