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Jan 1, 1492
Columbus' Voyage
This event was funded by Queen Isabella of Spain. Set out East to India and China in search of trade items. -
Jan 1, 1497
The Arrival of the English
1497 John Cabot, funded by King Henry VII sailed to northern coast of North America. Original incentive for colonization was religious strife, along with mercantilism, with growing demand for wool. -
Jan 1, 1518
The Spanish Empire
Hernando Cortes led small military expedition (600 men) to Mexico to conquer Aztecs and emperor, Montezuma. Twenty years later, Francisco Pizarro conquered Incas in Peru which led to further Spanish advances into South America. -
The Headright System
Fifty acre grants of land created by Virginia Company. It was created to attract new workers to colony. -
The "Middle Passage"
Over 11 million Africans were forcibly shipped to North and South America and to the Caribbean under treacherous conditions then auctioned off to white landowners. -
The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was the formed belief that not just religious faith but "natural law" could create progress and advanced knowledge in the world. Look more to human intellect for guidance. -
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The Navigation Acts
Laws passed by English Parliament to try to regulate colonial trade. The acts also passed laws to keep Dutch ships out of English colonies. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon’s Rebellion led a major conflict over power of governor and tidewater upper class from newly settled lands in the West against Sir William Berkeley's consent. The rebellion also organized a volunteer army that eventually turned on the governor. -
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Seven Years' War
The Seven Years War was the battle in North America between England and France over territory. England's victory meant commercial supremacy and control over settled regions of North America.
The Seven Years' WarThe Seven Years' War</a> -
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Sugar, Stamp, and Currency Acts
Taxes imposed by England to settlers on molasses, money, and printed documents were heavy. This placed a belief in the colonists that they should help pay debt that occurred from the war. -
The Boston "Massacre"
There were four regiments of British troops sent to patrol the city of Boston. A mob of workers “liberty boys” pelted troops outside customs house with rocks and snowballs. After one soldier was knocked down, troops opened fire into the crowd. -
"The Tea Act"
To save Britain's East India Company from bankruptcy it lifted its tax on tea. This enabled the company to undersell American merchants. This also fueled issue of "taxation without representation." -
Women's Rights and Roles
During the war, women were demanded to take on more roles at home while their men were fighting on the war grounds. They were often successful, however, some women dealt with inexperience causing inflation on good. Unavailability of male labor, and the threat of British troops also caused others to fail at taking over these tackily duties.
History Questions : Women's Rights Time Line -
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Transportation Innovations
The steamboat and the Turnpike were big transportation inventions. -
Yorktown
British commander in the south Lord Cornwalis was ordered to take up defensive position here. He later surrendered after being land and sea locked by the French and American troops during the American Revolution. -
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Shay's Rebellion
Former captain of the continental army issued demands for paper money, tax relief, moratorium on debts, and abolition of imprisonment for debt to avoid increased taxation on poor farmers. -
The Constitution of 1787
Mostly drafted by James Madison and written in the hopes of resolving the issues of sovereignty and limiting power. -
The Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights named the first ten amendments to the US Constitution. It was meant to put limitations on new government by not infringing on certain fundamental rights. -
Stirrings of Industrialism
The United States was being transformed with the advancing technology. -
Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin and interchangeable parts
Eli Whitney made big changes for our country during this time period which included the cotton gin and interchangeable parts for machinery. -
The Alien and Sedition Acts
The alien and Sedition acts were believed by Republicans, as a campaign by the Federalists to destroy Republican opposition. As a result, there was an increase in Federalist to Republican in Congress. -
Transportation
Congress and the federal governments were funding the road construction. -
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Cotton and Trade
Cotton and fur trade were becoming very profitable. Because of these industries people were able to grow economically.
' >Slave workers in cotton field -
Economic Growth
The development of a second United States bank was undergoing, as well as the manufacturing industry that was growing rapidly. -
Election of Andrew Jackson
The election of Andrew Jackson marked a transformation of American politics. Prior to Jackson’s election, American politics were restricted to elite property owners. -
Removal of the Indians: Five Civilized Tribes
President Jackson wanted the Indian tribes that were in the eastern United States to move westward. -
Railroads
The first stream-powered locomotive by Peter Cooper for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad raced a horse drawn railroad car. -
Early Opposition to Slavery (Garrison and Abolitionism)
William Lloyd Garrison published a leading antislavery newspaper in 1820 that gathered the support of many Americans opposing slavery and later, with a large group of followers established the New England Antislavery Society in 1832. In 1833 he also had a convention in Philadelphia that led to the American Antislavery Society. -
The Romantic Impulse & Transcendentalists
Transcendentalists were a group of New England writers and philosophers who embraced a theory of the individual that rested on a distinction between what they called “reason and “understanding.” This was one of the outstanding expressions of the romantic impulse in America. -
John Randolph
As a result of his death, 400 of his slaves in Roanoke were freed as instructed in Randolph’s will. -
The Panic of 1837 - Boom then Bust
Prices had been rising, credit was readily available, and land businesses were booming. -
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Middle Class Life
The fasted growing group within America was the middle class. -
Commonwealth vs. Hunt
Declared that unions were lawful organizations and workers had the ability to strike. -
Establishment of the Oneida Community
In 1848 the Oneida community was established in upstate New York by John Humphrey Noyes. This was community that rejected traditional notions of family and marriage. They took pride in their liberation of women from the demands of male lust and from traditional bonds of family. -
The California Gold Rush
In January of 1848, a foreman working in a saw mill owned by one of California’s leading rancher, John Sutter, found traces of gold in the foothills of Sierra Nevada. Within months the news of the discovery spread throughout that nation and much of the world. Almost immediately, hundreds of thousands of people began flocking to the state of California in frenzy for gold.
An Exploration of Our History (California Gold Rush) -
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Cotton
The lower south trumped the upper south as a leading economic power; this was directly a result of the emergence of the cotton economy.
Cottonkingdom -
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Slave Codes
Slave codes were a series of do’s and don’ts that were imposed on slaves and provided an outline of how a slave was to live and act. -
John Brown’s Raid
On October 16th 1859 an antislavery zealot by the name of John Brown assembled a group of eighteen followers and attacked and seized control of a United States arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in hopes of inspiring people to oppose slavery. -
The Election of Lincoln
In 1860 Abraham Lincoln won the position of president. He won with a majority of the electoral votes but only about two-fifths of the fragmented popular vote. -
Fourteenth Amendment
The 14 amendment was written after the civil war and it gave slaves rights. It also included due process. -
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Enforcement Act
The act stopped states from discriminating during elections. It gave the federal government authority to use federal troops to enforce civil rights. -
Education in the America's
By this year most of America’s children were in schools. This included both white and African American children of all economic classes. -
Redeemers
Many white southerners rejoiced at the restoration of what they liked to call “home-rule.” But in reality, political power in the region was soon more restricted than at any time since the Civil War. Once again, most of the South fell under the control of a powerful, conservative oligarchy, whose members were known variously as the “Redeemers” or the “Bourbons.” -
Worker Exploitation
The growth of the southern industry required the region to recruit a substantial industrial workforce for the first time. A high percentage of factory workers were women and their hours were long as well as low wages. The black community was also discriminated against and had little to now places to work, which led to a culture collision. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson was a case involving a Louisiana law that required segregated seating on railroads. The court held that separate accommodations did not deprive blacks of equal rights if the accommodations were equal.
