| Campaigns/Elections |
|
Abraham Lincoln secretly heads directly to Washington arriving in the early morning hours |
| Business/Industry |
|
A national convention of workingmen meets in Philadelphia |
| Campaigns/Elections |
|
Texas voters ratify the state's Ordinance of Secession by a large majority |
| Crime/Disasters |
|
In Georgia, the Baldwin County Courthouse in Milledgeville burns to the ground |
| US/the World |
|
French and Spanish forces relieve the blockade of Saigon in Cochin-China |
| Education/Culture |
|
Future leading American soprano Clara Louise Kellogg makes her operatic debut in New York City |
| US/the World |
|
In Warsaw, troops fire on a Polish crowd protesting Russian rule and kill five |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
The Washington Peace Conference presents its proposals to the U.S. Congress |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
Congress authorizes the first stamped newspaper-wrappers |
| Campaigns/Elections |
|
North Carolina votes narrowly not to hold a secession convention |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
President Buchanan signs the Colorado Territory into existence |
| Education/Culture |
|
In Manhattan, the Homeopathic Medical College of the State of New York graduates its first class |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
First Confederate government bond authorized |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
President-Elect Lincoln selects Senator Simon Cameron as his Secretary of War |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
Secretary of War Holt dismisses General Twiggs from the U.S. Army for treachery |
| Battles/Soldiers |
|
Texas seizes the United States Revenue cutter Henry Dodge in Galveston |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
United States copyright law for photographs passes |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
President Buchanan signs the Nevada Territory into existence |
| US/the World |
|
Tsar Alexander II signs the legislation ending serfdom in the Russian Empire |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
United States copyright law for photographs signed into law |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
The 36th Congress of the United States ends its second session, finishes its term, and adjourns |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
Abraham Lincoln takes the oath as the sixteenth President of the United States at the U.S. Capitol |
| Education/Culture |
|
Edward Payson Weston, having walked from Boston, arrives in Washington DC four hours late |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
-
|
In Washington, DC, the United States Senate is sitting in Special Session |
| Education/Culture |
|
In Carlisle, Pennsylvania, two Dickinson College students punished for gun play on campus |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
Hannibal Hamlin takes the oath as fifteenth Vice President of the United States at the U.S. Capitol |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
The Confederate States flag, "the Stars and Bars," is adopted in Montgomery, Alabama |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
Confederate diplomats arrive in Washington DC |
| Lawmaking/Litigating |
|
The U.S. Senate, sitting in extraordinary session, confirms all of President Lincoln's cabinet choices |
| Personal |
|
Outgoing president James Buchanan leaves Washington for his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania |
