Browse all Events, Entries, Images, Videos, and Audio Files in the Antebellum Time Period.
Compromise of 1850
1850 The Compromise of 1850 was proposed by Kentucky Senator Henry Clay to resolve sectional issues in the United States regarding slavery after the Mexican-American War. When delegates to the Constitutional Convention assembled in Philadelphia in 1787, one of the more daunting tasks that they faced was resolving sectional differences between the North and South…
Corwin Amendment
1861 The Corwin Amendment was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution that was approved by Congress in 1861 in an attempt to avoid disunion and civil war. On November 6, 1860, American voters elected Republican Abraham Lincoln as the sixteenth President of the United States. Alarmed by what they considered to be extremist…
Crittenden Compromise
1861–1862 Proposed by Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden on December 18, 1860, the Crittenden Compromise, also known as the Crittenden Plan, was an unsuccessful eleventh-hour attempt to save the Union and to avoid the American Civil War, but the agreement was never adopted by the Senate. When the Republican Party assembled in Chicago from May…
Daniel Edgar Sickles
October 20, 1819 – May 3, 1914 Daniel Sickles was a Congressman, United States diplomat, and prominent Union Civil War general, who was infamous for his disreputable lifestyle before, during, and after the War Between the States. Daniel Edgar Sickles was born on October 20, 1819, in New York City. He was the only child…
Daniel Harris Reynolds
December 14, 1832 – March 14, 1902 Ohio-born Daniel Harris Reynolds was a Confederate general, who served in the Far Western and Western Theaters of operations during the American Civil War. Daniel Harris Reynolds was born on December 14, 1832, in Centerburg, Ohio. He was the son of Amos and Sophia (Houck) Reynolds. Reynolds attended…
Daniel Harvey Hill
July 12, 1821–September 24, 1889 Daniel Harvey Hill (aka D.H. Hill) was a prominent general officer who led Confederate forces in the eastern and western theaters of the American Civil War. Early Life and Education Daniel Harvey Hill (aka D.H. Hill) was born on July 12, 1821, in York District (now York County), South Carolina.…
Daniel McCook, Jr.
July 22, 1834 – July 17, 1864 Daniel McCook was a member of the “Fighting McCooks,” fifteen family members who served the Union during the American Civil War. Daniel McCook, Jr., was born at Carrollton, Ohio, on July 22, 1834. He was the sixth son of Daniel McCook and Martha Latimer (McCook). McCook graduated from…
Daniel WebsterSenate Speech on the Compromise of 1850 (Transcript)
March 7, 1850 Transcript of a speech Daniel Webster delivered on the floor of the United States Senate on March 7, 1850 in support of the Compromise of 1850. Mr. President: I wish to speak to-day, not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northern man, but as an American, and a member of the…
Darius Nash Couch
July 23, 1822 – February 12, 1897 Darius N. Couch was a prominent Union general during the American Civil War, who served as a corps commander with the Army of the Potomac in the Eastern Theater and as a division commander with the 23rd Army Corps in the Western Theater. Darius Nash Couch was born…
David Hunter
July 21, 1802 – February 2, 1886 David Hunter was a Union general, who, as commander of the Department of the South, issued General Order Number 11, on May 9, 1862, which declared the slaves in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina to be emancipated. President Lincoln quickly rescinded the order. David Hunter was born on…