-
Nov 9, 1492
Columbus Landing in the New World
Columbus sets foot in the new world, which is now known as the North and South America. He landed on an island that he named San Salvador, which today is the Bahamas. He brought three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. And he brought 84 crew members in total. -
Nov 10, 1492
The Spanish Empire
The spanish sent explplorers and conquistadors like Christopher Columbus, Hernan Cortes, and Franscisco Pizaro to explore new land. They then just claimed the land as their own, manipulated the natives & killed them. Their main weapon was desiese. -
Nov 10, 1534
New France
France sent Jacques Cartier, an explorer to find a shorter passage to west asia. But he ended up finding what is known today as Canada and claimed it for France. They set up a trading post in Quebec. Courer de bois and missionaries would settle here. Courer de bois were people that learned from the natives (Hurons) how to catch animals like beavers. They would later sell their fur as hats back in Europe for lots of money. Missionaries would follow them and convert natives. -
The lost colony of Roanoke
John White led a group of 117 colonists to Roanoke Island. They stayed there for a while. Knowing what had happen to the last colonists, everyone persuaded John White to go back to England and ask for help. When he went to England there was a war going on, so he couldn't come back. He returned after three years, and there was no one left in the settlement. Except the word Croatoan curved in a tree nearby. No one knows what happen to them or what the word Croatoan means. -
Jamestown: The First English Colony
James town was a marshy area. It was located in a Peninsula. There was lots of new desieses from mosquitoes, and the land was not good for farming. They chose this land because it was easier to guard from enemies compared to other areas. -
Jamestown The starving time
It was winter when Captain John Smith went to England to get more suplies, because it ran out. This was the starving time. They had to eat dogs, rats and even dead bodies of their own men. Only 60 out of the 500 colonists survived. -
New Netherland
The Netherlands sent Henry Hudson, he was an English man who explored for the Netherlands. He was sent to explore the Costline further north. He was funded by Dutch Merchents. They hoped to find a Northwest Passage. He found this river which was later named after him, (Hudson River) and he claimed land around it which was named New Netherlands. They made good relationship with the natives in the area. They also did the same as the French, exchange things for fur such as weapons. -
New York
When the English had come to the New Netherlands, they sent a letter to Peter Stuyvesant, it telling them to surrender their land. The English made a small invasion into the territory. When Peter Stuvesant, the governor of New Netherlands heard that the stock gunpowder was damp and is useless, he gave the land up without any one getting hurt, and the English renamed the land New York -
Georgia
Georgia is the 13th and last colony. It was founded by a group of English men who wanted to help the poor in England stay out of deptor's prison (in England at this time, people who didnt pay their bills went to jail). There weren't too many poor deptors who wanted to start new lives in the wilderness of North America, most thought prison would be safer. A lot of people looking for religious freedom came to Georgia. James Oglethorpe basically founded Georgia. -
Proclamation of 1763
King George ordered that all settelers must stay on the East side of the Appalchian Mountains and indians stay on the West because the Brith lost a lot of money figiting the wars with the indians and the french, so that will bring peace. -
The stamp act
Must purchase a stamp for all paper used. Cards, Newspaper, licenses. This is because the British needed money, because they lost a lot of money during the war with the French and Indians. This resulted in people protesting, until they repealed the stamp act. -
The Quartering Act
The colonists has to give the soldiers a home and give them everything like salt, food, bedding, beer, vinegar, candles, firing, and utensils. And if someone didn’t follow the rules, they were punished. This got people mad, and the British government reacted by refusing to let the assembly meet until every one followed the rules. -
The Townshend Acts
The colonists had to pay for all British imported goods. Because the soldiers that were in America had to be played for, so they used the tax money to do that. There would be consequences for not following his laws. People boycott all British goods. And then this forced the British government to make tax on only tea. -
The Tea Act
There were only allowed to buy tea from the British India Company, and the tea is really cheap. Even cheaper than tea that was smuggled into America. The reason for this was that the company was going bankrupt, and the king didn’t want that to happen. People got very mad, and they threw out 90,000 pounds of tea into the Boston harbor, and this was known as the Boston tea party. -
The Intolerable Acts
The intolerable acts were laws that were designed to punish the colonists for the Boston tea party. First law closed the harbor until the ruined tea was paid for. The government of Massachusetts is not firmly under British control, and there was to be no town meetings without permission. And the third law was, all British soldiers accused of murder was to be trailed in England and more troops were sent. The loyalists were mad at the colonists for bringing these new rules on them, and they wanted -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
This was a very big battle between the colonists and the British. This was a short, but bloody fight. The colonists had killed more than 1000 british soldiers. and only about 1/2 of that were colonists. Both sides took this seriously. This showed the colonists weren't going to give up easily, this showes their strength. -
Lexington & Concord
This was the first major fight with among the colonists and the british. The british attacked Lexington, and they killed and wounded many colonists. They thought they won this battle, and they headed to concord. When they got there, they started to burn burn things. More than 4000 Minutemen started shooting at them. Then the British were the one who started to flee. This showed that the colonists were willing to die for their rights. -
The Second Continental Congress
This was a meetings of the delagates from the 13 colonies. This was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They discused the issues with the british, and they all voted if they want independence, or to make peace with the British. -
The Olive Branch Petition
The congress sent an petition to King george asking for peace and to end the quarrel. But the king had rejected this, and instead he called the Colonists traitors, and he ordered his ministers to bring them to justice. -
The Siege of Boston (The British Abandon Boston)
During this fight, Washington had only 36 barrels of gun powder. A very little amount (for all soldiers to fire only 9 shots). To counter this, Washington started a rumor that he had 1,800 barrels of gunpowder. After this washington gathered some big guns like cannons from a fort named Fort Ticonderoga. At that night the colonists surrounded the city with cannons. This forced 9,000 British troops with 1,100 loyalists left to Canada. -
The Declaration of Independence
The declaration of independence was a letter that was written by the youngest member of the congress, Thomas Jefferson, who was 33 years old. He stated all of the crimes the King had done, how the British was unfair and it talked about how everyone is equal. -
Battle for New York
Washington and his army hurried from boston to New York to block british invasion. The colonists were encourgaed by the declaration of independence and that the congress had finally declared the colonies as independent. But when the fight started, their hopes faded, the british had only lost only 377 men, and the Americans had lost 1,407 men. -
Trenton
The american soldiers had crossed the ice cold Delaware river in small boats. The Americans made their way toward Trenton. When they reached their, they saw that all the british were sleeping after eating their christmas feasts. They were caught completely by surprise. The Americans took 868 British mercenaries as prisoners, and the Americans didn't loose even a single man. -
Saratoga
Washington didn't want to risk his army in another big battle. So instead he decided to play "hide and seek" with the British. The Americans tired the british by fighting small little battles, atacking and then disappearing. When the British reached Saratoga, the place was swarming with militia. The Americans out numbered the British, but they still attacked. Slowly the rebels forced the British to surrender. -
Yorktown
The british were heading south because they thought that there were thousands of Loyalists just waiting to join the kings cause. Guerrilas, were soldiers that weren't part of any regular army. They were known as the "Swamp Fox". They used the "hit and run" raids. This slowed the british down and tired them. They soon retreated to Yorktown, to rest. He fell right into the American's trap. The Americans made the British surrender. Americans watch as 8,000 british troops surrendered. -
Treaty of Paris
Both Americans and British delegates signed the treaty of Paris (in France, because it is nuetral ground). They agreed on three main things. First, the British agreed to recognize the US as an independent nation. Second, British gave up all its land between the Atlantic coast and the Mississippi River, from Canada south to Florida. Third, the US agreed to return all rights and property taken from loyalists during the war. -
Ratification of the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States of America. It gave congress some important powers, it could choose to make war or peace, make an army or navy, print money and set up postal system. But the congress wasen't alowed to impose taxes. The congress ratified to this at taht time. But they would later understand its flaws, and would change it. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shay's rebellion was a protest against the unfairness of farmers. This was all caused by the Articles of Confederation. Each states printed their own money, and after a while there was lots of different currencies all around. No one knew which was worth how much. This was unfair against the farmers, because they couldn't pay off dept of the war. Instead they had to sell their land. The rebellion got the congress to meet, and re-think and make the Articles of Confederation. -
Constitutional Convention
After the Shay's Rebellion made all the delegates meet. They met in Philadelphia to discuss all the problems caused by the Articles of Confederation. So they finally decided that the Articles of Confederation couldn't be fixed, and they started to make a brand new constitution -
Ratification of the U.S. Constitution
At the Constitutional Convention they started making a new constitution called the US constitution. It fixed all the flaws of the Articles of Constitution. It is still used today in the US. It was ratified (signed) by the delegates on 17 september 1787. This new constitution has three branches, which are equal and has same amounts of power, they can check each branch, so that they stay equal. -
The Louisiana Purchase
After the Luisiana Purchase, America's land almost doubled. This is because France Ceded it to America. America bought it for 15 million dollars from France. -
Upset Southerners: Issue One
The Tallmadge amendment proposed that Missouri be admitted as a free state. The southerners were upset about this because then there would be more free state than slave states, and that would upset the balance. -
Spain gives Florida to the U.S
Spain ceded Florida to the United states for 5 million dollars. They did this because Andrew Jackson started attacking the Indians in that area, the spanish were scared, so they sold the area to America. But for one condition, they exchanged any renunciation of claims on Texas that they might have from the Luisiana purchace. -
The Indian Removal Act
The indian removal act was signed by Andrew Jackson. He decided to move all indians by force from their homelands to small terrotories in the west. They were forced to move. -
The "Trail of Tears"
More than 17,000 Cherokee were dragged from their homes in Georgia, they wre hearded west by federal troops. More than 4,000 Cherokees died in this trail. Those who survived remembered this journey as the "Trails of Tears". -
Texas is annexed
Texas was a large ammount of land owned by the Spain. Americans wanted this land. After a lot of Rebellion Texas was free from Spain. Then America decided to annex Texas, which they agreed to. -
Oregon Treaty
Lots of pioneers were moving into Oregon, because it was a very good place for farming, and there was lots of open land. Presidend Polk wanted to annex all of Oregon, but the British also owned part of it. He didn't want to risk going into war with them again. So he decided to make a treaty, where they devided up Oregon into two parts at the 49th parallel. -
War with Mexico
After Texas was annexed, Mexico got mad, and they attacked American soldiers. That lead to America declaring war with Mexico. After lots of battles between America and Mexico, they signed the treety of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Mexico agreed to give up Texas and a big region known as the Mexican Cession. This area includes California, Naveda, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. -
Upset Northerners: Issue 1
The fugitive slave law caused bitterness between the North beacuse they didn't support slavery. The fugitive slave law said that all runaway slave must be returned to their masters. And some Northerners assisted fugitive slaves. -
Upset Northerners: Issue two
The Kansas-Nebraska Act stated that the issue of slavery in those territories would be decided by popular sovereignty. People from the South, and North moved in to the territories to vote. This upset the Northerners because this was a way of expanding slavery, because they were against slavery. -
Upset Southerners: Issue Two
Abraham Lincoln was elected as president. This angered the South because they supported slavery, and Abraham Lincoln didn't support slavery. So then he would help the North, rather than the South. -
Start, end, and reasons for war
The civil war started at 1861, and finished at 1865. The reasons are mainly because the North supported anti-slavery, and the South supported slavery. There were other reasons like state rights. And another big reason was that president Ebraham Lincoln was elected, and he supported anti-slavery. When Lincoln was elected, the south seceded,but Lincoln couldn't let that happen. So the civil war was started between the North and the South. The north won the war on 1865, and became part of the US.
