John Wilkes Booth shoots President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre days after the Civil War effectively ends; Lincoln dies the next morning.
General Robert E. Lee surrenders to General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War.
The Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution is ratified, formally abolishing slavery throughout the country.
President Lincoln proclaims freedom for enslaved people in the Confederate states in rebellion.
Union forces defeat Robert E. Lee's army in Pennsylvania in the bloodiest battle of the Civil War, a turning point of the conflict.
Abraham Lincoln delivers a brief speech dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg, affirming the ideals of liberty and equality.
The United States signs a treaty to buy Alaska from the Russian Empire for $7.2 million.