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George Washington becomes the first president
On this day in 1789, 69 members of Congress cast their ballots to elect George Washington the first president of the United States. -
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The French Revolution
The French Revolution was a period of far-reaching social and political upheaval in France that lasted from 1789 until 1799, and was partially carried forward by Napoleon during the later expansion of the French Empire. -
Napoleon forces Spain to sign the treaty of san ildefonso
The Third Treaty of San Ildefonso[1] was a treaty between France and Spain in which Spain returned the colonial territory of Louisiana to France. The treaty was concluded on 1 October 1800 between Louis Alexandre Berthier representing France and Don Mariano Luis de Urquijo for Spain. -
Thomas Jefferson becomes the third president
On this day in 1801, Thomas Jefferson is elected the third president of the United States. The election constitutes the first peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another in the United States. -
Thomas jefferson purchased the Louisiana territory from france
The Louisiana Purchase was a land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. -
Lewis and clark explore the northern Louisiana purchase
After the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was made, Jefferson initiated an exploration of the newly purchased land and the territory beyond the "great rock mountains" in the West. Jefferson chose his personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis, an intelligent and literate man who also possessed skills as a frontiersman. -
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Dunbar and Hunter explore the Ouachita River and Hot Springs
The Hunter-Dunbar expedition was one of only four ventures into the Louisiana Purchase commissioned by Thomas Jefferson. Between 1804 and 1807, President Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark into the northern regions of the Purchase; Zebulon Pike into the Rocky Mountains, the southwestern areas, and two smaller forays; Thomas Freeman and Peter Custis along the Red River; and William Dunbar and Dr. George Hunter to explore the “Washita” River and “the hot springs” in what is now Arkansas and Louisiana. -
Freeman and Custis explore the Red River
Perhaps the most forgotten expedition to explore the southwest territory of the Louisiana Purchase was the ill-fated 1806 journey by Thomas Freeman and Peter Custis, initially labeled “The Great Excursion” by President Thomas Jefferson, who wanted the endeavor to chart and explore both the Red and Arkansas rivers. -
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New Madrid earthquakes
The New Madrid earthquakes were an intense intraplate earthquake series beginning with an initial earthquake of moment magnitude 7.5‑7.9 on December 16, 1811 followed by a moment magnitude 7.4 aftershock on the same day. -
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War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict that lasted from June 18, 1812 to February 18, 1815, fought between the United States of America and the United Kingdom, its North American colonies, and its Native American allies. -
Fort Smith is established
Soon after, the Pike Expedition (1806) explored the Arkansas River. Fort Smith was founded in 1817 as a military post. -
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Thomas Nuttall explores Arkansas
Nuttall began his exploration of Arkansas and the old southwest, traveling to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Cincinnati, Ohio, and purchasing a flatboat at Louisville, Kentucky, to descend the Mississippi River. In January 1819, after difficulties in getting his vessel through the White River cutoff to the Arkansas River, Nuttall arrived at Arkansas Post (Arkansas County) where he sold his boat and cargo. -
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Henry Rowe Schoolcraft explores Arkansas
From November 18 to February 1819, Schoolcraft and his companion Levi Pettibone made an expedition from Potosi, Missouri, to what is now Springfield. They traveled further down the White River into Arkansas, making a survey of the geography, geology, and mineralogy of the area. -
Congress approves the Missouri compromise
Congress passed a bill granting Missouri statehood as a slave state under the condition that slavery was to be forever prohibited in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36th parallel, which runs approximately along the southern border of Missouri. -
Quapaw Treaty
By the treaty between the Quapaw Nation and the United States, made on November 15, 1824, the Quapaws ceded their ancestral land in Arkansas and agreed to move to Caddo territory south of the Red River to become part of the Caddo Nation. -
The Territory of Arkansas is established
The Territory of Arkansas, initially organized as the Territory of Arkansaw was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from March 2, 1819 until June 15, 1836, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas.
