January 3
January 3
Meiji Restoration begins
In an event that heralds the birth of modern Japan, patriotic samurai from Japan’s outlying domains join with anti‑shogunate nobles in restoring the emperor to power after 700 years. The…
A Year In History: 1868
Also Within This Year in History:
1868
The 14th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1868, granting citizenship and extending rights to formerly enslaved people. President Andrew Johnson narrowly survived conviction in his impeachment trial, and Americans elected Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant to succeed him. The Meiji Restoration began in Japan, marking an end to the nation’s feudal era and the rise of rapid modernization. Thomas Edison filed his first patent (for a vote recorder), and Louisa May Alcott published the first volume of “Little Women.”
February 23
February 23
W.E.B. Du Bois is born
On February 23, 1868, William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Du Bois is born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Du Bois would become a brilliant scholar, an influential proponent of civil rights and…
February 24
February 24
President Andrew Johnson impeached
The U.S. House of Representatives votes 11 articles of impeachment against President Andrew Johnson, nine of which cite Johnson’s removal of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, a violation of…
March 5
March 5
Impeachment trial of Andrew Johnson begins
For the first time in U.S. history, the impeachment trial of an American president gets underway in the U.S. Senate. President Andrew Johnson, reviled by the Republican‑dominated Congress for his…
May 5
May 5
Martha Jones becomes first Black woman to receive a U.S. patent
On May 5, 1868, Martha Jones of Amelia County, Virginia is believed to be the first Black woman to receive a U.S. patent for inventing a machine that husks and…
May 16
May 16
Senate fails to convict President Andrew Johnson of impeachment charge
On May 16, 1868, the U.S. Senate votes against impeaching President Andrew Johnson for “high crimes and misdemeanors.” He would not be fully acquitted of all charges until 10 days…
May 26
May 26
President Johnson acquitted in Senate impeachment trial
At the end of a historic two‑month trial, the U.S. Senate narrowly fails to convict President Andrew Johnson of the impeachment charges levied against him by the House of Representatives…
May 30
May 30
Civil War dead honored on Decoration Day
By proclamation of General John A. Logan of the Grand Army of the Republic, the first major Memorial Day observance is held to honor those who died “in defense of…
June 19
June 19
Father De Smet talks peace with Sitting Bull
Attempting to convince local Native Americans to make peace with the United States, the Jesuit missionary Pierre‑Jean De Smet meets with the Sioux leader Sitting Bull in present‑day Montana. A native…
July 28
July 28
14th Amendment adopted
July 28, 1868: Following its ratification by the necessary three‑quarters of U.S. states, the 14th Amendment, granting citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States—including formerly enslaved people—is…
September 17
September 17
Cheyenne and Sioux battle frontiersmen at Beecher’s Island
Early in the morning on September 17, 1868, a large band of Cheyenne and Sioux stage a surprise attack on Major George A. Forsyth and a volunteer force of 50…
September 30
September 30
First volume of “Little Women” is published
The first volume of Louisa May Alcott’s book Little Women is published on September 30, 1868. The novel will become Alcott’s first bestseller and a beloved children’s classic. Like the…
November 27
November 27
Colonel George Custer massacres Cheyenne on Washita River
Without bothering to identify the village or do any reconnaissance, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer leads an early morning attack on a band of peaceful Cheyenne living with Chief Black…
December 12
December 12
Vigilantes yank train robbers from jail and hang them
An angry group of vigilantes yank the brothers Frank, William, and Simeon Reno from their Indiana jail cell and hang them, after a guard they had shot during an earlier…
