1865

U. S. Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, which abolishes slavery throughout the nation.

Gen. Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House.

In his last speech, Lincoln advocates voting rights for black soldiers.

John Wilkes Booth assassinates President Lincoln; Andrew Johnson becomes president.

Mark Twain publishes The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County to national acclaim.

Union Republican representative Henry J. Raymond’s speech on Reconstruction proposes a moderate strategy for reincorporating rebel states into the Union.

Radical Republican representative Thaddeus Stevens’s speech on Reconstruction advocates a harsh, punitive approach to the former Confederate states.

Confederate commander Gen. Robert E. Lee, in his farewell, praises his troops for their courage and devotion to their country.

U. S. Congress creates the Freedmen’s Bureau to help educate freed slaves and integrate them into society.

President Johnson proclaims a general amnesty for all but the most prominent ex-Confederates.

A U. S. Congress dominated by Radical Republicans convenes in Washington; the Radicals advocate equal rights for blacks and a harsh Reconstruction program for the South.

The Black Codes (statutes that restrict the rights of African Americans) are passed in Mississippi and quickly spread throughout the South.