PQ Polk - Grant

Quiz 3 a List (1845-1861)

 

11. James K. Polk (1845-1849) Democrat (6) 

  1. Mexican War (1846-1848) - James K. Polk. 1846-1848. International. Because this was a declared war between the U.S. and a foreign nation, Mexico, over territory issues. This war was caused by Polk’s expansionist vision of Manifest Destiny and a border dispute following the annexation of Texas. This was important because U.S. victory caused the Mexican Cession, whereby Mexico gave up vast territory including California and the modern-day American Southwest. This led to the intense sectional conflicts over the expansion of slavery, making the Civil War inevitable. 


  1. Wilmot Proviso (1846) - James K. Polk. 1846. Political. Because this was a proposed congressional amendment that caused a fierce national debate over slavery and federal power. This amendment was proposed by Congressman David Wilmot of Pennsylvania, which aimed to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico as a result of the war. This was important because it caused a political firestorm, marking the first time the issue of prohibiting slavery in the territories was pushed as a national policy, which led to the formation of the anti-slavery Free Soil Party.


  1. Wisconsin and Iowa admitted as free states - James K. Polk. 1846. Political. Because this was the admission of Iowa (1846) and Wisconsin (1848) to the Union as free states from the Northwest Territory, where slavery was banned through the 1787 Northwest Ordinance. This was caused by westward migration and the rise of grain and dairy farming in the Old Northwest. This was important because this changed the political balance in the Senate, gradually increasing Northern, free-state power and contributing to the Southern fear of being permanently outvoted in Congress, heightening sectionalism.


  1. Free Soil Party organized (1848) - James K. Polk. 1848. Political. Because this was the formation of a single-issue, sectional political party. This was organized in Buffalo, New York, the Free Soil Party was an alliance of anti-slavery Democrats, Conscience Whigs, and members of the Liberty Party. They aimed to free soil, free speech, free labor, and free men, opposing the expansion of slavery into the western territories. This was important because it was caused by the failure of the major parties to address the slavery expansion issue after Wilmot Proviso, leading to the rise of the Republican Party.


  1. Discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in California (1848) - James K. Polk. 1848. Economic. Because this was James W. Marshall’s gold discovery at Sutter’s Mill in U.S.-newly acquired California triggered mass migration and economic growth. Polk’s confirmation in his State of the Union sparked global frenzy, starting the 1849 California Gold Rush. This was important because this caused a California Gold Rush which began in 1849. The massive and rapid increase of people caused California to skip the territorial phase and apply directly for statehood, which directly led to the Compromise of 1850 crisis.


  1. Seneca Falls Convention (1848) - James K. Polk. 1848. Social. Because this was the first women’s rights convention in the U.S.. Organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton in Seneca Falls, New York, this convention produced the "Declaration of Sentiments," stating "all men and women are created equal" and demands for women's rights, including the right to vote. This was important because it marked a radical change by launching the formal, organized movement for women’s suffrage(votes) and equality, which established a continuity of protest until the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920.


12. Zachary Taylor (1849-1850) Whig (4)

  1. Gold Rush (1849) - Zachary Taylor. 1849. Economic. Because this was a massive migration of people seeking wealth, which transformed the demographics and economy of a region. This discovery of gold at Sutter’s Mill in 1848 sparked a global frenzy, driving 1849’s increase of “forty-niners” to California, building instant cities, overwhelming legal systems, and devastating Native American populations. This was important because the Gold Rush caused California’s 1850 free-statehood application, leading to the 1850 political crisis, while accelerating westward expansion.


  1. Henry David Thoreau Civil Disobedience - Zachary Taylor. 1849. Political. Because this was a profound essay of political philosophy that has influenced protest movements worldwide. This was written after Thoreau spent a night in jail for refusing to pay a tax that would support the Mexican-American War and the expansion of slavery, the governments through non-violent civil disobedience. This was important because it changed the American political thoughts, providing a philosophical justification for principled resistance, inspiring future leaders like Martin Luther King Jr.


  1. Clayton-Bulwer Treaty (1850) - Zachary Taylor. 1850. International. Because this was a treaty between the U.S. and Britain that regulated that neither nation would seek to exclusively control or fortify any future canal built across Central America, particularly in Nicaragua. This treaty eased regional tensions and promoted cooperation. This was important because it marked a shift in early U.S. expansionism to shared influence with Britain but hindered U.S. ambitions, later replaced by the 1901's Hay-Pauncefote Treaty granting U.S. rights to build and fortify the Panama Canal.


  1. Nashville Convention (1850) - Zachary Taylor. 1850. Political. Because this was a gathering of Southern delegates to discuss the crisis over the spread of slavery into territories acquired from Mexico. Called by Southern radicals threatening secession if slavery was banned there, nine slave states’ delegates demanded the extension of the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific. This was important because it demonstrated the fragile Southern unity. Its failure to endorse immediate secession showed that most Southerners were not ready to break up the Union.




Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter - John Quincy Adams. 1850. Cultural. Because this was a cultural artifact that reflects and shapes the nation’s understanding of history, morality, and social structures. Hawthorne was part of the American Renaissance, which reflected deep awareness of moral reform movements like temperance and abolition that emerged since the 1820s. This was important because compared to the Second Great Awakening which emphasized on sin and redemption, illustrating how religion, reform, and culture shaped early 19th century American identity.

13. Millard Fillmore (1850-1853) Whig (4)

  1. Compromise of 1850 (Omnibus bill)

  • California enters Union as free state - Millard Fillmore. 1850. Political. Because this was the admission of California directly altered the balance of power in the U.S. Senate between free and slave states. Due to the Gold Rush-driven population growth through its own constitution, changing the balance of 15-15 balance in the Senate, giving the North a permanent majority. This was important because it caused Southern fear of permanent congressional outvoting, forcing them to rely on the Supreme Court and the presidency to protect slavery.


  • New Mexico and Utah territories organized based on popular sovereignty - Millard Fillmore. 1850. Political. Because this was a policy established a new method to determine slavery’s status in territories, replacing previous federal laws. The act stated that when Mexico and Utah eventually applied for statehood, they would be admitted with or without slavery as their constitution may prescribe at the time of their admission, applying popular sovereignty. This was important because it led to the violent political chaos of Bleeding Kansas, as both pro- and anti-slavery forces rushed settlers into territories to sway the vote. 


  • No Slave Trade in Washington D.C. - Millard Fillmore. 1850. Political. Because this was a symbolic federal action against the institution of slavery, enacted in the nation’s capital. This provision abolished the public slave trade in the District of Columbia; however, slavery remained legal in the capital, only the public trading centers were banned. This was important because it represented a compromise as Southern interests were protected by the continuation of slavery in Washington D.C. by keeping the stricter Fugitive Slave Act.


  • New Mexico/Texas border dispute solved - Millard Fillmore. 1850. Political. Because this was a resolution of a boundary dispute between Texas and Mexico. Texas claimed present-day New Mexico east of the Rio Grande. The Compromise of 1850 set the modern border of Texas and the federal government assumed $10 million of Texas’s pre-annexation debt. This was important because it caused Texas to relinquish its territorial claims, a Northern concession that prevented it from dividing into multiple smaller states. 


  • Strict Fugitive Slave law - Millard Fillmore. 1850. Political. Because this was a federal law that forced citizens to capture and return fugitive slaves, overriding state laws and conscience. It denied runaways a jury trial and the right to testify, mandated Northerners assist captures with penalties and paid federal commissioners more for returning people to slavery than free them. This was important because it caused the abolitionist movement, turned neutral Northerners against Slave Power, and led to civil disobedience via Northern personal liberty laws.


  1. Herman Melville Moby Dick - Millard Fillmore. 1851. Cultural. Because this was a profound and complex American novel that explores themes of obsession, fate, and the conflict between man and nature. This tale follows Captain Ahab’s quest for revenge against the great white whale, Moby Dick, who had injured him. This was important because this novel later came to a change in American literature, a masterpiece of the American Renaissance. It represents a continuity of the American literary tradition of exploring grand themes and the nation’s relationship with nature.


  1. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852) - Millard Fillmore. 1852. Cultural. Because this was a novel that became the most powerful piece of anti-slavery propaganda in American history. This bestselling novel described the harsh realities of slavery through the stories of enslaved individuals like Uncle Tom and Eliza. This is important because humanized enslaved people in the public imagination convinced many moderates to oppose the expansion of slavery, contributing to the rise of the Republican Party in 1854.


  1. Cumberland Road completed (1852) - Millard Fillmore. 1852. Technological. Because this was the first major improved highway built by the federal government. It was also known as the National Road. Begun in 1811, it was completed to Vandalia, Illinois, in 1852, connecting the Potomac River with the Ohio River. This was important because the road’s completion was the federal effort to bind the nation together. However, its importance was already being changed by the rise of railroads, which symbolized the end of the canal and turnpike era.


14. Franklin Pierce (1853-1857) Democrat (10)

  1. Gadsden Purchase (1853) - Franklin Pierce. 1853. International. Because this was the acquisition of a strip of land from Mexico through a treaty. The U.S. purchased the land south of the Gila River from Mexico for $10 million, aiming to secure a flat, feasible route for a southern transcontinental railroad. This was important because it caused sectional conflict as the North and South competed over where the first transcontinental railroad would be built. It determined the continental borders of the U.S. but intensified the debate over whether new territories would be slave or free, boosting the Southern and cotton economy. 


  1. Ostend Manifesto (1854) - Franklin Pierce. 1854. International. Because this was a secret diplomatic dispatch that proposed the acquisition of Cuba from Spain. This was written by U.S. diplomats in Ostend, Belgium, the manifesto argued that the U.S. should offer to buy Cuba from Spain. If Spain refused, the document suggested the U.S. would be justified in seizing the island by force to prevent it from becoming another slave state. This was important because when the manifesto was leaked, it caused an apparent attempt by the Slave Power to expand slavery, leading to the rise of the anti-slavery Republican Party. 


  1. Henry David Thoreau Walden - Franklin Pierce. 1854. Cultural. Because this was a transcendentalist work blending philosophy and nature writing. It was also known as the Life in the Woods, which detailed Thoreau’s experiences over two years, two months, and two days in a Walden Pond cabin. It criticized the increasingly industrialized and materialistic society, advocating for self-reliance. This was important because it established future influence, inspiring the conservation movement, environmentalism, and the counterculture of the 1960s, which was a cornerstone of American literature. 


  1. Know-Nothing Party (1854) - Franklin Pierce. 1854. Social. Because this was a nativist political movement focused on anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic sentiment. Formally known as the American Party. It sought to restrict immigration and naturalization laws and prevent Catholics and immigrants from holding public office. This was important because it briefly displaced the Whigs as the main opposition to the Democrats. However, its inability to address the overriding issue of slavery caused its collapse, with most of its members being absorbed into the new Republican Party. 


  1. Republican Party formed (1854) - Franklin Pierce. 1854. Political. Because this was the formation of a major new political party with a sectional, anti-slavery foundation. The party was a direct response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and their central goal of preventing the expansion of slavery into the western territories. This was important because it was caused by the collapse of the Second Party System over the slavery issue, realigning the American politics, creating a purely Northern party that the South viewed as an existential threat, heightening sectionalism and making civil war more possible. 


  1. Kansas - Nebraska Act (1854) - Franklin Pierce. 1854. Political. Because this was a federal law that repealed the Missouri Compromise and organized the Kansas and Nebraska territories based on popular sovereignty. Proposed by Senator Stephen A. Douglass, allowing settlers to decide on slavery there, overturning the 36°30' line that prohibited slavery for over 30 years. This was important because it led to violent conflict known as Bleeding Kansas, and destroyed the Whig Party, leading to the formation of the Northern Republican Party, pushing to the Civil War.


  1. Walt Whitman Leaves of Grass - Franklin Pierce. 1855. Cultural. Because this was a revolutionary collection of poetry that broke from European literary traditions to create an American voice and form. Whitman published the Leaves of Grass in 1855, portraying the author as a common man, which celebrated the individual, the human body, democracy, and the vast diversity of the American experience. This was important because it allowed Whitman to earn the title of America’s poet, proposing the democratic ideals of equality and individuality, influencing future literature. 


  1. Topeka Constitution (1855) - Franklin Pierce. 1855. Political. Because this was Anti-slavery settlers’ attempt to establish a free-state government in Kansas. Free-State delegates, rejecting the fraudulent, intimidating pro-slavery legislature, drafted a Topeka constitution. It passed a vote boycotted by pro-slavery settlers, and they petitioned Congress to admit Kansas as a free state. This was important because it sparked a Kansas political crisis, forming a rival government and challenging the pro-slavery territorial authority. Pierce called it rebellion, fueling Bleeding Kansas by ending territorial compromise.


  1. Bleeding Kansas (1856) - Franklin Pierce. 1856. Social. Because this was a period of violent warfare between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces in the Kansas Territory. As both sides rushed settlers into Kansas to sway the popular sovereignty vote, the territory became a battleground. This was important because it was caused by the Kansas-Nebraska Act, leading to the slavery debate to shift from a political conflict to a literal, violent one. Pierce’s inability to restore order eroded Democratic unity and strengthened the Republican Party’s anti-slavery platform. 


  1. Preston Brooks/Charles Sumner clash (1856) - Franklin Pierce. 1856. Social. Because this was a violent physical attack on the floor of the U.S. Senate. After Senator Charles Sumner delivered a speech insulting Senator Andrew Butler. Butler’s nephew, Congressman Preston Brooks beat Sumner with a cane. This was important because it caused outrage in the North where Brooks was condemned as a savage man, and celebration in the South where he was sent new canes in tribute. This conflict showed the sectional conflict had become radical and only be settled by violence, which was known as Civil Discourse.
    15. James Buchanan (1857-1861) Democrat(8)

    1. Dred Scott Case (1857) - James Buchanan. 1857. Political. Because this was a Supreme Court decision that was the most consequential judicial ruling of the 19th century on the issue of slavery. Dred Scott, an enslaved man in free territories sued for his freedom. Chief Justice Roger Taney wrote that Black people could not be citizens with no rights, and the Congress had no authority to ban slavery in the territories, declaring the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. This was important because it caused a constitutional crisis, revealing the Slave Power completely corrupted the federal government. 


    1. Panic of 1857 - James Buchanan. 1857. Economic. Because this was a sharp financial crisis exposing sectional economic differences. This panic began with the failure of New York banks and the collapse of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Company. The drop in overseas demand for American grain, over-speculation in railroads and land, and gold shipment losses from California exaggerated the downturn. This was important because this caused Southern leaders to claim economic superiority under slavery, reinforcing Southern belief in King Cotton and deepened sectionalism. 


    1. Hinton Helper Impending Crisis in the South (1857) - James Buchanan. 1857. Cultural. Because this was an anti-slavery book criticizing the Southern economy. It was written by Hinton Rowan Helper, a white Southerner from North Carolina, the book argued that slavery hurt poor white farmers by hurting industry and education. Though banned in the South, it gained popularity among Northern Republicans. This was important because Helper’s arguments divided Southern society and provided the North against the Slave Power, causing secessionist sentiment in the South. 


    1. Lecompton Constitution (1858) - James Buchanan. 1858. Political. Because this was a pro-slavery state constitution proposed for Kansas, which was fraudulently ratified. The pro-slavery legislature in Kansas drafted a constitution in Lecompton that would have protected slavery, even though a majority of Kansas settlers were anti-slavery. It was submitted to Congress for approval with a manipulated referendum that gave voters no choice to reject the constitution entirely. This was important because it caused a controversy split in the Democratic Party. It discredited Buchanan’s leadership, strengthening the Republican Party. 


    1. Lincoln-Douglass Debates (1858) - James Buchanan. 1858. Political. Because this was a series of seven public debates during the Illinois Senate campaign. Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen A. Douglas debated across Illinois over the issue of slavery’s expansion. Lincoln argued against its spread while Douglas promoted popular sovereignty. This was important because this caused Douglas to claim the Freeport Doctrine, stating that territories could effectively ban slavery by refusing to pass protective laws, further splitting the Democrats.


    1. Raid on Harper’s Ferry (1859) - James Buchanan. 1859. Social. Because this was an armed assault on a federal arsenal(arm factory) by abolitionists, intended to spark a slave rebellion. Led by John Brown, a group of men seized the U.S. arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. The raid was suppressed by the U.S. Marines led by Robert E. Lee, and Brown was captured. This was important because this raid terrified Southerners and convinced many Northern abolitionists to seek violent revolution, inspiring Northern radicals while Southern states began organizing militias, leading to secession after Lincoln’s election. 


    1. Comstock Lode (1859) - James Buchanan. 1859. Economic. Because this was the discovery of a massive deposit of silver ore. It was discovered in the Washoe Mountains of the Utah Territory by Henry Comstock, which was the first major silver discovery in the U.S.. This discovery sparked a Silver Rush that exceeded the earlier gold rush in scale and industrial mining complexity. This was important because it caused a massive migration to the western Utah territory, leading to the admission of Nevada as a state in 1864, supporting the Union with its mineral wealth. 


    1. South Carolina secession (1860) - James Buchanan. 1860. Political. Because this was the formal withdrawal of a state from the U.S., an act of rebellion that directly caused the Civil War. Following the election of Lincoln, who South Carolina viewed as a hostile anti-slavery president, a specially elected state convention voted to secede from the Union. This was important because Buchanan’s weak response, asserting secession was illegal but claiming no power to stop it, led to the loss of six more states, leading to the Montgomery Convention and the formation of the Confederate States of America.


    1. Montgomery Convention; Confederate States of America (1861) - James Buchanan. 1861. Political. Because this was a constitutional convention of seceded states that formed a new, independent republic. Delegates from seven Deep South seceded states met in Montgomery, Alabama. They drafted a Confederacy constitution, protecting slavery, emphasizing state sovereignty, and electing Jefferson Davis provisional President, Alexander H. Stephens Vice President. This was important because this caused the secession crisis as the creation of the Confederate States of America created a new political entity with which the U.S. would soon be at war.


    1. Crittenden Compromise fails (1861) - James Buchanan. 1861. Political. Because this was the final unsuccessful attempt to prevent Civil War through compromise. Proposed by Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky, this plan aimed to restore the Missouri Compromise line and protect slavery in territories south of it. This was important because its failure was caused by Lincoln’s firm opposition to any extension of slavery into the territories as the core principle of the Republican Party. The Crittenden Compromise’s rejection symbolized the end of the Union’s political balance and the beginning of armed conflict.


    Quiz 3b Events List

    16. Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865) Republican (25)

    1. Fort Sumter (1861) - Abraham Lincoln. 1861. Political. Because this was an assault of a federal fort by Confederate forces. This battle triggered the Civil War. Following South Carolina secession, the federal force at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor was running out of supplies. President Lincoln announced he was sending provisions, not reinforcements, forcing the Confederacy's hand, and winning this battle. This was important because it caused patriotic outrage in the North, and led to Lincoln’s call for volunteer troops to suppress the rebellion, resulting in the secession of four more Southern states.


    1. 1st Battle of Bull Run(Manassas) - Abraham Lincoln. 1861. Political. Because it was a critical test of both armies and had immense political consequences for public morale and the perception of the war's duration.This was the first major land battle of the Civil War, where Union and Confederate armies clashed near Manassas, Virginia. Civilians from Washington D.C. picnicked to watch, expecting a quick Union victory. This was important because the stunning Confederate victory shattered Northern illusions of a quick and easy war, leading to a renewed sense of purpose and the realization that the conflict would be long and bloody. It also boosted Southern morale and confidence.


    1. The Trent Affair - Abraham Lincoln. 1861. International. Because this was a diplomatic crisis between the United States and Great Britain that threatened to bring the British into the war with Confederacy. A U.S. Navy warship halted British mail steamer Trent, seizing two Confederate diplomats bound for Europe to secure recognition. Britain condemned this breach of international law and its neutrality. This was important because it caused a severe crisis with Britain mobilizing troops. President Lincoln caused a peaceful resolution by ordering the release of the diplomats.


    1. Habeas Corpus is suspended in Washington D.C. and Maryland - Abraham Lincoln. 1861. Political. Because this was the suspension of a fundamental constitutional right by the executive branch. This marked a major expansion of presidential power, preventing Maryland’s secession and protecting Washington, D.C., he allowed the military to detain individuals without formal charges. This was important because this was a change from civil liberties and was challenged in Ex parte Merryman. However, it established a continuity of precedent for the use of executive power during national emergency. 


    1. U.S. Sanitary Commission created (1861) - Abraham Lincoln. 1861. Social. Because this was a private, volunteer-led organization that revolutionized military medicine and public health. This was a women-led civilian group, the U.S. Sanitary Commission improved conditions in the Union army and hospitals. It raised funds, provided medical supplies, trained nurses, and operated hospital ships. This was important because it boosted soldier morale and survival rates, established organized civilian aid in warfare, and provided a major avenue for women’s participation in the war effort. 


    1. Monitor and Merrimac (1862) - Abraham Lincoln. 1862. Technological. Because this was the first naval battle between Ironclad warships, which rendered the world’s wooden navies obsolete. The Confederate Merrimac (Virginia) attacked the Union blockade, destroying two wooden warships. Then, the Union’s innovative USS Monitor arrived and engaged Virginia in an historic battle. This was important because it marked the age of wooden sailing ships was over, and the era of armored vessels had begun, the blockade remained to ensure the Anaconda Plan’s pressure on the Confederacy.


    1. Homestead Act (1862) - Abraham Lincoln. 1862. Economic. Because this was a federal law that encouraged westward migration by providing free land to settlers. This act granted any adult citizen, or intended citizen, who had never been against the U.S. government, the right to claim public land. Claimants were required to live on and improve the plot by cultivating the land for five years. This was important because this act encouraged Eastern citizens to migrate to the West to seek economic opportunities, and the transformation of the American West into an agricultural breadbasket. The mass migration to the West also led to the resource competition between American settlers and Native American Tribes.


    1. Morrill Land Grant Act (1862) - Abraham Lincoln. 1862. Social. Because this was a federal law that used public land to fund higher education.The act granted federal land to each state, which they sold to fund public colleges focused on agriculture, engineering, and military tactics, while also including classical studies. This was important because this act made American higher education more practical and accessible to industrial and agricultural classes, secured federal education support, and created land-grant colleges that fueled scientific and economic progress.


    1. Pacific Railways Act (1862) - Abraham Lincoln. 1862. Economic. Because this was a federal law that authorized the construction of the First Transcontinental Railroad. This provided federal government bonds and land grants to two companies, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, to build a railroad connecting Nebraska to California. This was important because it led to rapid construction of the transcontinental railroad. It also caused the economic and political integration of the West, facilitated westward expansion; however, devastating to the way of life of Plains Indians.


    1. Battle of Antietam (1862) - Abraham Lincoln. 1862. Political. Because this was a pivotal Civil War battle that was the bloodiest single day in American history. Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s first invasion of the North was halted by Union General George McClellan at Antietam Creek, Maryland. The battle ended with Lee’s retreat back to Virginia. This was important because the Union forces’ forced Confederate retreat, which is a strategic victory, gave Lincoln capital to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation and reframe the war’s purpose into ending slavery.


    1. 20 Negro Law (Confederacy) (1862) - Abraham Lincoln. 1862. Political. Because this was a class-based legislation that exposed deep internal divisions within Southern society during the Civil War, also known as the Second Conscription Act. This Confederate law exempted one white overseer per large plantation from Confederate military service, protecting slavery and favoring wealthy planters over common soldiers. This was important because it caused resentment and class conflict within the Confederacy, leading to the argument of “a rich man’s war and a poor man’s fight” from poor whites.


    1. Emancipation Proclamation (1863) - Abraham Lincoln. 1863. Political. Because this was an executive order that declared all enslaved people in Confederate territory to be forever free. The proclamation declared that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states shall be free. It did not apply to border states or Confederacy states under Union control. This was important because it redefined the war as a struggle for human liberty, prevented European intervention, and allowed Black men to serve in the Union Army, linking military victory to moral progress. 


    1. The Revenue Act of 1862 - Abraham Lincoln. 1862. Economic. Because it reshaped the government's relationship with the economy by creating a powerful, centralized system for generating federal revenue through direct taxation. This was a landmark federal law that created the United States' first progressive income tax and established the office of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue to fund the immense costs of the Civil War. This was important because this act provided critical, sustained funding for the Union war effort and set a lasting precedent for the federal government's use of income taxation to finance its operations and manage the national economy.


    1. 54th Massachusetts is organized (1863) - Abraham Lincoln. 1863. Political. Because this was the formation of the first official African American units in the Union Army. The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was one of the North’s first major Black units, which was recruited by Governor John Andrew and commanded by Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, reflecting the Union’s commitment to enlist Black soldiers. This was important because this led to the widespread recruitment of black soldiers, leading to the Union victory and helped rescue the rights of citizenship of African Americans.



    1. National Bank Act (1863) - Abraham Lincoln. 1863. Economic. Because this was a federal law that created a national banking system and a uniform national currency. This act created nationally chartered banks, requiring one-third capital in U.S. government securities and established a uniform national currency , greenbacks, to fund the war and stabilize the economy. This was important because it stabilized the chaotic financial system of state-chartered banks, and established a federal control over the banking system, setting the foundation for the Federal Reserve System.


    1. Enrollment Act—draft (1863) - Abraham Lincoln. 1863. Political. Because this was the first federal conscription law in the U.S.. This act made all single men aged 20 to 45 and married men up to 35 subject to a military draft. The law was unpopular because it allowed a draftee to hire a substitute or pay a $300 commutation fee to avoid service. This was important because this unfairness caused resentment and led to the devastating New York City Draft Riots in July 1863, which was the largest civil insurrection in American history outside of the Civil War.


    1. Vicksburg (1863) - Abraham Lincoln. 1863. Political. Because this was a major blockade that gave the Union control of the Mississippi River. After a long campaign, Union General Ulysses S. Grant laid siege(blockade) to the Confederate fortress city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. After 47 days, the Confederate army surrendered on July 4, 1863. This was important because the fall of Vicksburg was one day after the Union victory at Gettysburg, causing a turning point in the war, which split the Confederacy in two regions as the Anaconda Plan intended.


    1. Gettysburg (1863) - Abraham Lincoln. 1863. Political. Because this was the largest and bloodiest battle of the Civil War, and the war’s turning point. The Union forces under General George Meade defeated Robert E. Lee’s second and final invasion of the North in a massive battle in Pennsylvania. The failed Confederate assault, Pickett’s Charge, decided the battle. This was important because it caused the destruction of Lee’s offensive abilities, ensuring the Confederacy would not threaten the North. Coupled with the fall of Vicksburg, beginning the end of the Confederacy.


    1. New York Draft Riots (1863) - Abraham Lincoln. 1863. Social. Because this was a violent uprising against federal authority and military conscription(draft). Working-class white New Yorkers and Irish immigrants rioted in protest of the Enrollment Act due to economic competition with free Blacks and outrage over the draft, turning to a racial massacre, killing Blacks and burning a Black-children orphanage. This was important because it caused deaths of many Blacks and exposed deep racial divisions in the North, proving support for the war and emancipation was not universal.


    1. Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction “10% Plan” (1863) - Abraham Lincoln. 1863. Political. Because this was Lincoln’s lenient(forgiving) plan for postwar restoration of the Southern states. This plan offered a full pardon to all Southerners who pledge allegiance(loyalty) to the Union and accept emancipation of slaves, except Confederate leaders. When 10% of a state’s voting population took this oath, they could establish a new state government. This was important because it compared to the harsher Wade-Davis Bill, showing the major debate within the Republican Party between presidential and congressional control over Reconstruction and punishment for the South.


    1. Wade Davis Bill (pocket veto) (1864) - Abraham Lincoln. 1864. Political. Because this was a congressional plan for Reconstruction that was stricter than Lincoln’s. In response to Lincoln’s 10% Plan, radical Republicans Benjamin Wade and Henry Winter Davis proposed a bill requiring 50% of a state’s white males to take a strict oath of loyalty to the Union, and also demanded stronger safeguard for African American liberty. This was important because Lincoln’s pocket veto of this bill led to a political confrontation, triggering the power struggle between the President and Congress over the control of Reconstruction. 


    1. Sherman’s March to the sea(1864) - Abraham Lincoln. 1864. Political. Because this was a campaign of “total war” aimed at destroying the Confederate will and ability to fight. After capturing Atlanta, Union General William Tecumseh Sherman led an army on a “March to the Sea”, destroying railroads, factories, and plantations around Georgia. This was important because it caused massive psychological and economic damage to the Confederacy, leading to the faster collapse of Confederate resistance and demonstrating the North's overwhelming military and industrial superiority.  


    1. Sand Creek Massacre (1864) - Abraham Lincoln. 1864. Social. Because this was the brutal murder of peaceful Native Americans by the U.S. Army troops. Colorado Territory militia attacked a village of friendly Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians at Sand Creek, despite the chief flying an American flag. The troops massacred over 150 people, mostly women, children, and elderly. This was important because it continued the U.S. government’s violent dispossession of Natives, causing widespread condemnation, sparking the Plains Indian Wars, ending any hope of peace for tribes. 


    1. 13th Amendment (is passed by Congress, 1865) - Abraham Lincoln. 1865. Political. Because this was a constitutional amendment that abolished involuntary slavery in the U.S.. This amendment states neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except a punishment for crime that was duly convicted, shall exist within the United States. This was important because it permanently fulfilled the promise of the Emancipation Proclamation, legally destroying the institution of slavery, establishing a continuity of constitutional protection of basic human freedom. 


    1. Freedmen’s Bureau established (1865) - Abraham Lincoln. 1865. Social. Because this was the first federal agency created to provide aid to refugees and freed slaves. This agency provided living resources to poor Southerners, both Black and White. It also established thousands of schools for freedpeople, and in labor, helping to negotiate work contracts. This was important because it caused the first large-scale involvement of the federal government in social welfare and labor relations, which was a primary institution of Reconstruction, setting the foundation for federal protection of civil rights.


    1. Robert E. Lee surrenders at the Appomattox Court House (1865) - Abraham Lincoln. 1865. Political. Because this effectively ended the American Civil War. After his final retreat from Richmond and Petersburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865. This was important because it caused the collapse of organized Confederate military resistance, ending the Civil War,  signaling the preservation of the Union and the defeat of the Confederacy.


    1. Assassinated April 14, 1865- John Wilkes Booth (1865) - Abraham Lincoln. 1865. Political. Because this was the murder of the President of the U.S. by a Confederate sympathizer. On April 14, 1865, just five days after Lee’s surrender, actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth shot President Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.. This was important because Lincoln’s death caused a national tragedy and a political catastrophe, leading to the ascension of the unprepared Andrew Johnson to the presidency. This ultimately led to the failed Reconstruction process.


     

     


    17. Andrew Johnson (1865-1869) Democrat(13)

    1. Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (1865) - Andrew Johnson. 1865. Political. Because this was the president’s official plan for restoring the seceded states to the Union. Johnson’s plan offered pardon and property, except enslaved people and wealthy Confederates, and mandated 13th Amendment ratification, denying secession and Confederate war debts, but no freedpeople’s rights protections. This was important because it caused the rapid restoration of state governments dominated by the old Southern elites, promoting the passage of Black Codes, which led to conflict between the President and the Congress.


    1. Presidential Reconstruction completed (1865) - Andrew Johnson. 1865. Political. Because this was Johnson’s lenient plan for restoring the Southern states to the Union. By the end of 1865, Johnson declared his Reconstruction plan complete. All the seceded states except Texas had created new governments, ratified the 13th Amendment to abolish slavery, and elected new members of Congress, including many former Confederates. This was important because it caused a backlash of the Congress, refusing to seat the Southern representatives, beginning Congressional Reconstruction to overturn Johnson’s work. 


    1. Congressional (Radical) Reconstruction (1866-1877) - Andrew Johnson. 1867. Political. Because this was a federal program that took control of Reconstruction away from the president to the Congress. It was enacted through the Reconstruction Acts of 1867, dividing the former Confederacy into five military districts. To be readmitted to the Union, states had to ratify the 14th Amendment to protect Black male suffrage. This was important because it shows the federal intervention in state affairs, establishing a biracial democracy in the South and shifted executive-legislative power balance.


    1. Black Codes implemented in South (1865) - Andrew Johnson. 1865. Social. Because these were state laws designed to regulate the lives of freed African Americans. This restored a system of white supremacy that was close to slavery, enacted by new Southern governments under Johnson’s plan, denying African Americans’ rights to vote, serve on juries, own weapons or land. This was important because it caused radical Republican resistance in Congress, pushing the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and 14th Amendment, proving Southern states need federal help protecting rights of freed slaves .


    1. Ex Parte Milligan (1866) - Andrew Johnson. 1866. Political. Because this was a Supreme Court case that defined the limits of military power and protected civil liberties. Lambdin P. Milligan, a Confederate, was tried and sentenced to death by a military tribunal during the war, despite the civilian courts being open. The Supreme Court ruled that military tribunals could not try civilians when civilian courts were functioning. This was important because it affirmed constitutional protections for civilians, threatening legality of military districts in Radical Reconstruction.


    1. National Labor Union founded (1866) - Andrew Johnson. 1866. Social. Because this was the formation of the first national federation of American trade unions. The union was founded in Baltimore and led by William H. Sylvis, and united a variety of reform groups, aiming for higher wages, the eight-hour workday, and workers’ cooperatives to replace the wage-labor system. This was important because it changed the American labor movement by creating a national coalition. It collapsed in the Panic of 1873, but still influenced other national organizations like the American Federation of Labor.


    1. Civil Rights Act (1866) - Andrew Johnson. 1866. Political. Because this was the first federal law defining U.S. citizenship, equal legal protection. This act declared that all persons born in the U.S., excluding Native Americans, were citizens, regardless of race or condition of servitude, granting all the rights to make contracts, use, own property. This was important because it directly responded to the Black Codes as the Congress passed it over Johnson’s veto, marking the first legislation to become law without presidential approval, later written into the Constitution as the 14th Amendment. 


    1. KKK formed (1866) - Andrew Johnson. 1866. Social. Because this was the founding of a white supremacist terrorist organization, overthrowing Reconstruction and restoring Democratic Party control in the South. This was founded in Tennessee, known as Ku Klux Klan, used violence to target African Americans and white Republican allies, preventing them from voting , holding office, and exercising rights. This was important because it demonstrated the South's resistance to Reconstruction and Black citizenship, leading to the passage of the Enforcement Acts to conquer this organization.


    1. Tenure of Office Act (1867) - Andrew Johnson. 1867. Political. Because this was a law passed by Congress to limit the president’s power to remove certain officeholders without Senate approval. This prohibited the president from removing any federal official without Senate consent, protecting Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, a Radical Republican ally within Johnson’s cabinet. This was important because Johnson’s 1868 firing of Stanton for violating the act sparked House impeachment, which was a key act to power struggle between president and Congress in Reconstruction.


    1. Seward’s Folly [Alaska] (1867) - Andrew Johnson. 1867. International. Because this was the purchase of a vast territory from a foreign power. Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million while Critics called this “Seward’s Folly”, believing frozen land was worthless. This was important because it represented a continuity of American expansionism, marking a change in U.S. foreign policy, being the first acquisition of non-adjacent territory. This territory later proved economically invaluable after the discovery of gold and oil. 


    1. 14th Amendment (1868) - Andrew Johnson. 1868. Political. Because this was a constitutional amendment that redefined the relationship between the states and the federal government regarding citizenship and civil rights. This stated that all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. are citizens, overturning the Dred Scott decision. It also reduced the congressional representation of any state that denied the vote to adult male citizens. This was important because it was the foundation of the Second Constitution, which established the federal protection for individual rights against state violation.


    1. Impeachment Trial of Andrew Johnson(1868) - Andrew Johnson. 1868. Political. Because this was the first impeachment trial of a U.S. president. The House of Representatives impeached Johnson for violating the Tenure of Office Act. Johnson was acquitted by a single vote as Republican senators feared removing a president would damage the constitutional system of checks and balances. This was important because it suggested that impeachment should be reserved for clear criminal acts, not political disagreements. It also weakened the Radical Republican program by leaving a hostile president in power.


     


    18. Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877) Republican (17)

    1. Transcontinental Railroad completed (1869) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1869. Technological. Because this was the first rail linking the Atlantic and Pacific. This was completed at Promontory Point, Utah, where the “Golden Spike” was driven to mark the completion of the first transcontinental railroad. This was important because it caused an economic revolution, leading to westward expansion and settlement, the destruction of the Plains Indians’ way of life, the creation of a national market, boosting industry and commerce through reducing time and cost for cross-country travel. 


    1. 15th Amendment (1870) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1870. Political. Because this was a constitutional amendment that prohibited the denial of voting rights based on race or previous condition of servitude. The amendment stated that the right of citizens to vote that the U.S. and the state cannot deny on race, color, or slavery condition, which was the final of the three Reconstruction Amendments. This was important because it ensured Black male suffrage into the Constitution. However, it failed in prohibiting voting restrictions on literacy or property that allowed Southern states to deprive Black voters.


    1. Amnesty Act for ex-Confederates (1870) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1870. Political. Because this was a federal law restored ex-Confederates’ voting and office rights. This act removed the political disabilities by the 14th Amendment on all except highest-ranking Confederates, pardoning the Southern white male population. This was important because it caused growth of the Southern Democratic Party, which challenged the Republican governments, suppressed Black voting, and redeemed Southern state government.


    1. Enforcement Acts (1870) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1870. Political. Because these were federal laws designed to combat the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacist groups. This was also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act, authorizing the president to use the army and suspend the writ of habeas corpus to suppress violence and enforce the 14th and 15th Amendments. This was important because it temporarily declined Klan violence, leading to Black political participation to be more secure, but returned while federal troops withdrew.


    1. Yellowstone National Park (1872) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1872. Cultural. Because this was the creation of the world’s first national park. This was signed into law by President Grant, designated over two million acres of land in the Wyoming and Montana territories as a public park for benefit and enjoyment of the people. This was important because it established the principle that the federal government should protect unique natural wonders from private development, continuing federal conservation policy and creating the model for the National Park System. 


    1. Anthony Comstock, Society for the Suppression of Vice (1872) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1872. Social. Because this was the founding of a moral reform organization that influenced American social norms and law. Anthony Comstock founded the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice. He also promoted the passage of Comstock Laws (1873), which banned the mailing of obscene materials, including contraception and abortion. This was important because it caused restriction on free speech and access to reproductive health information, leading to a legacy of moral censorship. 


    1. Panic of 1873 [depression lasts until 1879] - Ulysses S. Grant. 1873. Economic. Because this was a financial crisis that triggered the Long Depression. This panic was triggered by the bankruptcy of banking firm Jay Cooke & Company, which had overinvested in railroad construction, leading to mass unemployment and widespread social unrest. This was important because it led to the Credit Mobilier scandal which increased Democratic gains in Congress. It also caused Reconstruction fatigue in the North and finally resulted in the Compromise of 1877.


    1. Mark Twain Gilded Age is published(1873) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1873. Cultural. Because this was a satirical novel defining an era of American history. Co-authored by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner, satirized the greed, political corruption and social problems in the post-Civil War era. The title metaphor showed that the period was gilded with a thin layer of gold, covering base metal, corruption. This was important because it changed American literature, using realism and satire to critique society. “Gilded Age” became a label with this period’s political scandals and economic inequality.


    1. Slaughterhouse Cases (SCOTUS) (1873) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1873. Political. Because this was a Supreme Court decision that interpreted the 14th Amendment for the first time. This case involved a Louisiana law that created a monopoly on the slaughtering of livestock. Butchers argued this violated their privileges under 14th Amendment. Court ruled it only protected national citizenship privileges, leaving civil rights to states. This was important because the Court limited the federal government’s ability to protect citizens from violations of their rights by the state government by repealing the privileges or immunities clause.


    1. Credit Mobilier scandal(1873) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1873. Political. Because this was a political scandal that revealed deep corruption of the federal government. Credit Mobilier was a Union Pacific insiders’ construction company, giving inflated railroad contracts and paying with federal money and railroad stocks. To prevent an investigation, they sold shares of the company at a deep discount to members of Congress. This was important because it damaged the reputation of the Republican Party in the Gilded Age, which Democrats used to their advantage in the 1874 congressional elections.


    1. Gold discovered in Black Hills, South Dakota (1874) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1874. Economic. Because this was a discovery of gold on land guaranteed to the Lakota Sioux by treaty. An expedition led by General George Custer confirmed the presence of gold in the Black Hills, which belonged to the Lakota through the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868. This triggered white prospectors to illegally flood into this region. This was important because when the Lakota refused to sell, the government ordered them onto reservations, sparking the Great Sioux War of 1876, resulting in the Battle of Little Bighorn.


    1. WCTU Women Christian Temperance Union (1874) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1874. Social. Because this was the founding of the largest women’s reform organization of the 19th century. It initially focused on the movement against alcohol. Led by Frances Willard, it expanded its “Do Everything” policy to advocate for social reforms including labor laws, prison reform, and women’s suffrage. This was important because it established a nationwide platform for women’s political activism, also pushing for the passage of the 18th(Prohibition) and 19th(Women’s Suffrage) Amendments.


    1. Whiskey Ring scandal(1875) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1875. Political. Because this was a conspiracy to defraud the federal government of tax revenues on whiskey. A network of distillers, public officials, and internal revenue agents colluded to avoid paying whiskey taxes by bribing tax officials to underreport production. This was important because while he initially vowed to prosecute all involved, his interference to protect his secretary caused further damage to his reputation, along with the Credit Mobilier scandal, leading to public perception of the Grant administration.


    1. Civil Rights Act (1875) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1875. Political. Because this was the final Reconstruction civil rights law. This guaranteed equal access to public accommodations, declaring all persons, regardless of race, were entitled to full and equal enjoyment of public accommodations, which was Radical Republicans’ attempt to legislate racial equality. This was important because the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in 1833, ruling the 14th Amendment only prohibited discrimination by states not private individuals. This marked the end of federal government’s attempt to protect civil rights.


    1. Battle of Little Big Horn (1876) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1876. Social. Because this was a decisive Native American victory and the worst U.S. Army defeat in the Plains Indian Wars. Also known as “Custer’s Last Stand”, an alliance of Native Americans, led by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, destroyed five companies of the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment in the Montana Territory. This was important because the U.S. government responded by redoubling its military efforts, leading Lakota and Cheyenne onto reservations, accelerating the conquest of the Northern Plains. 


    1. National League of baseball organized (1876) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1876. Cultural. Because this was the formation of the first major professional baseball league. Founded by William Hulbert, the National League replaced the earlier National Association of Professional Base Ball Players. It established a stable business structure for teams with territorial rights, fixed schedule, and conduct standards to attract middle class audiences. This was important because it transformed baseball into a commercial enterprise, ensuring baseball's status as the national pastime in the U.S..


    1. Telephone patented, Alexander Graham Bell (1876) - Ulysses S. Grant. 1876. Technological. Because this was the invention of a device that revolutionized personal and business communication. Alexander Graham Bell received the first U.S. patent for the telephone in 1876, then successfully transmitted the first intelligible speech. This was important because it led to a nationwide and eventually global network, shortening distances, transforming business practices, and altering the pace and nature of social interaction, symbolizing the Second Industrial Revolution. 


    1. Compromise of 1877 - Ulysses S. Grant. 1877. Political. Because this was an informal deal that settled the intensely disputed 1876 presidential election. Southern Democrats agreed to allow Republican Rutherford B. Hayes to become president in exchange for removal of all remaining federal troops from the South, federal subsidies for Southern transcontinental railroad, and patronage for Southern Democrats. This was important because it ended Reconstruction as federal troop withdrawal enabled Southern “Redemption”, allowing Jim Crow racial segregation and disenfranchisement (deprive rights to vote) of Black voters.