APUSH Period 5 Timeline 1844-1877

James K Polk is elected

1844, against Clay

Know Nothing Party start and end

1844-1860 (Polk’s election to Lincoln’s election)

Manifest Destiny term is coined

1845

Oregon Treaty

1846, with Britain to gain control of the Oregon Territory

Mexican American War starts

1846 caused by Texas annexation + tension, westward expansion with New Mexico and California

Wilmot Proviso failed

1846, attempt to ban slavery in places claimed from Mexico, showed sectional tensions

California Gold Rush

1848

Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

1848, established Rio Grande as Texas’s border + Mexican cession of California and New Mexico

Free Soil Party

1848-1854 to oppose expansion of slavery

Zachary Taylor is elected

1848

Compromise of 1850

1850, established California as a free state, New Mexico and Utah up to popular sovereignty, Fugitive Slave Act, abolished slave trade in D.C.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin published

1852, a novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that depicted the harsh realities of slavery and sparked widespread abolitionist sentiment.

Gadsden Purchase

1853, a land deal between the United States and Mexico where the U.S. acquired parts of present-day Arizona and New Mexico to facilitate southern transcontinental railroad construction.

Kansas-Nebraska Acts

1854, created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, allowing popular sovereignty, repealed Missouri Compromise, by Stephen Douglas

Bleeding Kansas

1854-1859, political conflicts over popular sovereignty (John Brown)

Republican Party is created

in 1854 as a response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act and to oppose the spread of slavery into the territories. It emerged from various anti-slavery factions like the Free Soils

Buchanan is elected

1856

Brooks-Sumner Incident

1856 between Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner in the Senate chamber, resulting from Sumner's anti-slavery speech.

Dred Scott Decision

Supreme Court case in 1857 that ruled African Americans were not citizens and Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in the territories

1858 Lincoln Douglas Debates

1858 debates about issues like slavery and popular sovereignty for the Senate seat

John Brown’s raid on Harper Ferry

1859 attempt by the abolitionist John Brown to initiate an armed slave revolt by seizing the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. The raid ultimately failed, leading to Brown's capture and execution.

Election of Lincoln

1860, states start drafting secession legislation

Democratic Party split into North and South

The division of the Democratic Party in 1860 over the issue of slavery, resulting in separate nominations for the presidency by Northern (popular sovereignty) and Southern Democrats (pro slavery), helped Lincoln win the election.

States secede, Civil War begins after attack on Fort Sumter

1861, Confederate States of American created led by Jefferson Davis

Antietam Union Win

1862 Union victory allowed Lincoln to issue Emancipation

Emancipation Proclamation

1863 that declared the freedom of all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory (NOT slave-border states or union states), after Antietam win

Fall of Vicksburg

1863 Union victory that effectively split the Confederacy in two and gave control of the Mississippi River to the Union

New York City draft riots

1863, fueled by opposition to the draft during the Civil War, leading to significant racial tensions and destruction.

Ten Percent Plan

1863 that aimed to reconstruct the Southern states by allowing them to rejoin the Union once ten percent of their voters swore an oath of loyalty and accepted 13th amendment

Gettysburg Address

1863, Lincoln’s speech emphasizing the principles of human equality and the commitment to preserving the Union.

Lincoln is re elected

1864, amid the ongoing Civil War, securing support for his policies and the fight against slavery

Reconstruction era

1865-1877, following the Civil War, focused on integrating formerly enslaved people and rebuilding the South

Appomattox Court House Surrender

1865, when General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant, marking the end of the Civil War.

13th Amendment

1865, the 13th Amendment abolished, except as punishment for a crime.

Freedman’s Bureau

1865, the Freedman's Bureau was created to aid formerly enslaved people by providing social, educational, and economic services in the South.

Andrew Johnson assumes presidency

1865 after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Ku Klux Klan starts lynching

1865 for white supremacy

Black Codes begin

1865, discriminatory laws enacted in Southern states to restrict the rights of African Americans after the Civil War.

Civil Rights Act

1866 legislation aimed at protecting the rights of African Americans and counteracting the Black Codes, overruled Johnson’s veto

Reconstruction Act by Congress

1867 legislation that divided the South into military districts and required states to draft new constitutions guaranteeing African American men the right to vote.

House of Representatives impeach Andrew Johnson

1868 event where the House charged the President with violating Tenure of Office Act (fired a cabinet member without Congress), leading to his trial. Did not end up getting kicked out

14th Amendment

1868 that granted citizenship to all persons naturalized in the United States, ensuring equal protection under the federal law.

Ulysses S Grant is president

from 1869 to 1877, during which he focused on Reconstruction efforts and civil rights protections. Also had his scandals

Black Friday Scandal

1869 involving the manipulation of gold prices by speculators, leading to economic turmoil.

15th Amendment

1870, it prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."

Credit Mobilier Scandal

1872 political scandal involving the Union Pacific Railroad and Congress, which led to accusations of bribery and corruption.

Whiskey Ring Scandal

1875 scandal involving government officials who diverted tax revenues from whiskey sales, leading to widespread corruption.

Civil Rights Act 1875

1875 aimed to protect the rights of African Americans by prohibiting discrimination in public accommodations and jury selection.

Compromise of 1877, Hayes is president

settled the disputed 1876 presidential election, resulting in the withdrawal of federal troops from the South and effectively ending Reconstruction.