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Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus Discovers the New World
Christopher Columbus discovered the New World (America), which he believed to be India. Quickly after his discovery, the world's most powerful nations attempted to gain land on this newfound opportunity. France, Spain, and England were quick to explore and exploit this land, causing a major shift in the world of the Native Americans. -
Jamestown Settled
Jamestown was the first permanent English colony in the New World. It was in modern-day Virginia. Life in Jamestown was hard and in the first year, only thirty-eight of the one hundred settlers survived. However, the Jamestown settlement began to grow and it survived the New World's challenges. -
Headrght System
The Headright System was created to increase the population of Europeans in the New World. Under the Headright System, settlers who bought passage to the New World for anyone would receive 50 acres. This encouraged families to travel and allowed poor Europeans to own land. The Headright system was a huge success and created an opportunity for people who never owned land. -
John Locke's Second Treatise of Government
John Locke's Second Treatise of Government brought key ideas for how government should act. This stemmed from the Enlightenment that spread thoughts based on logic, science, and reason in America. John Locke was a key philosopher who advocated the rights of life liberty and the pursuit of property. This event led to the questioning of authority and the question of who had the right to rule. People started to agree with the idea that the government should protect the natural rights of man. -
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" is a sermon written by Jonathan Edwards. Edwards preached this sermon to his congregation in Massachusetts, to profound effect, and again on July 8, 1741, in Connecticut. The preaching of this sermon was the catalyst for the First Great Awakening. The sermon appealed to sinners to recognize that they will be judged by God and that this judgment will be more fearful and painful than they can comprehend. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris ended the French and Indian War. The French and Indian War was the North American conflict between Great Britain and France known as the Seven Years' War. The war began in 1754 and ended in 1763. Becuase of the great cost of this war the British started to tax the Colonist, leading to uprisings and eventually the American Revolution. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation of 1763 prohibited American colonists from settling on lands acquired from the French following the French and Indian War. In the minds of the colonists, this was tyrannical because they believed they deserved this new land after fighting in the war for the British Empire. This was a major seed of change and led to the separation of the colonists. -
Sugar Act 1764
The Sugar Act cut the cost of foreign molasses from 6 to 3 pence per gallon, retained a high duty on foreign refined sugar, and prohibited the importation of all foreign rum. British legislation aimed to end the smuggling trade in sugar and molasses from the French and Dutch West Indies. This would increase revenues to fund enlarged British Empire responsibilities following the French and Indian War. However, this act angered the colonists and did not stop them from smuggling. -
Stamp Act of 1765
On March 22, 1765, the British Parliament passed the Stamp Act to help pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the French and Indiana War. The act required the colonists to pay a tax, represented by a stamp, on various forms of papers, documents, and playing cards. This act was so hated because it affected all the colonist -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a confrontation in Boston in which 9 British soldiers shot several people in a crowd of 3 or 4 hundred angry colonist who were harassing them verbally and throwing various things at the soldiers. The Boston Massacre was used as propaganda and in it the colonist portrayed the British as evil tryrants. John Adams said “On that night, the foundation of American Independence was laid,”.The Boston Massacre was a major turning point that pushed the colonist closer to war. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a protest against the British Parliament's tax on tea. The colonists were angered because they were being taxed without representation in parliament. The colonists boarded the British ships and threw chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. The British government considered the protest an act of treason and responded harshly. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Coercive Acts of 1774, known as the Intolerable Acts in the American colonies, were a series of four laws passed by the British Parliament to punish the colony of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party. The Quartering Act was among the most hated acts in the Intolerable Acts. The Quartering Act forced colonists to house and feed British troops, limiting their freedom of speech. -
Paul Revers Ride
Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott warned the colonists that the redcoats were coming. The riders were stopped by a British patrol and While Dawes and Prescott escaped, Revere was captured, playing no further role in the events of April 19. Prescott managed to make it home to Concord, however, and alerted the town. Paul Revere was made famous for this from Henry Longfellow's poem. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, marked the start of the American War of Independence. The famous 'shot heard round the world' was taken and the Revolution was on. The battles were politically disastrous for the British because they persuaded many Americans to take up arms and support the cause of independence. -
Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense'
Thomas Paine's 'Common Sense' gave the colonists a passionate cause for independence in the language of the common people. In the pamphlet, Paine also explained what type of government the colonies should create for themselves. Thousands of colonists who weren't sure if they were ready for war quickly changed their minds after the publishment of this pamphlet. -
Declaration of independence
The Declaration of Independence states the principles on which our government, and our identity as Americans, are based. Unlike the other founding documents, the Declaration is not legally binding, but it is powerful. The Declaration states that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was a major turning point in the Revolutionary War. British General John Burgoyne was supposed to meet with two other British armies in the South, but they never arrived. The American defeat of the superior British army lifted patriot morale, furthered the hope for independence, and helped secure the foreign support with France needed to win the war. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation served as the nation's first form of government. They mirrored what the colonists hated: no king, no army, and no taxing authority for the federal government. The Articles of Confederation did establish the Northwest Ordinance, which established steps for new states to become a part of the union. However, Shay's rebellion brought to light the weaknesses in the Articles and eventually led to the formation of the Constitution. -
Battle of Yorktown
The American Victory at Yorktown led directly to the peace negotiations that ended the war in 1783 and gave America independence. After leaving the south Cornwallis became trapped in Yorktown. The Americans and the French eventually forced Corwallis to surrender on Oct. 19 1781. The World turned up side down. -
The Constitution of the United States
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States. It to the place of the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally including seven articles, the Constitution sets the frame of the federal government. The Constitution has checks and balances so that one part of the government doesn't become too strong. Those who formed the Constitution were willing to compromise and helped the US become what it is today. -
The Bill of Rights
The United States Bill of Rights comprises the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. It protects the power of the states and the people, while at the same time not allowing the government to take control of whatever it wants. The men in this time period were willing to compromise and the Bill of Rights was birthed from compromise to protect the people. -
Federal Judiciary Act 1789
The Federal Judiciary Act established the federal court system separate from individual state courts. It was one of the first acts of the First Congress. President George Washington signed it into law on September 24, 1789. It created an independent federal court system with the Supreme Court and lower-level courts. John Jay was made the chief justice and there were four other associate judges (Today there are 9). -
Hamilton's Financial Plan
Hamilton believed the federal government should be stronger than the states. His plan was to 1. Pay off war debt to develop the trust of other nations 2. Raise the federal government's revenues through tariffs and taxes 3. Create a National Bank. His plan sounded great on the surface but there are always unintended consequences. His plans mostly helped northeastern industries but it hurt the southern farmers. In the end, however, George Washington sided with Hamilton and it was put in place. -
The Cotton Gin
The Cotton Gin was created by Eli Whitney in 1793. The Cotton Gin effectively separated cotton fibers from their seed, and it did this at a much faster rate than manually separating the seeds. This invention was a major reason why slavery caught fire in the South and it allowed for the Southern economy to boom. -
Interchangeable parts - Eli Whitney
Interchangeable parts, popularized in America when Eli Whitney used them to assemble muskets in the first years of the 19th century, allowed relatively unskilled workers to produce large numbers of weapons quickly and at lower cost, and made repair and replacement of parts infinitely easier. This changed the world and is constantly used today. -
Marbury v. Madison
Marbury v. Madison occurred when John Adams tried to place judges (Midnight Judges) in positions of power before Madison took the presidency. The Supreme Court called this unconstitutional. This established judicial review which allows the Supreme Court to review if laws passed are constitutional. -
The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase, signed under Thomas Jefferson's presidency, doubled the size of the country overnight. The land, which was around 828,000 square miles, was purchased from France for $15 million. Soon after the land was acquired Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to explore the newfound opportunity. -
Steam Boats
Robert Fulton invented the steamboat in 1807. The steamboat turned rivers into highways and was extremely important to the economic boom America experienced. The boat could travel against the current of rivers, which had never been done before. -
Creation of The National Anthem
After Francis Scott Key watched the American flag still stand after a 12-hour bombardment of Fort McHenry, he was inspired to create the Star-Spangled Banner. At first, it was a poem, but it was sung in bars and other social places and eventually became our nation's anthem. As Americans, we are proud of our National Anthem, but many don't know that it was basically a drinking song! -
Treaty of Ghent
The British were attacking American ships, stealing their cargo, and capturing sailors (Impressment). This started the War of 1812. America wanted respect from other countries and earned it by fighting the war. The war ended with no one gaining any land. The Treaty of Ghent ended the war and was signed in the untied Neitherlands. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise, created by Henry Clay, allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine to enter as a free state. The compromise also drew a line from east to west along the 36th parallel, dividing the nation into competing halves—half free, half slave. The Missouri Compromise helped keep our nation together for the time being, but the issues over slavery were far from over. -
Charles Finney Starts Preaching
Charles Finney was a leading preacher in The Second Great Awakening. The Second Great Awakening was a religious revival during the late 18th to early 19th century in the United States. It spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching and sparked several reform movements. Charles Finney was a very influential preacher who spread the truth that people can accept God's free gift of salvation. America was forever changed by this revival and it set a foundation for American morals. -
1828 Election
The 1828 election marked the beginning of the Second Party System, and it definitively split the Democratic-Republican Party into the Democratic Party and the National Republican Party. The Election was between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams. During this time the first modern political campaign was created with mass meetings, mudslinging, and newspapers/speeches. -
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed under Andrew Jackson and resulted in the Trail of Tears. The act moved Indians off their homelands and sent them West into what was known at that time as unfarmable land. Some Indians went peacefully but others resisted. The Trail of Tears caused major casualties for the Indians and was devastating to many tribes. All of this suffering took place for white settlers to gain fertile land. -
The Telegraph
Samuel Morse independently developed and patented a recording electric telegraph in 1837. Morse's assistant Alfred Vail developed an instrument that was called the register for recording the received messages. The Telegraph changed America because it could send messages faster than ever before. Samuel Morse also created Morse code which was used in the telegraphs. -
The Alamo
Texas wanted independence from Mexico, however, they were extremely outnumbered. The US government wouldn't officially help Texas, but many Americans felt it was their duty to help. Famous men like Davy Crockett helped fight Mexico's army. At the siege of the Alamo a handful of Texans, including Davy Crockett, died defending the outpost in a tragic yet historic battle. All the men defending the Alamo died, but their efforts turned into a battle cry for the nation "Remember the Alamo". -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the war between the United States and Mexico. In the treaty, Mexico ceded much of its territory, including the present-day states of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. With the addition of this new land, many Americans traveled west to mind new opportunities. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention. It was led by Elizabeth Caty Stanton and Lucretia Mott. The women at the convention created the Declaration of Sentiments which talked about the problems with how society views women. This convention helped start the women's rights movement in America. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850, once again created by Henry Clay, had four key parts. 1. California entered the union as a free state 2. The slave trade in DC was abolished 3. A strict nationwide fugitive slave law was enforced 4. Territories applying for statehood would now be governed by popular sovereignty. The compromise helped both the South and the North but it only could hold off the inevitable Civil War for 10 years. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave who sued for his freedom because he and his owner had moved to a free state. The case went to the Supreme Court and in the 1857 decision that stunned the nation, the United States Supreme Court declared that Dred Scott was still a slave even in a free state, denied the legality of black citizenship in America, and declared the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional. This decision tore the nation apart because there was in essence no free state. -
Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln, an up-and-coming politician, was nominated as the newly established Republican party's presidential candidate. Lincoln won the election with his great debating skills and because the Democratic party split its vote. The South was so scared of Lincoln's victory that before he even entered office almost all the Southern states succeeded. Even though Lincoln clearly stated that he had no right to abolish slavery in the South, his presidency ignited the start of the Civil War. -
Attack on Fort Sumter
Some Federal armories were located in the South, and the country was watching to see what they would do. On April 14, 1861, the South attacked Fort Sumter and fired thousands of shells into the armory. The fort surrendered, starting the American Civil War. -
Pacific Railway Act (1862)
This Act established the Nation's first transcontinental railroad, which better connected the country economically and socially. The railroad construction was funded through bonds and the companies were paid by the mile. Lincoln wisely hired two companies; one to start in the East and one to start in the West. This created competition and allowed for a quicker finish. The railroad was finished on May 10, 1869. -
Emancipation Proclamation
On January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious southern states "are, and henceforward shall be free.". This was a major decision that changed America forever. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg and the siege of Vicksburg are argued to be the turning points of the Civil War. Gettysburg was located in Pennsylvania and involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war. This battle ended Confederate General Lee's hopes of ending the Civil War and seceding. Gettysburg also was followed by President Lincoln's famous Gettysburg Address which added to the goals of the Union. -
Siege of Vicksburg
Vicksburg was located on a strategic part of the Mississippi River in Waren Country Mississippi. Ulysses S. Grant launched major assaults on Vicksburg and his victory successfully split the Confederacy in two. Grant's brilliant strategies at Vicksburg allowed for 32,363 of the 33,000 southern soldiers to be captured or killed and this battle helped boost his reputation. The Siege of Vicksburg was a major turning point in the war that ended the South's hope of victory. -
Gettysburg Address
After the gruesome battle of Gettysburg, President Lincoln addressed the nation with a speech that would go down in history as one of the greatest of all times. In his address, Lincoln gave meaning to the thousands of fallen men at Gettysburg and he redefined the Union's goals in the war. Lincoln stated that America would truly be a country where all men would be created equal. -
The Fourteenth Amendment
With a supermajority in Congress, Radical Republicans created the Fourteenth Amendment to ensure rights for every US citizen. The Fourteenth Amendment stated that everyone born or naturalized in the US was a citizen and had all the same rights. This granted former slaves citizenship and the right to vote. -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act was signed under President Ulysses S. Grant in 1875. The act guaranteed African Americans equal treatment in public transportation, public accommodations, and service on juries. The Civil Rights Act was way ahead of its time and sadly the U.S. Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional in the Civil Rights Cases of 1883. -
The Dawes Act
The Dawes Act authorized the President to break up reservation land, which was owned in common by the members of a tribe, into small pieces of land to be given out to individual tribe members. This act on the surface seemed beneficial, but it intentionally broke apart the strength of a tribe. The Dawes Act devastated the Indian communities and whatever land was not claimed was given to white settlers. The native Indians lost more than 86 million acres as a result of the Dawes Act.