APUSH Unit 5 Timeline

APUSH Unit 5:

1848-1877

A Timeline of Events by Tuhina Das

1842

1854

1857

1860

1852

1820

1850

1853

1854

1859

Dred Scott Decision

Ostend Manifesto

Webster-Ashburton Treaty

Election of Lincoln

"Uncle Tom's Cabin"

Missouri Compromise

Compromise of 1850

Gadsden Purchase

Kansas-Nebraska Act

John Brown's Raid

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1835

1845

1830

1820

1840

1850

1855

1860

1865

APUSH Unit 5:

1848-1877

A Timeline of Events by Tuhina Das

1861

1863

1861

1862

1865

Fort Sumter

Emancipation Proclamation

Homestead Act

13th Amendment

Formation of the Confederacy

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1835

1845

1830

1820

1840

1850

1855

1860

1865

Election of Lincoln

1860

This was significant because it was the first time a candidate from the anti-slavery Republican party had been President. As a result, it worried and angered many of the Southern states and prompted them to secede and form the Confederacy, becoming a catalyst for the Civil War.

Missouri Compromise

1820

Legislative effort to maintain a balance between free states and slave states by establishing Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state and setting the 36-30 parallel as the geographical boundary between the slave states and free states. This exacerbated tensions between the North and South by acknowledging their conflict over slavery in law.

Homestead Act

1862

This act allowed any citizen (including freed slaves) to purchase 160 acres of land for roughtly $10, under the conditions that they build a home and cultivated the land within five years. It was integral to the expansion of the United States, lasting until 1976.

13th Amendment

1865

The 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States abolished slavery and any other form of involuntary servitude under the United States. The amendment now guaranteed the right to freedom for African Americans and set the stage for the acquisition of other rights for African Americans in the future.

Dred Scott Decision

1857

An enslaved individual named Dred Scott sued for his right to freedom on the grounds that he had lived on free territory before. The Supreme Court essentially ruled that the Missouri Compromise of 1820 was unconstitutional and that slaveholders were able to take their slaves anywhere and had a right to property (slaves were still labeled as property under the Constitution at this point in time).

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854

This act was passed in 1854 to admit Kansas and Nebraska as states into the United States; however, the act allowed the states to use popular sovereignty to determine whether they'd be free or slave states. This led to violent conflicts in Kansas between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers, an event known as "Bleeding Kansas" that lasted for two years.

Emancipation Proclamation

1863

This was an executive order by Abraham Lincoln to free all slaves in Confederate territory. However, it didn't free all slaves at this time since it only specified Confederate territory. This was to undermine the Confederacy by attacking a primary factor of their economy in legislation. Ultimately, this set the stage for the freeing of all slaves.

Compromise of 1850

And, subsequently, the Fugitive Slave Act

The Compromise of 1850 was essentially a set of laws to resolve (once again) conflicts over the admittance of states like California into the US as a free state or slave state. Ultimately, the Compromise determined three things: 1) California's admitted as a free statee 2) Using popular sovereignty to resolve issues over slavery and state admittance for future territories 3) Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was a law passed to ensure that runaway slaves were returned to their owners in the South even if they managed to escape to the North. It was a huge blow to abolitionists and forced citizens to aid in the arresting of slaves, whether they liked it or not.

John Brown's Raid

1859

John Brown, an abolitionist, planned and attempted to lead a raid on Harpers Ferry in Virginia. The raid failed miserably, with Brown arrested and sentenced to death while tensions between the North and the South continued to grow.

Fort Sumter

1861

The very first conflict of the Civil War. Union Major Robert Anderson attempted to reclaim the South Carolina fort by continuously shelling it for over 24 hours, but eventually gave up and surrendered due to lack of resources. This marked the opening of the Civil War.

Webster-Ashburton Treaty

1842

Treaty between the British and America resolving the Main-Canada border dispute. This also significantly improved relations between the two countries, which were previously very tense due to the bitter history of British colonization and the War of 1812.

Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin"

1852

Harriet Beecher Stowe, a prominent abolitionist during this time period, wrote the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin to convey the harsh realities of slavery to the general American public. Ultimately, the book succeeded in generating national conversation regarding the ethics of slavery and bolstered the abolitionist movement.

Gadsden Purchase

1853

A transaction of land between the United States and Mexico. The land included parts of present-day Arizona and New Mexico. This purchase expanded the borders of the United States (the country at this point is growing) and ultimately influenced trade and transportation in this region.

Ostend Manifesto

1854

Three American diplomats wrote this manifesto to propose the acquisition of Cuba from Spain in Ostend, Belgium. However, when the manifesto was leaked, the North reacted harshly to this and saw it as yet another attempt to expand slavery's stronghold in the United States. The manifesto was abandoned and was yet again another reminder of the worsening tensions between the North and South.

Formation of the Confederacy

1861

After the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, several Southern states seceded out of fear of what the anti-slavery President's policies would entail for them. These states formed the Confederacy and attempted to create a nation of their own, an act that ultimately became the catalyst for Civil War.