Events from the year 1868 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government
President: Andrew Johnson (D-Tennessee) Vice President: vacant Chief Justice: Salmon P. Chase (Ohio) Speaker of the House of Representatives: Schuyler Colfax (R-Indiana) Congress: 40th
Events
January–March
January 6 – Asa Mercer and a number of new "Mercer Girls" sail from Massachusetts for the West Coast, arriving in Seattle on May 23. January 9 – John William De Forest, writing for The Nation, calls for a more specifically American literature; the essay's title, "The Great American Novel", is the first known use of the term. February – The Benjamin Franklin "Z Grill" postage stamp is issued; it will be among the rarest ever. February 16 – In New York City the Jolly Corks organization is renamed the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE). February 24 Impeachment of Andrew Johnson: Three days after his action to dismiss Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, the House of Representatives votes 126 to 47 in favor of a resolution to impeach Andrew Johnson, the first of three presidents to be impeached by the full House. Johnson is later acquitted by the Senate in his impeachment trial. The first parade to have floats occurs at Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana. March 1 – The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity is founded at the University of Virginia. March 5 – A court of impeachment is organized in the United States Senate to hear charges against President Andrew Johnson in an impeachment trial. March 23 – The University of California is founded in Oakland, California, when the Organic Act is signed into California law. March 27 – The Lake Ontario Shore Railroad Company is organized in Oswego, New York.
April–June
April 1 – The Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute is established in Hampton, Virginia. April 29 – After pursuing a policy of total war on the Plain Indians, General William Tecumseh Sherman brokers the Treaty of Fort Laramie (1868). May 9 – The city of Reno, Nevada is founded. May 16 and 26 – President Andrew Johnson is acquitted during his impeachment trial by one vote in the United States Senate. May 30 – Memorial Day is observed in the United States for the first time (it was proclaimed on May 5 by General John A. Logan). June 3 – Crown Point, Indiana is incorporated a town. June 25 – Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina are all readmitted to the U.S. June 27 – Lowell, Indiana is incorporated a town.
July–September
July 25 – Wyoming Territory is organized. July 28 – The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution is adopted, guaranteeing African Americans full citizenship and all persons in the United States due process of law. September – The first volume of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women is published. September 18 – The University of the South holds its first convocation in Sewanee, Tennessee. September 23 – Rebels (some 400–600) in the town of Lares declare Puerto Rico independent; the local militia defeats them a week later.
October–December
October 6 – The City of New York grants Mount Sinai Hospital a 99-year lease for a property on Lexington Avenue and 66th Street, for the sum of $1.00. October 7 – Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, is opened, with an initial enrollment of 412 men the following day. October 21 – The M6.3–6.7 Hayward earthquake affects the San Francisco Bay Area with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), causing damage from Santa Rosa to Santa Cruz. October 28 – Thomas Edison applies for his first patent, the electric vote recorder. November 3 – U.S. presidential election, 1868: Ulysses S. Grant defeats Horatio Seymour in the election. November 25 – The Alpha Tau Omega fraternity is founded at the University of Virginia. November 27 – Indian Wars – Battle of Washita River: In the early morning, United States Army Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer leads an attack on a band of Cheyenne living on reservation land with Chief Black Kettle, killing 103 Cheyenne. December 25 – President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all Civil War rebels.
Undated
Maryland School for the Deaf is established. The Roman Catholic See of Tucson is established as the Apostolic Vicariate of Arizona in 1868, taking its territory from the former Diocese of Santa Fe. The Diocese of Tucson is canonically erected on May 8, 1897.
Ongoing
Reconstruction era (1865–1877)
