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Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the most significant even of Jefferson's presidency and one of the most important developments in American history.This spurred western exploration and expansion, and it enticed cotton growers to settle in the Old Southwest- Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. -
Supreme Court issues Marbury v. Madison decision
In 1802, at Jefferson's urging, the Republican controlled Congress repealed the Judiciary Act of 1801, which the Federalist had passed just before the transfer of power to the Jeffersonian Republicans.The controversial effort to repeal the judgeships sparked the landmark case of the Supreme Court Marbury v. Madison (1803). The case went to the Supreme Court, then presided over by Chief Justice John Marshall, an ardent Virginia Federalist. -
Lewis and Clark expedition
Jefferson asked Congress to fund an expedition to find the most "practicable water communication across the Continent".The president then appointed army captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead the Lewis and Clark expedition.They traveled in 2 large dugout canoes and 1 large, flat-bottomed, single-masted keelboat filled with food weapons, medicine, and gifts from Indians.They traveled up the Mississippi to the Missouri River, where they added more men. -
Hartford Convention
New England Federalists, frustrated by the rising expense of "Mr. Madison's War," convened the Hartford Convention in Hartford, Connecticut, just a few weeks before the Battle of New Orleans. Over the next 3 weeks, the Federalists delegates proposed 7 constitutional amendments designed to limit Republican political power. -
Battle of New Orleans
With New Orleans and the Mississippi River Valley liberated from the British authority, the West was open for expansion, and Americans rushed to take advantage of western land sales made possible by Jackson's great victory. Although the Battle of New Orleans occurred after the Treaty of Ghent had been signed, it was vitally important psychologically. Such pride in the Battle of New Orleans would later help transform General Jackson into a dynamic presidential candidate. -
At the Seneca Falls Convention, feminists issue the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments
On July 19, 1848, when the Seneca Falls Convention convened, revolution was in the air.The activists at Seneca Falls did not go that far, but they did issue a clever paraphrase of the Declaration of Independence.The Declaration of Rights and Sentiments proclaimed that "all men and women are created equal". The conventions most controversial demand was the right to vote. -
Johnson issues Proclamation of Amnesty
In May 1865, Johnson issued a new Proclamation of Amnesty that excluded not only this ex-Confederates whom Lincoln had barred from a presidential pardon but also anyone with property worth more than $20,000. Johnson was determined to keep the wealthiest Southerners from regaining political power. -
Fourteenth Amendment ratified
To remove all the doubt about the legality of the new Civil Rights Act, Congress passed the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1866.This guaranteed citizenship not just to freepeople but also to immigrant children born in the United States.This amendment overturned the Black codes by prohibiting any efforts to violate the civil rights of citizens.The Fourteenth Amendment gave the federal government responsibility for protecting and enforcing civil rights. -
Fifteenth Amendment ratified
The remaining former Confederate states- Virginia, Mississippi, and Texas- were readmitted in 1870, with the added requirement that they ratify the Fifteenth Amendment, which gave voting rights to African American men.This amendment prohibited states from denying a citizen's right to vote on grounds of "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". -
Panic of 1873 triggers depression
During 1873, two dozen railroads stopped paying their bills, forcing Jay Cooke and Company, the nation's leading business lender, to go bankrupt and close its doors on September 18, 1873. The shocking news created a snowball effect, as other hard- pressed banks and investment companies began shutting down.The resulting Panic of 1873 caused a deep depression.Tens of thousands of businesses closed, 3 million workers lost jobs, and those with jobs saw their wages slashed.