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By establishing the Court's right to declare acts of Congress illegal, a landmark Supreme Court decision dramatically enhances the Court's power.
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The United States and France agree to pay $15 million for the Louisiana Territory, which stretches west from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and covers approximately 830,000 square miles. As a result, the United States' GDP practically doubled.
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Lewis and Clark set out on an expedition from St. Louis, Missouri, to explore the West and find a way to the Pacific Ocean.
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The United States declares war on the United Kingdom for interfering with American marine shipping and westward expansion.
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As he watches the British onslaught on Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Francis Scott Key creates the Star-Spangled Banner.
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McCulloch v. Maryland: A landmark Supreme Court decision maintains Congress's right to establish a national bank, a power that the Constitution implies but does not expressly grant.
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Maine (previously part of Massachusetts) is admitted as a free state so that Missouri can be admitted as a slave state; slavery is outlawed in the Louisiana Purchase territory north of latitude 3630' except for Missouri.
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President Monroe declares the American continents off-limits to further colonization by European nations in his yearly speech to Congress.