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Louisiana Purchase
In 1803 the U.S bought the Louisiana Purchase from France for 15 million dollars due to westward expansion. This purchase allowed people to move to the U.S because of the opportunities in the West. -
Lowell's first cotton mill
In 1814 Francis Cabot Lowell created his first factory system that was a series of machines that were in one building that allowed women and slaves to tend the machines. -
Missouri Compromise
In 1820 Henry Clay came up with the Missouri Compromise to keep a balance between free and slave states, which allowed Missouri to be a slave state if Maine is a free state. -
Andrew Jackson elected
In 1828 Jackson won the election against John Quincy Adams. Jackson was a common man, which appealed to voters and formed the Democratic Party. Andrew Jackson was involved with Indian removal and the Trail of Tears. -
Indian Removal Act
In 1830, Jefferson issued the Indian Removal Act to drive all of the Cherokee Indians of their land and send them to indian territory. -
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Trail of Tears
In the spring of 1858 Jefferson requested the Trail of Tears to get ride of Cherokees and take away their property, farms, and businesses. The Trail of Tears was an 800-mile walk that killed 4,000 Cherokees. -
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Mexican American War
In 1846 through 1848, the Mexican American war broke out over Texas because the U.S wanted it because of Manifest Destiny and Mexico wanted to keep. America believed Mexico had a weak government that couldn’t control such a country and both sides believed the other attacked them first. -
Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay came up with the Compromise of 1850 to make both sides happy allowing California as a free state, New Mexico and Utah as slave states, and a stricter Fugitive Slave Law. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
In 1852 Harriet Beacher Stowe published a book that showed the harshness of slavery about Uncle Tom who was beaten to death by one of his owners after he didn’t tell where the escaped slaves have gone. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
In 1854 the Kansas Nebraska act allowed Kansas and Nebraska to have popular sovereignty, which was a result of the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850. -
Bessemer Process Patented
In 1855 Bessemer patented a new may to produce steel. The Bessemer process was blowing air through molten iron, which removed impurities. This process allowed steel to be made cheap and quick. -
Bleeding Kansas
On May 21,1856, pro-slavery forces violently invaded Kansas. Abolitionists battled for control of Kansas because of popular sovereignty. -
Dred Scott Decision
In 1857 The Dred Scot Decision was about Dred Scott believing he could bring a case to court and be free if him and his master are in a free state, but the Supreme Court said no to both and declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. -
Oil discovered in Pennsylvania
In the August of 1859 Edwin Drake struck oil, and then countless oil wells were drilled in Pennsylvania and 13 other states. The oil supplied fuel for lamps, lubricating oils for machinery, and later on oil becomes gasoline for cars -
John Brown's Raid
In 1859 a radical abolitionist named John Brown tried to start a slave revolt at Harpers Ferry Virginia known as John Brown’s Raid. Brown was captured by Robert E. Lee and U.S marines and was hanged on Dec. 2, 1859. -
Lincoln elected
In the election of 1860, Lincoln was elected with less than 40% of the popular vote. Election results prompted southern states to secede. -
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Civil War
From April 12 ,1861 to April 9, 1862 the Civil War took place. The first shots took place at Fort Sumter. The North used the Anaconda Plan and eventually the South surrendered. -
Battle of Gettysburg
On July 3, 1863 was the battle of Gettysburg. In the battle the confederacy lost 1/3 of their army and was a key turning point in the Civil War. -
Emancipation Proclamation
In 1863, Lincoln established the Emancipation Proclamation, which gave the North a moral cause for winning the war, but the South didn’t take it seriously. The act got rid of slavery everywhere but border states and it nullified the fugitive slave law. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
In Sherman’s March to Sea he destroyed everything in his path from Tennessee to Savannah Georgia and used total war. -
Surrender at Appotomattox Court House
On April 9, 1865 Robert E. Lee and Ulyssus S. Grant meet at Appotomax Court House and there the South officially surrendered. -
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Reconstruction
From 1865 to 1877 the North was reconstructing the South to try to put the country back together. -
Lincoln Assasination
In April 14, 1865 Lincoln was shot by John WIlkes Booth while attending a play at Fords Theater in Washington D.C. He shot him because he wanted to save the confederacy. -
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Black Codes
The Black Codes were laws that were restricting the freedoms and opportunities of African Americans. They denied civil rights (citizenship, voting, serving on juries, etc.) and it maintained social order by keeping blacks at a lower status. The social order limited jobs and denied children entry to school. -
Transcontinental Railroad Completed
On May 10, 1869 the Transcontinental Railroad was completed. The Central Pacific and the Union Pacific's lines meet at Utah and completed the railroad. -
Standard Oil Formed
In 1870 John D. Rockefeller formed a corporation called Standard Oil. His corporation expanded by him buying out or merging with other companies. He also gained his competertors' customers by making deals with railroads. -
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The Gilded Age
From around 1870 to the 1900s was the period called the Gilded Age. Although this period seemed golden on the outside, on the inside it was marked by political corruption and social unrest. -
Carnegie Forms his Steel Company
In 1873 Carnegie began to form the Carnegie Steel Company, which later built the largest and greatest steel mill of his time near Pitsburg, Pennsylvania. Carnegie built the steel industry in the U.S. -
First Telephone Called
On March 10, 1876 the first telephone message was recieved. It was an emergency from Alexander Graham Bell calling his assistnat. -
Light Bulb invented
In 1879 Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, and by 1890 there were generating stations providing power all over the U.S. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
In 1890 Congress passed the Sherman Antitrust Act, which outlawed trusts and monopolies. However, the Act didn't work because lawyers who favored the laissez- faire wrote it in vague language -
13th amendment
The 13th amendment officially abolishes slavery and part of reconstructing the South. Southern states had to rattify this amendmet in order to be readmitted to the union. -
14th amendment
Radical Republicans passed the 14th amendmet extended citizenship to all people born in the U.S. -
15th amendment
In order to help reconstruct the South the 15th amendment was passed. Under the amendment states couldn't deny voting rights to citizizens on the basis of race or previous enslavement. -
Johnson's Impeachment
Johnson was unhapy with the Radical Republicans, so he fored the secretary of war, Edwin Stanton. Congress voted to impeach Johnson because he broke a law that prohibited him from firing Stanton, but Johnson one vote short from impeachment.