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Jan 1, 1492
Period of the Columbian Exchange
"The post-1492 era is known as the period of the Colombian Exchange, a dramatically widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human populations (including slaves), communicable disease, and ideas between the American and Afro-Eurasian hemispheres following Columbus's voyages to the Americas." -
Aug 3, 1492
Christopher Columbus set sail
"On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail westward from Spain on a voyage to Asia, a land where gold and spices were believed to be abundant." -
Jan 1, 1497
Columbus's third voyage
"In 1497, sailing from Bristol on behalf of England, John Cabot landed on the North American coast, and a year later, Columbus's third voyage reached the South American coast." -
Jan 1, 1530
Hernán Cortés conquered Mexico, conquest of the Inca
- Hernán Cortés eventually conquered Mexico with the help of Tlaxcala in 1519–1521, while the conquest of the Incas was carried out by some 40,000 Incas renegades led by Francisco Pizarro in between 1532 and 1535.
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The first permanent English colony
"During the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, colonization by the English rapidly increased, and soon the first permanent English colony was established at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607." -
The states came together to justify the formation of the new federal Constitution
Articles and the fears of excessive democracy in the states came together in 1787 to justify the formation of the new federal Constitution. During the decade between 1776 and 1787 Americans experienced one of the most creative moments in the history of politics. -
Congress passed a resolution
"As early as May 10, 1776, Congress passed a resolution advising the colonies to form new governments ("such as shall best conduce to the happiness and safety of their constituents.")" -
The constitution was placed before the people for ratification
By 1780 Massachusetts, which had delayed writing its constitution, came up with the solution. It elected a convention specially designed to form a constitution and then placed that constitution before the people for ratification. -
The colonies were unified
Under the Articles of Confederation, a formal agreement had loosely unified the colonies since 1781 -
The states legalized the union
It took nearly four years, until March 1781, for all the states to legalize this union -
The finished Constitution was signed
At the end of sixteen weeks of deliberation -on September 17, 1787 -the finished Constitution was signed "by unanimous consent of the state’s present." -
The Constitution was radified
The Convention had decided that the Constitution would take effect as soon as it was approved by conventions in nine of the thirteen states. By the end of 1787, three had ratified it. -
The Constitution was adopted after the Bill of Rights
As a result of the adoption of the Bill of Rights, the wavering states soon came to the support of the Constitution, which was finally adopted June 21, 1788. -
The first President of the United States took Oath
One name was on every man's lips for the new chief of state, and Washington was unanimously chosen President. On April 30, 1789, he took the oath pledging faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and to the best of his ability to "preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." -
The beginning of the French Revolution
French revolutionaries storm the Bastille prison in Paris, marking the start of the French Revolution July 4th of 1789. The Marquis de Lafayette, Washington's close friend, will be an important player in the ongoing Revolution. -
George Washington delivers the first "State of the Union Address"
President George Washington delivers the first "State of the Union Address" on January 8, 1790. -
The End of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin dies on April 17, 1790 in Philadelphia, PA. -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
In 1793, Eli Whitney invented his cotton gin, which improved ten-fold over hand labor the pace of removing seed husks from the cotton balls. Thereafter cotton cultivation and slavery expanded rapidly in tandem across the South. -
Slaves Fight Back
In 1800, a blacksmith named Gabriel recruited at least 500 fellow slaves to seize arms from the state arsenal and dictate emancipation to the governor. -
Jefferson becomes President, followed by a new Chief Justice that stays for 35 years
In 1801, while Jefferson became president, a Federalist became the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court. The Federalist president, John Adams, had appointed John Marshall, a Virginian who despised his cousin, the new president. While Jefferson served as president for 8 years, Marshall remained chief justice for 35 years, longer than anyone else in the history of that court. -
Virginia legislature required any newly freed slave to leave the state
In 1806, the Virginia legislature required any newly freed slave to leave the state, which discouraged further manumissions. Rejecting the libertarian-ism of the Revolution, southern leaders gradually adopted an aggressive defense of slavery, which insisted that blacks were racially inferior and unfit for freedom. -
Congress abolishes the importation of slaves
Congress abolished the importation of slaves from abroad, but did not do so until 1807. -
Congress and President Madison declares war on Great Britain
In June 1812, Congress and President Madison declared war on Great Britain -
British and their European allies crushed Napoleon’s France
The war took a further turn for the worse in 1814, when the British and their European allies crushed Napoleon’s France, freeing up thousands of British troops for deployment against the United States. During the summer and fall of 1814, British forces went on the offensive, invading the United States from multiple directions. -
John Quincy Adams addresses Americans' pride in the war
In 1816, John Quincy Adams soberly (but privately) remarked, “My countrymen . . . look too intently to their Triumphs & turn their eyes too lightly away from their disasters.” He felt that Americans were “rather more proud than they have reason [to be] of the War.” -
The beginning of the Nullification Crisis
Objections in South Carolina to federal tariffs led to the Nullification Crisis in 1828. -
One of the bloodiest rebellions in U.S. history occurs August, 1829
One of the bloodiest rebellions in U.S. history occurred in August 1829 when Nat Turner organized a slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia. -
South Carolina declares federal tariffs unconstitutional and unenforceable in SC
Having blamed the tariffs for part of the economic downturn in the 1820's, South Carolina passed a Nullification Ordinance in late 1832 that declared federal tariffs unconstitutional and unenforceable in South Carolina, and made military preparations to resist federal enforcement. -
William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan founded the American Anti-Slavery Society
In 1833, William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan founded the American Anti-Slavery Society. Although highly controversial with huge, physically threatening public opposition -
Congress passes a revised tariff to repeal South Carolina's Ordinance
Although President Andrew Jackson obtained Congressional authorization to use military force against South Carolina in late February 1833, military confrontation was averted when Congress passed a revised tariff that met South Carolinian’s demands and the state repealed its ordinance. -
The first Commercial Electrical Telegraph was Patented
In 1837, two Brits, William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone, patented the first commercial electrical telegraph. -
President Harrison dies after only a month in office
1841 – President Harrison dies after only a month in office -
William Henry Harrison becomes President
1841 – William Henry Harrison becomes President -
Mines Act of 1842 is passed
The Mines Act of 1842 – prohibited the employment of women and of children under 10 years of age, in underground mines. -
The Webster–Ashburton Treaty was signed August 9, 1842
The Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was a treaty resolving several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies (i.e. the region that became Canada). -
O'Sullivan wrote an essay titled Annexation in the Democratic Review
In 1845, O'Sullivan wrote another essay titled Annexation in the Democratic Review, [16] in which he first used the phrase manifest destiny.[17] In this article he urged the U.S. to annex the Republic of Texas,[18] not only because Texas desired this, but because it was "our manifest destiny to overspread the continent allotted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions". -
Representative Robert Winthrop ridiculed the concept in Congress
On January 3, 1846, Representative Robert Winthrop ridiculed the concept in Congress, saying "I suppose the right of a manifest destiny to spread will not be admitted to exist in any nation except the universal Yankee nation". -
Gold was discovered in California
The desire for more land brought aspiring homesteaders to the frontier. When gold was discovered in California in 1848, the number of migrants increased even more. -
The Mexican-American War
After the Mexican–American War ended in 1848, disagreements over the expansion of slavery made further annexation by conquest too divisive to be official government policy. -
Millard Fillmore's second annual message to Congress was submitted
Millard Fillmore's second annual message to Congress, submitted in December 1851, gave double the amount of space to filibustering activities than the brewing sectional conflict. -
The Civil War created the modern national state in America
The army in 1861 numbered 14,000 men, the federal budget was minuscule, and nearly all functions of government were handled at the state and local level. The Civil War created the modern national state in America. -
Lincoln concluded his policy to preserve the union had to change.
In 1862, with military success elusive, Radical Republicans in Congress and abolitionists clamoring for action against slavery, and slaves by the thousands fleeing the plantations wherever the Union Army appeared, Lincoln concluded that his initial policy of fighting a war solely to preserve the Union had to change. -
The Emancipation Proclamation was Issued
The Emancipation Proclamation, issued on January 1, 1863, profoundly altered the nature of the war and the future course of American history. -
"The Black Codes" became a law
The new governments established during the summer and fall of 1865 enacted laws—the notorious Black Codes—that severely limited the rights of former slaves in an effort to force them to return to work as dependent plantation laborers. -
Congress enacts its own plan of Reconstruction
The Republican majority in Congress in 1866 enacted its own plan of Reconstruction. -
The 14th Amendment was added to the Constitution
In the Civil Rights Act of 1866 and the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution, they permanently altered the federal system and the nature of American citizenship. -
Alaska was purchased
William Henry Seward purchased Alaska in 1867 as a step toward the possible purchase of British Columbia. -
African Americans from the confederacy were granted the right to vote
In 1867, African American men in the defeated Confederacy were given the right to vote and hold office—a radical departure from pre-Civil War days, when blacks could vote only in a handful of northern states. -
Former Union General Ulysses S. Grant becomes president
In 1869, Former Union General Ulysses S. Grant becomes president. Although allied with the Radical Republicans in Congress he does not provide strong leadership for Reconstruction. -
Joseph H. Rainey becomes the first black member of the House of Representatives
Joseph H. Rainey, first black member sworn in as member of U. S. House of Representatives. December 12, 1870. -
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RESOURCES:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_colonization_of_the_Americas
https://www.texasgateway.org/resource/exploration-and-colonization-america
http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/outlines/history-1954/the-formation-of-a-national-government.php
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/creating-new-government/essays/creating-new-government
http://www.shmoop.com/george-washington/timeline.html
https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/essays/new-nation-1783%E2%80%931815 -
