South Carolina ratifies the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, guaranteeing constitutional protections and due process to all American citizens. One of the three Reconstruction Amendments, it effectively voided the Dred Scott decision that prevented African-Americans from attaining U.S. citizenship.
A Confederate force commanded by General Jubal Early defeats a smaller Union army at the Battle of Monocacy in western Maryland. While Early's men overwhelmed the Federal defenders outside Frederick, Maryland, the Union force successfully delayed the Confederate advance towards Washington, D.C.
President Zachary Taylor dies in office, becoming the second president who failed to finish out his term. Taylor had been elected in 1848 after a highly successful career in the U.S. Army. His vice president, Millard Fillmore, finished his term and signed the Compromise of 1850, which allowed California to enter the Union as a free state.
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