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Florida becomes the 3rd state to officially secede from the Union.
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When Confederate forces fired on Ft. Sumter in Charleston South Carolina, the Civil War was officially underway.
The first shots were fired by Confedrate cadets from a nearby military college. The barrage lasted 34 hours. -
Called the 1st Battle of Manassas by the South.
The first large battle of the Civil War. It was won by the Confederacy, as most of the early battles were. -
A major battle of the "War in the West". Located in SOuthern Tennessee and lasting 2 days, the Union won.
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This executive order mandated the freeing of all slaves in the 10 remaining rebelling states and stated that "suitable persons" should be enlisted in the Union Army. About 3.1 million of the 4 million enslaved persons were affected.
It did not specifically outlaw slavery, nor did it provide any kind of compensation to slave owners. -
This battle in Pennsylvania lasted 3 days. When the North won, it halted all hopes the Confederacy had of bringing the war north.
This was General Lee's secaond and final attempt to invade the North. -
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Before the Civil War ended, Lincoln put his Reconstruction plan into action, wanting to bring the rebelling states back into the Union with as little punishment as possible.
Although Republicans in Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill, which would make re-admission into the USA more difficult, Lincoln used a pocket veto and the bill never became law. -
Atlanta is burned by General Sherman who then conducted a scorched earth "March to the Sea".
His army reached Savannah on December 22, 1864. -
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Though Lee surrendered his sword to General U.S. Grant, many Confederates continued to fight for weeks.
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John Wilkes Booth and a small group of conspirators planned to assassinate several members of the U.S. government, but only Booth succeeded.
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The 13th amendment abolishes slavery in the USA.
Every former Confederate state had to ratify this amendment to be accepted back into the Union. -
A riot broke out when a convention met to stop Louisiana's Black Codes from taking effect. Official reports listed 37 dead and 146 wounded, but witnesses claimed that the tolls were much higher.
This type of violence proved to Radical Republicans that police force was needed in the South to enforce African-Americans' civil rights. -
Fed up with the lenient Presidential Reconstruction policies, the United States Congress rejects former Confederate states' new constitutions, refuses to seat state representatives, and puts the states under military rule until they meet the new demands Congress lays out.
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This law was passed over the veto of President Andrew Johnson. It stated that the president could not dimiss any executive officer who had been appointed by the president without the consent of the Senate.
Johnson quickly broke this law and articles of impeachment were drawn up. -
the 14th amendment guarantees citizenship to all persons born in the USA and provides equal protection under the law.
This amendment was created to combat loop holes Southern states had found to circumnavigate the rights of freedmen after the Civil War. -
THE war hero for the Union, Grant won the Election of 1868 by a landslide (214 - 80 electoral college votes).
With Grant largely elected by black voters, it seemed necessary to formerly protect their right to vote if the Republican Party was going to continue to thrive. -
The 15th amendment guarantees the rights of all male citizens to vote.
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THis officially ended the Confederate States of America.
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The USA is plunged into a recession that would last 5 years when the stock market crashed on this date.
As America dealt with this crisis, they had less interest in the problems of the South. -
An informal bargain dreamed up to settle the disputed 1876 presidential election.
Garfield Hayes would become president, but federal troops would leave the South, effectively ending Reconstruction.
Many African-American historians call it "The Great Betrayal".