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Lexington and Concord
It was one of the first militia based battles of the revolutionary war, and the first one that really drove Boston toward the revolutionary cause. It started the American revolutionary epoch. People said that it was the shot heard around the world. It was fought on April 19, 1775. -
Battle at Bunker Hill
It was early in the American Revolutionary War when this took place. The battle is named after Bunker Hill, which was involved in the battle and was the original objective of both colonial and British troops. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was adopted by the Continental Congress in July 1775 so that they could avoid war with Great Britain. The petition stated that America remained loyal to Great Britain. The petition was rejected and thus the colonies formed a rebellion. -
Common Sense
This was written by Thomas Paine in 1776 and had an immediate success. It stated that the American colonists with an argument for freedom from British rule at a time when the question of seeking independence was still undecided. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which stated that the thirteen American colonies were no longer a part of the British Empire and presented themselves as independent states. -
Articles of Confederation
It was an agreement among the 13 founding states that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution. It resulted as mainly a failure except the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a convention of delegates from the Thirteen Colonies that met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They started it soon after the American Revolutionary War had begun. The second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga conclusively decided the fate of Britain's army in the American War of Independence and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war. The battles were fought eighteen days in Saratoga, New York. -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown, taking place on October 19, 1781, was a victory by a combined force of American Continental Army troops led by General George Washington and French Army troops. -
Treaty of Paris 1783
This treaty ended the American Revolutionary war between Great Britain and the United States. The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements that reflected off of the treaty. -
Shay's Rebellion
A rebellion by debtor farmers in western Massachusetts, led by Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays, against Boston creditors. it began in 1786 and lasted half a year, threatening the economic interests of the business elite and contributing to the demise of the Articles of Confederation. -
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Shay's Rebellion
• Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising that took place in central and western Massachusetts. The rebellion was named after Daniel Shays who was also a veteran of the American Revolutionary War and was one of the rebel leaders. It was caused by several factors such as, financial difficulties by a post-war economic depression, a credit squeeze caused by a lack of hard currency, and harsh government policies. -
Northwest Ordinance
It was an act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States, passed on July 13, 1787. The main effect of the ordinance was the creation of the Northwest Territory that let them spread the country more towards the west. -
Constitutional convention
The meeting of state delegates in 1787 in Philadelphia called to revise the Articles of Confederation. It instead designed a new plan of government, the US Constitution. -
3/5 Compromise
A compromise between Southern and Northern states reached during the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 in which three-fifths of the population of slaves would be counted for enumeration purposes regarding both the distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the United States House of Representatives. -
Judiciary Act
In 1789 Congress passed this Act which created the federal-court system. The act managed to quiet popular apprehensions by establishing in each state a federal district court that operated according to local procedures. -
Marbury vs Madison
The 1803 case in which Chief Justice John Marshall and his associates first asserted the right of the Supreme Court to determine the meaning of the U.S. Constitution. The decision established the Court's power of judicial review over acts of Congress, (the Judiciary Act of 1789). -
Chisholm vs Georgia
Two citizens of South Carolina brought suit against Georgia to recover British-owned property which had been confiscated by Georgia during the Revolutionary War. State officials refused to appear in court and vigorously denied the Court's jurisdiction. The Court's decision provoked widespread criticism, and two days later the Eleventh Amendment was proposed in Congress -
Whiskey Rebellion
In 1794, farmers in Pennsylvania rebelled against Hamilton's excise tax on whiskey, and several federal officers were killed in the riots caused by their attempts to serve arrest warrants on the offenders. In October, 1794, the army, led by Washington, put down the rebellion. The incident showed that the new government under the Constitution could react swiftly and effectively to such a problem, in contrast to the inability of the government under the Articles of Confederation to deal with Shay' -
XYZ Affair
An insult to the American delegation when they were supposed to be meeting French foreign minister, Talleyrand, but instead they were sent 3 officials Adams called "X,Y, and Z" that demanded $250,000 as a bribe to see Talleyrand. -
Alien and Sedition Act
These consist of four laws passed by the Federalist Congress and signed by President Adams in 1798: the Naturalization Act, which increased the waiting period for an immigrant to become a citizen from 5 to 14 years; the Alien Act, which empowered the president to arrest and deport dangerous aliens; the Alien Enemy Act, which allowed for the arrest and deportation of citizens of countries was with the US; and the Sedition Act, which made it illegal to publish defamatory statements about t -
Revolution of 1800
Jefferson's name of 1800 election; signaled changed from Federalists to Jeffersonians -
Second Great Awakening
A series of religious revivals starting in 1801, based on Methodism and Baptism. Stressed a religious philosophy of salvation through good deeds and tolerance for all Protestant sects. The revivals attracted women, Blacks, and Native Americans. It also had an effect on moral movements such as prison reform, the temperance movement, and moral reasoning against slavery. -
Louisianna Purchase
1803 purchase of the Louisiana territory from France. Made by Jefferson, this doubled the size of the US. -
Embargo Act
This act issued by Jefferson forbade American trading ships from leaving the U.S. It was meant to force Britain and France to change their policies towards neutral vessels by depriving them of American trade. -
Nonintercourse Act
A law passed in 1809 replacing the Embargo Act, allowing Americans to carry on trade with all nations except Britain and France -
Macon's Bill Bo. 2
1810 - Forbade trade with Britain and France, but offered to resume trade with whichever nation lifted its neutral trading restrictions first. France quickly changed its policies against neutral vessels, so the U.S. resumed trade with France, but not Britain. -
Fletcher vs. Peck
1810 - A state had tried to revoke a land grant on the grounds that it had been obtained by corruption. The Court ruled that a state cannot arbitrarily interfere with a person's property rights. Since the land grant wass a legal contract, it could not be repealed, even if corruption was involved. -
War of 1812
a war (1812-1814) between the United States and England which was trying to interfere with American trade with France -
Treaty of Ghent
Treaty ending the War of 1812, signed on Christmas Eve, 1814; agreed to a halt in the fighting, the return of all conquered territory to the previous owner, and recognition of the boudary between Canada and the US. Did not address matters which led to the war (impressment, blockades) -
Second Bank of the United States
Chartered in 1816, much like its predecessor of 1791 but with more capital; it could not forbid state banks from issuing notes, but its size and power enabled it to compel the state banks to issue only sound notes or risk being forced out of business -
Election of 1816
Election when Rufus King (federalist candidate) was brutally defeated by Monroe. Rufus King was a strong advocate for the abolition of slavery. His loss signified the 'death' of the federalist party -
Dartmouth College vs Woodward
1819--New Hampshire had attempted to take over Dartmouth College by revising its colonial charter. The Court ruled that the charter was protected under the contract clause of the U. S. Constitution; upholds the sanctity of contracts. -
McColluh vs Maryland
(1819) Supreme court upheld power of the national government and denied right of a state to tax the bank. Court's broad interpretation of necessary and proper clause paved way for later rulings. -
Johnson vs McIntosh
(1823, Marshall). Established that Indian tribes had rights to tribal lands that preceded all other American law; only the federal government could take land from the tribes. -
Gibbons vs Ogden
This case involved New York trying to grant a monopoly on waterborne trade between New York and New Jersey. Judge Marshal, of the Supreme Court, sternly reminded the state of New York that the Constitution gives Congress alone the control of interstate commerce. Marshal's decision, in 1824, was a major blow on states' rights. -
Election of 1824
In this election, four candidates from the same party competed for the nation's highest office. In the end, Andrew Jackson received the most popular votes and the most electoral votes but he was not elected. Because no candidate won a majority of electoral votes, the election was thrown into the House of Representatives. Speaker of the House Henry Clay steered the election toward John Quincy Adams. When Adams then appointed Clay to be Secretary of State, Jackson and his supporters leveled charge -
Election of 1828
"Jacksonian Democracy"- , Jackson defeats John Quincy Adams in this election, becoming our 7th President (belief that the "common" man- King Mob should be able to participate in his government) -
Indian Removal Act
Ordered the removal of Indian Tribes still residing east of the Mississippi to newly established Indian Territory west of Arkansas and Missouri. Tribes resisting eviction were forcibly removed by American forces, often after prolonged legal or military battles. -
Nullification Crisis
South Carolina nullified the federal law requiring an increase of protective tariffs. This is an example of conflict over states vs federal rights. -
Texas Indepence
By this time, non-Spanish settlers outnumbered the Mexicans by 10 to 1 in Texas. And while Texan citizens believed that they needed slavery, Mexico abolished it, which caused public out cry, which only became worse when Santa Anna became the Dictator of Mexico. Sam Houston led citizens to a revolt and Declared Texas to be an independent republic, and after the battle of San Hacinto River, Santa Anna’s Army was defeated by Sam Houston’s and Santa Anna was forced to sign the Treaty that recogni -
Webster-Ashburton Treaty
This treaty (Negotiated by US secretary Daniel Webster and Britich Ambassador Lord Alexander Ashburton) split the ill-defined boundary line between Maine and the Canadian Province of New Brunswick, and finalized the border between Maine and British Canada (it also smoothed over the conflict between lumbermen of Maine and Canada known as the Aroostook war or the “Battle of the Maps”). It also settled the Minnesota Territory and left the Mesabi range to the US. -
Election of 1844
A battle between candidates Polk (Democratic) and Henry Clay (Whig), who both supported Texas Annexation. Polk eventually won and, to the Northerner’s dismay, took the election as a definite yes to adding Texas into the US. This further split the nation because Texas was a slave state. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot proviso was an attempt at creating Free states out of the territories gained from the Mexican-American war. This increased tensions between the North and South further because it would ban slavery in those states. -
Mexican-American War
The Annexation of Texas and further attempts at expansion by President Polk (attempting to buy California and New Mexico Territories and to settle the Texas border at the Nueces River) created hostile behavior between the two nations. When the Mexican Army crossed the Rio Grande, Polk used the incident to send his war message to congress. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
After the Fall of Mexico during the war, their government had little choice but to adhere to the terms of the US. These terms included making the Texan border the Rio Grande, and the US would gain California and New Mexico for $15 million. This caused further conflict among US citizens because they new states had to be either slave or free states. -
Ostend Manifesto
Southern expansionists wanted to acquire Cuba because of its major plantation/slavery potential. When president Polk wanted to buy Cuba from Spain for $100 million, Spain refused to sell last of its land. Later Franklin pierce, the new president had secret meetings in Ostend, Belgium in an effort to secretly buy Cuba from Spain, though it resulted in failure. -
Gadsden Purchase
President Pierce failed to acquire Cuba, but he did gain thousands of acres of land or semi-desert (which will make up parts of modern day Arizona/New Mexico), purchased for $10 million. Used for land to link Rail roads to the southwest. -
Panic of 1857
The economic boom ended, and prices fell tremendously for Midwest farmers, and unemployment boomed in the North. This caused the Southerners to think that they were superior (and that northern economy was unneeded) because their cotton prices continued to stay high. -
Alaska Purchase
The US purchased Alaska from Russia (Alaska had been disputed territory between Russia and Britain for decades, but Russia finally gained ownership but found that the colony was more trouble than was worth). Congress agreed to purchase Alaska for $7.2 mil. -
Dawes Act
An act that removed Indian land from tribal possession, re-divided it, and distributed it among individual Indian families. Designed to break tribal mentalities and promote individualism. This proved to be ineffective. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
Mass killing by U.S. soldiers of as many as 300 unarmed Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, in 1890. -
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Spanish-American War
As US imperialist ideals grew, they began to stick their noses in other peoples’ business. This caused us to side with freedom-fighters against the Spanish, and the war only ended a few months later. The war was mainly caused due to propaganda displayed to the public of the US. -
USS Maine
A ship that sunk in the Havana harbor in Cuba, which with the help of Yellow Journalism, caused the American public to believe that Spain blew up the ship (killing 260 Americans along with it) on purpose. -
Teller Amendment
As a response to McKinley’s war message, the Congress passed a resolution that authorized America to go to war with Spain. The amendment also stated that once peace was returned to Cuba, the people would be free to govern themselves without the US government control. This of course was basically scrapped in regards to the Philippines. -
Open Door Policy
China was weakened by corruption and a failure to get with the time, so many super powers (Russia, Japan, Great Britain, France, and Germany) took the opportunity to take over certain ports of the nation. Hay (The secretary of state) wrote a policy that would make the other super powers have equal trade privileges. No nations denied the law out right so Hays took it as a notion of acceptance and put it into play. -
Election of 1900
An election between presidents McKinley/vice-president Theodore Roosevelt vs. William Jennings Bryan. The deciding issue was growing national prosperity, and ended in McKinley gaining Office again. -
Boxer Rebellion
Xenophobia began to leak into China and so Chinese nationalists (the Society of Harmonious Fists (Boxers)) attacked many Christian missionaries. US troops were sent and they “calmed” the issue quickly, however leaving China with large indemnities. -
Platt Amendment
Despite the Teller Amendment, US troops stayed in Cuba even after the war (1898-1901). Congress eventually made a new amendment that said that they’d take their troops out of Cuba, but Cuba had to basically state that it would not make very many foreign relations other than with the US. -
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Panama Canal
After the Spanish-American war, the US gained land from Puerto Rico to the Philippines, therefore a canal that would go through Central America to connect the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans in an effort to keep the far-off islands in reach. -
Roosevelt Corollary
Roosevelt declared that despite the Monroe Doctrine (Which stated that Europeans couldn’t intervene in Latin America) the US was allowed to send naval gun ships to Latin American countries if their debts were unpaid and take over their ports/manage their taxes. This of course caused poor relations between the US and Latin America. -
Gentlemen's Agreement
In California, there was a law that discriminated against Japanese-Americans, and made Japanese-American children attend segregated schools. In an effort to not wither Japanese relations, Roosevelt and the Japanese government secretly agreed to restrict the emigration of Japanese workers to the US, in exchange for the repeal of California’s discriminatory laws. -
Election of 1908
Republican William Taft and democrat William Bryan were both candidates for the Election of 1908. This election was mainly to see who could lead the Country the best after Roosevelt’s long term as President. William Taft won comfortably after Bryan made the mistake when he called for the socialization of the railroads. -
Founding of NAACP
1909 by W.E.B. DuBois - rejected Booker T. Washington's policy of gradualism - focused on using courts to strike down Jim Crow laws -
Election of 1912
The Election of 1912 was between democratic candidate Woodrow Wilson and Roosevelt in the Progressive Party. Roosevelt won the election by supporting women’s rights and supporting tariffs, believing that it would protect wages. -
Mexican Civil War (Revolution)
Wilson really wanted Mexico to become a democracy, so he refused to recognize the dictator Victoriano Huerta (Huerta assassinated the former president of Mexico). Wilson tried to aid a revolutionary faction against Huerta, which failed, and this caused ill relations between Mexico and America. -
Jones Act
In an attempt to regain good relations with the Philippines, Wilson enacted the Jones Act, which stated that the country was in fact its own country, that they Male Filipino citizens could vote, and that they would become independent when they got their own government. -
Red Summer
Summer of 1919 brought race riots, began in July when whites invaded a black section of Longview, Texas and burned shops and houses. It was a lash out against the growth of blacks in cities. -
First Red Scare
Fear of anarchist and communists in America; inspired by the Bolshovic revolution in Russia. Lead to violence against socialists, anarchists, and radicals. The Justice Department arrested and deported alien anarchists and Communists suspected of trying to destroy American democracy and capitalism. -
Harlem Renaissance
A flowering of African American culture in the 1920s; instilled interest in African American culture and pride in being an African American. Many forms of art flourished, likely the most famous of which being Jazz. -
Election of 1932
Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt, beat the Republican, Herbert Hoover, who was running for reelection. FDR promised relief for the unemployed, help for farmers, and a balanced budget. -
New Deal
The historic period (1933-1940) in the U.S. during which President Franklin Roosevelt's economic policies were implemented -
Attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
nuclear attacks during World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States of America at the order of U.S. President Harry S. Truman -
Truman Doctrine
Truman, to contain Soviet aggression, created a policy known as the Truman Doctrine in response to the uprisings led by Communists against the Greek government, and in response to the Soviet trying to control Turkey’s Dardanelles. The Truman Doctrine was created to govern United State’s foreign policies, which eventually led the Soviets to let up on their hopes of Communist ideology spreading across the world. -
Fall of China to Communism
Mainland China was taken over by communist by 1949, and the only place left to go for Chiang and his forced was Taiwan. Chiang continued to get support from the US, however Mao Ze-Dong already ruled Beijing, bringing to fruition the “People’s Republic of China”. Mao Ze-Dongs’ leadership of which was only recognized by the US 30 years later. Stalin and Mao signed the Sino-Soviet pact in 1950. -
Creation of NATO
The “NATO” is an national security organization that formed as a pact between 12 countries in 1949. It set up a mutual defense between the countries and agreed that if anybody attacked a single country that was a part of NATO, they attacked the entire organization. It became both defensive and offensive in through their military. -
Korean War
This conflict marked the first military action of the cold war when North Korean troops invaded the Soviet occupied South Korean territory, and U.S forces soon intervened on South Korea’s behalf. More than being about the specific country of Korea, it was thought of as a war against the concept of communism itself. -
Election of 1952
A race between Dwight D. Eisenhower for the republicans and Adlai Stevenson for the democrats. Eisenhower won in a landslide.
