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1492
Columbus arrives in America
Christopher Columbus got permission from Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain to find an alternate route to India. He reached the Americas, but he thought he was in India, so he called the indigenous people Indians. He started the Columbian exchange, which was the exchanging of goods between the new world and old world.
History Lessons Book. -
French and Indian War Begins
The French started building forts around their land to claim their territory. This scared the Virginia colonists. George Washington was sent to make the French move. He and his troops traveled back to Virginia because the French had refused. This small dispute was what started the French and Indian War.
America: History Of Our Nation -
Fort Duquesne
General Braddock marched towards Fort Duquesne and he did not listen to the warnings from Benjamin Franklin about ambushes and attacks. As Braddock's troops neared the fort, he was ambushed by the French and the Native Americans, who were allies with the French. More than half of his troops were killed, and he was also killed. -
Flush Toilet Made
Joseph Bramah invented the first flush-toilet. He based it off of the S-trap toilet that used standing water as a seal to prevent smelly air from escaping. We still use this in toilets today. Alexander Cummings invented the S-trap. Bramah took Cummings' invention and took it one step further by adding the side valve with a hinged flap to flush with. -
Treaty Of Paris
This treaty signified the end of the Revolutionary War. America had finally won its independence over Britain. In the Treaty of Paris, Britain recognizes America's freedom from British rule. It also states the borders of the United States (Atlantic to Mississippi River, Maine to Florida). Thomas Jefferson wrote this treaty. -
Cotton Gin Invented
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. Now the process of making cotton was 50 times faster than by hand. It sped up the process of cotton making, which made the cotton demand higher. That made the demand for slaves higher, so slavery increased.
The Cotton Gin and Slavery Powerpoint. -
Fire Hydrant was Invented
A post or pillar type fire hydrant was made by Frederick Graff Sr., Chief Engineer of the Philadelphia Water Works in 1801. It had a hose/faucet outlet and had a wet barrel design with a valve in the top. In 1863, Birdsill Holly invented the modern version of the fire hydrant. -
Europeans Began Immigrating to the United States
Europeans wanted to immigrate to America for lots of reasons. They wanted to escape hunger problems and overpopulation. Some pull factors were: job opportunities, American letters, farming land, and a new life.
Immigration Document -
First Telephone
An Italian innovator named Antonio Meucci is credited with inventing the first basic phone in 1849, and a French man named Charles Bourseul made a phone in 1854, but Alexander Graham Bell won the first U.S. patent for the telephone in 1876. Bell began his research in 1874. In 1877, the first telephone line was constructed, the first switchboard was created and the first telephone exchange happened. 3 years later, 9,000 telephones were in use. The telephone became the easiest way to communicate. -
South Carolina is First State to Secede
After Abraham Lincoln was elected as president, South Carolina seceded from the Union. They were worried that Lincoln would abolish slavery in the south, and for that reason, they left. The other southern states followed suit, but South Carolina was the first state to leave. These states formed the Confederate States of America. -
The Battle of Fort Sumter
In the Battle of Fort Sumter, the Confederacy went to the fort that was being controlled by the Federal Government to look for supplies. It was in Charleston, South Carolina. When the Confederates arrived, they fired the first shot. Nobody died, but this marked the beginning of the Civil War. -
Pacific Railroad Act
Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroad Companies began building their railroads. They had many immigrants come to work on it. Japanese and Chinese people came to America specifically to work on the railroad. One started in California, and the other in Nebraska. They headed toward each other. The process took 7 years.
Online Textbook -
Barbed Wire Invented
Before 1863, a few people had made types of fences that could be considered as barbed wire. None of these creations ever reached the mass market. In 1863, Michael Kelly developed a type of fence with points affixed to twisted strands of wire. This was the first popular barbed wire. -
13th Amendment is Passed
Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. This law bans slavery in the United States. -
Ford Motor Company Began
Henry Ford started his car company. He invented a moving assembly line. It made the process of building cars much faster. His goal was to make cars available to everyone, not just the rich people. Many businesses grew because of cars. Glass, paint, gasoline, etc.
Automobile Packet. -
World War II Begins
Germany invading Poland was the official beginning to the war. On September 3, Britain and France declared war on Germany, and WWII began. There were many things leading up to the war that caused tensions like Hitler's violations of the Treaty of Versailles and the policy of appeasement. -
Flu Vaccine Invented
The first vaccine was developed for influenza. Soldiers were the first people to receive the flu shot. Civilians were approved to get one the next year. Thomas Francis Jr., MD, and Jonas Salk, MD, who both developed the polio vaccine, were both big parts in the making of the flu shot. -
World War 2 Ends
World War 2 ended when Japan surrendered. The gave up because the US had dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and then one on Nagasaki. The cities were destroyed and all the people living in them were killed. This day is referred to as V-J Day (Victory of Japan Day). -
First Digital Computer
The ENIAC was invented by J. Presper Eckert and John Mauchly at the University of Pennsylvania and began construction in 1943. It wasn't completed until 1946. It was 1,800 square feet and used 18,000 vacuum tubes. It weighed 50 tons. A judge ruled that the ABC computer was the first digital computer because it was invented first. The ABC computer was invented in 1942, but it was not fully functional. People consider the ENIAC to be the first digital computer because it was fully functional. -
First Handheld Mobile Phone
Motorola was the first company to make a handheld mobile phone. Martin Cooper, a Motorola researcher and executive, made the first mobile telephone call from a handheld phone by calling to his rival. The prototype handheld phone used by Dr. Cooper weighed 2.4 pounds and measured 9.1 by 5.1 by 1.8 inches. The prototype had a talk time of 30 minutes and took 10 hours to re-charge. -
Cold War Ends
Gorbachev resigned and declared the Soviet Union dissolved. Boris Yeltsin became the new president and the nation became known as Russia. The Berlin Wall had fallen in 1989. -
First Iphone
The original price in the US was $499 and $599 for the 4GB models and 8GB models. It went on sale on June 29, 2007. Apple closed its stores at 2:00 pm local time to prepare for the 6:00pm iPhone launch, while hundreds of customers lined up at stores nationwide. It is estimated that 250,000 - 700,000 iPhones were sold in the first weekend.
