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Oct 1, 1492
Columbus arrives in Western Hemisphere
Christopher Columbus arrives in the Western Hemisphere thinking that he had arrived in the West Indies but instead had found the Americas which made his journey even more important to Spain. -
Period: Oct 1, 1509 to Oct 1, 1547
Reign of Henry VII in England
Henry VII was ruling England during this time period and the Prodestant Reformation began, making people desire for a new homeland. -
Establishment of Jamestown
Jamestown was the first succesful British colony in the New World. It was set up for quick profit from gold mining. During what's known as the "starving period" from 1609 to 1610 over 80% of the colonists perished however by 1614 John Rolfe had started succesfully growing tobacco which brought wealth and prosperity to the settlement. -
John Rolfe and Tobacco
Jamestown was suffering horribly in those early years. Death and disease plagued the little settlement of gold miners. No one was able to find something to make money for them until John Rolfe discovered tobacco in 1612. It grew wonderfully in Virginia and the people at home in England loved it and traded for it wildly. Tobacco had saved Jamestown. -
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Salutary Neglect
england colonized the new world and because of internal problems in england the colonies were neglected by england which sopiled the colonists into a false sense of freedom and caused them to wish to rebel against england. -
First Pilgrims in Plymouth
The first Puritans and Separatists arrived in Massachusetts even though they were destined for the Virginia Colony. This proves that everything happens for a reason because without their accidental landing in Plymouth it would have been years before a healthy New England Colony was formed. -
Founding of Harvard University
Harvard was founded in 1636 to train more ministers in the predominantly Puritan area of New England. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Nathaniel Bacon led about 1000 Virginians to rebellion against Governer Berkley because they resented his policies against Native Americans. After months of conflict they finally burned the colonial capital, Jamestown, to the ground before Berkley finally retreated. -
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Great Awakening
A religious revival that caused a sharp increase of interest in religion, more attendence numbers than ever in the evangelical church and the creation of more denominations and religions in the colonies. -
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Seven Years' War
A war over distribution of land and power that involved all of the major European leaders of the time. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was signed by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal. This treaty marked the end of the French and Indian/Seven Years' War. After the signing of the treaty most territories that were claimed by other countries during the war were restored to their original owners and issues pertaining to the colonies were resoloved. -
Currency Act
Parliment passed this act to take control over the colonial currency system by prohibiting the issue of new bills and the reissue of existing currency. -
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Stamp Act and Stamp Act controversies
After the French and Indian war, England was seriouly indebted. In order to raise funds, they taxed the colonies. The Stamp Act required there to be a stamp on all printed materials which would cost money and benefit England. The collonists were enraged by this not because the stamps were expensive, but rather because they only wanted to be taxed by their colonial legislature. Protests of British goods harmed the British economy so much that Parliment finally repealed the Stamp Act. -
Stamp Act
Parliment passed the Stamp Act in 1765 which required that a stamp be placed on any printed materials and there was a tax on that stamp that went to Parliment to help pay for debts aquired in the Seven Years' war. -
Declaratory Act
In 1766 Parliment passed the Declaratory Act which stated that parliment had the right to alter colonial laws. Colonists were outraged once again and strongly protested Parliment. -
Townshend Acts
Townshend Acts were another plan put in place by Parliment to gain revenue after the war by taxing imported glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were another British attempt to raise money to pay off debts from the Seven Years' War. They now taxed tea, lead, glass, and other househould objects in the colonies which triggered the suspension of the New York Assembly and the Boston Massacre. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was an "attack" on British troops by the Sons of Liberty. Five were left dead at the hands of the British. This was provoked by tension in Boston due to the heavy presence of the English military. -
Gaspee Affair
The Sons of Liberty attacked the Gaspee ship kidnapping its crew, looting it, and burning it to the waterline. Officials wanted to press charges against the Sons of Liberty but there was no sufficient evidence against them since the ship was no longer in existance. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an attack on British Tea Ships by the Sons of Liberty. They boarded the ship dressed as indians while it was docked at Boston Harbor and threw more than a ton of tea into the harbor. -
Intolerable/Coercive Acts
As a result of the Boston Tea party in 1773, Parliment passed the Intolerable acts which prohibited town meetings, allowed British soldiers to be housed anywhere including private homes, and many other acts that directly lead to the rebellion of the Revolutionary War. -
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Revolutionary War
The war for independence bewteen Great Britain and the colonies that also sparked wars between great European powers. The colonies won their independence and England lost the momey-maker that was America. -
Revolutionary War Begins
On the 19th of April, 1775, the battles of Lexington and Concord were fought by the Colonists and the British which started off the Revolutionary War. -
Declaration of Independence
Written by Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence declared freedom from the English government and asserted certain natural rights including the right to revolution. -
British Defeated at Saratoga
At the end of the Revolution Americans were finally able to defeat the British in the battle of Saratoga. British troops surrendered and the Revolutionary War was won by the Americans. -
Ratification of the Articles of Confederation
The first official plan of government was passed for the colonies in 1781. It was the Articles of Confederation. The Articles provided a plan of government that did not include a strong executive branch, a strong foreign policy, or a good economic system. It wasn't long before the Articles were removed and the Constitution put in its place. -
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America under the Articles of Confederation
America was under it's first plan of government called the Articles of Confederation that provided them with a weak foreign policy, and economic mess, and no form of effective central government. Finally, Shay's rebellion aroused the leaders of the new country and a Continental Congress met to draft the Constitution of the United States of America. -
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Northwest Land Ordinance
Three land ordinances passed concerning the settlement of land in the American Northwest - present-day Ohio and Illinois. Slavery was banned in these lands even though live revolved around agriculture in the Ohio River Valley. The ordinances permitted expansion through new states in the Northwest rather than expanding current states across the entire continent. -
Constitution Ratified
The Constitution of the United States of America was ratified in 1787 and it provided a secure form of government that has lasted for hundreds of years. -
George Washington Inagurated as President
George Washington was elected as the first president because he was a strong leader and an aristocrat in society. Not only that, but he had lead the colonists to victory against Great Britain and made them all Americans so he was highly respected. -
Geogre Washington Becomes President
George Washington was inagurated as the first president of the United States in 1789. This is the only presidential election in American History where a candidate recieved unanimous Electoral College vote. -
Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion was a tax rebellion in Pennsylvania that protested the excise tax on Whiskey put into effect by Alexander Hamilton -
John Adams Becomes President
John Adams was inaugurated as the second president of the United States in 1797. Adams was the first President to receive the oath of office from the Chief Justice of the United States. -
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
These political statements said that the state legislatures of Virginia and Kentucky would not participate in the Alien and Sedition Acts that had just been passed. The Alien and Sedition Acts affected any immigrant who wished to naturalize themselves as an American. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
Acts passed by Federalists in America that changed the naturalization process and made it a crime to publish malicious writings about the government. These acts imposed on the first amendment to the Constitution and were removed by Thomas Jefferson when he came into office in 1800. -
Inauguration of Thomas Jefferson
On March 4, 1801 our third president was inaugurated into office. This was the first presidential inauguration to be held in Washington DC. -
Marbury vs. Madison
Supreme court case that established Judicial Review of the Constitution and whether certain acts or amendments were constitutional in relevance to the cases that the Supreme Court deals with. -
Louisiana Purchase
In 1803 the United States purchased the 828,800 square miles of the Louisiana Territory from France for 11,250,000 dollars. Napoleon had gained this land 13 days before he sold it again. -
Embargo of 1807
The Embargo Act of 1807 restricted American foreign trade especially to France and Britain. This was another direct cause of the War of 1812. -
Nonintercourse Act
An act that was passed to cancel out all embargos on American trade. The act was mostly ineffective and was a large part of the War of 1812. -
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War of 1812
A war between England and America that was mainly caused by restrictions, impressment, British support of the Indian tribes against American expansion, thus resulting in the humiliation of American Honor. -
Treaty of Ghent
The treaty of Ghent was signed to mark the ending of the War of 1812. England and America both signed the treaty even though it did nothing for either country, merely returned them to the state of being that they were in before the War of 1812. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an agreement between the slavery and anti-slavery factions in the United States. The agreement prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory except within the boundaries of the proposed state Missouri. -
Monroe Doctrine
A policy that forbade any future attempts at colonization in the Americas by European countries and made Europeans and Americans agree not to meddle in each other's land affairs. -
Election of Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was elected into presidential office in 1824 as the seventh president of the United States. His vice president was John C. Calhoun. He was a Democratic-Republican and this is important because that was the only functioning political party in American at the time.
