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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
Granted by the king of England to a group of rebellious barons and signed on the plain at Runnymede on June 15, 1215, the Magna Carta (Great Charter) is widely viewed as one of the most important legal documents in history, enshrining the concepts of government accountability and protection of individual rights. -
Oct 12, 1492
America Discovered
Columbus led his three ships - the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria - out of the Spanish port of Palos on August 3, 1492. His objective was to sail west until he reached Asia (the Indies) where the riches of gold, pearls and spice awaited,But then ran itno the continent we now live on today; North America -
Jamestown Founded
Jamestown was the first settlement of the Virginia Colony, founded in 1607, and served as capital of Virginia until 1699, First Succeful Colony -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770. A squad of British soldiers, come to support a sentry who was being pressed by a heckling, snowballing crowd, let loose a volley of shots. Three persons were killed immediately and two died later of their wounds; among the victims was Crispus Attucks, a man of black or Indian parentage. The British officer in charge, Capt. Thomas Preston, was arrested for manslaughter, along with eight of his men; all were later acquitted. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (French: Vente de la Louisiane "Sale of Louisiana") was the acquisition of the Louisiana territory (828,000 square miles) by the United States from France in 1803, Which significantly helped the manifest destiny america had set out to complete. -
Civil War Begins
The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas (the name used by Confederate forces), was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the city of Manassas, not far from Washington, D.C. It was the first major battle of the American Civil War. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
General Robert E. Lee Surrender at Appomattox
With his army surrounded, his men weak and exhausted, Robert E. Lee realized there was little choice but to consider the surrender of his Army to General Grant. After a series of notes between the two leaders, they agreed to meet on April 9, 1865, at the house of Wilmer McLean in the village of Appomattox Courthouse. The meeting lasted 2 and 1/2 hours and at its conclusion the bloodliest conflict in the nation's history neared its end.
