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Founding of Jamestown
The Virginia Company (a group of about 100 members) founded the first-ever permanent English settlement on the banks of the James River in the newly discovered North America. This settlement was called Jamestown. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Hundreds of British troops marched from Boston to Concord in order to seize an arms cache. The town of Lexington started a fight between them and the British troops, marking the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. This was an American victory. -
The Signing of The Declaration of Independence
56 members of the Second Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Roger Sherman, and Robert Livingston worked together to draft the Declaration of Independence. -
Battle of Saratoga
The American victory in the Battles of Saratoga helped persuade the French to recognize American independence and to openly provide military assistance. George Washington declared a day of Thanksgiving on December 18, 1777, to celebrate the victory over the British at Saratoga. -
Constitutional Convention
The United States needed to decide how they were going to be governed. At first delegates from all across the colonies gathered together to revise the Articles of Confederation, but it turned out to be a huge argument on the future of redesigning the government. George Washington was the president of the Constitutional Convention and James Madison was the "father of the Constitution". -
Election of 1800
Vice President Thomas Jefferson of the Democratic-Republican party defeated John Adams of the Federalists party. This marked the first peaceful transition of power from one political party to another. -
Louisiana Purchase
The United States bought land from France for $15 million from a treaty with France and Thomas Jefferson. This doubled the size of the US. -
War of 1812
This was a conflict that was fought between the United States and Great Britain over British violations of U.S. maritime rights. It ended with the exchange of ratifications of the Treaty of Ghent. -
Missouri Compromise
Missouri entered the Union as a slave state, but Maine would enter as a free state in order to reserve the balance the power. This compromise was later repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. -
Nullification Crisis
A conflict between South Carolina and the federal government of the US due to South Carolina opposing a tariff. This is the first time tensions between state and federal authorities almost led to a civil war. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
On April 12, 1861, Confederate forces attacked the military garrison at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. This attack on Fort Sumter marked the official beginning of the American Civil War. -
Battle of Antietam
Beginning early on the morning of September 17, 1862, Confederate and Union troops in the Civil War clash near Maryland's Antietam Creek. This is the bloodiest single day in American military history. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point in the Civil War, costing the Union 23,000 killed, wounded, or missing in action. It gave the federalists a victory. -
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C.The attack happened only 5 days after the end of the American Civil War. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
This was Custer's last stand after him and his seventh calvary were defeated by the Sioux. This was the worst U.S. Army defeat during the Plains Wars.