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Louisiana Purchase
The United States purchased the territory of Louisiana from the French, for a relatively cheap price. The acquisition of the territory nearly doubled the size of the United States and contributed to the development of the Manifest Destiny ideals. -
Monroe Doctrine
President Jame Monroe passed a foreign policy to prevent European empires from recolonizing the Americas. The policy warned that any attempts of conquering states throughout the Americas would be met by military action from the United States. -
Mormon Church is established
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is established by Joseph Smith after receiving revelations from God instructing him on how to structure his church. It included new holy texts such as The Book of Mormon. -
Indian Removal Act
A law is passed that forcibly relocated Native Americans to new western territories in order to access their land, despite the fact that the law was unconstitutional. The Native Americans represented themselves in court and went through the justice system in order to defend their land, but even after successful persuasion of many government officials, the government still enforced the law. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin published
Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes the abolitionist novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, depicting slavery in an intimate way. The novel opened the eyes of may to the harsh reality of slavery and contributed to the development of ideological differences leading to the civil war. -
West Virginia separates from Virginia
Due to the civil war, border state Virginia splits into Virginia and West Virginia since not all people in the state were affiliated with the Confederacy. West Virginia war rarely attacked during the war. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln passed the law declaring all slaves in the southern states to be free from slavery. This meant that slaves that made it to the northern border would be considered free citizens, but it did not free slaves in the northern states. -
13th Amendment is passed
The thirteenth amendment is added to the constitution, which abolishes all forms of slavery in the Americas. It still allows for involuntary work, but only as a form of punishment. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Actor John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln in the head while watching a play with his wife. The assassination was part of a larger conspiracy geared towards killing major Union members, but ultimately failed. -
Ku Klux Klan Act passed
A law is passed meant to deter terrorists such as those in the Ku Klux Klan. It suspended the writ of habeas corpus, which meant that a terrorist would lose their right to a punishment of humane severity and term length.
