Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: President Lincoln sends special agents to Charleston, South Carolina, to assess the situation at Fort Sumter and to see if any Unionist sentiment can be found in the state. Lincoln receives disappointing news.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Delegates to the Texas State Convention remove Governor Sam Houston from office for refusing to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. Texas officials also seize Federal property, marking a pivotal moment in the state’s history.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: President Abraham Lincoln convenes his cabinet to discuss what to do about Fort Sumter amidst differing opinions. Lincoln weighs the costs of abandonment versus holding the fort, and then decides to send someone there to assess the garrison’s condition.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Three Confederate commissioners arrive in Washington to negotiate the peaceful transfer of Fort Sumter from U.S. to Confederate hands. Secretary of State William H. Seward takes it upon himself to discuss the situation with the commissioners despite President Abraham Lincoln’s instruction not to do so.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: Jefferson Davis prioritizes securing foreign recognition for the new Confederacy by appointing three commissioners for diplomatic missions to three influential European nations. Meanwhile, Federal military officers continue to resign to go South, and Confederate officials approach Robert E. Lee to do the same.
OTD 165 YEARS AGO: The Provisional Confederate Congress adopts a permanent Confederate Constitution. It closely resembles the U.S. Constitution but with key exceptions regarding states’ rights and the maintenance of slavery.