1862
Key events from 1862
1862
- The Battle of Antietam becomes the bloodiest single day in American history, allowing Lincoln to issue the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.
- Otto von Bismarck becomes Prime Minister of Prussia, beginning his campaign to unify Germany under Prussian leadership through “blood and iron.”
- France begins its intervention in Mexico, installing Maximilian I as emperor and challenging the Monroe Doctrine.