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Jan 1, 1492
Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange was the spread of crops, animals and diseases between Europe and the Americas. This resulted in an increase in population, new sources of wealth, and a shift in European economy from feudalism to capitalism. -
Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus reached America
Christopher Columbus reached America on October 12, 1492. This signifies the beginning on European exploration and colonization of the Americas. Every nation wanted to be the wealthiest and find gold. -
Jan 1, 1512
Encomienda System
The encomienda system granted the Spanish settlers land in exchange for Christianizing the natives. The significance of this system was that in reality it allowed the Spanish to use the natives as slaves and make them do labor that improved the spanish economy. -
Jan 1, 1525
Atlantic Slave Trade
The Atlantic Slave Trade occured when Europeans took people as slaves from Africa and brought them to America. They forced them to work for free on plantations. African slaves were better than native slaves because of their resistance to European diseases. -
Jan 1, 1555
Tobacco
John Rolfe is credited with the first successful cultivation of tobacco. Tobacco became a popular crop in the colonies that improved their economy. -
Chesapeake/ Southern Colonies
The Southern colonies were Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Theses colonies ahd economies centered around tobacco growth and agriculture. -
Jamestown, Virginia founded
The Virginia Company was the joint-stock company that led to the colony of Jamestown. Jointstock companies like the Virgina Company led to the modern style of capitalism used in the economy. -
Africans in the New World
The first Afircan slaves arrived in Jamestown in 619. The Europeans used African slavelabor to grow labor-intensive crops like sugar and tobacco. African slaves were cheap labor so they improved the European economy. -
New England Colonies
The New England colonies were Massachussetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. They did not use a lot of slave labor and ad an econom focused on farming. -
Middle Colonies
The Middle colonies were New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware. These colonies focused on bankng and merchant shipping. -
Indentured Servitude
People would pay for others to make the passage to the New World in exchange for their labor. These people were called indentured servants. This allowed people to get cheap labor. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was a conflict between Britain and France over the Ohio River Valley. This put the British in a lot of debt. -
William Pitts Blank Check
William Pitts issued a blank check for the British to win the FRench and indian War. This allowed them to use as much money as possible to win, but also put them into a lot of debt. -
Sugar Act
This placed a tax on imported sugar in the colonies. This weakened the economy of the colonists, mainly the elite. -
Salutary Neglect to Parliamentary Sovereignty
The British changed their system of rule towards the colonists. They began taxing the colonists to help pay off their war debts. This weakened the economies of the colonies. -
Stamp Act
Bitain issued a tax on the colonists in which they had to buy a royal stamp to validate any printed document. This led to colonial protests and a weaking of the colonial economies. ALso led to a decrease of British economies because of the colonial protests against the stamp act. -
Lousiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson made a purchase of land for $10 million that more than doubled the size of the United States. Even though it costed a lot of money, it resulted in the ability to acquire new resources and more land to farm on to increase the economy. -
Embargo of 1807
The United States put an embargo on foriegn trade. This hurt the United States economy because they couldn't trade with other nations and resulted in unemployment and smuggling. -
Ban on International Slave Trade
Congress voted to end the Iternational Slave Trade. Slavery was not abolished but no new slaves could be brought to the United States, so the only sources of cheap labor came from the slaves already in America. -
Federalist Party
The Federalist party was started by ALexander Hamilton. It was one of the political parties during the time period. This is significant because the Federalist party advocated for the national bank and an industrail economy. -
Democratic Republicans
The Democratic Republicans were a political party started by Thomas Jefferson. They were siignifcant because they opposed the creation of a national bank and wanted an economy focused on agriculture. -
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the idea that the United States had the divine right to expand. This was significant to the economy because Manifest Destiny created new land and job opportunites. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This treaty ended the Mexican American War and gave the United States CAlifornia, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and parts of Arizona, Wyoming, and Kansas. This allowed for the expansion of the United States and new jobs and resources from that area. -
California Gold Rush
James W. Marshall discovered gold in a sawmill in California. Many men moved to California in search of gold. The gold rush was significant to the economy because of the influx of gold. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromis of 1850 created popular soverignty in Mexican territories, abolished the slave trade in Washington, and created a stricter Fugitive Slave Law. The fugitive slave law required the northern states to be more involved in capturing and returning runaway slaves, which improved the economy of the slave states. -
Homestead Act
Homestead Act encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land in exchange for them staying on the land for 5 years and farming it. This was significant because more people farmed the land and produced more crops, increasing the economy. -
Purchase of Alaska
Secretary of State William Seward negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia for the United States for $7.2 million. This addition made up about 1/5 of the current size of the United States. New land allowed for an abundance of new resources to the United States which increased the economy. -
Transcontinental railroad completed
The Union Pacific and Central Pacific met and created the first transcontinental railroad. The railroad was built by Chinese and European laborers, providing immigrants with job opporutnities. Also the railroad allowed products to be transported more efficiently. -
Standard Oil Company
John D. Rockefeller created the Standard Oil Company. It produced 90% of the refingin oil in the United States. This inscreased the United States economy. -
Panic of 1873
Internatonal economic problems led to a major national depression and a decrease in the economy. Congress passed the Resumption Act that contributed to a general decline in prices. -
Steel Industry
Andrew Carnegie started the American Steel Industry. It was the nation's largest steel company and the increase of steel production improved the U.S. economy. -
Open Door Policy
The Open Door Policy was initiated y Secretary of State Hay. It opened trade between China and other countries. The trade fostered better economic relations and improved the United States economy. -
Panama Canal construction
Panama Canal Construction was started. The Panama Canal costed $352 million dollars to complete. It allowed for easy trnasportation for products and trade. -
16th Amendment
The Sixteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified in 1913. This allowed the government to “lay and collect taxes on incomes," creating more money in the government. -
Federal Reserve Act
This act created the Federal Reserve system that served as the national bank. The significance of the bank was that it set up a new currency system that could strengthen and regulate the currency and financial system. -
Assmebly Line
The assembly line was created by Henry Ford and the Ford Motor company. This created faster production. -
Stock Market Crash
Billions of dollars were lost by investors when about 16 million shares were traded in a single day. The significance of the crash was that it resulted in an economic downturn known as the Great Depression. -
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe economic depression during the 1930s, caused by the stock market crash. This resulted in a huge decrease the economies of th United States and other nations. -
Levittowns
William J. Levitt began guiling houses in suburban areas. The houses were all similar in appearance and the neighborhoods of houses were called Levittowns. The significance was that these houses were afforable and more people began to buy houses. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an American initiative to aid Western Europe, in which the United States gave $13 billion to European countries to rebuild thier economies. This helped European nations but lost a lot of money for the United States. -
Korean War
North Korea invaded South Korea in order to make both countries communist. The UnitedStates intervened in the war on the side of South Korea. The huge federal expenditures that the United States spent during the Korean War got the United States out of the depression. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
African Americans protested busses in Montgomery until they were desegregated. These protests hurt the pockets of the bus owners and was the first Civil Rights Protest that took an economic stance. -
Federal Highway Act
Congress passed the Federal Highway Act in 1956 that built 41,000 miles of roads. The new roads allowed for quicker forms of transporation of products and easy transportaion to jobs. -
Technology advancements
In 1981, IBM released the first personal computer, the IBM PC. Advancements in technology led to economic globalization because of the wide range of people who could be accessed. -
Reaganomics
Ronald Reagan created economic policies during his presidency that were referred to as Reaganomics. These policies included widespread tax cuts, increased military speniding, decreased social spending, and the deregulation of domestic markets. The significance was that companies could make more money and taxes decreased, improving the wealth of the people. -
Economic Recovery Tax Act
The Economic Recovery Tax Act was an economic reform bill signed by Presdent Ronald Reagan. The significance was that it created across the board tax cuts for individuals and lowered capital gains. -
Stock Market Crash
The Dow Jones Industrial Average faced a stock market crash on "Black Monday." This resulted in the loss of almost 22 percent in a single day, hurting the economy. -
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement was signed by President Bill Clinton between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The significance was that it eliminated trade barriers and increased the amount of trade occurring among the countries. -
Bush Tax Cuts
The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act was signed in 2001 by President Bush. This Act was significant becuase it made large changes to the federal tax codes by lowering income tax and creating a one time tax refund payment. -
Great Recession
Huge losses on mortgage-backed securities led to the Great Recession. Many corporation began to file bankruptcy such as Lehman Brothers. It also led to a global recession which lasted from 2007 to 2009.
