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English Colony at Jamestown Virginia
The first English settlement in the New World. FIrst established
as "James Fort" by the Virginia Company of London. It is now thought
of as one of the first three towns that make up the Historic Triangle
of Colonial Virginia, along with Williamsburg and Yorktown. -
Period: to
Timeline of American History
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First Africans Brought to North America
Slave ShipsThe first African American Slaves were brought to Jamestown,
Virginia in 1619 on a ship ironically named Jesus. These vessels were used to import slaves that were brought in work in
plantation. -
Pilgrims Land at Plymouth
William Bradford arrives at Plymouth Rock in 1620 on the Mayflower.
The people on this ship were Separatists, a branch of Puritanism. On of the
reasons they made this journey was because they wanted to withdraw from the
established church. -
The Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch Trials started in 1692 when People in Salem,
Massachusetts claimed to be possessed by the devil. Many people
were alarmed by this rumor, which also accused a few people of
witchcraft. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (also known as the Seven Years War) was a
series of battles between the British and the French over territory in
the New World. It ended with Britain receiving Canada from France and
Florida from Spain. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre, which happened on March 5, 1770, was a
"street fight" in which colonists three objects at a group of British
who, in retaliation, opened fire on the colonists. Ultimately, 5 colonists
were killed. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an event where the Sons of Liberty,
led by Samuel Adams sabotaged the supply of tea imported from
Britain in response to Britain raising the taxes on tea. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence announced that the thirteen American
colonies had become independent from Great Britain and adopted the name
The United States of America. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was signed in Paris with the consent
of Kind George III. This document ended the American Revolutionary
War. The treaty of Paris was one of the documents that was part of the
Peace of Paris - documents made to establish peace between
France, Spain, and Britain. -
Shays' Rebellion
A series of protests by farmers who were led by Daniel Shays
because of economic injustices by Massachusetts. These rebel farmers
were called Shaysites. -
Constitution Ratified
1789 was the year that the U.S. Constitution actually began
but the Constitution was made the law of the land on June 21, 1988
by New Hampshire, the ninth and final state to ratify the Constitution. -
Whiskey Rebellion
A rebellion against the first tax ever imposed by the new federal
government. This tax was imposed to help reduce national debt. The tax
was for all spirits, but whiskey was the one the people were most angry
about. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
An expedition by explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to
explore the western side of the country for the first time. They focused
on studying animals, plant life, and geography of the west. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 lasted two and a half years. This war was fought by
the US against the United Kingdom. It was caused by things like trade
restrictions from the British war with France. However, this war did solve
many problems left over from the American Revolution. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was made to settle the imbalance between slave
and free states. It allowed Missouri to come in as a slave state with the
condition that any state that came in above the line 36°30 would be free. -
Trail of Tears
Andrew Jackson forces the Cherokee tribe of Indians to give up their
territory and move to present-day Oklahoma as part of his Indian removal
policy. Over 4,000 Cherokees died during this trip. -
Texan Independence
Colonists in the province of Texas, which at the time was part of
Mexico rebelled against the Mexican government. Texas got help from
volunteers to defeat Mexico and Texas became temporarily independent.
It soon became the 28th state of the United States. -
Mexican American War
The Mexican American War followed the annexation of Texas to the United
States. The United States invaded Mexico and this went on to be one of the five
major wars fought in North America. -
Gold Rush
Gold was discovered in Sacramento Valley and many people from all around
the country flocked to California in hopes o becoming wealthy by mining gold.
About $2 billion worth of gold was dug up. -
Compromise of 1850
In September of 1850, five laws concerning slavery were passed to
try and solve certain issues. Some of these were the Fugitive Slave Act,
the abolition of the slave trade in Washington D.C. and California entering
the union as a free state. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act Created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and it the
issue came up of whether these states would be free or slave states. It
was decided that the states would be able to vote on this issue, an idea
known as popular sovereignty. -
Election of 1860
The 19th quadrennial presidential election. After the North and
the South being split up by issues over slavery, the Republican Party
in the North elected Abraham Lincoln as president. -
Civil War
The Civil WarThe Civil War was the bloodiest and most brutal war in American
history. The issue of slavery drove the country apart. North and South
were divided and fought for four years. The victory went to the North,
meaning slavery in America would be no more. -
Transcontinental Railroad Completed
The first transcontinental railroad was completed on May 10.
This had particularly benefited Americans living in the west because
though the railroads in the east were big and complex, nearly none had
been built in the west. -
End of Reconstruction
The Compromise of 1877. And unwritten deal that ended the Reconstruction
Era, meaning federal troops would leave the South for good.
