Timeline: 1840-1900

Main

William Henry Harrison( Whig) defeats Van Buren (Democrat) for presidency

1840

Harrison dies: Tyler takes presidency and shifted from Harrison's Whig ideals

1841

Polk (Democrat) defeats Clay (Whig) in election for presidency

1844

Annexation of Texas

1845

Mexican-American War breaks out over border dispute

1846 - 1848

Wilmot Proviso-never passed no slavery in Mexican territories

1846

Battle of Bueno Vista makes Taylor a war hero

1847

Free Soil Party Arises

1848

Taylor(Whig) defeats Van Buren (free soil) for presidency

1848

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended war and got TX+CA for $15 mill.

1848

California Gold Rush drew people West for gold

1849

Compromise of 1850-deflected civil war for decade

1850

Fillmore(Whig) becomes President after death of Taylor

1850

Fugitive Slave Act- crime for helping runaway slaves

1850

Pierce(Democrat) wins presidency

1852

Uncle Tom's Cabin-horrors of slavery

1852

Gadsden Purchase- helped expand railroad

1853

Kansas-Nebraska Act- popular sovereignty over slavery in states

1854

Buchanan (Democrat) beats Freemont (Republican) for support of pop. sov

1856

Dred Scott Decision- slave sueing for freedom:property not citizen

1857

Lecompton Constitution(rejected) pro-slavery constitution in Kansas

1857

Panic of 1857-inflation from CA Gold

1857

John Brown's Raid- plot to end slavery by massacre

1859

Lincoln(Repub) beats Breckinridge, Bell, and Douglas for presidency

1860

South Carolina secedes due to federal vs. state power struggle

1860

Battle of Bull Run-Confed victory-long term war to come

1861

Civil War-over social, political, and some economic division in N+S

1861 - 1865

Morrill Tariff Act

1861

Peninsula Campaign- Union Attempt to capture Richmond

1861

Trent affair- seizure of two confederate soldiers from British

1861

Battle of Antietam- stop European interference

1862

Battle of Fredericksburg- turning point in South

1862

Battle of Shiloh-shows long duration of war

1862

Homestead Act-160 acres of land in West

1862

Legal Tender Act-centralizes money production

1862

Monitor(Union) vs. Merrimack(Confed)-first battle of ironclad ships

1862

Morrill Land Grant Act- encourages higher education

1862

Trans-Continental Railroad- expand commerce and help economy

1862

Battle of Chancellorsville- death of Stonewall Jackson

1863

Battle of Gettysburg- turning point for Union

1863

Battle of Vicksburg- reopened Mississippi for commerce

1863

Emancipation Proclamation- gave a social/moral purpose to war

1863

Gettysburg Address- fighting to preserve the Union

1863

Sherman's March- burned w/mass destruction in South

1863

Lincoln(Repub) wins election against McCllean(democrat)

1864

Wade-Davis Bill- majority of states had to take oath to be in Union

1864

13th Amendment-outlaws slavery

1865

Andrew Johnson becomes President after Lincoln is killed

1865

Fall of Richmond

1865

Johnson Reconstruction Plan- 10% had to take Ironclad oath

1865

Lincoln killed less than week after war

1865

Reconstruction

1865 - 1877

Surrender at Appomattox-Confederate surrender to Union

1865

14th Amendment- repeal 3/5 compromise and citizenship for Afr Amer

1866

Civil Rights Act of 1866- rights for recently freed slaves

1866

Tenure of Office Act- can't remove Cabinet member w/o Senate approval

1867

Grant("Bloody Shirt") won election from hero in war

1868

Johnson impeached after Tenure of Office violation

1868

Knights of Labor formed- union for any labor workers

1869

15th Amendment- male suffrage (African Americans)

1870

Force Acts-aimed to stop violence of groups (ex.KKK)

1870

Tweed Ring- Scandal of bribery and fraud in NYC

1871

Credit Moblilier- workers from company hired themselves at high prices

1872

Grant(Repub) re-elcted as President

1872

Panic of 1873-banks started to fail

1873

Whiskey Ring- millions taken through excise in Treasury

1874

Women's Christian Temperance Union-fight to prohibit alcohol

1874

Battle of Little Big Horn- attempt to corral Sioux but Custer massacred

1876

Jim Crow Laws

1876

Railroad Strike of 1877-result from Panic of 1873

1877

Cleveland(Democrat) takes over when Garfield died

1880

Garfield(Repub) wins Presidency

1880

Tuskegee founded- taught African Americans trade skills

1881

Chinese Exclusion Act- stopped Chinese immigrants

1882

Pendleton Civil Service Act- merit system

1883

Interstate Commerce Act- federal duty to oversee railroads

1887

Jane Addams established Hull House for immigrants

1889

Battle of Wounded Knee- last big fight against country and Sioux

1890

"Billion Dollar Congress"

1890

McKinley Tariff- protective tariff

1890

Populist Party born

1890

Pullman Strike- strike against railroad wages

1890

Sherman-Anti Trust Act- shows moving away from laissez-faire

1890

Sherman Silver Purchase-high tariffs and more silver made monthly

1890

Coxey's Army-march of unemployed workers

1894

Plessy vs. Ferguson- "separate but equal"

1894

Wilson-Gorman Tariff- included income tax

1894

McKinley(Repub) defeated Bryan(Democrat) for presidency

1896

De Lome Letter- insult to American nationalism

1898

Hawaii Annexed- spread of imperialism

1898

Treaty of Paris- ends Spanish American war

1898

USS Maine explodes- catalyst to Spanish-American war

1898

Teller Amendment- US wouldn't annex Cuba after war

1899

Boxer Rebellion- Chinese opposition to European powers

1900

McKinley(Repub) beats Bryan(Democrat) for his re-election

1900