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Aug 3, 1492
“In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue,”
Columbus landed on various Caribbean islands that are now the Bahamas as well as the island later called Hispaniola. He also explored the Central and South American but he never set foot in North America, during his four separate trips across the Atlantic. -
Founding of Jamestown
December 6, 1606, the journey to Virginia began on three ships: the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery. In 1607. On May 13 the name "Jamestown" was chosen for their settlement, which was named after their King, James -
End of The French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was the North American conflict in a larger imperial war between Great Britain and France known as the Seven Years' War.the British and French wanted to extend their North American colonies into the land west of the Appalachian Mountains. "I wonder, if France and India went to war today, could you call it... The Second French and Indian war?" -
The Boston Tea Party
colonists, disguised as Indians, threw the contents of several hundred chests of tea into the harbor as a protest against British taxes on tea and against the monopoly granted the East India Company. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
Tensions had been building for many years between residents of the colonies and the British authorities. On the night of April 18, British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord in order to seize an arms cache. Riders sounded the alarm, and colonial militiamen began mobilizing to intercept the Redcoat. A confrontation on the Lexington town green started off the fighting and ended in British retreat. -
The Declaration of Independence
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." -
Battle of Yorktown
17,000 French and Continental troops, begins the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown against British contingent of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia, in the most important battle of the Revolutionary War. -
The Constitutional Convention
between May and September of 1787 to address the problems of the weak central government that existed under the Articles of Confederation. The United States Constitution that emerged from the convention established a federal government with more specific powers. -
The invention of the cotton gin
The cotton gin is a machine that separates cotton seeds from cotton fiber. It was an important invention because it dramatically reduced the amount of time it took to separate cotton seeds from cotton fiber. But consequently it made slave labor in the cotton industry very lucrative. -
The Alien and Sedition Acts
Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by the Federalist Congress into law.These laws included new powers to deport foreigners as well as making it harder for new immigrants to vote. -
Louisiana Purchase
It is a land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. -
The War of 1812
Great Britain was locked in a long and bitter conflict with Napoleon Bonaparte's France. In an attempt to cut off supplies from reaching the enemy, both sides attempted to block the United States from trading with the other. "It's complicated, there are various reasons why America join the war but let's not get into those reasons." -
The Missouri Compromise
An effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states. Admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. -
Andrew Jackson’s Election
Jackson and the Democratic Party accused John Quincy Adams of engaging in disgraceful politics in order to ensure his victory in the election of 1824. Adams responded with a campaign that focused on Andrew Jackson's military career and personal life. -
The invention of the telegraph
The telegraph revolutionized long-distance communication. It worked by transmitting electrical signals over a wire laid between stations. -
The Panic of 1837
A financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major recession that lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down while unemployment went up. Pessimism abounded during the time. -
The Trail of Tears
as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee people called this journey the "Trail of Tears," because of its devastating effects. -
The Mexican-American War
When the Mexican-American War ended, the United States received the Mexican Cession which included all of California, Nevada and Utah, and parts of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming. With this huge land acquisition, the issue of slavery in the new territories was raised. -
The Compromise of 1850
As part of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished. Furthermore, California entered the Union as a free state and a territorial government was created in Utah. -
The Firing on Fort Sumter
The American Civil War begins when Confederates fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina. The fort had been the source of tension between the Union and Confederacy for several months. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln declared free all slaves residing in territory in rebellion against the federal government. -
Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his Army of Northern Virginia to Union General Ulysses S. Grant. ... But the resulting Battle of Appomattox Court House, which lasted only a few hours, effectively brought the four-year Civil War to an end. -
Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, was assassinated by well-known stage actor John Wilkes Booth on April 14, 1865, while attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C -
The adding of 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments
The 13th (1865), 14th (1868), and 15th Amendments (1870) were the first amendments made to the U.S. constitution in 60 years. Known collectively as the Civil War Amendments, they were designed to ensure the equality for recently emancipated slaves. -
The Organization of Standard Oil Trust
The Standard Oil Trust was formed in 1863 by John D. Rockefeller. He built up the company through 1868 to become the largest oil refinery firm in the world. In 1870, the company was renamed Standard Oil Company, after which Rockefeller decided to buy up all the other competition and form them into one large company. -
Andrew Johnson’s Impeachment
three days after Johnson's dismissal of Stanton, the House of Representatives voted 126 to 47 (with 17 members not voting) in favor of a resolution to impeach the President for high crimes and misdemeanors. -
The Pullman and Homestead Strikes
an industrial lockout and strike which began on June 30, 1892, culminating in a battle between strikers and private security agents on July 6, 1892. -
The Spanish-American War
Hostilities began in the aftermath of the internal explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in Cuba, leading to US intervention in the Cuban War of Independence. -
Theodore Roosevelt becomes president
"Teddy" Roosevelt was governor of New York before becoming U.S. vice president. At age 42, Teddy Roosevelt became the youngest man to assume the U.S. presidency after President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901. -
The invention of the electric light, telephone, and airplane
The electric light, one of the everyday conveniences that most affects our lives, was not “invented” in the traditional sense. Alexander Graham Bell, the famous scientist and inventor of the telephone in 1876. Orville Wright were American inventors and pioneers of aviation. In 1903 the Wright brothers achieved the first powered, sustained and controlled airplane flight.
