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500
The Dark Ages
The Dark Ages is referred to as the period of time ushered in by the fall of Western Roman Empire. It was a period of religious struggle. Orthodox Christians and Catholics viewed the era from opposing perspectives.The population was declining and there was little literature or other arts. It gave way to a more enlightened time. It was also the beginning of the Italian Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. -
800
Feudalism
A political and social system that developed during the Middle Ages. Nobles offered protection and land in return of military service and loyalty. -
1095
The Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims. This started to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups. These groups defended the Holy Land and protected pilgrims traveling to and from the region. -
1347
The Black Death
The Black Death arrived in Europe by sea in October 1347. Those affected were overcome with fever, they were unable to keep food down, and they were covered in black boils that oozed blood and pus. The Black Death killed an estimated amount of 25 million people, and still lingered for centuries, causing other outbreaks -
1492
Colombian Exchange
The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages. -
1492
Corn
It was traded from North America to Europe, Africa, etc. Corn had good impacts on both the Old World, and The New World. It was a massive food source for people in the Old World, and the accessibility and nutrition of it helped people live longer. -
Period: 1492 to
beginnings to exploration
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1517
John Calvin
German monk who began the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, becoming one of the most influential and controversial figures in Christian history. Luther called into question some of the basic tenets of Roman Catholicism, and his followers soon split from the Roman Catholic Church to begin the Protestant tradition -
Period: to
English Colonial Societies
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John Smith
Primarily responsible for the the survival of England's first permanent colony. He was a studier and adventurer. He negotiated treaties with local natives. He established trading and survived the first two winters. -
The Headright System
.The head right system was originally created in 1618 in Jamestown, Virginia. It was used as a way to attract new settlers to the region and address the labor shortage. With the emergence of tobacco farming, a large supply of workers was needed. New settlers who paid their way to Virginia received 50 acres of land. However, most of the workers who arrived in Virginia were indentured servants, people who pledged to perform five to seven years of labor. -
Plymouth Colony
lymouth Colony was begun in December 1620 by a small
company of English men, women and children. One hundred
and two passengers arrived at Cape Cod aboard the Mayflower
in November, and eventually chose the abandoned Native
town of Patuxet as the site of their new home. In the next few
months, half of them died due to scurvy and other diseases.
Those who lived went on to build homes, plant crops and
raise families -
Tobacco
John Rolfe reacted to consumer demand by importing seed from the West Indies and cultivating the plant in the Jamestown colony. Those tobacco seeds became the seeds of a huge economic empire.Tobacco became the main cash crop in the Jamestown Colony. Over 1 million pounds exported to England by 1630. -
John Winthrop
First governor of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Winthrop was one of the best educated of the Puritan colonists, had great leadership skills and wisdom, and was known for being very religious Although his strictness did result in a few mistakes, in general he is respected and admired for making the best decisions to help allow the colony to survive in the New World. -
Anne Hutchinson
Religious leader and midwife followed Puritan leader John Cotton to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1634.. A ministerial synod cleared Cotton from the charge of heresy, but the radical Hutchinson was punished with banishment by the General Court of Massachusetts and excommunication by the Church of Boston. She was killed in an Indian raid in New York a few years later. -
Salem Witch Trials
Began of 1692 after a group of girls in Salem Village claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused local women of witchcraft. A special court convened in Salem to hear about the cases. The first convicted was Bridget Bishop, she was later hanged, while some 150 more men, women and children were accused over the next several months -
The Middle Passage
The Middle Passage refers to the part of the trade where Africans, packed onto ships, were transported across the Atlantic to the West Indies. The voyage took three to four months and, during this time, the enslaved people mostly lay chained in rows on the floor of the hold or on shelves that ran around the inside of the ships' hulls. -
Slave Rebellions
Resistance was a constant feature of American slavery. It took many forms, from individual acts of sabotage, poor work, feigning illness, or committing crimes like arson and poisoning to escaping the system altogether by running away to the North. Slaves would risk everything for a chance at freedom. -
Period: to
Colonial America
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Triangular Trade
Trade of luxury goods. Colonists became Anglicized. Emulation of English society. Advanced architecture. English manor houses, state houses, and manor houses. -
The Enlightenment
The desire of writers to improve/reform England in many different aspects in order to improve their world. Also known as the Age of Reason. Enlightenment thinkers questioned traditional authority and embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through rational change -
The 7 Years War
French expansion into the Ohio River valley repeatedly brought France into armed conflict with the British colonies. In 1756, the first official year of fighting in the Seven Years War, the British suffered a series of defeats against the French and their broad network of Native American alliances. -
Fort William Henry
The fort's construction was ordered by Sir William Johnson in September 1755, during the French and Indian War, as a staging ground for attacks against the French fort at Crown Point called Fort St. Frédéric. It was part of a chain of British and French forts along the important inland waterway from New York City to Montreal, and occupied a key forward location on the frontier between New York and New France. -
The Treaty of Paris- 1763
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France, as well as their respective allies. In the terms of the treaty, France gave up all its territories in mainland North America, effectively ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there. -
Period: to
The Revolutionary War
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Revenue Act/ Sugar Act
Parliament imposed new regulations and taxes on the colonists to pay for the debt they had after the French and Indian War. The first was the Sugar Act of 1764, which established a number of new duties and which also contained provisions aimed at deterring molasses smugglers. -
Townshend Act
Townshend Acts imposed duties on glass, lead, paints, paper and tea imported into the colonies. Townshend hoped the acts would defray imperial expenses in the colonies, but many Americans viewed the taxation as an abuse of power, resulting in the passage of agreements to limit imports from Britain. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was the killing of five colonists by British regulars on March 5, 1770. It was the culmination of tensions in the American colonies that had been growing since Royal troops first appeared in Massachusetts in October 1768 to enforce the heavy tax burden imposed by the Townshend Acts. -
Boston Tea Party
Colonists, disguised as Indians, sneaked onto three tea-filled ships and dumped over 340 tea chests overboard.The Boston Tea Party took place because the colonists did not want to have to pay taxes on the British tea. They were afraid that Britain would take over America, and they wanted to rule their own country. They thought that the tea would put all of the colonists out of business. -
Coercive Acts
The Coercive acts AKA Intolerable Acts were harsh laws passed by the British Parliament in 1774. They were meant to punish the American colonists for the Boston Tea Party and other protests. Like the Stamp Act and the Townshend Acts, the Intolerable Acts pushed the colonists toward war with Great Britain. -
Shot Heard 'Round the World
The first shot of may fired at the battle of Lexington. This shot started the American revolution. No one is sure which side the shot came from, but more followed and soon eight Americans were dead and ten were wounded. -
Thomas Paine
He is best known for being one of the founding fathers of the United States and author of the Common Sense, but he was also an inventor. Through his writing Thomas Paine had convinced many decided people to become patriots therefore sometimes called the father of the American Revolution. He almost died of typhoid fever on his first trip to America. -
Articles of Confederation
First attempt at workable government in the United States. The Articles of Confederation limited Congress' lawmaking power because they had no power to tax and regulate interstate commerce. The AoC was designed to establish limited national power, giving most power to the states -
Period: to
The Constitutional Era
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Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was a founding father who favored a decentralized government. He was a republican. Jefferson feared tyranny and thought in terms of freedom. Jefferson took office as secretary of state, led to a new and profoundly important interpretation of the Constitution. -
Shay's Rebellion
A series of protests in 1786 and 1787 by American farmers against state and local enforcement of tax collections and judgments for debt, this conflict in Massachusetts caused many to criticize the Articles of Confederation and admit the weak central government was not working; uprising led by Daniel Shays in an effort to prevent courts from foreclosing on the farms of those who could not pay the taxes -
Virginia Plan
The Virginia Plan was presented to the Constitutional Convention and proposed the creation of a bicameral legislature with representation in both houses proportional to population. The Virginia Plan favored the large states, which would have a much greater voice. -
New Jersey Plan
written by William Paterson, it was Paterson's plan of government, in which states got an equal number of representatives in Congress. This created a conflict with representation between bigger states, who wanted control befitting their population, and smaller states, who didn't want to be bullied by larger states. -
Northwest Ordinance
An agreement that chartered a government for the Northwest Territory, and was a way to divide the Northwest Territory it provided a method for admitting new states to the Union from the territory, and listed a bill of rights guaranteed in the territory.The states created by the Northwest Ordinance are Illinois, India, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. -
Connecticut Plan
The Connecticut Plan, AKA The Great Compromise, was an agreement that both large and small states reached. The larger state believed that representation should be based on the contribution each state made to the nation and smaller states believed that the only fair plan was one of equal representation. -
Election of 1788
The first presidential election in the United States of America. The election took place following the ratification of the United States Constitution in 1788. In this election, George Washington was elected for the first of his two terms as President of the United States, and John Adams became the first Vice President of the United States. -
Period: to
The New Republic
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Alexander Hamilton
Hamilton was a founding father in favor of a strong centralized government. He catered to the rich because he believed the rich could fix the economy. Hamilton had a strong influence over Washington. He was a federalist. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights are the first 10 amendments to the United States Constitution. The idea was to insure certain freedoms and rights to the citizens. It also put specific limits on government power. -
Jay's Treaty
a treaty which offered little concessions from Britain to the U.S. and greatly disturbed the Jeffersonian able to get Britain to say they would evacuate the chain of posts on U.S. soil and pay damages for recent seizures of American ships. The British, however, would not promise to leave American ships alone in the future, and they decided that the Americans still owed British merchants for pre-Revolutionary war debts. -
Currency
America printed too much money and it devalued the currency -
Pickney's Treaty
The Pinckney Treaty was signed by the United States and Spain on October 27, 1795, to end a dispute between the two countries over land settlement and Mississippi River trade. It established intentions of friendship between the United States and Spain. It also defined the boundaries of the United States with the Spanish colonies and guaranteed the United States navigation rights on the Mississippi River. Pinckney's Treaty gave the United States control of the Mississippi River too. -
XYZ Affair
France and England start to seize American ships; starts an "unofficial war" between America and France; Causes the creation of 33 ships for a navy and ends long treaty with France -
Period: to
The Age of Jefferson
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Louisiana Purchase
The U.S., under Jefferson, bought the Louisiana territory from France, under the rule of Napoleon, in 1803. The U.S. paid $15 million for the Louisiana Purchase, and Napoleon gave up his empire in North America. The U.S. gained control of Mississippi trade route and doubled its size. -
Lewis and Clark
Sent on an expedition by Jefferson to gather information on the United States' new land and map a route to the Pacific. They kept very careful maps and records of this new land acquired from the Louisiana Purchase. -
Cotton Gin
a machine invented by Eli Whitney that separates the seeds from raw cotton fibers. It increased the development of the south and expanded slavery because there was more time for cotton to be planted. -
Embargo Act of 1807
law passed by Congress forbidding all exportation of goods from the United States. Britain and France had been continuously harassing the U.S. and seizing U.S. ship's and men. The U.S. was not prepared to fight in a war, so Pres. Jefferson hoped to weaken Britain and France by stopping trade. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and the United Kingdom. Several events led up to the war against France and the armies of Napoleon. They ad placed trade restrictions on the United States, not wanting them to trade with France. The United Kingdom supported Native American tribes in an effort to prevent the United States from expanding west. The President of the U.S. during the war was James Madison. It has affected us today since the U.S. suffered costly defeats. -
Star Spangled Banner
the national anthem of the United States of America. The lyrics come from Defence of Fort McHenry, a poem written on September 14, 1814, by the lawyer and amateur poet Francis Scott Key after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by British ships of the Royal Navy in Baltimore Harbor during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. Key was inspired by the large American flag, the Star-Spangled Banner, flying triumphantly above the fort during the American victory. -
Period: to
The American Industrial Revolution
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Battle of New Orleans
A large British invasion force was repelled by Andrew Jackson's troops at New Orleans. Jackson had been given the details of the British army's battle plans by the French pirate, Jean Laffite. About 2500 British soldiers were killed or captured, while in the American army only 8 men were killed. Neither side knew that the Treaty of Ghent had ended the War of 1812 two weeks before the battle. This victory inspired American nationalism -
Second Great Awakening
Countless people were converted and many churches were changed and revived. Not only affecting religion, the movement influenced many other aspects such as prison reform, the women's rights movement, abolishment of slavery, advancements in literature, and reform in education. -
Steamboats
John Stevens built a steamboat with a new high-pressure steam engine. Many people attempted to improve steamboats so that they could carry passengers and cargo. As a result, Robert Fulton was the first to accomplish this. It was used as methods of transportation in canals and other navigable waterways and to promote trade. -
Period: to
Cultural Changes
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John Calhoun
John C. Calhoun was a candidate for the presidency in the 1824 election since Electoral College elected Calhoun for vice president. He served under John Quincy Adams and continued under Andrew Jackson, who went against Adams in the election of 1828. Calhoun joined with Henry Clay in working out the Compromise Tariff. By then he had resigned form the vice presidency and had been elected a senator from South Carolina. He became secretary of War of 1817 under President James Monroe too. -
Election of 1824
No one won a majority of electoral votes, so the House of Representatives had to decide among Adams, Jackson, and Clay. Clay dropped out and urged his supporters in the House to throw their votes behind Adams. Jackson and his followers were furious and accused Adams and Clay of a "corrupt bargain.", John Quincy Adams won after Henry Clay gave his support to Adams, securing his Presidency. -
Corrupt Bargain
Four candidates (adams, Jackson, Clay, Crawford). Clay gained lowest amt of votes so had to drop out. Crawford dropped out bc health reasons (heart attack). Clay endorsed Adams in front of House and gained the Secretary of State position in return -
Period: to
Age of Jackson
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Temperance Movement
Reform movement begun in the 1800's that fought to ban alcohol in the U.S. This movement led to the passage of the 18th Amendment in 1920. -
Election of 1828
The Presidential Election of 1828 between Andrew Jackson, President John Quincy Adams was the one of most personally contentious election in the history of the United States.Jackson and the Democratic Party accused John Quincy Adams of engaging in disgraceful politics in order to ensure his victory in the election of 1824. -
First Police Forces
The first professional policemen, in England, known as 'Peelers' or Bobbies, were set up in London in 1829 by Robert Peel, the then Home Secretary, after The Metropolitan Police Act of 1829. It was the start of a campaign to improve public law. -
Spoils System
In politics and government, a spoils system (also known as a patronage system) is a practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government civil service jobs to its supporters, friends and relatives as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party -
Joseph Smith
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was founded by Joseph Smith in New York State in the USA in 1830.Smith had received a revelation from God, first through an angel, and then through a book inscribed on golden plates. Smith translated the writing on the plates into the Book of Mormon, which tells the story of the ancient people of America. It was published in 1830. -
Yeoman Farmers
Family farmers who hired out slaves for the harvest season, self-sufficient, participated in local markets alongside slave owners. -
Telegraph
The telegraph, invented in 1830, was a groundbreaking invention because it greatly increased the speed at which messages could be sent. Before the telegraph, long distance messages could only travel as fast as the horse or ship that carried them. Messages could take weeks to travel across the country or to Europe.telegraph machines had to be connected through a series of wires in order to exchange messages. The operator would key a message in the Morse alphabet. -
Free Black Communities
free black communities existed throughout the Atlantic world. Enslaved people gained freedom though many different avenues: some were manumitted by their owners, some ran away, some were freed for military service..These free communities often faced difficult circumstances as they tried to exist on the border between enslavement and full freedom.The possibility of capture and re-enslavement, even for people who had been legally manumitted, was a constant threat. -
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
attracted members. From the start it actively tried to convert people and sent missionaries out to win members.The Church also attracted enemies and was persecuted by mainstream Christian church members. Smith himself was imprisoned more than thirty times for his faith. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Slaves wanted freedom; Nat Turner saw "vision" and attacked whites in Southampton County, VA;Turner, 70 slaves, & 55 whites killed; Turner caught; he was executed & hundreds of slaves were punished; Frightened South; Tightened slave codes; Restricted freedom for all blacks in South; South began to aggressively defend slavery as positive good -
Tariff Act of 1832
reduced some duties but retained high taxes on imported irons, cottons, and woolens; leads to the nullification crisis -
American Anti-Slavery Society
founded in 1833 by william lloyd garrison and other abolitionists. garrison burned the constitution as a proslavery document. argued for "no union with slaveholders" until they repented for their sins by freeing their slaves. -
Come and Take It
Historic slogan used in the Battle of Gonzalez. Mexicans provided a cannon to the colonists at Gonzales in 1831 to protect them from Native Americans. Four years later, they decided they wanted it back. When the Mexican Army sent a small group of soldiers to recover the cannon, the Gonzales colonists were less than accommodating—they kept the soldiers prisoner, and kept the cannon too. They flew a flag with the slogan "Come and Take It" -
Battle of Gonzalez
First battle of the Texas Revolution October 2, 1835. Citizens of Gonzales would not give up a cannon that was given to them by the Mex. A militia led by J.H. Moore flew a flag over it that said "Come and Take It" -
Iron Plow
invention by John Deere; caused farming in the mid-west to become easier as it broke up the tough ground for crops and made plowing faster. -
Trail of Tears
as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee people called this journey the "Trail of Tears," because of its devastating effects. The migrants faced hunger, disease, and exhaustion on the forced march. Over 4,000 out of 15,000 of the Cherokees died. -
Greek Revival
a neoclassical style of architecture inspired by and incorporating features of Greek temples from the 5th century BC, popular in the US and Europe in the first half of the 19th century. -
Oregon Trail
a route from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon, used by pioneers traveling to the Oregon Territory, which they first heard about in the early 1800's. Mountain men fur trappers were the earliest to use the Oregon Trail. -
Period: to
Westward Expansion
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Election of 1844
Henry Clay and James Polk . Polk favored expansion, demanded that Texas and Oregon be added to the US and Clay had already spoken out against annexation. Polk won the election by the difference of one state (NY, because some of its votes went to the Liberty Party candidate, losing Clay the state) -
Annexation of Texas
Texas seceded from Mexico and declared independence in response to Mexican abolition of slavery. US annexes Texas because Southern states support Texas slavery. The North feared expansion of slavery and war with Mexico. -
Manifest Destiny
Notion of U.S. being a continental nation from coast to coast("sea to shining sea") -
Mormon Migration
Mormons felt they would never find peace in the US because of the religious persecution. The Mormons would move to the still wild territories of the Mexican-controlled Southwest.The Mormon Trail extends from Nauvoo, Illinois,to Salt Lake City, Utah, which was settled by Brigham Young and his followers beginning in 1847. -
Period: to
Sectionalism
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Seneca Falls Convention
The first ever woman's convention. The convention was organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, two abolitionists. It advertised itself as a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman. -
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush was the largest mass migration in American history since it brought about 300,000 people to California.It started when James W. Marshall found gold on his piece of land. The news of gold quickly spread around. People from all over the world soon made their way to California in hopes of finding gold. -
Harriet Tubman
United States abolitionist born a slave on a plantation in Maryland and became a famous conductor on the Underground Railroad leading other slaves to freedom in the North (1820-1913) -
Underground Railroad
A system that helped enslaved African Americans follow a network of escape routes out of the South to freedom in the North -
Compromise of 1850
Prevented the civil war by instating the Fugitive Slave Act , banning slave trade in DC, admitting California as a free state, splitting up the Texas territory, and instating popular sovereignty in the Mexican Cession -
Fugitive Slave Act
A law making it a crime to help runaway slaves. If caught could face up to 6 months in prison and a 1000 dollar fine. Commissioners 10 dollars right slave 5 dollars wrong slave. -
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, a book about a slave who is treated badly, in 1852. The book persuaded more people, particularly Northerners, to become anti-slavery. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
a novel about the evils of slavery an injustice of the Fugitive Slave Law written by Harriet Beecher Stowe -
North
The North's population was 22 million people. Very industrialized, with about 110,00 factories and a $1.5 billion industry. They had 97% of weapons, 94% of clothing, and 90% of shoes and boots. They had about 22,000 miles of track. They believed they were fighting to uphold constitution union -
South
Had a population of 5.5 million white people, and 3.5 million slaves. Not as industrialized, $1.55 million industry. Only 3% of weapons manufacturing. 9,000 miles of railroads. They had a great history of competent military leaders. They wanted Britain to be their ally to guarantee South's independence. -
Northern Cotton Embargo
South implements voluntary embargo on cotton. Pressures French and British industry to petition their governments. -
Period: to
The Civil War
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1st Bull run
First major battle of the Civil War, in which untrained Northern troops and civilian picnickers fled back to Washington. This battle helped boost Southern morale and made the North realize that this would be a long war. -
Trent Affair
Union warship stopped a British ship on way to England and arrested 2 Confederate diplomats-James Mason and John Slidell
Britain prepared for war against US-sent troops to Canada
Lincoln decided to release Confederates because he did not want to fight a two front war
He said Captain of Union Ship acted without orders -
Gettysburg Address
Lincoln asserts that the war is a test of the ideals for which colonials fought in 1776- in a sense, its a continuation of the American Revolution. In an attempt to give direction to his divided country, Lincoln urges Americans to devote themselves to the task begun but not yet completed- to preserve freedom for all Americans. -
Period: to
Reconstruction
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40 Acres and a Mule
Some planter abandoned land and they were taken by union forces. Former slaves were allowed to own or rent land to farm and they were entitled to a mule. Eventually the land would be given back to its original owners -
13th Amendment
Abolition of slavery: Slavery is not allowed in any state or territory under the government of the U.S.A. -
Freedman's Bureau
An agency created by the goverment that helped and protected newly freed african americans find jobs, homes, education, and a better life -
Appottamox Courthouse
Lee forced to totally surrender at this court house in 1865; Union treated enemy with respect and allowed Lee's men to return home to their families with their horses -
Southern Republicans
Former slaves, white southerners, carpetbaggers. Some wanted to steal from southerners, others were opportunistic, the rest were relief workers. They believed the party was the quickest way towards improvement. -
14th Amendment
Civil Rights in the States; All persons born or naturalized in the United States are subject to its laws and cannot be denied any of the rights and privileges contained in the Constitution. -
15th Amendment
Black suffrage: Citizens cannot be denied their right to vote because of their race or color or because they were once slaves. -
Mississippi Plan
Mississippi instituted policies that led to a near-total loss of voting rights for blacks and many poor whites. In order to vote, the state required that citizens pay all their taxes first, be literate, and have been residents of the state for two years and one year in an electoral district. Convicts were banned from voting.
