1800-1865 Timeline

By wesleyanderson

  • Election of 1800

    Jefferson and Bur tie and the vote is up to Congress. James Bayard and Alexander Hamilton support Jefferson. Marked a peaceful transition of power from one political party to another.

  • 12th Amendment 1804

    The President and Vice President run as a ticket.

  • Arron Burr vs. Alexander Hamilton Duel 1804

    Arron Burr and Alexander Hamilton dueled on July 11, 1804. Hamilton is shot by Burr and dies shortly after from the wound. Burr is charged with murder, so he flees.

  • Burr Conspiracy 1807

    Arron Burr attempted to carve out his own legacy by creating his own country in the Southwest. Burr then gets arrested for treason, but gets aquitted.

  • Election of 1808

    Jefferson did not run for a third term. James Madison won the election.

  • Declaration of War 1812

    On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war against Britain.

  • The Second Bank of the United States 1816

    The charter for the First Bank of the United States had expired back in 1811. The war of 1812, proved the necessity of a central banking system, and so the Second Bank of the United States received its charter in 1816. The Second Bank of the United States was located in Philadelphia.

  • Tariff of 1816

    This tariff was a protective tariff to protect United States industry against the threat of cheap Brittish goods after the war. The tariff was only authorized for three years, but it became permanent in 1820. This tariff, however, harmed Southern farmers, as the South was not yet industrialized.

  • Rush-Bagot Pact, 1817

    This treaty removed British fleets from the Great Lakes.

  • Convention of 1818

    This convention set the boundary between the United States and British North America at the 49th parallel. Thus giving us the Oregon territory.

  • Panic of 1819

    This was the first major depression in the United States, caused by poor banking policies. The abrupt drop in world agricultural prices meant that planters and farmers could not pay their debts.

  • Missouri Compromise 1820

    Missouri wanted to enter the Union with a constitution that allowed slavery. The compromise admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. The compromise also set the 36th parallel as the Missouri compromise line. States below the line would enter the Union as a state that allows slavery, and the states above the line would enter the Union as a state that prohibited slavery.

  • Election of 1824

    Five Republican candidates: John Quincy Adams, John C Calhoun, William Crawford, Henry Clay, and Andrew Jackson. In the end, a "corrupt bargain" wins John Quincy Adams the presidency.

  • Nat Turner's Rebellion 1831

    This was the most famous slave rebellion. On August 22, 1831, Nat Turner along with 70 armed slaves and free blacks slaughtered white neighbors who had enslaved them. They attacked 15 homes, and killed between 55 to 60 whites.

  • Cherokee Nation v. Georgia 1832

    Supreme Court case declared Indian peoples to be "domestic dependent nations"

  • Treaty of New Echota 1835

    This treaty gave the Cherokees land in Oklahoma, but it forced them to move. This move devastated the Cherokee tribe in what is known as the Trail of Tears.

  • Election of 1840

    Whig party candidate William Henry Harrison won the election against the incumbent president Martin Van Buren. Harrison died shortly after from an illness, and vice president John Tyler became the "accidental" president.

  • Election of 1844

    Democrat candidate James K. Polk versus Whig candidate Henry Clay. Polk won the election with 170 electoral votes. This election would determine the path that American policy would follow with California, Oregon, and Texas.

  • Texas Joins the Union 1845

    In December 1845, Texas became the 28th state to join the Union. Mexico then broke off diplomatic relations with the United States that very same year.

  • Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo 1848

    At the end of the Mexican-American War, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo granted the United States about a third of Mexican land in exchange for $15 million.

  • Compromise of 1850

    • Fugitive Slave Act (designed to mollify the South)
    • California admitted as a free state (to satisfy the North)
    • resolved a boundary dispute
    • Abolished the slave trade in D.C.
    • popular sovereignty to decide the slavery dispute in New Mexico and Utah

  • Election of 1852

    The slavery conflict split the Whig party. Democrat Franklin Pierce won the election.

  • Uncle Tom's Cabin 1852

    Uncle Tom's Cabin was an abolitionist novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel evoked empathy and outrage throughout the North.

  • Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854

    • repealed the Missouri compromise line
    • Formed two new territories, Nebraska and Kansas

  • Election of 1856

    The Republican Party denounced the Kansas-Nebraska Act and nominated Colonel Joun C Fremont. The American Party did not take a stance on slavery and ended up splitting. The Democrats nominated James Buchanan. Buchanan won the election.

  • Election 1860

    The Democrats were split between Stephen Douglas and John C Breckinridge. The Republicans nominated Lincoln, and Lincoln won the election.

  • Secession 1861

    South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union on December 20th, 1860, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennesee.

  • Battle of Bull Run 1861

    The Battle of Bull Run took place on July 16th, 1861. This was the first major battle of the Civil War. The Union forces were defeated. A famous Confederate general got the nickname "Stonewall" Jackson. The battle proved the Confederacy was a force to be reconed with.

  • Second Battle of Bull Run 1862

    Union General John Pope is cut off. Pope attacks Jackson and fails, but the Union forces are able to escape.

  • Battle of Shiloh 1862

    Confederate General Johnston vs. Union General Grant. The Union forces were surprised by the attack, but were able to hold. In the end, the battle was a clear-cut Union victory.

  • Battle of Fredericksburg Virginia 1862

    This battle was the largest concentration of troops in the war. It was General Lee vs. General Burnside. This battle resulted in yet another Confederate Victory.

  • Battle of Hampton Roads 1862

    This was the first ever battle between ironclad ships, the CSS Virginia vs. the USS Monitor. The battle was inconclusive since neither ship could sink the other. This battle ushered in the modern age of the navy.

  • Battle of Antietam 1862

    This was the single most bloody day in United States military history. There were repeated Union attacks and Confederate counterattacks. The results were inconclusive, but Lincoln claimed the battle as a Union victory.

  • Battle of Gettysburg 1863

    Union General George Meade vs Confederate General Robert E Lee. The battle ended in a Union victory. At this point the war began winding down.

  • Battle of Vicksburg 1863

    Grant sieged the city from May 18th to July 4th, 1863.

  • Battle of Chancellorsville 1863

    The Confederates won the battle, but it was here that Stonewall Jackson was accidentally shot by one of his own men. Jackson died 10 days later from pnemonia.