Crittenden Plan

1860; when Lincoln became the president-elect, the South began to fear for slavery, and the secessionist fervor swept through the country. Senator Crittenden came up with this two-part compromise. The first part stated that slavery would be permanently protected in the states in which it already existed. The second provision mandated that slavery would be protected south of the Missouri Compromise  line and prohibited North of it; the line would be extended to the California border. Lincoln rejected the second part because he wanted to uphold the concept of free soil. The Plan was shot down and replaced with an ultimatum that said that the south would either return to the Union or face war.

 Fort Sumter

1861; the Union garrison at Fort Sumter needed supplies, so Lincoln sent out medicine and food. Jefferson Davis and his government wanted to have a conflict with the Union to gain support from the upper south, so they decided to take the fort, demanding its surrender. The fort refused and the southern forces opened fire on it to force it to surrender. Lincoln made a major call to arm that was met with enthusiasm in the North. These were the first shots of the civil war.

 Contrabands and the Two Confiscation Acts

1861; contrabands were escaped slaves from the south that took refuge behind Union lines. The Union generals did not force them back to their owners. The First Confiscation Act authorized northerners to seize any property of the rebellion supporters, including slaves. The Second Confiscation act declared that any fugitive slaves or slaves captured by the Union were “forever free.”

1862; Lincoln issued this, telling the southern states that were rebelling that they had 100 days to renounce their secessions. He threatened to declare all of their slaves free if they did not cooperate. None of the southern states complied. The Proclamation didn’t touch slavery in the border states. 

Confederate Draft

1862; it was the first draft in American history. All existing enlistments were extended until the end of the war and all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 45 were required to do 3 years of military service. One white man (planter, overseer) for every 20 slaves was exempted. Also, drafted men could hire substitutes. Some Southerners just refused to serve, knowing that the government had no means to force them. It was a rich man's war, but a poor man's fight. 

1862; Lee’s army (Confederate) found a strong defensive position. McClellan’s forces (Union) were about to defeat Lee’s when Jackson’s troops showed up. The Confederate armies were able to retreat when general McClellan could not finish them off.  The fighting was brutal. It was the bloodiest day in American history. Thousands died and were injured.  It was the turning point that ensured that Europe would not help the South. Since the North won, this was the green light for the Emancipation Proclamation.

Homestead Act

1862; the Union issued this, offering to give 160 acres of land to any individual man over 21 or head of family that lived on and improved the land for five years. It helped keep Northern Republican support and it helped the Northern ability to fight the war. 

Suspension of Habeous Corpus

 1862; Lincoln suspended this right of the people (the right to a trial before punishment) so that he could take care of dissenters. He imprisoned without trial thousands of people that sympathized with the Confederacy, resisted the draft, or encouraged resistance.

Union Draft 

 the Union set a quota of volunteers for the war effort with the Enrollment Act of 1862 and 63. Immigrants from Germany and Ireland refused to fight. People could pay for substitution. 

New York Draft Riot of 1863 

Union Financing of the War

1863; they collected direct taxes from business corporations, large inheritances, and incomes and increased tariffs on consumer goods. They also sold treasury bonds by persuading northerners to buy war bonds. They also used the National Banking Acts of 1863 and 64 to get states to purchase war bonds. 

Battle of Vicksburg

1863;  Grant was trying to split the Confederates in two, which he succeeded in doing. He defeated two confederate forces and laid siege to a city. This was all in Mississippi. This Union victory helped the Union establish control over the Mississippi along with victory at Port Hudson.

Battle of Gettysburg

1863; General Meade with the Union positioned his forces in a good position on a hill, while Lee’s outnumbered force took the bad position at the bottom. Lee made a bold offensive move and the results were devastating for them. Meade felt bad and allowed the remaining Confederate soldiers to escape, thus prolonging the war. 

Sherman’s March Through Georgia

1864; Lincoln’s re-election depended on Sherman’s success.  He successfully laid siege on Atlanta. Then he and his men marched 300 miles to the sea, destroying everything on his way. 

Appomattox Courthouse

1865; After 4 years of war, Lee surrendered here when Grant cut off his escape route (he was trying to meet up with another Confederate force). Grant allowed them to allow for the planting season, and the Confederacy just dissolved and the Confederate generals stopped fighting by late May. 

Confederate Financing of the war

they financed mostly with unbacked paper money, which caused major inflation. riots broke out with the soaring prices and people started refusing confederate money. they also had confederate bonds. but they did not tax the rich people so most of it didnt come from taxes.

 Lincoln’s Ten Percent Plan

1860; Lincoln wanted to go easy on the South to have them admitted to the Union easily. Under this plan, if 10% of the voters of a southern state pledged their allegiance to the Union, then that state would be allowed to enter. They also would have to commit to not having slavery. The South rejected this and they kept fighting. this foreshadowed that the road of reconstruction was going to be a rocky one.

Wade-Davis Bill

1864; the radical Republicans came up with this bill because they believed that Lincoln’s 10% plan wasn’t strict enough. It laid down condition for the rebel states to enter. It required an oath of allegiance by the majority of male adult whites. It also required a new state government led by people who had not fought against the Union. It also required the permanent disfranchisement of Confederate leaders. Lincoln vetoed it.

Black Codes

1865; the Southern legislature enacted laws to keep slavery without calling it that. These blacks codes denied the blacks civil rights and they forced them back to the plantations. This happened even though most of the new government was comprised of southern Unionists. Johnson was president; he just let it happen. 

Freedmen’s Bureau

1865, 66; Congress established this when they realized how badly blacks were being treated in the south. It provided emergency aid to the ex-slaves. Congress expanded it in 66, financing it and investigating mistreatment cases. Senator Trumbull led this expansion.

Fourteenth Amendment

1866; it stated that all people born here or naturalized are citizens and that no state could deprive anyone of the rights of citizenship without due process of law. It enforced equality with vague terms. Johnson's campaign against the 14th amendment became a campaign for the democratic party.

Ku Klux Klan

1866; they were a terrorist organization in the south that targeted black people and southern republicans after the war. At first, they sought to restore southern honor. They served the Democratic Party. Their terrorist tactics managed to get some Democratic gains in the south.  

it organized the south into 5 military districts that would each be led by a Union commander. It set up for the military occupation of the south by the Union. They had to grant to vote to freedmen. The commanders made sure of this and other things, such as black suffrage. 

Tenure of Office Act

1867; required senate consent if the president wanted to fire anyone holding a government office if the senate had had to confirm the hiring in the first place. Johnson ignored this and fired the Secretary of War, Stanton, which was who Congress was wishing to protect. This ultimately led to his impeachment (but not removal).

Impeachment of Andrew Johnson

1867; Johnson ignored the Tenure of Office Act of 1867 by firing the Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton because Stanton favored radical reconstruction. He did this without Congress’ approval. He also replaced 4 of the commanding generals in the southern military districts. The House brought up impeachment charges against him, but he was not removed from office. After his impeachment, he had lost power in Reconstruction.

 Panic of 1873

there was a severe depression with 47,000 firms going bankrupt and wholesale prices going down by 30%. They stopped building railroads and they stopped receiving orders for industrial goods. Workers lost their jobs and many families became poor.

Whiskey Ring Scandal

1875; a network of treasury agents and liquor distillers defrauded the government millions of dollars (of excise taxes on whiskey). One of president Grant’s appointed men led the network in the scandal, and another of his men (Babcock) had a hand in the scandal. Grant stood by Babcock while all the others were arrested. 

Compromise of 1877

this unwritten compromise settled the disputed presidential election of 1877 (between democratic Tilden and Republican Hayes). Florida, South Carolina, and Louisiana had sent in two sets of electoral votes, which was an unprecedented issue. Since the Constitution did not mention this issue, Congress appointed an electoral commission to settle the question (because the votes from these states were the deciding votes). The commission chose that Hayes had won the election.