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1492
Columbus discovers america
Hoping to find a better way to India, explorer Christopher Columbus decided to go west rather than east to get to India. With the help of Spanish royalty, we managed to get a fleet of ships to sail across the Atlantic. Months later, he lands apon what is now the modern day Caribbean, thus kick starting a new era of adventure to the newly discovered world. -
Jamestown is founded
Six months prior, a group of people known as the puritans set sail for the newly discovered world. They were unhappy with how the British government was handling their religion and sought to create a brand new utopia for the christian man and purify the christian religion. After around six months of voyage they landed on the coast of what is now modern day Massachusetts and created a permanent settlement. They called it Jamestown and it became the first permanent settlement in the new world. -
Plymouth is founded
13 years after the Jamestown settlement had been created, another group set off to find a new life. These people were called the separatists or the Pilgrims and they had been forced out of the Church of England for their beliefs and persecuted. Once they had landed, they created a settlement called Plymouth. They had allied themselves with the natives who would teach them how to survive in exchange for weapons. This was the first settlement that attempted to be self governed. -
The Albany plan is made
In 1756, Britain and France are at war again in what would become the seven year war. The French that were in Quebec were very good allies with the natives in the area and used them to ambush settlements in the colonies. Noticing this, Ben Franklin came up with a plan that saw a united colonies that protect themselves from these attacks. Franklin met with representatives from each colony to discuss this plan. Ultimately, it failed but it was the first attempt at unity. -
Sugar act
Britain was low on money because of a war they had with France, so in order to get some money they decided to put a tax on different items and one of them was sugar. This only led to people smuggling sugar illegally. It also decreased the taxes on molasses . This was beginning of sentimentalist which basically involved the British getting resources in exchange for British made items coming to the colonies. It was also the beginning of many taxes that would lead to the colonists snapping -
Boston Massacre
Due to the taxes imposed by the British, many colonists protested on the streets of Boston. The protest ended up being a mob so the British sent troops to try and control them. However, the colonists started to get violent with them. One colonist allegedly threw a rock at a soldier which wounded him. This prompted the British fire at the protesters. Although the true culprit is unknown, many colonists used this day as a way to push for independence from the Empire of Great Britain -
The Boston Tea Party
Due to the high taxes that the British put on them, Americans were not happy. To show their distaste, the Colonists decided to protest against these taxes in a not so peaceful way. They dressed up as native Americans and sneaked onto a British Cargo Vessel. They then threw tons of tea into the Boston harbor. This move was seen as a victory for the Colonists, but the British, obviously unhappy, just taxed them harder and punished the colonists. This would be considered a catalyst for the war -
Battle of bunker hill
On the afternoon of Jun 17, 1775, the British army started to mobilize their army and headed down towards breed hill which was near a heavy defended rebel force. A massive fire fight took place on that hill with surprisingly more British troops getting killed than colonists. Nevertheless, the British persevered and ended up taking down the patriot defenses. This battle gave king George the signal that reconciliation between the colonies and England was no longer possible. -
Lexington and Concord
The British were on their way to raid an illegal weapons depot created by the colonists. Before all this, the colonists started to fight back against their taxation and control. A few colonists had noticed the British army and warned the town before hand. When the British arrived they met a lot of resistance from them. In the mist of all the chaos, a shot was fired which would become the shot heard around the world and violence broke out. This would be the start of a revolution. -
Deceleration of Independence is created
The colonists had had enough of the British and wanted to be ruled independently by them. They created the 2nd Continental Congress to hopefully settle the matter. Future President Thomas Jefferson would be the man responsible for creating a declaration of independence to send to Great Britain. After it was created, to England. The King was obviously furious and some say the American revolution began here. This would become the most important document in human history. -
Battle of YorkTown
Prior to this battle, the colonists had just gained a new ally in the war, France. With this new ally, they gained access to a navy which was their ticket to victory. On the morning of 1781, the revolutionist army led the British army, led by Gen. Cornwallis, into a trap set up by them at the coast. The British thought that they had outsmarted the colonists since the royal navy was waiting for them. Little did they know that the French had sunk their ships. This victory would end the revolution. -
Creation of the Constitution
After the failure of the Articles of Confederation, the government seek to create a better foundation for themselves. In 1787, the Constitutional Convention would create one of the most influential writings in American history. The Constitution would essentially split the power of the government into three branches. It also led to the creation of the US senate and the electoral college. It has been amended 27 times with the first ten coming from the Bill of Rights. -
Washington D.C is created
During this time period, the federalist, who hailed Alexander Hamilton as their leader, were getting what they wanted and having it their way. However, Thomas Jefferson and his anti Federalist Followers would get a saying in creating this brand new nation. He wanted the capital to be on the border of Virginia and Maine and that his exactly what he got. The new capital would be called the District of Colombia or Washington D.C. for short. This would become the home of the US government. -
The Whiskey tax
To pay off war debt, they government decided to put a tax on certain items. Whiskey was one of those items. This move made many farmers across America angry due to the fact that it made the production of whiskey more expensive. To protest this, framers started rioting in the streets. This got so bad that President Washington had to get there himself along with some troops to stop it. Even though he had the choice to kill his own citizens he decided to fire warning shots to scare them away. -
The creation of the Cotton Gin
Separating Cotton seeds from the fibers was mostly done by hand which made the creation of textiles very tedious. In 1798, Eli Whitney created a device that would separate the seeds on its own. The device was dubbed the Cotton Gin. The Cotton Gin helped skyrocket the textile industry and other industries that relied on cotton. However, due the the boom in cotton, slavery also was on a rise. This trend was more popular in the south were cotton grows best. -
Alien and Sedation acts
In 1798, during the middle of John Adams presidency, the Alien and Sedation acts are passed. These acts not only extend the time needed to become a citizen from five years to fourteen years, but also allowed the president to deport any immigrant that he deemed as a threat. This move would cause a lot of backlash against John Adams and eventually led to Jackson downfall and led to the rise of the third president of the US, Thomas Jefferson. -
Revolution of 1800.
After Adams stepped down as president the first true democratic election took place between the Federalists and Jeffersonian Republicans. In the end, Thomas Jefferson had won the election due to Adams's questionable decisions a year prior. This was a very important election because this was the first time in history that a change in political parties had been done in a peaceful way. -
Jefferson buys Louisiana.
On April 30th of 1803, Thomas Jefferson makes the decision to buy out 828,000 miles of land from France. This move was a tough one to make since there was nothing in the constitution that stated anything about purchasing land. In the end, Jefferson makes the right choice and buys out the land from France. He sends two explorers, Meriwether, Lewis and William Clark, to explore the land and find a water route to the pacific ocean was well as document anything new. -
Embargo of 1807
Earlier that year, Great Britain and France went to war again. By this time, the US had very strong trade with both nations. However, both nations didn't want to trade with us if we were still trading with the other. This conflict made President Jefferson put down his foot and impose a trade embargo on all foreign goods. This move destroys the American economy and Jefferson leaves office in shame the following year. However, the embargo did encourage domestic manufacturing which was good. -
White House is burned down
During the War of 1812, British forces managed to invade Washington DC. They did this in response to an American lead attack in York, Canada. One they arrived, the started burning down every important government buildings, including the white house. This was the first time in history that a building as important as the white house. At the time President, James Madison, managed to escape the burning house through a window. Many burn marks are will there today -
Election of 1824
The election of 1824 would see the like of John Q. Adams, Andrew Jackson, and Henry Clay up against each other. Jackson had the popularity to win,: however, Henry Clay pulled out of the race and started endorsing JQA for president which and his influence as speaker of the house would ultimately give the win to JQA. The reason that Clay left the election was because of a deal he made with JQA in which he would become Secretary of state. This will be known as the corrupt bargain. -
Erie canal is completed
Before 1825, it was very hard to move cargo to places like large cities since you had to rely on the current of the . With the introduction of the canal, travel and transportation of cargo got much easier. 1817, construction started of a canal that would connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic ocean. This would make shipping cargo to places much easier and cheaper. This canal would become known as the Erie canal and would be the most important shipping canal in the US. -
Andrew Jackson is elected
In the election of 1828, Andrew Jackson was up against John Q. Adams who was up for reelection. This time, because of the unpopularity of John Q. Adams, Andrew Jackson would win by a landslide. At the time, Jackson was seen as the common man and people were happy of his win. He ended up throwing a massive party at the white house which almost got him squished. Jackson would go on to become one of the most influencing figures in US history. -
Indian Removal act
There was still a massive problem when Jackson became President: what to do with the Natives further west. Until this time, they were seen as sovereign state within the US. However, people settling in past the Appalachians wanted to get rid of them because they felt unsafe. The natives tried to keep their land but failed. Jackson ended up passing the Indian removal act which created a place in Oklahoma to stay. The natives were forced to march there which then became the trail of tears. -
The Reaper was invented
In 1831, a man named Cyrus McCormick created a device called the reaper which harvested grain mechanically and at a much faster rate. This device was intended to replace people who used scythes to harvest grain. Although it wasn't popular at its initial launch, it slowly gained popularity in the following 20 years and would become a device ahead of its time and an important invention. The device would also bring concerns about the people who used to work scythes and what they would do next. -
nullification crisis
In 1832, due to a very high tariff, South Carolina passed a law that nullified a high tariff. They hoped that President Jackson would be on their side since the current VP was totally in favor of this. Jackson wasn't pleased with this at all. He preferred that all states had to be equal when it came to laws, but didn't want to upset south Carolina who was threatening to secede. He tried passing a lower tariff but it didn't work, so he threatened military action which almost caused civil war. -
compromise tariff of 1833
South Carolina decided to nullify a high tariff that was affecting them greatly. .South Carolina threatened to leave the US if Jackson used military force. Jackson then said he would label them as traitors if they did that. Henry Clay then came up with the compromise which prevented a civil war. It basically lowed tariffs gradually for ten years for south Carolina Ultimately, south Carolina repealed its nullification ordinance. -
Battle of the Alamo begins
At the high of the Texan Revolution, the Mexican army sent its troops up north to deal with some rebels in the small town of Alamo. However, due the cold night, it was had for both sides although some small skirmishes. The next day, the fight begins. One of the fighters was Davy Crochet. Crochet was a much loved and respected from Tennessee. In the heat of the battle, Crockett was killed. This death was used as a rallying cry across the nation and would eventually push The US into joining. -
Telegraph is created
Before 1837, most messages had to be hand written or typed on a typewriter and shipped by mail to the person it was going to. Noticing this, a man named Samuel Morse created a device called the Telegraph. It basically sent signals to the person they want via a wire that connected houses and that message can be interpreted in Morse code, which is also something he created. This American invention would g one to revolutionize not only its home country, but the entire world -
Texas Gets annexed
The United States had offered to help Texas after denying it a few times. If Texas was annexed by the US then they would come in help them fight Mexico. Many Texans were reluctant at first, but eventually they gave in and were annexed by the US in 1845. The US then joined the war which eventually spiraled into the Mexican American war. The American forces managed to push into Mexico all the way to Mexico City. There, they forced Mexico to sign a treaty that gave them a lot of their territory. -
Gold is discovered in California
Prior to 1848, California had been given to the US by Mexico via a treaty they were forced to signed called the guadalupe hidalgo treaty. Their wasn't much popularity in California until 1848 when a man named James Marshall discovered gold in the region. The discovery of gold would being people by the thousands to the region in hopes of striking rich. The discovery of gold be one of the main factors for California becoming a state and the creation of the transcontinental railroad -
Compromise of 1850
A massive issue had occurred when California tried to come in as a state. The main issue was that California wanted to come in as a free state even though it directly crossed the Missouri compromise line. So in order to solve this issue, Henry Clay came up with the Comprise of 1850. It allowed California to come in as a free state and the slave trade would be banned in D.C while also creating the fugitive slave act which allowed slave owners to get their re away slaves back regardless. -
Reservation act
Because of the natives clashing with new settlers that were coming to the plains, Congress passes the Indian Reservation act, AKA Indian Appropriations Act, which sets up reservations in the plains so that people could move into the plains without any trouble. This would confine the natives to that one place which restricted their nomadic lifestyles. Their reservations were also moved around a lot and shrunk in later years because of all the new settlers. This made the natives distrust the US. -
Dredd Scott case
A southern soldier had moved to Illinois with his slave because he had been re-posted to a base up there. Since slavery was illegal in the state of Illinois, the slave, named Dredd Scott, used his owner for his freedom. This case was taken all the way to the supreme court. Surprisingly, the court had ruled in favor of his owner denying the legality of his black citizenship or rights. This move would heavy upset abolitionists in the north and showed how divided the country truly is. -
South Carolina secedes
After Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860 and due to the fear of all their slaves, South Carolina makes the choice to leave the union. This would then cause a massive chain of events which led to seven other states also leaving the union. This would then cause a rift in the United Sates where one part was completely different from each other. Their act of treason would trigger President Lincoln into declaring a civil war with newly formed Confederate states. -
emancipation proclamation
While the Civil war was raging on like an infinite inferno, President Lincoln Issued the emancipation proclamation. The proclamation declared that all states willing to come back to the union can keep their slaves and those who were still rebellious will have there slaves freed when the union invades their land. This didn't work since no confederate state had opted to return to the union. However, it did shift the focus of the civil war from preserving the union to abolishing slavery. -
Battle of Bull Run
With the south at a major disadvantage, the north should have won this battle by a land slide. People even had picnics near the battle field just to see them win. This would be quite the opposite though. Due to the heavy defense of the Confederate army and the lack of leadership from the min Gen. of the union in the battle, Gen. McDowell, that battle would be won by the confederate forces. This was the first official battle of the Civil War and it was not looking good for our union boys. -
The Home Stead act
1862, Lincoln needed people to move out west so the land there can be made of use so he signed the Homestead act. The act grated a total of 160 acres of land to anyone who hadn't bared arms against the US. Using this, many people made use of the act by making a living out in the prairies, particularly near the transcontinental railroad. However, every action as an unintended consequence and this one was no exception. As more people move in, It becomes a bigger problem for natives. -
Battle of Gettysburg begins
After a victory in Chancellorsville, Gen. Robert E. Lee gets the idea of invading the north to hopefully break their morale. In July of 1863, the two army met in the town of Gettysburg. Lee led his army there to deal with union general George Meade and then take DC. The battle went on for four whole days with both sides gaining and losing a lot of ground and men. The battle would conclude on the 3rd and would become the single bloodiest day in US History. -
Atlanta gets captured by Gen. Sherman
In November, Gen. Sherman is given the green light for a long campaign that rampaged through the south. The goal was to weaken the south to the point where they surrender. As they made they're way to Atlanta, Sherman's troops burned down plantations and freed all the slaves that were at the plantations. This job was mostly done by black people as a white person with a gun wouldn't be the best thing a slave would want to see. The next month, Atlanta was captured and ended the war. -
Civil war ends
On April of 1865, After years of combat and blood shed, the civil war comes to an end. Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his troops to at the time General Ulysses S. Grant in a court house in Virginia, officially ending the war. However, the last official surrender was a town in Texas a few months later. After that, the Confederate states dissolved into territories which didn't become states until around two years later. The end of the civil war was also then end of the Pre-Civil War era. -
Lincoln gets killed
After winning the Civil War, President Lincoln was considered a hero and a villain. He was particularly hated in states that were taken by force in the south. On the night of April 4th, 1865, Lincoln went to watch a play at the now infamous Ford theater. While he was watch the play, a man by the name of John Wilkes booth, who was actually an actor at the time, shot Lincoln which ended his life. This was the first time a president was killed and caused tensions again with the north and south. -
14th amendment passed
When radical republicans were basically influencing the Congress and President Andrew Jackson was impeached, they passed the 14th amendment. It basically allowed anyone who was born in the states to become a US citizen. It also allowed anyone who was naturalized to become a US citizen. It also required all US states to protect US citizens with full protection through the laws and the legal process and if any state refused, they'd lose their seat in Congress. This would speed up Reconstruction. -
Andrew Johnson is impeached
When the radical Republicans started gaining power in the senate and stared overturning President Andrew Johnson's vetoes, the president started to get angry. He started firing anyone who wasn't loyal to him. His last straw was when he fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton which is something that he technically shouldn't do. This Prompts the radical Republicans to basically create a law, which had to overturn a veto, that impeached Johnson. He then became powerless which allowed them to whatever -
Trans Continental railroad is finished
In 1862, President Lincoln had an Idea of a transcontinental railroad that stretched from the east coast to the west coast. To complete this mammoth task, Lincoln hires two companies to build the railroad. One started from the east and the other from the west. For every mile of railroad they complete, they receive 10,000 dollars. They also had to be done in 10 years. In 1869, they set up a meeting point in Utah and the railroad is complete, revolutionizing travel in the United States. -
15th Amendment
While the Radical Republicans were at the high of their power, they managed to pass the 15th amendment. The amendment allowed all men to vote regardless of their race or ethnicity. Unlike the previous act, this one was not well received. The act only benefited men so many women were angered by this and many organizations for women's rights sprung up. There was also an economic crisis happening at the same time so people just didn't really care about the act. This would start the R.R's downfall. -
Yellowstone is established
The government got the idea of using a place with a lot of natural beauty as a way to make money and attract people to the west. In 1871, a place where the lakes boiled and was made up of vibrant colors was discovered and a year later, Yellowstone National Park was established. The park would lay the footwork for future national parks and would cement itself as an American icon. The park would attract many citizens who were looking relation to the west an therefore helped their economy. -
Battle of the Little Bighorn
Tensions had escalated by 1876 between the United States and the Lakota nation. Gen. Custer was sent down to a Lakota reservation to suppress them. There was a movement going on called the ghost dance which was a movement where the natives embraced their traditional ways. Custer arrived at the hill thinking that there were less native Americans in area; he was wrong. The natives ambushed him and killed him as well as a few other troops. This would be a rare victory and would make relations worse -
End of Reconstruction
From the end of the civil war onward, the reformers had done what they could to give the African Americans in the south the rights they needed. They managed to get two whole acts passed that helped them. With this though, there was a lot of violence in the south against African Americans by groups like the KKK. Southern states also began to gain more power again and started to pass black code laws. With an economic crisis happening too, people stopped caring and Reconstruction was a flop. -
Dawes Act
In the mist of all the violence against the native Americans the reformers decided that the only way to help them was to make them live how they live. In 1887, the Dawes act was passed which gave 160 acres of land to native families which caused numerous tribes to split up. This act was supposed to help the native Americans, but in reality it only hurt them. It pretty much destroyed a lot of native American culture. If they embraced their culture, they would be severely punished.