January 1, 1863
President Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation.

December 8, 1863
Lincoln announces his Proclamation of Amnesty, which delineates his 10 Percent Plan for reconstruction.

July 2, 1864
Congress passes the Wade-Davis Bill, which is designed to give Congress control over reconstruction. Lincoln pocket-vetoes the bill two days later.

November 8, 1864
President Lincoln is reelected to a second term.

January 16, 1865
General William T. Sherman issues Special Field Order Number 15, which sets aside portions of southern land for the exclusive settlement of the freed slaves.

January 31, 1865
Congress approves the Thirteenth Amendment by a vote of 119-56.

March 3, 1865
The Bureau for Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands, known as the Freedmen’s Bureau, is established by an act of Congress.

April 9, 1865
Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrenders to Union general Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse.

April 11, 1865
President Lincoln delivers his last public address, in which he endorses limited black suffrage.

April 14, 1865
Lincoln is shot by...