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Third President- Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson is elected as the 3rd president of the United States in a vote of the House of Representatives after tying Aaron Burr, his Vice President, in the electoral college with 73 electors due to a flaw in the original vote for two system, which would be corrected in the 12th Amendment to the Constitution. -
The United States Supreme Court
The United States Supreme Court overturns its first U.S. law in the case of Marbury versus Madison, establishing the context of judicial review as they declared a statute within the Constitution void. This established the Supreme Court's position as an equal member of the three branches of the United States government. -
Ordered by Thomas Jefferson to Map
Ordered by Thomas Jefferson to map the Northwest United States, Lewis and Clark begin their expedition from St. Louis and Camp Dubois. The journey begins with navigation of the Missouri River. -
American Marines Attack Tripoli, Derna
American Marines and Berbers attack the Tripoli city of Derna. Land and naval forces would battle against Tripoli until peace was concluded with the United States on June 4, 1805. -
A Second Exploratory Expedition
A second exploratory expedition led by U.S. Army Lieutenant Zebulon Pike begins from Fort Bellefountaine near St. Louis. Later that year, during a second trip, he reaches the distant Colorado foothills of the Rocky Mountains and discovers Pike's Peak. -
The U.S.S. Constitution Recommissioned
The U.S.S. Constitution recommissioned as the flagship of the North Atlantic Squadron -
Tom Molineaux
Ex-slave Tom Molineaux, born at a Virginia plantation in 1784, fought English boxing champion Tom Cribb, narrowly defeated after 39 rounds when he collapsed from exhaustion. A rematch was held on September 28, 1811, with Cribb retaining his title in 11 rounds. -
August Naval Battles
August naval battles in the War of 1812 begin with the United States Navy defeating the British when the U.S.S. Essex captured Alert. -
The Battle of York
(Toronto, Canada) is held when American troops raid and destroy, but do not occupy the city. -
White House is burned by British
The White House is burned by British forces upon the occupation of Washington, D.C. during the War of 1812. -
Chalmette Plantation at New Orleans
On the Chalmette plantation at New Orleans, five thousand three hundred British troops still unaware of the peace treaty signed two weeks earlier, but not ratified until February 17, attack American forces in the last battle of the War of 1812 -
James Monroe is Inaugurated as President
James Monroe is inaugurated as the President of the United States, succeeding James Madison. His vice president, Daniel D. Tompkins, who would serve alongside Monroe for his entire eight years, was also inaugurated. -
Flag of the United States
The flag of the United States is officially adopted by Congress with the configuration of thirteen red and white stripes and one star for each state in the union. At the time of adoption, with the most recent addition of Mississippi, the flag had twenty stars. -
First Financial Crisis in the United States
The first financial crisis in the United States, the Panic of 1819, occurs, leading to foreclosures, bank failures, and unemployment. Several causes have been identified, including the heavy amount of borrowing by the government to finance the War of 1812, as well as the tightening of credit by the Second Bank of the U.S. in response to risky lending practices by wildcat banks in the west. -
The Missouri Compromise Bill
The Missouri Compromise bill, sponsored by Henry Clay, passes in the United States Congress. This legislation allows slavery in the Missouri territory, but not in any other location west of the Mississippi River that was north of 36 degrees 30 minutes latitude, the current southern line of the state of Missouri. The state of Missouri would be admitted to the Union, under this compromise, on August 10, 1821. -
The First Legal International Trade
The first legal international trade on the Santa Fe Trail began after William Becknell, a Missouri trader, met with Governor Melgares one day earlier. The huge profit earned convinced Becknell that he should return over the trail route the following year. -
The First Group of Freed American Slaves
The first group of freed American slaves settles a black colony known as the Republic of Liberia when they arrive on African soil at Providence Island. The capital, Monrovia, is named after President James Monroe. -
Prohibiting Alcohol to Indians
A law prohibiting the sale of alcohol to Indians is passed, causing a disruption in the fur trade pattern that relied on the Indians to trap and hunt for the furs, in exchange for alcohol and other goods. -
John C. Calhoun Vice President
n Quincy Adams is inaugurated as President, with John C. Calhoun as his Vice President after the House of Representatives settle the lack of an Electoral College majority. -
First Railroad
The first passenger railroad in the United States, Baltimore, and Ohio, begins. -
Andrew Jackson Apart of Democratic Party
Andrew Jackson, now in the Democratic party, is inaugurated as President, replacing John Quincy Adams after his sole term in office. -
Rebellion Slave Kills 57 Whites
A local slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia, led by Nat Turner, a black slave, kills fifty-seven white citizens. -
Ordinance of Nullification
South Carolina convention passed the Ordinance of Nullification, which was against the institution of permanent tariffs. The state also, on this issue, threatened to withdraw from the union of the United States of America. -
Second Term Inauguration Occurs
The second term inauguration occurs for President Jackson, with Martin Van Buren as Vice President after the resignation on December 28, 1832, of John Calhoun as Vice President. Jackson had won a convincing victory in the November election. -
John Jacob Astor
John Jacob Astor, a German immigrant, was commonly known as the richest man in the United States. He was the organizer of the American Fur Company, which he sold in 1834. -
Andrew Jackson Unsuccessful Assassination
In the United States Capitol, Andrew Jackson encounters an unsuccessful assassination attempt from an unemployed house painter, Richard Lawrence. -
The Specie Act
The Specie Act is issued by the executive order of President Andrew Jackson. This act would lead to the failure of the economy of land speculation and the Panic of 1837. -
First Publicly Demonstrated the Telegraph
Samuel Morse, a portrait painter who later turned to the invention, first publicly demonstrated the telegraph and developed the Morse Code system of communication. -
The Supreme Court of the U.S.- Slaves
The Supreme Court of the U.S. states that in the case of the slave ship Amistad that the Africans who had wrested control of the ship had been bound into slavery illegally. -
First Major Wagon Train
The first major wagon train headed for the northwest via the Oregon Trail begins with one thousand pioneers from Elm Grove, Missouri. -
United States Treaty with China
The United States signs the treaty of Wanghia with China. It is the first treaty signed between the two nations -
Congress Overrides
Congress overrides a presidential veto. President Tyler's veto of a military appropriation was overturned. -
President Polk Invokes Concept of Manifest Destiny
U.S. President Polk invokes the concept of Manifest Destiny, announcing to Congress that the Monroe Doctrine should be strictly enforced and that the settlement of the West should be aggressively pursued. -
Mexican War Occurs
The first major conflict of the Mexican War occurs north of the Rio Grande River at Palo Alto, Texas when United States troops under the command of Major General Zachary Taylor rout a larger Mexican force. -
First Woman Doctor
The first woman doctor in the United States, Elizabeth Blackwell, is granted her degree by the Medical Institute of Geneva, New York. -
First Adhesive Postage Stamps
The first adhesive postage stamps in the United States went on sale with Benjamin Franklin gracing the 5 cent stamp and George Washington fronting the 10 cent stamp. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850, pushed by Senator Henry Clay, admits California as the 31st state, without slavery, and adds Utah and New Mexico as territories with no decision on the topic. The Fugitive Slave Law is strengthened under the Compromise, which also ended the slave trade in the District of Columbia. -
Gold Discovered
Gold was discovered in California by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in the town of Colona. -
Declaration of Sentiments
The Declaration of Sentiments calling for equal rights for women and men is signed by 100 men and women in the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, Seneca Falls, New York at the 1st Women's Rights Convention led by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. -
First Railroad Train Crosses Mississippi River
The first railroad train crosses the Mississippi River on the first bridge constructed at Rock Island, Illinois to Davenport, Iowa. -
Pro-slavery Forces Under Sheriff Samuel J. Jones
Pro-slavery forces under Sheriff Samuel J. Jones burn the Free-State Hotel and destroy two anti-slavery newspapers and other businesses in Lawrence, Kansas. Three days later, the Pottawatomie Massacre occurs in Franklin County, Kansas when followers of abolitionist John Brown kill five homesteaders. -
First Elevator
The first elevator is installed by Elisha Otis on Broadway in New York City. -
Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln
Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln, running on an anti-slavery platform, defeats three opponents in the campaign for the presidency; Democrats Stephen A. Douglas and John C. Breckinridge, and John Bell, Constitutional Union Party, leading to ardent cries of potential rebellion in southern slave states. -
Abraham Lincoln President
Abraham Lincoln is sworn in as president of the United States with Hannibal Hamlin as Vice President. -
General Ambrose Burnside Begins
General Ambrose Burnside begins the Battle of Fredericksburg when Union troops cross the Rappahannock River on pontoons, leading two days later to an ignominious and one-sided defeat by General Robert E. Lee. -
Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania
At the Battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, General Grant, now the first three-star lieutenant general since George Washington and in charge of the U.S. Army, marched against the forces of General Lee in a remarkable series of clashes within the dense forests of Virginia. -
Abraham Lincoln Assassinated
Abraham Lincoln is assassinated in Ford's Theatre, Washington, D.C.. five days after the signing at Appomattox of the Confederate surrender. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 is passed by Congress, the first federal law protecting the rights of African Americans. It is vetoed by President Johnson, but the veto overridden by Congress. -
The Klu Klux Klan forms
The Klu Klux Klan forms secretly to discourage blacks from voting, issuing in a brutal and shameful era of terror and crime amid southern states as civil rights for freed slaves emerged from the Civil War Era and made hesitant progress throughout the majority of the 20th Century. -
George Westinghouse Invents Air Brake
George Westinghouse invents and patents the air brake for railroad trains and organizes a company to produce them. Westinghouse would go on to patent four hundred inventions and found sixty companies, including Westinghouse Electric Company. -
Women's Suffrage Law Passes
In one of the first acts of success in the women's suffrage movement, a Women's Suffrage law passes in the Territory of Wyoming. -
John D. Rockefeller.
Standard Oil Company was incorporated by byJohn D. Rockefeller. -
Amnesty Act of 1872
Civil rights are restored to citizens of the South, except for five hundred Confederate leaders, with the passage of the Amnesty Act of 1872 and its signing by President Ulysses S. Grant. -
Susan B. Anthony
Susan B. Anthony, women's suffragette, illegally casts a ballot at Rochester, New York in the presidential election to publicize the cause of a woman's right to vote. -
The Women's Crusade of 1873
The Women's Crusade of 1873-74 is started when women in Fredonia, New York march against retail liquor dealers, leading to the creation of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. In 1917, this movement would culminate in the 18th Amendment, prohibiting the sale of liquor in the United States, a ban that would last for sixteen years. -
The Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act, giving equal rights to blacks in jury duty and accommodation, is passed by the United States Congress. -
Legislation Is Approved
The legislation is approved for the federal government to complete the privately sponsored, until that time, Washington Monument with an appropriation of $2 million.