1850-1870 Timeline: Slavery, Civil War, and Emancipation

September, 1850: Fugitive Slave Act passed

December, 1850: Harriet Tubman makes two trips into the slave state of Maryland to bring out slaves.

November, 1860: Abraham Lincoln is elected President of the United States.

February, 1861: Southern states withdraw from the United States and form Confederate States of America.

January, 1863: Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in the South takes effect.

July, 1863, Union defeats Confederate Army at Gettysburg, the beginning of the end of the Confederacy.

November, 1864: Abraham Lincoln re-elected President.

April, 1865: Confederate army completely surrenders to the Union.

April, 1865: Lincoln assassination. Vice-President Andrew Johnson becomes President.

December, 1865: Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution ends slavery throughout the United States.

December 1867: Reconstruction Act divides former Confederate states into military districts.

March, 1870: Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution protects the voting rights of former slaves.