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| 1860 | Pony Express mail service begin, but ends a year later when transcontinental telegraph service starts. | |
| Over 20,000 shoemakers in 25 New England towns strike to prevent their wages from being cut and to gain union recognition. | ||
| 1861 |
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Abraham Lincoln becomes president. |
| The American Civil War begins when Confederate troops capture Fort Sumpter in Charleston, South Carolina. | ||
| 1862 | Congress authorizes the Union Army to accept African-American soldiers. | |
| Homestead Act offers 160 acres of public land in the western United States to settlers willing to settle on the land for 5 years. | ||
| 1863 |
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President Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring freedom for enslaved persons living in states under the control of the Confederacy. |
| Congress initiates free mail delivery in cities. | ||
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The Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania marks a turning point in the Civil War, as Confederate forces retreat to the South after losing this important battle. | |
| 1864 | General Sherman and 62,000 Union soldiers sweep a 60-mile wide path of destruction in Georgia, severely weakening the Confederacy. | |
| 1865 |
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Civil War ends when Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Court House, Virginia. |
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Abraham Lincoln is killed by an assassin five days after the Civil War ends. | |
| The 13th Amendment abolishes enslavement in the United States. | ||
| Freedmen's Bureau is established to aid freed African Americans. | ||
| 1866 | Congress authorizes a five cent coin called the nickel. | |
| After 12 years of effort, a telegraph cable between England and the United States is successfully laid across the Atlantic Ocean. | ||
| 1867 | The United States purchases the Alaska territory from Russia. | |
| The first organization of American farmers, known as the Grange, is founded to provide social and educational opportunities for rural inhabitants. | ||
| 1868 | The 14th Amendment grants rights and priviledges of American citizenship to African Americans. | |
| A skating congress is held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to set regulations for the increasingly popular sport of ice skating. | ||
| 1869 | First transcontinental railroad is completed at Promontory Point, Utah, providing continuous railroad transportation across the entire United States. | |
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The National Woman Suffrage Association is formed with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as its first president. |
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| The Henry Ford ~ http://www.TheHenryFord.org | |
