Abraham_Lincoln_November_1863[1]

A Snapshot of American History, 1860s

For the United States of America, the 1860s represent a time of division, devastation, rebuilding, and reconciliation. For families, and for the nation.

  • Abraham Lincoln ran for President of the United States, and was elected, 1860.
Abraham Lincoln

President Abraham Lincoln

  • South Carolina was the first southern state to secede from the Union, December, 1860.
  • The Pony Express carried overland mail from April 1860 to October 1861.
  • Completion of the transcontinental telegraph, 1861.
  • Southern states officially set up the Confederated States of America, with Jefferson Davis as President, February 1861.
  • The beginnning of the conflict between the states, known as the American Civil War, began at Fort Sumter, April 1861.
  • The Homestead Act was approved, granting family farms of 160 acres to settlers, May 1862.
  • Land Grant Act approved, calling for public land sale to fund agricultual education, July 1862.
  • President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which proclaimed all those enslaved were to be set free, January 1863.
  • President Lincoln was re-elected, November 1864.
  • General Robert E. Lee surrenered his army to Ulysses S. Grant, ending the four years of Civil War conflict, April, 1865.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee

Confederate General Robert E. Lee

Union General Ulysses S. Grant

Union General Ulysses S. Grant

  • President Lincoln was assassinated, April 1865.
  • Andrew Johnson became the seventeen president, April 1865.
  • The 13th Amendment was adopted, outlawing slavery, December 1865.

This is the backdrop for my next historical fiction series, The Quilted Heart, which is set in mid-1865 to mid-1866.

Dandelions on the Wind, Bending Toward the Sun, and Ripples Along the Shore

Dandelions on the Wind, Bending Toward the Sun, and Ripples Along the Shore

Dandelions on the Wind

Bending Toward the Sun

Ripples Along the Shore

Is there a time in American history that particularly interests you? Why?

© 2013 Mona Hodgson, Author and Speaker

Comments 9

  3. I am new to your books, so this will be my first series you’ve written. I can hardly wait. It looks so amazing and you now have a new fan!

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  5. Pingback: New Quilted Heart Series, Giveaway, and More | Hindsight by Mona Hodgson

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