The Civil War and Reconstruction (1860-1877)
The state of South Carolina seceded from the United States on December 20, 1860, triggering the Civil War. It concluded with the defeat of the Confederate States of America, the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, and nearly a dozen years of Reconstruction.
Key Topics:
- Confederate States of America
- Abraham Lincoln
- American Civil War
- Robert E. Lee
- Emancipation Proclamation
- Battle of Gettysburg
- Reconstruction Era
- Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
- Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
- Ulysses S. Grant
- Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
- Compromise of 1877
Recommended Reading
- Shelby Foote - The Civil War: A Narrative: Volume 1: Fort Sumter to Perryville (Vintage Civil War Library)
- John Hope Franklin - Reconstruction after the Civil War
- David Herbert Donald - Lincoln
- Reunion and Reaction: The Compromise of 1877 and the End of Reconstruction - C. Vann Woodward
- Crucible of Command: Ulysses S. Grant and Robert E. Lee--The War They Fought, the Peace They Forged - William C. Davis
- The Confederate States of America: What Might Have Been - Roger L. Ransom
- The Great New Orleans Kidnapping Case: Race, Law, and Justice in the Reconstruction Era - Michael A. Ross
The Great Mistake - Why Did the South Secede in 1860?
Although the Civil War was disastrous for the South, there's been little analysis on the wisdom of seceding in 1860. Here we examine the alternatives.
Timeline
- 1860 - Abraham Lincoln wins the Presidential election, defeating several rival candidates. In most Southern states he does not receive a single vote.
- 1860 - South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the United States on December 20.
- 1861 - The Civil War begins with the barrage of Fort Sumter on April 12. The Federal garrison is forced to surrender to Confederate forces.
- 1862 - Bloodiest day of the Civil War -- Antietam claims 3,654 lives on September 17.
- 1863 - Bloodiest battle of the Civil War - Gettysburg is fought from July 1-3, with 7,863 killed.
- 1865 - General Robert E. Lee surrenders his army on April 9th at Appomattox Court House, effectively ending the Civil War.
- 1865 - Abraham Lincoln is assassinated on April 14th by John Wilkes Booth, an unrepentant secessionist.
- 1865 - The 13th Amendment ends slavery in the United States. Reconstruction begins in the South.
- 1866 - The Ku Klux Klan and other paramilitary groups are formed to resist Reconstruction.
- 1869 - The first Transcontinental Railroad is completed when the "Golden Spike" is driven in Promontory, Utah. The age of the railroad tycoon begins.
- 1870 - John Rockefeller and Henry Flagler form Standard Oil Company.
- 1873 - The Panic of 1873 touches off "The Long Depression".
- 1877 - The disputed election of 1876 is awarded to the Republican candidate, Rutherford Hayes, in a compromise. Federal troops are withdrawn from the South and the Reconstruction era ends.
ERAS:
Pre-Contact - Colonial - Revolutionary - Antebellum - Civil War - Gilded Age - Depression/World War II - Modern
PEOPLE:
American Indian - Anglo/Scottish - Black - Hispanic - Women - Asian - LGBT - Irish - Jewish - Children