Center for Civic Education - Lincoln Bicentennial with Supplemental Lesson: Timeline

Timeline

February 12	1809	Abraham Lincoln born at Sinking Spring Farm, near Hogdenville in Hardin County, Kentucky.
April-July	1832	Serves in the Black Hawk War
August 6		Defeated in an election for the Illinois State Legislature
May 7	1833	Appointed postmaster of New Salem, Illinois
	1834	Starts his study of law
August 4		Elected to the Illinois state legislature
August 1	1836	Reelected to his second term in the Illinois state legislature
August 6	1838	Reelected to his third term in the Illinois state legislature
August 3	1840	Reelected to his fourth and final term in the Illinois state legislature
November 4	1842	Marries Mary Todd
August 1	1843	First son Robert Todd Lincoln is born
November	1844	James K. Polk elected eleventh president of the United States
March 10	1846	Second son Edward (Eddie) Baker Lincoln is born
August 3		Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives for the Seventh Congressional District of Illinois
November	1848	Zachary Taylor elected twelfth president of the United States
February 21	1850	Second son Eddie dies
July		Millard Fillmore becomes thirteenth president of the United States after Taylor's death on July 9
December 21		Third son William (Willie) Wallace Lincoln is born
November	1852	Franklin Pierce elected fourteenth president of the United States
April 4	1853	Fourth son Thomas (Tad) Lincoln is born
May 30	1854	Kansas-Nebraska Act becomes law
November 7		Elected to Illinois state legislature, but declines seat in order to run for U.S. Senate
November	1856	James Buchanan elected fifteenth president of the United States
August 21-October 15	1858	Seven Lincoln-Douglas debates are held in Illinois
November 2		Lincoln loses to Douglas in election for U.S. Senate
October 16	1859	John Brown attacks Harpers Ferry
February 27	1860	Delivers Cooper Union address
May 18		Wins Republican presidential nomination
November 6		Elected sixteenth president of the United States
December 20		South Carolina secedes from the Union
January 9	1861	Mississippi secedes from the Union
January 10		Florida secedes from the Union
January 11		Alabama secedes from the Union
January 26		Louisiana secedes from the Union
February 1		Texas secedes from the Union
March 4		Inaugurated as president; delivers First Inaugural Address
April 12		Fort Sumter attacked by Confederates
April 17		Virginia secedes from the Union
April 19		Orders blockade of the Confederacy
April 27		Suspends habeas corpus along the route between Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia
May 6		Arkansas secedes from the Union
May 7		Tennessee secedes from the Union
May 20		North Carolina secedes from the Union
May 25		John Merryman arrested in Cockeysville, Maryland
May 28		Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivers decision in Ex parte Merryman
July 4		Delivers "Message to Congress" speech
July 21		Confederates defeat Union forces at First Battle of Bull Run
August 6		First Confiscation Act becomes law
November 1		Promotes General George McClellan to general-in-chief of army
February 20	1862	Son Willie dies
March 11		Removes McClellan from command of the army
April 6-7		Union defeats Confederate forces at Battle of Shiloh
April 16		Emancipates slaves in District of Columbia
April 25		Union forces capture New Orleans
May 31-June 1		Union forces fend off Confederate attack at Battle of Seven Pines
June 25-July 1		Confederates force Union retreat in Seven Days' Battle
July 17		Second Confiscation Act, Militia Act become law
July 22		Reads Emancipation Proclamation to cabinet
July 23		Promotes Henry W. Halleck to general-in-chief of the army
August 28-30		Confederates defeat Union forces at Second Battle of Bull Run
September 17		Union forces defeat Confederates at Antietam
September 22		Announces Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation
September 24		Issues proclamation suspending writ of habeas corpus "throughout the United States"
December 13		Confederates defeat Union forces at Battle of Fredericksburg
January 1	1863	Issues Emancipation Proclamation
May 1-4		Confederates defeat Union forces at Battle of Chancellorsville
May 19		Orders banishment of Clement Vallandigham to Confederacy
July 1-3		Union forces defeat Confederates at Battle of Gettysburg
July 4		Union forces Confederate surrender at Vicksburg
July 13-17		Draft riots in New York City
September 19-20		Confederates defeat Union forces at Battle of Chickamauga
November 19		Delivers Gettysburg Address
December 8		Announces Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction Message to Congress
March 9-10	1864	Promotes Ulysses S. Grant to lieutenant general and appoints him general-in-chief
May 5-21		Union and Confederate forces take heavy casualties during inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness and Battle of Spotsylvania Court House
June 7-8		Renominated for presidency at Baltimore Convention
July 4		Defends his reconstruction policy by refusing to sign the Wade-Davis Bill
August 5		Union forces defeat Confederates in the Battle of Mobile Bay
September 2		City of Atlanta surrenders to Union forces
November 8		Wins reelection to presidency
November 15-16		Union forces defeat Confederates in Battle of Nashville
January 31	1865	Congress passes Thirteenth Amendment
February 3		Attends unsuccessful Hampton Roads Peace Conference
March 4		Inaugurated as president; delivers Second Inaugural Address
April 2		Confederates evacuate Richmond, capital of the Confederacy
April 9		Robert E. Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House, Virginia
April 11		Delivers last public speech, in Washington, D.C.
April 14		Shot by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.; Lewis Powell attacks Secretary of State William H. Seward
April 15		Lincoln dies of injuries at 7:22 a.m.
April 26		Booth dies after having been shot and captured at a farm in Virginia
May 4		Lincoln is buried in Springfield, Illinois
July 7		Assassination co-conspirators George Atzerodt, David Herold, Lewis Powell, and Mary Surratt hanged
December 6		Thirteenth Amendment ratified