Period 5

• 1845 - Annexation of Texas

• The U.S. annexed Texas, angering Mexico and escalating tensions that led to war.

• 1845-1848 - Mexican-American War

• The U.S. defeated Mexico and gained vast western lands under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

• 1848 - Seneca Falls Convention

• The first women's rights convention called for gender equality and suffrage in the Declaration of Sentiments.

• 1850 - Fugitive Slave Law

• This law required citizens to return escaped slaves and increased Northern resistance to slavery.

• 1852 - Uncle Tom's Cabin published

• Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel galvanized anti-slavery sentiment in the North.

• 1854 - Bleeding Kansas

• Violent clashes over slavery erupted in Kansas after the repeal of the Missouri Compromise.

• 1857 - Dred Scott Decision

• The Supreme Court ruled that slaves were property and not citizens, inflaming sectional tensions.

• 1860 - Lincoln's Election

• Abraham Lincoln's election led Southern states to secede, fearing restrictions on slavery.

• 1861-1865 - Civil War

• A bloody conflict between North and South over slavery and states' rights ended in Union victory.

• 1862 - Homestead Act

• This law offered free land to settlers, encouraging westward migration and expansion.

• 1863 - Emancipation Proclamation

• Lincoln declared slaves free in Confederate states, shifting the war's purpose to ending slavery.

• 1863 - Gettysburg

• The Union victory at Gettysburg marked a major turning point in the Civil War.

• 1865 - Lincoln Assassinated

• Lincoln was killed just days after the war ended, shocking the nation and altering Reconstruction.

• 1867 - Military Reconstruction Act of 1867

• The South was divided into military districts to enforce civil rights and control former
  Confederates.

• 1867 - Purchase of Alaska

• The U.S. bought Alaska from Russia, initially called "Seward's Folly," but later proved valuable.

• 1877 - Compromise of 1877

• Hayes became president, and federal troops were withdrawn from the South, ending Reconstruction.

Period 5 timeline

1844-1877