1848–1865
1848–1865: Slavery, Sectional Crisis, and Civil War
The question of slavery's expansion into new territories consumed national politics. A series of failed compromises gave way to secession and the bloodiest war in American history. The Civil War ended with the Union preserved and slavery abolished.
Why This Era Matters
The Civil War was a reckoning with the nation's founding contradiction: that a republic premised on the equality of all men had been built partly on the labor of enslaved people. Its resolution — the abolition of slavery — redefined American freedom and set the stage for a new constitutional order.
Key Themes
- Slavery
- Civil War
- Abolition
- Union
- Constitutional crisis
Key People
- Abraham Lincoln
- Frederick Douglass
- Harriet Tubman
- Jefferson Davis
- Ulysses S. Grant
Key Documents
- 📜Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
- 📜Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
- 📜Gettysburg Address (1863)
- 📜13th Amendment (1865)
Key Places
- 📍Gettysburg
- 📍Ford's Theatre
- 📍Appomattox Court House
Major Events in This Era
Dred Scott Decision
The Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott, an enslaved man, had no right to sue for his freedom — and that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in U.S. territories, inflaming the sectional crisis.
Civil War Begins — Fort Sumter
Confederate forces fired on Fort Sumter, beginning the Civil War — the bloodiest conflict in American history, fought over slavery and the future of the Union.
Emancipation Proclamation
President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, declaring all enslaved persons in Confederate states to be free — transforming the Civil War into an explicit war against slavery.
Gettysburg Address
President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery — a 272-word speech that redefined the purpose of the Civil War and the meaning of American democracy.