Encyclopedia > Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War
This is a timeline of significant events leading to the American Civil War. See also Origins of the American Civil War. Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... The battle of Fort Sumter was the first stage in a conflict that had been brewing for decades. ...
Gabriel Plot frightens whites in Virginia who believe there was plot for slave uprising
1804
New Jersey enacts gradual abolition of slavery, the final northern state to do so
1808
Congress outlaws the international slave trade. U.S. Navy and British Royal Navy enforce the prohibition. Some 250,000 slaves were smuggled in anyway before 1860.
Calhoun'sSouth Carolina Exposition and Protest outlines nullification doctrine. Calhoun threatens secession over tariffs that place South Carolina and the rest of the South at a disadvantage to the North. Twelve years later, Calhoun states that "It is our duty to force the issue [of slavery] on the North. Had the South, or even my own State, backed me, I would have forced the issue on the North in 1835." [1] Calhoun also objected to the use of taxes and tariffs collected in one state being used for internal improvements to another state. [[2]]
1829
David Walker publishes Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World calling on slaves to revolt.
1830
Daniel Webster delivers a memorable Reply to Hayne on January 27, denouncing the notion that Americans must choose between liberty and union. "Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable!" he cries.
+ Nat Turner leads a slave revolt in Southampton County, Virginia. + Responding to new Christian sensibilities, the rising importance of slave labor in the Southern cotton economy, the Nat Turner uprising, and the rise of abolitionism, Southern defenders of slavery start seeing it not as a "necessary evil," but a "positive good." The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio, and also known as the Freedom Ordinance) was an act of the Continental Congress of the United States passed on July 13, 1787 under the Articles of Confederation. ... Slave redirects here. ... The Northwest Territory, also known as the Old Northwest and the Territory North West of the Ohio, was a governmental region within the early United States. ... Cincinnati, Ohio is a well known city along the Ohio River, historically known for its riverboats. ... The free states of the United States existed in opposition to the slave states prior to the American Civil War. ... A slave state was a U.S. state that had legal slavery of African Americans. ... Appalachians in North Carolina The Appalachian Mountains (French: les Appalaches) are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. ... For the river in Canada, see Mississippi River (Ontario). ... For the fictional character, see Mason Dixon (Rocky Balboa character). ... Thomas Jefferson. ... Thomas Jefferson (13 April 1743 N.S.–4 July 1826) was the third President of the United States (1801–09), the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential Founding Fathers for his promotion of the ideals of Republicanism in the United States. ... James Madison (March 16, 1751 – June 28, 1836), an American politician and fourth President of the United States of America (1809–1817), was one of the most influential Founders of the United States. ... ======== many recent edits that had nothing to do with article. ... “NY†redirects here. ... Gabriel (ca. ... Official language(s) English Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Area Ranked 35th - Total 42,774 sq mi (110,785 km²) - Width 200 miles (320 km) - Length 430 miles (690 km) - % water 7. ... Official language(s) English de facto Capital Trenton Largest city Newark Area Ranked 47th - Total 8,729 sq mi (22,608 km²) - Width 70 miles (110 km) - Length 150 miles (240 km) - % water 14. ... Type Bicameral Houses Senate House of Representatives President of the Senate President pro tempore Dick Cheney, (R) since January 20, 2001 Robert C. Byrd, (D) since January 4, 2007 Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, (D) since January 4, 2007 Members 535 plus 4 Delegates and 1 Resident Commissioner Political... The United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... The Royal Navy is the navy of the United Kingdom. ... The American Colonization Society (in full, The Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America) founded Liberia, a colony on the coast of West Africa in 1817 and transported free blacks there, in an effort to remove them from the United States. ... James Monroe (April 28, 1758 – July 4, 1831) was the fifth President of the United States (1817-1825), and the fourth Virginian to hold the office. ... Henry Clay, Sr. ... The United States in 1820. ... Official language(s) None (English and French de facto) Capital Augusta Largest city Portland Area Ranked 39th - Total 33,414 sq mi (86,542 km²) - Width 210 miles (338 km) - Length 320 miles (515 km) - % water 13. ... Official language(s) English Capital Jefferson City Largest city Kansas City Largest metro area St Louis[1] Area Ranked 21st - Total 69,709 sq mi (180,693 km²) - Width 240 miles (385 km) - Length 300 miles (480 km) - % water 1. ... This 1854 map shows slave states (grey), free states (red), and US territories (green) with Kansas in center (white). ... Denmark Vesey (originally Telemaque, 1767? — July 2, 1822) was an white slave, and later a minister, who planned what would have been one of the largest slave rebellions in the United States had word of the plans not been leaked. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston(1670-1789) Columbia(1790-present) Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area Ranked 40th - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²) - Width 200 miles (320 km) - Length 260 miles (420 km) - % water 6 - Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N - Longitude... John Caldwell Calhoun (March 18, 1782 – March 31, 1850) was a leading United States Southern politician and political philosopher from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century, best known as a spokesman for slavery, nullification and the rights of electoral minorities, such as slave-holders. ... The South Carolina Exposition and Protest, also known as Calhouns Exposition , was written in 1828 by John C. Calhoun,in disguise under the pseudonym Mr. ... The process of nullification may refer to: The Hartford Convention, in which New England Federalists considered secession from the United States of America. ... Cover of David Walkers Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World David Walker (September 28, 1785 - June 28, 1830) was a black abolitionist who suxs on dick does it real good. ... Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was a leading American statesman during the nations antebellum era. ... William Lloyd Garrison William Lloyd Garrison (December 12, 1805–May 24, 1879) was a prominent United States abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. ... Nat, remembered today as Nat Turner, (October 2, 1800 – November 11, 1831) was an American slave whose slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, was the most remarkable instance of black resistance to enslavement in the antebellum southern United States. ... Southampton County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. ...
+ The abolitionist American Anti-Slavery Society is founded. For other uses, see Andrew Jackson (disambiguation). ... This article does not adequately cite its references. ... The Tariff of 1833 (also known as the Compromise Tariff of 1833, ch. ... This article does not adequately cite its references. ... The American Anti-Slavery Society (1833-1870) was founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. ...
In response to the petition campaigns of the American Anti-Slavery Society, the U.S. House of Representatives adopts a gag rule, by which all antislavery petitions presented to the House would be immediately tabled, without discussion. John Quincy Adams leads an eight year battle against the gag rule, arguing that slavery, or the Slave Power, as a political interest, threatens constitutional rights.
James D.B. DeBow establishes DeBow's Review, the leading Southern magazine warning against depending on the North economically. DeBow's Review emerges as the leading voice for secession. DeBow emphasizes the South's economic underdevelopment, relating it to the concentration of manufacturing, shipping, banking, and international trade in the North.
+ Radical New York Democrats and anti-slavery Whigs form the Free-Soil party. It names Martin Van Buren for president and demands Wilmot Proviso. Lane Theological Seminary was established in the Walnut Hills section of Cincinnati, Ohio in 1829 to educate Presbyterian ministers. ... The American Anti-Slavery Society (1833-1870) was founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. ... John Quincy Adams (July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was a diplomat, politician, and President of the United States (March 4, 1825 – March 4, 1829). ... The Slave Power was the term used in the Northern United States in the period 1840-1865 to describe the political power of the slaveholding class in the South. ... Elijah Parish Lovejoy November 9,1802 – November 7, 1837), the son of Daniel Lovejoy, a Congregational minister, was an American minister and journalist who was murdered for his abolitionist views. ... Historic Alton Home Alton is a city in Madison County, Illinois, United States, about 15 miles north of St. ... Contemporary watercolor of La Amistad La Amistad (Spanish: Friendship) was a 19th-century two-masted schooner of about 120 tons displacement. ... The Methodist Episcopal Church, South was the so-called Southern Methodist Church resulting from the split in the Methodist Episcopal Church which had been brewing over several years until it came out into the open at a conference held in Louisville, Kentucky in 1845. ... The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a United States-based cooperative ministry agency serving Baptist churches around the world. ... Frederick Douglass, ca. ... James Dunwoody Brownson DeBow (1820-1867) was an American publisher and statistician best known for his influential magazine DeBows Review Categories: American people stubs | 1820 births | 1867 deaths | American people ... DeBows Review was a highly influential and widely circulated magazine of agricultural, commercial, and industrial progress and resource in the American South during the middle of the 19th century. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Mexican Cession (red) and the Gadsden Purchase (orange). ... The Wilmot Proviso, first suggested on August 8, 1846 in the House of Representatives and attached to many bills in the United States Congress, to outlaw slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico by the United States as a result of the recently begun Mexican-American War. ... The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States organized in 1848 that petered out by about 1852. ... Martin Van Buren (December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862), nicknamed Old Kinderhook, was the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. ...
1850
Compromise of 1850 enacted; California admitted as free state; Texas gets paid for lands; New Mexico Territory formed, allowing slavery; no slave trade allowed in District of Columbia; stiffer fugitive slave law. Proposed by Henry Clay and brokered by Stephen A. Douglas, it reflects solution to slavery of Northern Democrats. Southerners take wait-and-see approach; they are angered by Northern refusal to obey Fugitive Slave Law of 1850.
1851
Southern Unionists in several states defeat secession measures; Mississippi's convention denies the existence of the right to secession.
+ Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin. A forceful indictment of slavery, the novel sells 500,000 copies and stiffens northern resistance to fugitive slave law. Whig party is decisively defeated in the election and fades away, abandoned by leaders and voters. Henry Clay takes the floor of the Old Senate Chamber; Millard Fillmore presides as Calhoun and Webster look on. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Largest metro area Greater Los Angeles Area Ranked 3rd - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²) - Width 250 miles (400 km) - Length 770 miles (1,240 km) - % water 4. ... Official language(s) No official language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Largest metro area Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex Area Ranked 2nd - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²) - Width 773 miles (1,244 km) - Length 790 miles (1,270 km) - % water 2. ... The New Mexico Territory became an organized territory of the United States on September 9, 1850, and it existed until New Mexico became the 47th state on January 6, 1912. ... Henry Clay, Sr. ... Stephen Arnold Douglas (nicknamed the Little Giant Because he was short but was considered by many a giant in politics) was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Democratic Party nominee for president in 1860. ... An April 24, 1851 poster warning colored people in Boston about policemen acting as slave catchers. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Another George Fitzhugh was a 19th century Chancellor of the University of Cambridge George Fitzhugh (November 4, 1806 - July 30, 1881) was a social theorist who published radical racial and slavery-based sociological theories in the antebellum era. ... Harriet Elizabeth Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was a white American abolitionist and novelist, whose Uncle Toms Cabin (1852) attacked the cruelty of slavery; it reached millions as a novel and play, and became influential, even in Britain. ... Uncle Toms Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, is American author Harriet Beecher Stowes fictional anti-slavery novel. ... The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. ... Presidential electoral votes by state. ...
+ The Kansas-Nebraska Act is passed, providing that popular sovereignty in the territories should decide "all questions pertaining to slavery." It effectively repeals the Missouri Compromise. + In uproar against Kansas-Nebraska Act, new Republican party is formed with anti-slavery base across North. Includes many former Whigs and Free Soilers, and some Democrats. Sweeps fall elections in northern states. Abraham Lincoln emerges as Republican leader in West + Know-Nothing party sweeps state and local elections in parts of North; demands ethnic purification, opposes Catholics (because of Pope), opposes corruption in local politics. The party has no real leaders and soon fades away. + The Ostend Manifesto proposing to annex Cuba is denounced by the free-soil press as a conspiracy to extend slavery. Stephen Arnold Douglas (nicknamed the Little Giant Because he was short but was considered by many a giant in politics) was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Democratic Party nominee for president in 1860. ... This 1854 map shows slave states (grey), free states (red), and US territories (green) with Kansas in center (white). ... This 1854 map shows slave states (grey), free states (red), and US territories (green) with Kansas in center (white). ... Pooybuttpular sovereignty is the doctrine that the state is created by and therefore subject to the will of its people, who are the source of all political power. ... The United States in 1820. ... The Republican Party of the United States was established in 1854 and is one of the two dominant parties today. ... For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln (disambiguation). ... The Ostend Manifesto was a secret document written in 1854 by U.S. diplomats at Ostend, Belgium, describing a plan to acquire Cuba from Spain. ...
Preston Brooks canes Charles Sumner on floor of Senate; North takes the lesson that compromise is harder and violence is near surface. In presidential election Republican John C. Frémont crusades against slavery; the slogan is "Free speech, free press, free soil, free men, Frémont and victory!" Democrats countercrusade, warning of civil war, and win.
1857-1860
+ Short economic depression in major cities; See Panic of 1857
+ George Fitzhugh publishes Cannibals All defending slavery.
+ Hinton Rowan Helper publishes The Impending Crisis of the South angering the South. + Supreme Court hands down Dred Scott decision, ruling that Congress lacks the power to exclude slavery from the territories. + The pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution is signed in Kansas . Another George Fitzhugh was a 19th century Chancellor of the University of Cambridge George Fitzhugh (November 4, 1806 - July 30, 1881) was a social theorist who published radical racial and slavery-based sociological theories in the antebellum era. ... Hinton Rowan Helper (December 27, 1829-March 8, 1909) was a Southern critic of slavery during the 1850s. ... The Impending Crisis of the South is a book written by Hinton Rowan Helper in 1857. ... Federal courts Supreme Court Circuit Courts of Appeal District Courts Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures (List) State Courts Local Government Other countries Atlas Politics Portal The Supreme Court of the United States (sometimes colloquially referred to by the acronym... Holding States do not have the right to claim an individuals property that was fairly theirs in another state. ... The Lecompton Constitution was one of four proposed Kansas state constitutions. ...
1858
+ Proslavery Lecompton constitution defeated by popular referendum in Kansas in August.
+ Lincoln and Douglas debate; Lincoln emerges as nationally known moderate spokesman for Republicans + William Yancey advocates a Southern confederacy. map of Kansas Territory Kansas Territory was an organized territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854 to January 29, 1861, when Kansas became the 34th U.S. state admitted to the Union. ... The Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas for an Illinois seat in the United States Senate. ... William Lowndes Yancey (August 10, 1814 - July 27, 1863), American political leader, son of Benjamin Cudworth Yancey, an able lawyer of South Carolina, of Welsh descent, was born near the Falls of the Ogeechee, Warren County, Georgia. ...
1859
+ James Hammond exclaims, "Cotton is King!", meaning Europe will intervene to protect source of vital raw material
+ John Brown attempts to ignite slave rebellion in Virginia by attack on federal armory at Harper's Ferry; no rebellion; captured, tried for treason to state of Virginia, and hanged; becomes martyr to North; alarms South as exemplar of fanatical Yankee abolitionist trying to start bloody race war; Republican Party disavows Brown, who had financial support from Boston abolitionists. ... John Brown John Brown (May 9, 1800 – December 2, 1859) was the first white American abolitionist to advocate and practice insurrection as a means to the abolition of slavery. ... Harpers Ferry, West Virginia 1865. ...
1860
Slave population in Census: 3,954,000
1860
+ Southern "fire-eaters" oppose front runner Stephen A. Douglas' bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. The Democrats begin splitting North and South.
+ Radicals William H. Seward of New York, Salmon P. Chase of Ohio, and Simon Cameron of Pennsylvania are leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, along with Lincoln. Illinois out-maneuvers other states and on May 16, Lincoln wins the Republican nomination at Chicago convention. + The Morrill Tariff passes the House of Representatives on a strict sectional vote, supported by the north and opposed by the south; it does not pass Senate. + The Democratic party splits. Main group supports Douglas. Southern Democrats support John C. Breckinridge. + Former Whigs from the border states form the Constitutional Union Party, nominating John C. Bell for president on a one-issue platform of national unity. + Four candidates as parties wage campaigns. Douglas and Lincoln compete for Northern votes. Bell, Douglas and Breckinridge compete for Southern votes. + Abraham Lincoln wins the 1860 election. + Secession: South Carolina convention declared on December 20 "that the Union now subsisting between South Carolina and other states under the name of the 'United States of America' is hereby dissolved" +Process of secession begins. Stephen Arnold Douglas (nicknamed the Little Giant Because he was short but was considered by many a giant in politics) was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Democratic Party nominee for president in 1860. ... William Henry Seward, Sr. ... Salmon Portland Chase (January 13, 1808 – May 7, 1873) was an American politician and jurist in the Civil War era who served as Senator from Ohio, Governor of Ohio, as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Abraham Lincoln, and Chief Justice of the United States. ... Simon Cameron Simon Cameron (March 8, 1799 – June 26, 1889) was United States Secretary of War for Abraham Lincoln from 1861 to 1862. ... The Morrill Tariff of 1861 was a protective tariff bill passed by the U.S. Congress in early 1861. ... The History of the Democratic Party is an account of a continuously supported political party in the United States of America. ... John C. Breckinridge This article is about the politician and Confederate General. ... The United States Whig Party was a political party of the United States. ... In a European context, the term Border states policy, and Border states in a specific sense, refer to attempts during the interbellum to unite the countries that had won their independence from Imperial Russia due to the Russian Revolution, the treaty of Brest-Litovsk, and ultimately the defeat of Imperial... The Constitutional Union Party was a political party in the United States created in 1860. ... John Bell (also known as The Great Apostate) (February 15, 1797–September 10, 1869) was a U.S. politician, attorney, and plantation owner. ... Official language(s) English Capital Charleston(1670-1789) Columbia(1790-present) Largest city Columbia Largest metro area Columbia Area Ranked 40th - Total 34,726 sq mi (82,965 km²) - Width 200 miles (320 km) - Length 260 miles (420 km) - % water 6 - Latitude 32° 2′ N to 35° 13′ N - Longitude... is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
1861
+ The six other states of the Deep South secede, and together with South Carolina form the Confederate States of America. They are not recognized by U.S. government, or any government. Border states refuse to join Confederacy.
+Last major N-S links broken as Presbyterian and Episcopal Churches split North and South +Numerous compromise proposals are rejected; they all involve protection of slavery (none involve tariffs or economic deals); Confederacy demands complete independence and will not negotiate a return to the Union. +Confederates capture US arsenals and forts in CSA states; General David E. Twiggs surrenders one-fourth of US Army in Texas, then joins Confederacy. +Northern governors secretly buy arms and prepare regiments for war; CSA--apparently unaware--does not do this +Virginia leaders negotiate with Lincoln: they will stay out of CSA but he must promise not to invade. No promise is made. +Lee offered command of Union army; Lee says agrees unless his home state of Virginia joins the Confederacy. +Buchanan decides to keep Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor +CSA army fired on Fort Sumter; it surrenders. +Northern uprising--mass meetings everywhere to demand Lincoln overthrow the rebellion. +Lincoln calls every governor for troops (75,000) to recapture Fort Sumter, via invasion of Virginia and North Carolina. +Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts send troops to Washington. +Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee and Arkansas reject Lincoln's order to provide troops for an invasion; they secede and join CSA. +Kentucky refuses troops and declares neutrality. Lincoln seizes control of Missouri and Maryland; thousands of pro-CSA men under military arrest. Motto Deo Vindice (Latin: Under God, Our Vindicator) Anthem (none official) God Save the South (unofficial) The Bonnie Blue Flag (unofficial) Dixie (unofficial) Capital Montgomery, Alabama (until May 29, 1861) Richmond, Virginia (May 29, 1861–April 2, 1865) Danville, Virginia (from April 3, 1865) Language(s) English (de facto) Religion... Brigadier General David E. Twiggs David Emanuel Twiggs (1790 – July 15, 1862) was a United States soldier during the War of 1812 and Mexican-American War and a general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. ... Fort Sumter, located in Charleston, South Carolina, was named after General Thomas Sumter. ... Fort Sumter, located in Charleston, South Carolina, was named after General Thomas Sumter. ...
Timeline of the AmericanCivilWar year by year overview of events of the war.
Written by a leadingCivilWar historian and Pulitzer Prize winner, this text describes the social, economic, political, and ideological conflicts that led to a unique, tragic, and transitional event in American history.
The third edition incorporates recent scholarship and addresses renewed areas of interest in the Civil War/Reconstruction era including the motivations and experiences of common soldiers and the role of women in the war effort.
Warring faction leaders sign a ceasefire agreement, which includes provisions to allow a UN monitoring mission into Somalia to oversee arrangements for providing humanitarian assistance.
Bush assures the American people and troops involved that this is not an open ended commitment; the objective is to quickly provide a secure environment so that food can get through to the starving Somalis, and then the operation will be turned over to the UN peacekeeping forces.
In a major escalation, American Cobra helicopters attack a house in south Mogadishu where a group of clan leaders are meeting, destroying the building with TOW missiles and cannon fire and killing a number of Somalis.
Feeds |
Contact