1868

Events from the year 1868 in the United States.
==Incumbents==
===Federal Government===
* President: Andrew Johnson (D-TN)
* Vice President: vacant
* Chief Justice: Salmon P. Chase (OH)
* Speaker of the House of Representatives: Schuyler Colfax (R-IN)
* 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 1 – 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.
** 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.
* 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.
* May 9 – The city of Reno, Nevada is founded.
* May 16 – 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 22 – Reconstruction: Arkansas readmitted to the U.S.
* June 25 – Reconstruction: Florida readmitted to the U.S.
* June 27 – Lowell, Indiana is incorporated a town.
===July - September===
* July 4 – Reconstruction: North Carolina and South Carolina readmitted to the U.S.
* July 9 – Reconstruction: Louisiana readmitted to the U.S.
* July 13 – Reconstruction: Alabama readmitted to the U.S.
* July 15 – Reconstruction: Georgia readmitted to the U.S.
* 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 1 – 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 easily 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.
==Memoriam==
* March 4
** Richard H. Bayard, U.S. Senator from Delaware from 1841 to 1845 (aged 71; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
** Jesse Chisholm, pioneer (aged 63; Left Hand Spring, Indian Territory, (Now OK), USA)
* April 25 – William Cabell Rives, lawyer, planter, politician and diplomat (aged 74; Charlottesville, VA, USA)
* May 10 – Henry Bennett, politician (aged 59; New Berlin, NY, USA)
* May 23 – Kit Carson, trapper, scout and Indian agent (aged 58; Fort Lyon, CO Territory, USA)
* May 24 – Emanuel Leutze, history painter (aged 52; Washington, DC, USA)
* May 31 – John J. McRae, U.S. Senator from Mississippi from 1851 to 1852 (aged 58; Belize City, British Honduras (Now Belize))
* June 1 – James Buchanan, 15th President of the United States from 1857 to 1861 (aged 77; Lancaster, PA, USA)
* June 6 – Daniel Pierce Thompson, novelist and lawyer (aged 72; Montpelier, VT, USA)
* June 15 – Warren Ives Bradley, children's author (aged 21; Forestville, CT, USA)
* June 22 – Heber C. Kimball, Latter Day Saint leader (aged 67; Salt Lake City, UT Territory, USA)
* July 7 – Edward Coles, planter, politician and the 2nd governor of Illinois (aged 81; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
* July 15 – William T. G. Morton, pioneer of anaesthesia (aged 48; New York City, NY, USA)
* August 11 – Thaddeus Stevens, politician (aged 76; Washington, DC, USA)
* August 31 – Francis Granger, politician (aged 75; Canandaigua, NY, USA)
* September 3 – Thomas H. Seymour, 36th Governor of Connecticut (aged 60; Hartford, CT, USA)
* September 17 – Hook Nose, Northern Cheyenne warrior (aged 45; CO Territory, USA)
* September 19 – William Sprague, minister and politician from Michigan (aged 59; Kalamazoo, MI, USA)
* October 9 – Howell Cobb, politician (aged 53; New York City, NY, USA)
* November 27 – Black Kettle, Southern Cheyenne Peace Chief (aged 65; Washita River, Indian Territory (Now OK), USA)
* December 25 – Linus Yale Jr., inventor (aged 47; New York City, NY, USA)
==External links==
* 1868 in the United States
Category:United States History: Volume 9