04/08/1864
In Washington, the U.S. Senate passes the proposed 13th Amendment to the Constitution, 38-6.
05/31/1864
At the U.S. Capitol, debate begins in the House on the proposed 13th Amendment to the Constitution
06/15/1864
At the U.S. Capitol, the vote in the House on the proposed 13th Amendment to the Constitution fails
07/08/1864
In a proclamation, President Lincoln explains why he refuses to sign the Wade-Davis Bill on Reconstruction
04/05/1865
In Nashville, famed abolitionist William "Parson" Brownlow is inaugurated as 17th Governor of Tennessee
12/01/1865
North Carolina ratifies the constitutional amendment abolishing slavery
12/14/1865
Charles Jones Jenkins is inaugurated as the first post-Civil War elected governor of Georgia
12/18/1865
The Thirteenth Amendment outlawing slavery is announced as now the law of the land.
01/11/1866
In Iowa, Governor William Stone begins his second term and endorses African-American suffrage
01/16/1866
In Trenton, Republican stalwart Marcus Ward is inaugurated as the twenty-first governor of New Jersey
01/16/1866
With Republicans taking power in New Jersey, the New York Times announces the state's "Reconstruction"
01/23/1866
In New Jersey, the state legislature finally ratifies the Thirteenth Amendment
03/15/1866
In Indianapolis, the Indiana Democratic Party holds its state convention
04/06/1866
In Washington, the U.S. Senate votes to over-ride the presidential veto of the Civil Rights Bill
04/09/1866
In Washington, House of Representatives votes to overturn the presidential veto of the Civil Rights Bill
06/25/1866
In Hartford, the Connecticut Legislature votes to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
06/28/1866
"Conservative Republicans" of Iowa meet in convention in Des Moines.
07/06/1866
In Concord, the New Hampshire Legislature votes to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
07/11/1866
In Nashville, the Tennessee state house votes to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
07/11/1866
In Nashville, the Tennessee state senate votes fifteen to six to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
07/11/1866
Postmaster-General William Dennison resigns from the Johnson Cabinet over policy differences.
07/16/1866
Uncomfortable with President Johnson's policies, U.S. Attorney General James Speed resigns.
07/19/1866
In Nashville, a special session of the Tennessee Legislature votes to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
08/30/1866
Governor Ward of New Jersey calls a special legislative session to consider the 14th Amendment.
09/11/1866
New Jersey ratifies the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
09/19/1866
In Salem, Oregon, a divided state legislature narrowly ratifies the Fourteenth Amendment.
10/27/1866
Texas become the first state to reject ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment.
10/30/1866
By almost unanimous legislation, Vermont becomes the sixth state to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment
11/09/1866
In Milledgeville, Georgia becomes the second state to reject the Fourteenth Amendment.
11/27/1866
Governor Orr of South Carolina calls for South Carolina's rejection of the Fourteenth Amendment.
12/01/1866
- 12/03/1866
Florida legislature votes unanimously to reject ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment.
12/07/1866
In Montgomery, the Alabama legislature votes overwhelmingly to reject the Fourteenth Amendment.
12/13/1866
In Raleigh, the North Carolina legislature rejects the Fourteenth Amendment by a large margin.
12/17/1866
In Little Rock, Arkansas legislative committees decline a vote on the Fourteenth Amendment.
12/20/1866
In Columbia, the South Carolina legislature overwhelmingly rejects the Fourteenth Amendment.
01/03/1867
The Ohio Senate takes up and passes on a party-line vote the bill to ratify the Fourteenth Amendment.
01/08/1867
Veterans from across the country meet in Philadelphia at the Colored Soldiers' and Sailors' Convention.
01/10/1867
- 01/12/1867
The National Convention of Colored Men meets for three days in Washington, D.C.