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Lexington and Concord
The Battle of Lexington and Concord was the first battle of the American Revolution. British soldiers were sent to capture military supplies, when a skirmish broke out because of the famed "shot heard 'round the world." -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from the 13 colonies to manage the colonial war effort and the Continental Army. These delegates were responsible for the composition of the Declaration of Independence, which led to American freedom. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill, which actually took place on Breed's Hill, was a battle that was fought to prevent the British from reaching Boston. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was a document that affirmed the 13 Colonies' loyalty to England and to the King. However, the Olive Branch Petition was not successful and was essentially brushed aside by King George. -
Common Sense
Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine and distributed all throughout the colonies. Common Sense posed the arguement that it was illogical to take orders from a king thousands of miles away. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a document written by Thomas Jefferson and adpoted in 1776 that declared independence from England. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga took place south of the town of Saratoga, New York. This battle was considered the turning point of the war, and gave the French a reason to join the American revolutionary cause. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first form of democratic government drawn up by the Continental Congress in 1777, but was not ratified by all states until 1781. The government under the Articles of Confederation was too weak to effectively govern, and was generally thought of as a failure. -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown was the final battle of the American Revolution and led to the surrender of General Cornwallis. This battle the American colonies their independence from England. -
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris put an official end to the Revolutionary War and awarded the Americans independance from England. -
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention took place in 1787 and was held to address the problems facing the U.S. Government. At the end of the convention, the U.S. had a new document to govern the nation; the Constitution. -
Northwest Ordinance 1787
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was a part of the Articles of Confederation that laid out the process of a territory gaining statehood. This is regarded as the only successful part of the Articles of Confederation. -
Shay’s Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising that took place in central and western Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787. The rebellion was started because of hard times brought on by the war, and let to much violence and terror in the new nation. -
Judiciary Act of 1789
The Judiciary Act of 1789 was an act that established a federal court; the Supreme Court. -
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was Protestant revival movement that took place in the early 1800's. The movement spread rapidly and led to upstate New York being called the "Burned-Over District" -
Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion was a tax protest in the United States that began in 1791 and lasted until 1794. It was a protest by farmers to the tax levied by Congress on whiskey. -
Chisholm v. Georgia
Chisolm v. Georgia is considered the first United States Supreme Court case of significance and impact. -
XYZ Affair
The XYZ Affair was a political and diplomatic episode in 1797 and 1798, early in the Presidency of John Adams. It involved French agents and almost started a war between the United States and France. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were bills passed in 1798. The Alien Act allowed the government to deport any Alien that was considered dangerous. The Sedition Act made it illegal to criticize the government. -
Revolution of 1800
The Revolution of 1800 occured when Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams to get the Presidency and shift the power to the Anti-Federalists. -
Marbury v. Madison
Marbury v. Madison was a court case in which it was decided that the Supreme Court had the power of judicial review. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was an aquisition of 828,000 square miles by the United States from France. The U.S. payed 50 million francs for the land. -
Embargo Act 1807
The Embargo Act of 1807 was a general embargo enacted by the United States Congress against Great Britain and France. It backfired and Thomas Jefferson recieved much backlash, since he was President at the time. -
Nonintercourse Act 1809
The Nonintercourse Act of 1809 lifted all embargoes on American shipping except for those bound for British or French ports. This act was still ineffective and actually damaged the economy of the U.S. -
Fletcher v. Peck
The Fletcher v. Peck case was the first case that the Supreme Court ruled a state law unconstitutional. It dealt with the ability of Native Americans to hold land. -
Macon’s Bill No. 2
Macon's Bill Number 2 was intended to motivate Britain and France to stop seizing American vessels during the Napoleonic Wars. The law lifted all embargoes with Britain and France for three months. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict between the United States and the British Empire which resulted in a resolution of many issues remaining from the Revolutionary War. -
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and England.The treaty largely restored relations between the two nations. However, news of the treaty did not reach the U.S. forces until after the Battle of New Orleans. -
Election of 1816
The Election of 1816 began the Era of Good Feelings when James Monroe was elected President of the United States. -
Second Bank of United States
The Second Bank of United States served as the nation's federally authorized central bank during its 20-year charter from February 1817 to January 1836. The Charter for the bank expired under President Andrew Jackson and was never rechartered. -
Dartmouth College v. Woodward
The Dartmouth College v. Woodward case dealt with the application of the Contract Clause of the United States Constitution to private corporations. It arose when the New Hampshire legislature attempted to force the college to become a public institution. -
McColluch v. Maryland
The McColluch v. Maryland case was over whether or not Congress had the power to create a bank. The Supreme Court determined that Congress did have the power to create the Bank. -
Johnson v. McIntosh
The Johnson v. McIntosh was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that decided that private citizens could not purchase lands from Native Americans. -
Gibbons v. Ogden
The Gibbons v. Ogden case was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce was granted to Congress by the United States Constitution. -
Election of 1824
The Election of 1824 was the 10th quadrennial presidential election. John Quincy Adams was elected President in an election known for a shady deal that took place, known as the corrupt bargain. -
Election of 1828
The Election of 1828 was the 11th Presidential Election, in which Andrew Jackson was elected President of the United States. He was known as the people's President, but also as "King Andrew". -
Indian Removal Act 1830
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson. The act authorized him to negotiate with the Indians in the Southern United States for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River. -
Nullification Crisis 1832
The Nullification Crisis of 1832 was a sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson. South Carolina declared by the power of the State that the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore null and void within the sovereign boundaries of South Carolina. -
Texas Independance
Texas declared independence from Mexico in 1836, and was an independent republic until 1845, when they were annexed into the United States of America. -
Webster-Ashburton Treaty
The Webster-Ashburton Treaty was a treaty signed that resolved several border disputes between the United States and British North American Colonies. It resolved a dispute over the location of the Maine–New Brunswick border and established the border between Lake Superior and the Lake of the Woods. -
Election of 1844
In the Election of 1844, democrat James K. Polk defeated Whig party canidate Henry Clay. Polk believed in American expanisonism and Manifest Destiny, which led to a change in American Policy. -
Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War was a conflict between the United States and Mexico that arose after the annexation of Texas and continued expansion on the part of the U.S. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was a law that, if it had passed, would have banned slavery in all new territories aquired by the U.S. However, it failed and led to much anger and resentment in the South directed toward Northerners. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was a peace agreement signed in 1848 that ended the Mexican American War and hostilities between the two nations. WIth this treaty, the Mexico ceded California and New Mexico to the United States. -
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase was a purchase of 29,670-square-miles of land in present day Arizona and New Mexico regions. This land was purchased from Mexico for $10 million back then. -
Ostend Manifesto
The Ostend Manifesto was a document written in 1854 that described the rationale behind the United States getting Cuba. It also said that the U.S. should go to war with Spain if Spain declined their offer. -
Panic of 1857
The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. It also served to feed the belief in the South that they had a superior economy. -
Alaska Purchase
The Alaska Purchase was the acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from the Russia in 1867. This expanded the United States empire farther north into the Canadian region. -
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act was an act that authorized the President of the United States to divide up and sell indian tribal lands. It was signed by President Grover Cleveland. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
Why can't you just look and see
That it was wrong, what happened at Wounded Knee
An armed American Cavalry squared off against unarmed villagers
Where the innocent blood of women and children flowed like a river
While teepees burned like bonfires
And bullets buzzed like angry bees -
U.S.S. Maine
The U.S.S. Maine was an American warship that exploded and sank in Havana harbor. The sinking was initially blamed on the Spanish and pegged as an attack on the United States. It was one of the causes of the Spanish American War. -
Teller Amendment
The Teller Amendment prevented the United States government and President McKinley from annexing Cuba, and instead left Cuba in "control of the island to its people." -
Spanish-American War
The Spanish-American War was a conflict between the United States and Spain, which was a result of American intervention in the ongoing Cuban War of Independence. It also led to a increase in American global presence and reputation. -
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion was an umprising in China between 1898 and 1901, which opposed foreign imperialism and control. The Boxers led a siege against Beijing that lasted 55 days, but was eventually defeated and those resposnible were punished. -
Open Door Policy
The Open Door Policy is a concept in foreign affairs that allowed multiple Imperial powers access to China, with none of them in control of the country. This helped to promote international trade and prevent one country from being all-powerful. -
Election of 1900
The Election of 1900 was an election that was won by William McKinley and fueled by the recent victory in the Spanish-American War and Imperialist ideas. -
Platt Amendment
The Platt Amendment of 1903 was an amendment that replaced the earlier Teller Amendment. The Amendment ensured U.S. involvement in Cuban affairs for the future. -
Roosevelt Corollary
The Roosevelt Corollary is a corollary to the Monroe Doctrine that was articulated by President Theodore Roosevelt in his State of the Union Address in 1904. The corollary states that the United States will intervene in conflicts between European Nations and Latin American countries to enforce legitimate claims of the European powers. -
Gentlemen’s Agreement
The Gentlemen’s Agreement of 1907 was an agreement between the United States and Japan whereby the U.S. would not impose restriction on Japanese immigration, and Japan would not allow further emigration to the U.S. The goal was to reduce tensions between the two powerful Pacific nations, but it ultimately failed. -
Election of 1908
The Election of 1908 was an election won by William Howard Taft and driven by issues such as people's role in government and the future of American Expansion. -
Founding of the NAACP
The NAACP was founded on February 12, 1909 as an African American civil rights organization. Its mission is “to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination. -
Mexican Civil War
The Mexican Civil War was an armed conflict in Mexico in 1910. The Mexican Civil War was an uprising led by revolutionaries against the Mexican Government. -
Election of 1912
The Election of 1912 was won by Theodore Roosevelt and driven by issues such as the economy and big businesses in America and the regulations that go with them. -
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal began construction in 1881 and ended in 1914. This canal made it no longer necessary for ships to sail the lengthy Cape Horn route around the southernmost tip of South America. However, because this project was headed up and funded by Americans, it was also responsible for an increase in American influence in Central and South America. -
Jones Act
The Jones Act was an act passed by the United States Congress which replaced the Philippine Organic Act of 1902. The Jones Law acted like a constitution for the Philippines until 1934. It played an important role in American Imperialism. -
Red Summer
The Red Summer was a series of race riots that took place in the summer of 1919. These riots included the famous Chicago Race Riot. -
First Red Scare
The First Red Scare took place from 1919-1920 and was marked by a widespread fear of Bolshevism and anarchism. It led to widespread paranoia and distrust of immigrants. -
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement by African Americans during the 1920's and 1930's. It lead to an explosion in cultural pride by blacks, as well as the invention of new art forms, such as jazz. -
Election of 1932
The Election of 1932 was the 37th Presidential Election in which Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt won the Presidency over Herbert Hoover. -
New Deal
The New Deal (1933-1936) was a series of programs that were designed to provide aid to those affected by the Great Depression, as well as cause reform that would boost the U.S. economy. -
Attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was the first and only use of nuclear weapons. This effectively forced Japan to surrender and ended World War II in the Pacific Theater. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a policy that was set forth by the U.S. President Harry Truman in a speech in 1947 stating that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere. Historians often consider it the start of the Cold War. -
Creation of NATO
NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. NATO was formed to combat the spread of communism. -
Fall of China to Communism
China fell to a Communist regime after the Communist Party of China won the civil war that had been going on in China since 1927. Mao Zedong became the ruler of China. -
Korean War (1950-1953)
The Korean War was a war between the Republic of Korea and the North Korea. It was the result of the political division of Korea after World War II. The United States fought on the side of South Korea and opposed communist-controlled North Korea. -
Election of 1952
The Election of 1952 was the 42nd presidential election. Dwight D. Eisenhower was elected President of the United States with the difficult task of stopping the spread of communism.
