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Oct 12, 1492
Columbus Discovers a New World
Columbus and his crew land in the Bahamas. -
Aug 28, 1494
Treaty of Tordesillas
Spain secures the land that was discovered by Christopher Columbus in the Treaty of Tordesillas. -
Aug 29, 1498
De Gama reaches India.
Ten years after Dias rounded the southern tip of Africa De Gama finally reaches India and returns home with Indian jewels and spices. -
Aug 30, 1513
Vasco Nunez Balboa claims land for Spain.
Balboa was said to be the discoverer of the Pacific Ocean. He claimed all the land touched by the sea for Spain. -
Aug 28, 1519
Hernan Cortes and the Conquest of Mexico.
Hernan Cortes left Cuba to go to Mexico to caputre land for colonization. -
Aug 13, 1521
Cortes conqures Mexico for Spain.
Mexico city surrendured to Cortes. -
Aug 30, 1524
Giovanni da Verrazano explores the eastern seaboard.
The French king sent Verrazano to explore the eastern seaboard after the English sent Giovanni Caboto to explore the northeastern coast of North America. -
Aug 29, 1532
Pizarro crushes the Incas.
Pizarro won the Battle of Cajamarca againt the Inca. -
Aug 29, 1534
Cartier journeys up the St. Lawrence River
Jacques Cartier traveled up the St. Lawrence river ten years after Verrazano explored the eastern seaboard. -
Aug 29, 1539
De Soto explores the Southeast and discovers Mississippi River.
Hernando de Soto explores the Southeast and discovers the Mississippi RIver during his exploration. -
Aug 29, 1540
Coronado explores present day Southwest.
Francisco Vazquez de Coronado explored the land of present day southwestern America. -
Aug 29, 1542
Cabrillo explores California
Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo explores the ooast of California but did not find anything of interest there. -
Aug 29, 1558
Elizabeth I is cowned queen of England.
Catholics and Protestants fought for decades, but after Elizabeth was crowned queen, Protestantism became dominant in England. -
Aug 29, 1565
Spanish build fortress at St. Augustine
In an attempt top block out the French and protect the sea-lanes to the Caribbean, the Spanish established a fortess at St. Augustine. -
Aug 29, 1566
English crush Irish uprising
The Irish wanted to over-rule Queen Elizabeth, but England put a stop to all attempts of that happening. -
Aug 29, 1577
Drake circumnavigates the globe
Francis Drake set sail in 1577 and returned back to England in 1580. -
Spaniards abuse the Pueblo peoples
In the Battle of Acoma, the Spanish cut off a foot from each Pueblo survivor. -
Onate claims land for Spain
After conquering the Pueblos, Don Juan de Onate proclaimed their area of land to be the province of New Mexico. -
Large-scale slave-labor system established in English West Indies
There was a need for cheap labor to cultivate all of the sugar crops, so the West Indies people imported thousands of African slaves. -
Pope's Rebellion in New Mexico
The natives rebelled against the Roman Catholic missionares. The Pueblos destroyed every Catholic church in the area. They also killed a number of priests and Spanish settlers. -
Jonathan Edwards
Edwards was believed to be the man who began the Great Awakening. He preached that your destiny was determined by God's grace. -
Zenger free-press trial in New York
John Peter Zenger, a newspaper printer, had printed a newspaper that assulted the royal governor. The result of the trial was an achievement because by him pleading not guilty, it was one of the first examples of freedom of the press. -
George Whitefield
George's ways of preaching revolutionized the spiritual life of the colonies. Whitefield toured the colonies to preach and defended the Awakening for its role in the American religion. -
Great Awakening
The Great Awakening began in the 1730s and lasted through the early 1740s. It was a large change in the religious aspects of life for the colonies. -
Quartering Act
This act passed by Parliment forced colonists to house British soldiers. Most soldiers were heavy drinkers and tobacco users. -
Boston Massacre
Drunk colonists began to harass a tax collector. The tax collector called British soldiers for help. a soldier believed he heard someone say "fire" and he shot and killed a man. -
Boston Tea Party
The colonists decided to show their anger of the tea tax to Britain by not allowing any ships to dock in the Boston Harbor. One nights a group of colonists went out onto a ship that was docked under the governor of Boston's permission. They dumped all of the tea that was on the ship in the sea. -
Intolerable Acts
In response to the Boston Tea Party, the Massachusetts chartier was revoked. In addition, the Boston Harbor was shut down until the damages were paid back. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Second Continental Congress adopted this to show American loyalty to the king and begged to the king to stop further hostilities. The petition was rejected by the king and the Americans were forced to fight to become independent. -
Richard Henry Lee
Lee was the first man to urge for complete indepence from Britian. -
Common Sense
A pamphlet written by Thomas Paine that encouraged colonials to stop pretending to be loyal to the king and just fight. -
Declaration of Independence
This documentation was written by Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and John Adams. It was approved by Congress on July 2,1776, but it wasn't finally approved until two days later. -
Battle at Trenton
George Washington led his troops across the Delaware RIver to Trenton. They surprised and captured a thousand Hessian soldiers. -
Battle of Saratoga
General John Burgoyne's troops were forced to surrender becasue he was unable to advance or retreat. After this, France came out to officialy aid America. -
Treaty of Paris of 1783
Ben Franklin, John Adams, John Jay, met in Paris to make a peace deal. Britian formally recognized U.S. independence and granted generious boundaries of land stretching to the Mississippi River to the west. -
Land Ordinance of 1785
This law helped anser the question of how the our new land would fairly be divided. -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
This law clarified how a state would go through the process of statehood. -
Bill of Rights
Written by James Madison, the Bill of Rights insured all peoples rights in the Constitution. It was finally ratified in 1791 by Congress and the states. -
The Bank of the United States
As a part of Hamiltonls financial plan, the bank was built in Philedelphia. -
Whiskey Rebellion
Hamilton added a tax on whiskey as a part of his financial plan and this greatly upset farmers or other who used their whiskey as a form of currency. -
Jay's Treaty
Because Washinton did not wish to begin another war with Britain, he sent John Jay over there to settle things with them. War was avioded, Britain helped pay for their damages from impressment, and the agreed to stay off AMerican frontier posts. -
Battle of Fallen Timbers
During this time Britain was trading furs and other goods with the Indians. Gen. "Mad" Anthony Wayne led American troops to fight the Indians because he did not want to continue bad relations with either Britain or the Indians. -
Washington's Farewell Address
Washington left office after serving two terms. He left his country with the messages of staying away from strong political parties and to strive to keep neutraility no matter what. -
XYZ Affair
The French were very upset at us for Jay's Treaty and the Neutrality Proclamation, so to aviod a war with them Adams sent delegates to France to resolve all conflicts. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien Acts set regulations for people who wished to become a U.S. citizen. Sedition Acts said that anyone who criticized the government could be fined or jailed. -
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
Jefferson and Madison created these resolutions in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts. They both stated that the states were given too much power to pass these acts. -
Convention of 1800
Federalist, John Adams and Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson went head to head in this election. In the end, Jefferson won the vote 73 to 65. -
Judiciary Act of 1801
At the end of Adams term, this act was passed which appointed 16 new federal judges. This later caused major controversy. -
Marbury v. Madison
Federalist and newly appointed federal judge Marbury took Madison to court when he wouldnt sign his papers to make everything official. Marshall, the judge of this case, ruled under the new "judicial review" that the Courts are able to review the constitutionality of laws. -
Lousiana Purchase
Although Jefferson went against his "strict construction" he gained a lot more land than he intended to buy more only five million more dollars than he originally planned to spend. This offer was given to him by Napolean. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
They traveled from St. Louis up the Missouri River to its headwaters, hiked over the Rocky Mountains, then traveled down the Snake and Columbia Rivers to the Pacific Ocean. -
Orders in Council
London issued this stating that any foreign US ship going to France must first check-in at a British port for inspection. -
Embargo Act
Outlawed all exporting to any foreign nation. -
Non-Intercourse Act
This act outlawed all trading with England and France only. -
Battle of Tippecanoe
William Henry Harrison attacked the Shawnee because they felt they were a threat. -
Hartford Convention
Delegates from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island all met in Hartford to decide what to do about war. -
Panic of 1819
Economic panic caused by over speculation of the land. -
Florida Purchase Treaty
America paid $5 million to Spain for Florida. -
Land Act of 1820
Gave people permission to purchase 80 acres of land for $1.25 per acre. -
Tariff of 1828
Tariff on imports raised significantly and caused lots of heated debate. -
Indian Removal Act
Military pushed all eastern Indian tribes to the west. -
South Carolina nullification crisis
As a result of the tariff of 1828, Calhoun wrote the South Carolina Expedition that stated some states could nullify the tariff. -
Battle of the Alamo
Santa Anna led 6,000 troops into Texas and killed over 200 Texans. -
Potato Famine
Ireland suffered huge drought causing their potato crops which were a staple crop in their diet to fail. -
Commonwealth v. Hunt
This case resulted in the legalization of labor unions. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
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California Gold Rush
Several immgrants flourished California in seach for gold to gain personal riches. -
Filmore takes office
President Zachary Taylor suddenly died in office so Vice-President Millard Fillmore took over. -
Clayton-Bulwer Treaty
It stated neither the U.S. or Britain would take over the area without the other's agreement. -
Compromise of 1850
Both the North and the South benefited from this compromise. -
Fugitive Slave Law
This law supposed to "round up" runaways in the North and ship them back to the South. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin opened the eyes of several people and Lincoln said it was one of the causes of war. -
Gadsden Purchase
This bought the southern part of present Arizona and New Mexico for $10 million, -
Republican Party
The Republican Party was newlly formed. This party still remains today. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
It repealed the Missouri Compromise, and opened Kansas and Nebraska to popular sovereignty. -
Ostend Manifesto
This said the U.S. would offer $120 million for Cuba, and if Spain rejected it, the U.S. would be justified in taking Cuba by force. -
Charles Sumner v. Preston Brooks
Preston Brooks whacked Charles Sumner over the head on the floor of Congress with a walking cane because he was offened by his comments about slavery. -
Panic of 1857
Financial panic caused by inflation caused by California gold,over-production of grain, and over-speculation in land and railroads. -
Dred-Scott Decision
Dred-Scott lost because he was not a U.S. citizen and therefore did not have the right to vote. -
South Carolina Secedes
South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union.
