Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
Efforts in the U.S. Congress to adopt the Crittenden compromise failed. Constitutional amendments are introduced meant to define Federal involvement with slavery, but by the end of February, nobody feels confident that these measures would preserve the Union.
Delegates assemble at Chicago to nominate an opponent for President Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming election. But the party is split over how to deal with the Confederacy.
President Abraham Lincoln anxiously awaits the outcome of elections in several northern states considered crucial to the war effort.
Exiled Copperhead Clement L. Vallandigham is nominated to run for governor of Ohio, and President Abraham Lincoln issues a response to those protesting his banishment of Vallandigham out of the U.S.
President Abraham Lincoln issues orders to banish former Congressman Clement L. Vallandigham to the South for voicing anti-war views that the administration considers dangerous.
Former Ohio Congressman Clement L. Vallandigham is arrested and tried by a military court for violating an order prohibiting citizens from speaking out against the war effort. This action inadvertently causes mass protest in the North for violating freedom of speech.