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1492
Arrival of Columbus
Christopher Columbus discovered the land of the Americas, which he believed was the rich lands of Asia, under the Spanish flag. -
1565
Founding of the First Settlement
The Spanish founded the first European settlement of the New World, St. Augustine, in current-day Florida; such momentous strides furthered the interest of European powers. -
Founding of Jamestown
English men and boys founded Jamestown, Virginia, also known as the first permanent English colony, due to its capability to meet the criteria of the Virginia Company and further expand the territory of England. Also, the survival of the colony was made possible by the aid of the Powhatan Indians. -
Settling of the Pilgrims
A group of English men and women, known as the Pilgrims, set sail from Plymouth, England on a ship called the Mayflower; on their voyage to the New World, the Mayflower Compact was signed, which symbolizes the first traces of today's democracy. Once the Pilgrims reached the shores of Provincetown harbor, they established Plymouth, Massachusetts. -
Founding of Boston
John Winthrop led a group of individuals from England to the shores of New England, and from that point, Winthrop's group of Puritans merged with the Plymouth Pilgrims and established the settlement of what later became known as Boston. -
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Beaver Wars
Times of intertribal warfare emerged to an intense extent, but mass destruction of tribes also began to appear due to the introduction of Europeans and their advanced weapons. The dominance of the Europeans and their culture began to arise during the wars, for the tribes who were supported by the colonizers, exceeded the others. -
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Pequot War
The war was fought amongst the new English coloners and the Pequot Indians, whose power and control had been stripped due to the colonizers. Ultimately, the war ended in the massacre of the Pequot Indians, with the few survivors were sold into slavery. -
Pueblo Revolt
In current day New Mexico, the Pueblo Indians were being forced to change their cultures and beliefs under the Spanish colonists, but a sense of freedom was sought. The Pueblo Indians constructed a rebellion which resulted in the death of hundreds of colonists, destruction of churches, and the removal of power abusive colonists. -
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Salem Witch Trials
Young girls of the Salem Village were deemed witches, which eventually resulted in mass hysteria. Corruptness existing in court was brought to the surface through the witch trials. -
Stono Rebellion
20 black slaves ordered a plan of escape to freedom to the North. The slaves robbed and killed the owners of a local store, which resulted in the joining of more slaves; the rebellion became known as the largest slave uprising in the colonies prior to the American Revolution. -
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Great Awakening
A religious revival was sparked amongst the English colonies, which resulted in a renewed dedication to religion. -
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French and Indian War
The French began to expand their range of exploration, but they passed over into the Ohio River valley which the British claimed as their own. Tensions built up and eventually resulted in the Seven Years' War, and the French were also supported by the Indians during the war. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Proclamation was put in place to stop the colonists from settling west of the Appalachian Mountains. -
British Troops
British troops arrive in Boston; tensions are furthered between the colonists and Britain. -
Boston Massacre
Anger had built up in the colonists against the British troops, so they responded by attacking the troops in a mob. The skirmish between the two resulted in the deaths of five colonists. -
Boston Tea Party
The colonists organized a group of men who were infuriated by the newly passed Tea Act. The men disguised themselves as Indians, raided the ships importing tea through the British East India Company, and dumped the 342 chests of tea into the harbor. -
The First Battles
The battles at Lexington and Concord take place and become the first battles of the American Revolution. -
Independence
With the Declaration of Independence, Congress declares independence from Britain. -
The First Flag
The Continental Congress approved the first official national flag known as the Stars and Stripes. The establishment of the flag symbolized the creation of respect for those who have served to protect our nation. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation were adopted and established as the first written constitution of the U.S. -
Surrender at Yorktown
The British surrender at Yorktown which ultimately finalized American Independence. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris formally ended the American Revolutionary War. The British recognized the independence of the colonies under the treaty. -
Land Ordinance
The Land Ordinance established a system of how the government would measure, divide, and distribute the land gained from the British after the revolution. -
Northwest Ordinance
Congress enacted the Northwest Ordinance, for it structured the settlement of the northwest territory and created a policy for the addition of new states to the nation. -
U.S. Constitution
The U.S. Constitution is officially sent to the states for ratification. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights was adopted. -
Midnight Judges Act
The Midnight Judges Act (Judiciary Act of 1801) reduced the size of the Supreme Court from six justices to five and eliminated the justices' circuit duties. The act was Adams' attempt to maintain federalist power in congress. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase is finalized by the federal government; the purchase from France doubled the size of the U.S. for $15 million. -
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Lewis and Clark Expedition
President Thomas Jefferson tasked Meriwether Lewis with exploring the newly obtained land from the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis selected William Clark to explore the land with him; their expedition provided valuable information about the newly obtained North American lands. -
End to International Slave Trade
The U.S. Congress puts an end to the international trade of slaves. -
Fletcher v. Peck
John Peck aquired land through the land grant passed by the Georgie state legislature and attempted to sell the land to Robert Fletcher. The legislature later voided the law, but through the case involving the validity of Peck selling the land to Fletcher, the legislature's repeal of the law was deemed unconstitutional. -
Battle of Tippecanoe
The battle was fought between William Henry Harrison's troops and the Shawnee Indians, who initially revolted due to the abundant amount of pioneers flooding their land. -
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War of 1812
The U.S. declared war on Britain, for the British were violating the maritime rights of the U.S. -
Adams-Onis Treaty
Through the Adams-Onis Treaty, the Spanish ceded its old providence of Florida to the United States. The treaty helped the U.S. further expand its territory. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was initiated to keep balance in the Senate between the North and the South by admitting Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. -
Monroe Doctrine
President James Monroe enacted the Monroe Doctrine in order to close off the Western Hemisphere to European colonization. -
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal was opened in 1825 and was considered an engineering marvel. The canal connected the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean and supported commercial/agricultural growth. -
Trail of Tears
President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act which relocated American Indians west of the Mississippi River; the path, which the Indians were forced to travel, killed off most of the populations and became known as the Trail of Tears. -
Nat Turner Rebellion
Nat Turner was an enslaved man who was able to lead the only effective slave revolt. He, along with other slaves, murdered a total of 51 whites. Once Turner was caught, he was hanged. -
Worcester v. Georgia
Samuel Worcester was indicted into the supreme court for residing within the limits of the Cherokee nation; such actions were not allowed under an 1830 act passed. The Court deemed the act violated the Consitution, for the Indian territories are still apart of the states. -
Texas Declares Independence
The Texas Revolution began in 1835. Santa Anna killed thousands, but he was ultimately defeated in the end by the army led by Sam Houston, and Texas was given its independence. -
Panic of 1837
The U.S. economy experienced a boom, which resulted in a panic due to the inflation of currency and the excessive amounts of loans given out by banks across the nation. During the panic, 10% of employees were unemployed and about 800 banks closed. -
Texas Enters the Union
Texas was annexed into the Union as the 28th state, but also as a slave state, which furthered tensions between the North and South. -
Publication of Federick Douglas Narrative
The Narrative of the Life of Federick Douglas was published; the narrative exposed many to the true face of slavery. -
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Mexican-American War
The war initially began due to a dispute concerning whether the boundary of the U.S. should be the Rio Grande River. Ultimately, Mexico lost the war along with one-third of its territory, but the U.S. was also able to achieve Manifest Destiny through the war. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The first women's rights convention was held at Seneca Falls, New York. -
California Gold Rush
Flakes of gold were discovered in the American River in California by James Marshall and John Sutter. The word eventually got out about their discovery and thousands of miners settled the "gold-rich" area of California. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was an attempt to resolve tensions involving slavery by admitting California as a free state, but the compromise also made it easier for slave owners to recover runaway slaves. -
Gadsen Purchase
The treaty was signed between the U.S. and Mexico. Through the treaty, present-day Arizona and New Mexico were acquired. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The U.S. Congress passed the act in order to allow the people of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves if they wanted their state to be a free or slave state. -
Harpers Ferry Raid
John Brown (abolitionist) organized the raid against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry in hopes of starting an armed slave revolt. -
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Civil War
The American Civil War occurred amongst the northern states, known as the Union, and the southern states, known as the Confederacy. The war was ultimately fought due to the uniqueness of the north and the south and the belief of slavery. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act was enacted by President Abraham Lincoln to encourage Western migration by giving settlers 160 acres of land. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln enacted the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1st; the proclamation deemed all slaves free. -
Freedmen's Bureau
The Bureau was established by Congress to support the poor whites and blacks after the Civil War with food, housing, medical aid, and more. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment was ratified by Congress; the amendment abolished slavery in the U.S. -
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Radical Reconstruction
Reconstruction was put in place after the Civil War in order to resolve tensions between the north and south, but also restore the devastated southern states. -
National Labor Union
The National Labor Union was formed by skilled and unskilled workers in hopes of achieving an eight-hour workday. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment was ratified and deemed all individuals born/naturalized in the U.S. as citizens. -
Transcontinental Railroad
The first transcontinental railroad was built and connected the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast. The railroad opened the west for expansion and development. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment was ratified and gave African American men the right to vote. -
Ku Klux Act
Through the passage of the act, President Ulysses S. Grant was able to declare martial law, impose penalties against terrorist organizations, and even use military force to suppress the KKK. -
Panic of 1873
After the Civil War, the construction of railroads provided the most jobs, but when the banking firm of Jay Cooke and Company, which was highly involved in the investment of railroad construction, closed, an economic depression/panic overtook the nation. -
Civil Rights Act
Through the act, racial discrimination in public places was prohibited, and "equality of all men before the law" was affiliated. -
Farmers' Alliance
The alliance was formed by Texas farmers in hopes of improving economic conditions for farmers through cooperatives and political advocacy. -
Telephone Invention
The telephone was invented by Alexander Bell. Bell's invention transformed the ways of communication for years to follow. -
Great Railroad Strike
Railroad workers went on strike and refused to let the trains run the tracks in hopes of bettering their wages, which had previously been cut substantially low. -
Light Bulb Invention
Thomas Edison created the "first" light bulb. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The act was passed by the U.S. to prevent Chinese laborers from migrating to America. -
Pendleton Act
The act was passed by President Chester Arthur and made it necessary for federal jobs to be awarded on the basis -
Interstate Commerce Act
The act was passed to regulate the railroad industry in terms of its monopolistic practices. -
Dawes Act
The act permitted the distribution of Indian reservation land amongst individual Native Americans. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
Through the act, the U.S. legislation outlawed trusts (monopolies and cartels) to increase economic competitiveness. -
Populist Party
The "People's Party" was formed and consisted primarily of farmers. One main point of the party's platform was the idea that the federal government should be more involved in the economy. -
Spanish American War
The war broke out due to U.S. involvement in Cuban independence. Ultimately, the U.S. gained more territory in the western Pacific and Latin America. -
Open Door Policy
The policy called for the protection of equal privileges for all countries trading with China and for the support of Chinese territorial and administrative integrity. -
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Philippine-American War
The war was between the United States and Filipino revolutionaries, and in other words, an insurrection that may be seen as a continuation of the Philippine Revolution against Spanish rule. -
Roosevelt Corollary
The Corollary stated that the United States would intervene as a last resort to ensure that other nations in the Western Hemisphere fulfilled their obligations to international creditors. -
Meat Inspection Act
Theodore Roosevelt signed the act that prohibited the sale of adulterated or misbranded livestock and derived products as food and ensured that livestock was slaughtered and processed under sanitary conditions. -
The Jungle
Upton Sinclair published his book which revealed the true evilness and mistreatment of the working class that existed during such times. -
NAACP
The organization was formed to further the civil rights of "colored" individuals (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People). -
Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
The factory fire led to the death of many due to individuals not being able to escape the building, but it ultimately led to condition/safety improvements in factories. -
17th Amendment
The amendment was passed and gave more power to the people through directly electing senators. -
16th Amendment
The 16th amendment established Congress's right to impose a Federal income tax. -
Woodrow Wilson
Wilson was elected into office in 1913 and was a prime leader of the Progressive Movement. -
Federal Trade Commission
The commission is an independent agency of the government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil U.S. antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. -
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World War I
World War I began after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand; during the conflict, the Central Powers fought against the Allied Powers. -
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Great Migration
The migration was the relocation of more than 6 million African Americans from the rural South to the cities of the North, Midwest, and West. -
Fourteen Points
Wilson's speech outlined his vision for a stable, long-lasting peace in Europe, the Americas, and the rest of the world following World War I.
