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Eli Whitney Patented The Cotton Gin
The cotton gin contributed to the concept of interchangeable parts and removed seeds from cotton fibers and cheaper and faster cotton production. It also resulted in more slave labor. -
Gabriel Prosser Slave Revolt
The Gabriel Prosser Slave Revolt was the first armed slave revolt with Gabriel Prosser organizing it and 50 other slaves around Richmond, Virginia. Two slaves told white authorities and Governor James Monroe called out militia and Prosser and the other slaves were executed. -
Thomas Jefferson Elected President
Thomas Jefferson was elected as the third president of the United States. He campaigned as a Democratic-Republican with Aaron Burr against Federalists John Adams, Charles C. Pinckney, and John Jay. Jefferson and Adams fought dirty while on the campaign trail. -
Marbury V. Madison
A case where Chief Justice John Marshall asserted the right for the Supreme Court to interpret the meaning of the Constitution. Finally they established the Court's power of judicial review. -
Louisiana Purchase
A land purchase made between the US and France during Thomas Jefferson's presidency. The US doubled in size and gained control of the Mississippi River for only $15 million. -
Beginning of Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark were sent by Thomas Jefferson to explore the land acquired during the Louisiana Purchase. This expedition resulted in maps and records of the new land. -
Chesapeake-Leopard Affair
US ship "the Chesapeake" refused to allow the British on the Leopard which resulted into the Leopard firing at the Chesapeake and the US getting rid of all British ships till Britain released an apology. -
Embargo Act
An act passed by Thomas Jefferson that prohibited American trade in foreign ports. -
James Madison Elected President
The author of the Bill of Rights and the Constitution ran for office as a Democratic-Republican against Federalist Charles Cotesworth Pinckney. -
Non-Intercourse Act
The Non-Intercourse Act replaced the Emargo Act and only forbade trade between Britain and France. -
Beginning of Manifest Destiny
The phrase "manifest destiny" is most often associated with the territorial expansion of the United States from 1812 to 1860. This era, from the end of the War of 1812 to the beginning of the American Civil War, has been called the "age of manifest destiny". -
The British Burn Washington DC
After the US victory of the Battle of Blandenburg, the British army set fire to many public building in DC. -
Death of Tecumseh
Tecumseh was a Shawnee chief who work to united the Northwestern Native American tribes. He was killed while fighting for the British in the War of 1812 thus marking the end of hope for Native confederacy. -
Francis Cabot Lowell Smuggled Memorized Textile Mill Plans From Manchester, England
Lowell memorized textile plans from England and used them to startup his own textile mill in Lowell, Massachusetts which became one of the most famous textile mills in the US. -
Battle of New Orleans
Andrew Jackson's troops repelled a British invasion. 2500 British soldiers were either killed or capture while only 8 American soldiers were killed or captured. This battle inspired American nationalism. -
Harford Convention
A convention was a series of meeting held by New England Federalists in Hartford, Connecticut to discuss their opposition to the War of 1812. Many of their complaints were their fear of being overpowered by southern and western states. -
Treaty of Ghent Ratified
Ended the War of 1812 and territory captured during the war was returned to its original owner. Also began the commission to set up the US and Canadian border. -
James Monroe Elected President
James Monroe, Madison's secretary of state, elected as president over federalist Rufus King. This was the final election where a federalist ran in and marked the beginning of the Era of Good Feelings. -
Rush-Bagot Treaty
A treaty between the US and Britain that demilitarized the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain. This treaty improved the relationship between the US and Britain following the end of the War of 1812. -
Era of Good Feelings Began
The Era of Good Feelings marked a period in the political history of the United States that reflected a sense of national purpose and a desire for unity among Americans in the aftermath of the War of 1812. -
Anglo-American Convention
The Anglo-American Convention allowed New England fisherman to access Newfoundland fisheries, set the northern border for the Louisiana territory, allowed joint occupation of the Oregon country, and was signed by the Britain and the US. -
Panic of 1819
After the post-War of 1812 expanse ended the banks all around the country were failed and caused a widespread panic about the state of the economy in the US. -
Dartmouth College V. Woodward
Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 17 U.S. 518 (1819), was a landmark decision in United States corporate law from the United States Supreme Court dealing with the application of the Contract Clause of the United States Constitution to private corporations. -
Adams-Onis Treaty
The purchase of Florida from Spain. Resulted in Western boundary for US and kept Seminoles from getting into Georgia. It was also know as the Transcontinental Treaty. -
McCulloch V. Maryland
A case that asked the questions:
"Did congress have the authority to establish the bank?"
"Did the Maryland law unconstitutionally interfere with congressional powers?
The result was a unanimous decision that Congress had the power to establish the bank and Maryland could not tax instruments of the national government. -
Second Great Awakening Began
The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1790, gained momentum by 1800 and, after 1820, membership rose rapidly among Baptist and Methodist congregations whose preachers led the movement. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise allowed Missouri to be a slave state and Maine as a free state. -
Denmark Vesey Slave Revolt
Denmark Vesey was a leader in a slave revolt in Charleston, South Carolina. It added to the anxiety of possible federal influence in slavery. -
Monroe Doctrine
A document written by James Monroe stating that Europe should not interfere with the western hemisphere. -
John Quincy Adams Elected President (Corrupt Bargain)
A scandal about the Speaker of the House, Henry Clay, and John Quincy Adams striking a deal that if Clay helps him win the House election he will make Clay his Secretary of State. -
Gibbons V. Ogden
Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. 1 (1824), was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution, encompassed the power to regulate navigation. -
Robert Owen Founded the New Harmony Community
The Harmonists built a new town in the wilderness, but in 1824 they decided to sell their property and return to Pennsylvania. Robert Owen, a Welsh industrialist and social reformer, purchased the town in 1825 with the intention of creating a new utopian community and renamed it New Harmony. -
Charles B. Finney Lead Religious Revivals in Western New York
Charles Grandison Finney was an American Presbyterian minister and leader in the Second Great Awakening in the United States. He has been called The Father of Modern Revivalism. Finney was best known as an innovative revivalist during the period 1825-1835 in upstate New York and Manhattan, an opponent of Old School Presbyterian theology, an advocate of Christian perfectionism, and a religious writer. -
Horace Mann Elected Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education
Horace Mann (May 4, 1796 – August 2, 1859) was an American educational reformer and Whig politician dedicated to promoting public education. He served in the Massachusetts State legislature (1827–1837). -
Lyman Beecher Delivered His “Six Sermons on Intemperance”
Abolition Movement. Cofounder and leader of the American Temperance Society. His Six Sermons on Intemperance were heard all over the US. Theobald Mathew. Abolition Movement. Minister who created the T-Total Abstinence Society. -
Tariff of Abominations
A tariff designed to protect industry in the northern states. -
Creation of the Whig Party in the US
It originally formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson (in office 1829–37) and his Democratic Party. ... The underlying political philosophy of the American Whig Party was not directly related to the British Whig party. -
Joseph Smith Founded the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints
The LDS Church was formally organized by Joseph Smith on April 6, 1830, in western New York. Initial converts were drawn to the church in part because of the newly published Book of Mormon, a self-described chronicle of indigenous American prophets that Smith said he had translated from golden plates. -
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. The law authorized the president to negotiate with southern Indian tribes for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their lands. -
Worcester V. Georgia
On review of the case, the Supreme Court in Worcester v. Georgia ruled that because the Cherokee Nation was a separate political entity that could not be regulated by the state, Georgia's license law was unconstitutional and Worcester's conviction should be overturned. -
Nullification Crisis Began
In November 1832 the Nullification Convention met. The convention declared that the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and unenforceable within the state of South Carolina after February 1, 1833. They said that attempts to use force to collect the taxes would lead to the state's secession. -
Black Hawk War
The Black Hawk War was a brief conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. -
Treaty of New Echota
t cost three men their lives and provided the legal basis for the Trail of Tears, the forcible removal of the Cherokee Nation from Georgia. The Treaty of New Echota was signed in 1835, ceding Cherokee land to the U.S. in exchange for compensation. -
Andrew Jackson Issued Specie Circular
The Specie Circular is a United States presidential executive order issued by President Andrew Jackson in 1836 pursuant to the Coinage Act and carried out by his successor, President Martin Van Buren. It required payment for government land to be in gold and silver. -
First McGuffey Reader Published
William McGuffey (1800-1873), American educator, author, and Presbyterian minister is best known for creating the McGuffey Readers, the first widely used textbooks in the U.S. William McGuffey, who had a lifelong interest in teaching children, compiled the first four readers beginning in 1836. -
Texas Declared Independence from Mexico
The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and formally signed the next day after mistakes were noted in the text. -
Battle of the Alamo
The Battle of the Alamo was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna launched an assault on the Alamo Mission. -
Transcendental Club’s First Meeting
Frederic Henry Hedge, Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Ripley, and George Putnam (1807–1878; the Unitarian minister in Roxbury) met in Cambridge, Massachusetts on September 8, 1836, to discuss the formation of a new club; their first official meeting was held eleven days later at Ripley's house in Boston. -
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was 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. -
Martin Van Buren Elected President
Martin Van Buren (born Maarten van Buren; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American statesman who served as the eighth President of the United States from 1837 to 1841. -
Trail of Tears Began
In 1838 and 1839, 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. -
Ralph Waldo Emerson gave the “Divinity School Address”
The "Divinity School Address" is the common name for the speech Ralph Waldo Emerson gave to the graduating class of Harvard Divinity School on July 15, 1838. -
Webster-Ashburton Treaty
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, -
U.S. Annexation of Texas
The Annexation of Texas, the Mexican-American War, and the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, 1845–1848. During his tenure, U.S. President James K. Polk oversaw the greatest territorial expansion of the United States to date. -
James Polk Elected President
The presidency of James K. Polk began on March 4, 1845, when he was inaugurated as the 11th President of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1849. James K. Polk, a Democrat, assumed office after defeating Whig Henry Clay in the 1844 presidential election. -
Start of the Mexican War
The Mexican–American War, also known as the Mexican War and in Mexico the American intervention in Mexico, was an armed conflict between the United States of America and the United Mexican States from 1846 to 1848. -
Bear Flag Revolt
Bear Flag Revolt. Bear Flag Revolt, (June–July 1846), short-lived independence rebellion precipitated by American settlers in California's Sacramento Valley against Mexican authorities. In 1846 approximately 500 Americans were living in California, compared with between 8,000 and 12,000 Mexicans. -
John Humphrey Noyes Founded the Oneida Community
John Humphrey Noyes (September 3, 1811 – April 13, 1886) was an American preacher, radical religious philosopher, and utopian socialist. He founded the Putney, Oneida, and Wallingford Communities, and is credited with coining the term "complex marriage" -
Henry David Thoreau Published Civil Disobedience
Having spent one night in jail in July of 1846 for refusal to pay his poll tax in protest against slavery and the Mexican War, Thoreau lectured before the Concord Lyceum in January of 1848 on the subject "On the Relation of the Individual to the State. -
Gold Rush Began in California
The great California gold rush began on January 24, 1848, when James W. Marshall discovered gold in the American River while building a sawmill for John Sutter, at Sutter's Mills. How did it affect life for Settlers & Native Americans? The Native Americans were affected by the settlers. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The war officially ended with the February 2, 1848, signing in Mexico of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to United States territory, including the land that makes up all or parts of present-day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. -
Catherine Beecher Published Essays on the Education of Female Teachers
In 1852 she founded the American Woman's Educational Association, which aimed to send teachers west to build schools on the developing frontier. -
Commodore Matthew Perry Entered Tokyo Harbor Opening Japan to the U.S.
The United States and the Opening to Japan, 1853. On July 8, 1853, American Commodore Matthew Perry led his four ships into the harbor at Tokyo Bay, seeking to re-establish for the first time in over 200 years regular trade and discourse between Japan and the western world. -
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase is a 29,670-square-mile region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that the United States purchased via a treaty signed on December 30, 1853, by James Gadsden, U.S. ambassador to Mexico at that time -
Kanagawa Treaty
Treaty of Kanagawa, also called Perry Convention, (March 31, 1854), Japan's first treaty with a Western nation. Concluded by representatives of the United States and Japan at Kanagawa (now part of Yokohama), it marked the end of Japan's period of seclusion (1639–1854) -
Treaty of Wanghia with China
The Treaty of Tientsin, now also known as the Treaty of Tianjin, is a collective name for several documents signed at Tianjin (then romanized as Tientsin) in June 1858. They ended the first phase of the Second Opium War, which had begun in 1856. -
Andrew Jackson Vetoed the Re-Charter of the Second Bank of the United States
President Andrew Jackson announced that the government would no longer deposit federal funds in the Second Bank of the United States, the quasi-governmental national bank. He then used his executive power to close the account and to put the money in various state banks. -
End of War of 1812
The Treaty of Peace and Amity was signed by Britain and America thus ending the War of 1812.
