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1000
The Dark Ages: Feudalism
During the Dark Ages, Feudalism in England was established by William the Conqueror and the Normans. Feudalism was based on the exchange of land for military service. It was first used by William the Conqueror to reward his Norman supporters for their help in the conquest of England. In the middle ages, it was based on the pyramid of power, which put everyone into their specific places in society. -
1300
The Renaissance: Technology
The set of European artifacts and inventions from the Renaissance period. From this time of innovation and improvement, many technologies were being developed. There were inventions such as eyeglasses, spectacles, and clocks. Weapon improvements were improved to reach standards. Weapons were improved to shoot farther. Ships also were improved to go farther and hold more people. These inventions helped to bring the world to an era of exploration. -
Oct 1, 1347
The Black Death: Death toll
The disease known as the Black Death spread through Europe in the years 1346-53. It was spread through the air, and through the bites of infected fleas and rats.It was very contagious, instantaneously killing an estimated 30-60% of Europe's total population. In total, it might have reduced the world population from about 450 million down to 350-375 million in the 14th century. -
1400
Atlantic Slave Trade
The Atlantic slave trade was the transportation of enslaved African people by slave traders, mainly from Africa to the Americas, and then sold there. The Slave trade was used mainly for the triangular trade route and the Middle Passage and existed from the 16th century to the 19th centuries. It was developed after trade contacts were established between the Old World and the New World. Slaves were regarded as cargo and were sold to work on coffee, tobacco, cocoa, sugar and cotton plantations,etc -
Aug 3, 1492
Exploration: Christopher Columbus's voyages
Christopher Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain in 1492, 1493, 1498, and 1502. His main goal was to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, but instead, he came across the Americas. His journeys marked the beginning of centuries of transatlantic conquest and colonization. -
Aug 12, 1492
The Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange was a period of cultural and biological exchanges between the New and Old Worlds. It was the exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technology, which transformed European and Native American ways of life. It began after Columbus' discovery in 1492, and lasted throughout the years of expansion and discovery. -
1518
The Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was the forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World. It was one part of the Triangular Trade that took goods( such as knives, guns, ammunition, and tools) from Europe to Africa, where Africans were sent to work as slaves in the Americas and West Indies, and other goods, mostly raw materials produced on plantations back to Europe. Millions of African men, women, and children made the 21-90 day voyage aboard crowded sailing ships. -
Nov 8, 1519
Conquest of the New World: Spanish advantages
Hernan Cortez and approximately 100 Spaniards capture the capital of the Aztec Empire. And in 1521, Cortes and his men conquer the entire Aztec Empire. The advantages that the Spanish had over the Aztec were 16 horses, guns, armor, forming alliances, diseases, and steel. The Aztecs were scared off by the horses, and the Spanish weapons were more advanced and superior than the Aztecs. And diseases brought by the Spanish led to many of the Aztecs' deaths'. -
English Colonization: Roanoke
The Roanoke Island colony was the first English settlement in the New World, founded by Sir Walter Raleigh in August 1585. The first Roanoke colonist suffered from low amounts of food and Indian attacks, and in 1586 they returned to England on a ship. In 1587, Raleigh sent out another group of 100 colonists under John White. White returned to England to procure more supplies, but due to a delay with a war in Spain, By the time he returned in August 1590, the colony had vanished. -
Virtual representation: Salutary neglect
Salutary neglect was the 17th and 18th century British Crown policy of avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary laws meant to keep American colonies obedient to England. The purpose of salutary neglect was to ensure the loyalty of the colonists in the face of the French territorial and commercial threat in North America. The English stopped practicing salutary neglect following British victory in the French and Indian War. -
New England Colonies: Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower compact was signed by 41 English colonists on the ship Mayflower on November 11, 1620. This was the first written framework of government established in what is now the United States. The compact was drafted to prevent dissent amongst Puritans and non- separatist Pilgrims who landed at Plymouth days earlier. -
The Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were a series of Acts passed by the English Parliament in 1651, 1660 & 1663. The colonies represented a lucrative source of wealth and trade. The Navigation Acts were designed to regulate colonial trade and enabled England to collect duties (taxes) in the Colonies.The Purpose of the Navigation Acts was to encourage British shipping and allow Great Britain to retain the monopoly of British colonial trade for the benefit of British merchants. -
Charter Colonies: Rhode Island
In 1644 Roger Williams secured the 1663 Charter of Rhode Island from Parliament but this charter was voided in 1660 by King Charles II when the monarchy was restored. John Clarke was able to obtain a new charter for Rhode Island that was approved in 1663. The Rhode Island Charter was a milestone in the move towards religious freedom when the King signed a charter guaranteeing that individuals were free to practice the religion of their choice without any interference from the government. -
Proprietary Colonies: Pennsylvania Quakers
In 1681, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the colony of Pennsylvania as a haven for religious freedom. Quakers practiced pacifism, which played a key role in both the abolition and women's rights movements. Many, but not all Quaker consider themselves Christians. They were heavily involved in Pennsylvania's new government, and held positions of power in the first half of the 18th century. -
Glorious Revolution: English Bill Of Rights
The English Bill of Rights is an act that the Parliament of England passed on December 16, 1689. The Bill creates the separation of powers, limits the powers of the king and queen, enhances the democratic election and bolsters freedom of speech. The Magna Carta had guaranteed certain rights to English barons, but the idea that the monarch's power could be limited through the rights of all citizens represented an innovation. -
Salem witch trials
The Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. This caused the deaths of 20 women, and more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft. By September 1692, the hysteria began to fade and public opinion turned against the trials. -
The Enlightenment: Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin, like many other great Enlightenment philosophers, contributed to new waves of thinking on many different levels, and he reflected the new ideas and ideologies of the Enlightenment in Europe onto the newly formed United States. He discovered electricity and expressed his viewpoints through his published works.Franklin's opposition to organized religion further reflected the beliefs of the Enlightenment, and his and many others studies led to many ideas such as Social Darwinism. -
Act Of Union (1707)
In 1707, under the terms of the Treaty of Union, England and Scotland became a single state – the United Kingdom of Great Britain – and the parliaments at Westminster and Edinburgh were replaced by a single ‘Parliament of Great Britain’. The arrangements for establishing the new parliament were set out in Article 22 of the Treaty. -
The Great Awakening: John Edwards
Jonathan Edwards played a critical role in shaping the First Great Awakening. In July 1741, Jonathan Edwards accepted an invitation to preach at the neighboring town of Enfield, Connecticut. It was the height of the Great Awakening (1740–42), one of the most intense outpourings of God’s Spirit in American history. In 1740, Edwards preached "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" at Enfield with remarkable results. It is estimated that 10 percent of New England was converted during this time. -
French and Indian War: Siege of Fort William Henry
The Siege of Fort William Henry was conducted in August 1757 by French General Louis-Joseph de Montcalm against the British-held Fort William Henry. Regarded as one of the most notorious incidents of the French and Indian War, Montcalm's Indian allies violated terms of surrender and attacked the British column, Many soldiers were killed, many people being captured as well. It was regarded as a massacre, early accounts implying that as many as 1500 people were killed. -
Treaty of Paris-1763
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France. In the terms of the treaty, France gave up all its territories in mainland North America, effectively ending any foreign military threat to British colonies there. It was signed on February 1763 by the kingdoms of Great Britain, France, and Spain, after Britain's victory over France and Spain during the Seven Years' War. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre occurred when a group of British soldiers and a crowd of colonists from different narratives were gathered around the Customs House in Boston. The crowd harassed the soldiers and began to throw bottles and snowballs at the soldiers. In return, the British soldiers opened fire on the colonists. Three people were killed immediately and two died later of their wounds. This event made the colonist work harder and become more determined to win freedom from Britain. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a raid that took place in the Boston harbor in which American colonist dressed up as indians and dumped shiploads of tea into the water to protest a British tax on tea. This event was important because it fueled the tension that had already begun between Britain and America, which eventually led to the Revolutionary War. Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty boarded 3 ships and threw 342 chests of tea overboard. This also resulted in the passage of the Coercive Acts (1774 -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
The battles of Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the Revolutionary War. The battles took place in April of 1775. The British were looking for John Hancock and Samuel Adam whom the British believed were the leaders of the colonial opposition. The British also wanted to capture the courthouse in Concord where they believed the colonist had stored ammunition. Lexington was also responsible for the "shot heard 'round the world", the beginning of the military violence between the two. -
Common Sense
Common Sense was wrote by Thomas Paine in 1776 during the events leading to the Revolutionary War. This was a very important document because it helped convince people into supporting declaring independence from Great Britain. It explained why the colonist should break free from the rule of the British. Before the publication of the document, many colonist weren't sure about declaring independence was the right thing to do, even though there were already fights at Lexington and Concord. -
The Declaration Of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is the formal statement written by Thomas Jefferson declaring freedom of the 13 American colonies from Great Britain. Independence was formally declared on July 2, 1776, but Congress approved the final text of the Declaration on July 4, 1776. It is important because it contains the ideals of our nation, it contains the complaints of the colonists against the British king, and it contains the arguments the colonist used to explain why they wanted to be free. -
Articles of Confederation: problems
The Articles of Confederation established the first government structure unifying the 13 colonies that fought in the American Revolution. But it had many weaknesses, that would quickly lead to problems that would not be fixable under the Founding Fathers current form of government. It could not force taxation, relied on requisitions, and the states did not comply. This caused a constant shortage of funds and Congress couldn't get anything done. -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown was the last battle fought in the Revolutionary war on October 9, 1781. The battle ended in victory for the American colonies. On October 19, 1781, the British laid down their arms and surrendered. This conflict was significant because the Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington as the French and American forces trapped the British at Yorktown. This battle ended the revolutionary war. -
Treaty of Paris - 1783
This Paris peace treaty concluded the American War for Independence. This was one of several treaties concluding the American Revolutionary War and signed by representatives of Great Britain on one side, and the U.S. , France, and Spain on the other. It was signed on September 3, 1783 during the reign of King George III. This was important because, the British acknowledged the independence of the U.S., the colonial empire of Great Britain was destroyed, and U.S. boundaries were established. -
Shays' Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion was a series of protests in 1786 and 1787 by American farmers against state and local enforcement of tax collections and judgments for debt. Daniel Shay, of Massachusetts, was the leader of the rebellion. Although farmers took up arms in states from New Hampshire to South Carolina, the rebellion was most serious in Massachusetts. It was bad for everyone and farms were seized, but soon, the rebellion was put down. The rebellion created a sense of urgency in America. -
Virginia Plan
The Virginia plan was drafted by James Madison and presented by Edmund Randolph to the Constitutional Convention on May 29, 1787, it proposed a strong central government composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. These branches had checks and balances to prevent the abuse of power. -
New Jersey Plan
The New Jersey Plan was a proposal for the structure of the United States Government presented by William Paterson at the Constitutional Convention on June 15, 1787. It was in response to the Virginia plan, and it detailed a legislature of only one house and featured equal representation in which each state had the same number of representatives.The goal was for smaller states to have the same level of power in the legislature as the large states. It also called for the Separation of Powers also -
The Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance chartered a government for the Northwest Territory, provided a method for admitting new states to the Union from the territory, and listed a bill of rights guaranteed in the territory. It was the response to multiple pressures such as the westward expansion of American settlers, tense diplomatic reactions with Great Britain and Spain, violent confrontations with Native Americans, the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation, and the empty treasury of the government. -
Connecticut Plan (Great Compromise)
Roger Sherman, a delegate from Connecticut, proposed a two-house legislature, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives. The Senate would have an equal number of representatives from each state. This would satisfy the states with smaller populations. It would also include one representative for each 30,000 individuals in a state. -
Anti-Federalist Papers
The Anti-Federalist Papers is a name given to the works written by the Founding Fathers who were opposed or concerned with the merits of the United States Constitution of 1787. These papers published a series of essays arguing against a stronger and more energetic union as embodied in the new Constitution. -
Election of 1788
The U.S. presidential election was the first presidential election. It was conducted under the United States Constitution. In the election, George Washington was unanimously elected for the first of his two terms as president, and John Adams became the first vice president. George Washington was seen as a god-like figure, and he was everyone's choice, and there were no running mates for vice president. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. It was written by James Madison in response to calls from several states for greater constitutional protection for individual liberties, the Bill of Rights lists specific prohibitions on governmental power. -
Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion was an uprising of farmers and distillers in Western Pennsylvania in protest of a whiskey tax enacted by the federal government. Following years of aggression with tax collectors, the region finally exploded in a confrontation that had President Washington respond by sending troops to extinguish what some thought could become a full-blown revolution. It was significant because it was the U.S. governments first opportunity to establish federal authority by military means. -
Jay's Treaty
This was a treaty between the U.S. and Great Britain that averted war, resolved the remaining issues since the Treaty of Paris 1783, and caused years of peaceful trade between the two nations in the midst of the French Revolutionary Wars. It was designed by Alexander Hamilton and supported by President George Washington. It also angered France and divided Americans, leading to the formation of two opposing parties in every state, the pro-treaty Federalists and the anti-treaty Republicans. -
Pinckney's Treaty
This treaty was signed in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on October 27, 1795, and established intentions of friendship between the U.S. and Spanish Florida, and guaranteed the U.S. navigation rights on the Mississippi River. Due to this agreement, the first phase of the ongoing border dispute between the two nations in this region, came to a close. -
Washington's Farewell Adress
George Washington presented his Farewell Adress to announce his decision not to seek a third term as President. Frustrated by French meddling in U.S. politics, Washington warned the nation to avoid permanent alliances with foreign nations and to rely instead on temporary alliances for emergencies. He also exhorted Americans to set aside their violent likes and dislikes of foreign nations, lest they are controlled by their passions. he wrote the letter before retiring to his home in Virginia. -
Marbury v. Madison
Marbury v. Madison is a landmark case by the United States Supreme Court, it was the first U.S. Supreme court case to apply the principle of judicial review. Written in 1803 by Cheif Justice John Marshall, the decision played a key role in making the Supreme Court a separate branch of government on par with Congres and the executive. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was a land deal between the U.S. and France(Napolean Bonaparte), where the U.S. gained approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. This led to the great Lewis and Clark expedition. -
Hamilton vs. Burr duel
The duel was fought between American politicians Aaron Burr, the Vice President of the U.S., and Alexander Hamilton, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. The duel was held in Weehawken, New Jersey, where Aaron Burr fatally shot his long-time political antagonist Alexander Hamilton, where he died the following day. Burr later became an outlaw. -
The invention of the Cotton Gin
Created by Eli Whitney, the invention of the Cotton Gin revolutionized the production of cotton by speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber. His invention also helped to maintain and expand slavery even though a growing number of Americans supported its abolition. The invention was not validated until 1807 -
The Steamboat
The Steamboat was very popular at the beginning of the Industrial revolution, it was invented by Robert Fulton in 1807 and were used as methods of transportation in canals and other navigable waterways. They were also used to promote trade. -
Embargo Act of 1807
The Embargo Act of 1807 was a law that prohibited American ships from trading in all ports. This happened because, during the Napoleonic Wars, Britain and France imposed trade restrictions in order to weaken each others' economies. This disrupted American trade and tested the U.S. neutrality. Due to harassment from American ships increasing from the British, such as impressment and seizure of American men and goods, the Embargo Act was passed. -
War of 1812: Fort McHenry/Battle of Baltimore
The Battle of Baltimore was a sea/land battle fought between the British invaders and American defenders in the War of 1812. American forces fended off sea and land invasions off of the port of Baltimore, Maryland, and killed the commander of the invading British forces. The resistance at Fort McHenry during bombardment by the Royal Navy inspired Francis Scott Key to compose the poem which later became known as "The Star-Spangled Banner", the national anthem of the U.S.A. -
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans was the last major battle of the War of 1812. Under the command of General Andrew Jackson, the American forces successfully defeated the invading British army with a rag-tag American army. -
The Panic of 1819
The Panic of 1819 was a crisis in financial and economic conditions in the nation following changes in the banking system started by President Andrew Jackson and his circle that eventually used up credit. President Martin Van Buren was eventually blamed for the crisis and proposed the system for the retaining government funds in the United States Treasury and its sub-treasuries to address the situation but met with strong opposition by the Whigs, led by Henry Clay. -
Iron Plow
Jethro Wood was the inventor of a cast iron plow with replaceable parts, the first commercially successful iron plow. His invention accelerated the development of American agriculture -
Election of 1824
In the Election of 1824, John Quincy Adams was elected President by the House of Representatives. This election was significant because it was the only time since the passage f the Twelfth Amendment in which the presidential election was decided by the House of Representatives, as no candidate received a majority of the electoral vote. -
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1790, gained momentum by 1800 and, after 1820, membership rose rapidly among Baptist and Methodist congregations whose preachers led the movement. -
Sing Sing Prison
Sing Sing Prison followed the “Auburn System” in which prisoners were confined to solitary cells at night and worked silently in “congregant” labor groups during the day. Sing Sing Prison was also the site of the infamous “Death House” where 614 executions by electrocution took place. -
Election of 1828
In the Election of 1828, with no other major candidates, Jackson and his chief all Martin Van Buren consolidated their bases in the South and New York and easily defeated Adams. Andrew Jackson won because he was a common man and he was popularly elected. -
Age of The Common Man
The period from Jackson’s inauguration as president up to the Civil War is known as the Jacksonian Era or the Era of the Rise of the Common Man. This period constituted great change and issues warranting debate, such as slavery, Indians, westward mobility, and balance of power between the executive and the legislative branches of government. -
The Women of Lowell Mills
The Lowell Mills opened in 1814, and by the early 1930s, young unmarried women from rural New England compromised the majority of workers in Massachusetts textile mills. When factory owners started to cut wages without reducing work hours in 1834 and 1836, the women responded by going out on strike and petitioning the Massachusetts state legislature to pass a law limiting the workday to 10 hours. -
The Telegraph
the telegraph was developed in the 1830s and 1840s by Samuel Morse and other inventors. The telegraph revolutionized long-distance communication, and it worked by transmitting electrical signals over a wire laid between stations. -
Canals
Canals came into being because the Industrial Revolution demanded an economic and reliable way to transport goods and commodities in large quantities. -
Temperance Movement
The Temperance movement is a social movement against the consumption of alcoholic beverages. Temperance movements typically criticize alcohol intoxication -
Webster-Haynes Debate
This was a famous debate between Senator Daniel Webster of Massachusetts and Senator Robert Hayne of South Carolina that was on the topic of protectionist tariffs. Hayne interpreted the Constitution as little more than a treaty between sovereign states, and Webster expressed the concept of the United States as one nation. -
Railroads
The invention of Railroads were important in the Industrial Revolution because costs of products decreased because of railroads. Population increased because food was available in a large variety at a low cost. Factories flourished because the demand for railroad parts and railroad tracks was very high. -
Bank Veto Speech
Andrew Jackson vetoed the bill re-chartering the Second Bank in July 1832 by arguing that in the form presented to him it was incompatible with “justice,” “sound policy” and the Constitution. -
Tariff Act of 1832
The Tariff Act of 1832 was another protective tariff that was passed on July 14, 1832 to reduce the existing tariffs as remedy for the conflict created by the 1828 tax referred to as the Tariff of Abominations. The remedial effects of the Tariff of 1832 was a compromise but failed to pacify Southerners leading to the Nullification Crisis. -
American Anti Slave socety
This was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison, and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass was a key leader of this society who often spoke at its meetings. William Wells Brown was also a freed slave who often spoke at meetings. By 1838, the society had 1,350 local charters with around 250,000 members. -
Anti Abolitionism
This was the population who were against getting rid of slavery. The growth of abolition provoked a violent reaction, with mobs attacking the homes and business of abolitionists and continued revolt sparking controversy and conflicts. -
New York City Female Reform Society
The New York Female Moral Reform Society was established in 1834 under the female leadership of Lydia A. Finney, wife of revivalist Charles Finney. The NYFMRS was created for the fundamental purpose of preventing prostitution in early 19th century New York. -
Antonia Lopez De Santa Ana
Santa Anna was a Mexican political leader, general, and a president. He tried to defeat the Texas revolt and lost battles to Winfield Scott and Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War. He ignored the Mexican constitution and made himself the dictator of Mexico. -
Greek Revival
An architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States. -
Trail of Tears
In 1838 and 1839, as a part of Andrew Jackson's Indian Removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands East of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. It was called the "Trail of Tears" because the migrants faced hunger, disease, and exhaustion on the mach, with over 4,000 out of 15,000 Cherokees dying. -
Sam Houston
Sam Houston was a former governor of Texas and an army officer, who eventually became the commander of the Texas forces. His forces would go on to lose the Alamo in San Antonio and Goliad, being chased by Santa Anna who decides to stop and set up camp at the San Jacinto River. Houston uses this situation to his advantage and attacks Santa And his troops, defeating them within 20 minutes to win the war. They capture Santa Anna forcing him to sign a treaty recognizing Texan independence. -
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the belief and attitude during the 19th century period of American expansion that the US was destined to stretch from coast to coast. This helped fuel western settlement, Native American removal and war with Mexico -
Mormon Migration
The persecution of the Mormons led to a major move westward for the church, along the Oregon Trail. They were led by Brigham Young after Joseph Smith was killed by a mob in jail. The Mormons moved to western states such as Wyoming, Nebraska, across the Rockies, and to the Southwest. They settled near the Great Salt Lake, which is now Utah.They wanted to get away from the federal government and they also started practicing polygamy. -
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th president of the United States and an American military leader. At first, he was uninterested in politics, he nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, in which he defeated Lewis Cass and became the first president to never have held any previous elected office. He was also the last President to hold slaves in office, and the last Whig to win a presidential election. Sadly, He died within 16 months of his Presidency from cholera. -
Election of 1848
The Election of 1848 was an open race election because the previous president ( James K. Polk) was not running for his second term. The Whigs decided to run Zachary Taylor who was a previous war hero. While the Democrats put up Lewis Cass and the free soil party ran Martin Van Buren, a man that supported Wilmot -Proviso. Zachary Taylor won easily but he died into his term because of the stomach flu and Millard Fillmore, his running mate replaced him. -
California Gold Rush
With the discovery of gold nuggets in Sacramento Valley in early 1848 sparked the Gold Rush, as the news spread, thousand -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed on February 2, 1848, which ended the Mexican-American War in favor of the United States. The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to United States territory, including the including the land that makes up all or parts of present-day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Mexico also gave up all claims to Texas and recognized the Rio Grande as America’s southern boundary. -
Seneca Falls Convention
At the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, N.Y., convention–the first ever women's rights convention held in the United States– The convention was organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Out of the convention came the "Declaration of Sentiments", which demanded equal social status and legal rights for women, including the right to vote. -
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Acts were a par of federal laws that allowed runaway slaves to be captured and returned to their owners within the United States. It imposed penalties on anyone who helped them escape. It was first imposed and gained resistance in 1793, which led to the act of 1850, which added harsher punishments. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin is an anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel helped lay the groundwork for the civil war, and it was the best-selling novel of the 19th century and the second best selling book of that century behind the Bible -
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of people, many who were African American, offering shelter and aid to escaped slaves. It was formed as a convergence of various clandestine efforts at the time. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska act allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide if they wanted to allow slavery within their borders. The Act served to repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30´. It made many people mad in the North who supported the Missouri Compromise. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas is the term used to describe the period of violence during the settling of the Kansas territory due to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Violence erupted as both factions fought for control. Abolitionist John Brown led anti-slavery fighters in Kansas before he was captured in his famed raid on Harpers Ferry. -
Election of 1860
The American Election of 1860 was held on November 9, 1860, in which Republican Abraham Lincoln defeated Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, and Constitutional candidate John Bell. In the months following Lincoln's election and before his inauguration, seven Southern states, led by South Carolina on Dec.20,1860, seceded,(primarily over slavery) setting the stage for the American Civil War. -
The Civil War: Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee was the legendary general of the Confederate army during the American Civil War. In June, 1861, lee assumed command for the Army of Northern Virginia, which he would lead for the rest of the war. His greatest victory was in the bloody battle of Chancellorsville. In the spring of 1863, Lee invaded the North, only to be defeated at the Battle of Gettysburg .He finally surrendered his army in 1865. -
Civil War: The North
The Northern climate was more suitable for smaller farmsteads and Industry flourished, where many large cities were established. By 1860, one quarter of all Northerners lived in urban areas. Slavery had died out, replaced in the cities and factories by immigrant labor from Europe. Transportation was also easier in the North. They also believed in upholding the Union, Constitution. -
Civil War: The South
The fertile soil and warm climate of the South made it better suitable for large-scale farms and crops like tobacco and cotton. Few Southerners saw a need for industrial development. 82% of the labor force worked on the farm.There were almost as many blacks - but slaves and free - in the South as there were whites . They compared themselves to the 13 colonies and hoped to Gain Britain as an ally, and also had military leadership. -
Emancipation Proclamation
On September 22, President Lincoln, soon after the Union victory at Antietam, he issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves in the rebellious states “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” While the Emancipation Proclamation did not free a single slave, it was an important turning point in the war, transforming the fight to preserve the nation into a battle for human freedom. -
Gettysburg Address
In November 1863, President Lincoln was invited to which would later be known as the Gettysburg Address, Lincolns 273-word address would be remembered as one of the most important speeches in American history. In it,he invoked the principles of human equality contained in the Declaration of Independence and connected the sacrifices of the Civil War with the desire for “a new birth of freedom,” as well as the all-important preservation of the Union created in 1776 and its ideal of self-government -
Lincoln's 10% Plan
Lincoln’s blueprint for Reconstruction included the Ten-Percent Plan, which specified that a southern state could be readmitted into the Union once 10 percent of its voters swore an oath of allegiance to the Union. All southerners except for high-ranking Confederate army officers and government officials would be granted a full pardon. Lincoln guaranteed southerners that he would protect their private property, though not their slaves. -
Wade-Davis Bill
of the Wade Davis Bill
Definition and Summary: The Wade Davis Bill was passed by Congress on July 2, 1864. The Wade Davis Bill was sponsored by radical Republican senators Benjamin F. Wade and Henry W. Davis, and outlined far stricter requirements for re-admission to the United States during the reunification period of Reconstruction. The Wade Davis Bill was a response in opposition to President Lincoln's lenient Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction and his Ten Percent Plan. It was vetoed -
40 Acres and a Mule
A temporary plan issued by Union General Sherman that granted each freed family 40 acres of tillable land on an island off the coast of Georgia. The army had a number of unneeded mules that were also granted. Freed slaves welcomed the ideas as proof that emancipation was coming soon. Military orders issued by General Sherman on January 16, 1865 which provided 40 acres of land along the Atlantic coast to freed slaves. The orders were subsequently revoked by Andrew Johnson. -
Leaders: Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was a General-in-Chief of the Union during the civil war, and was most acclaimed. He was a keen observer of the war and learned battle strategies serving under Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott. Grant trained Union military recruits and was promoted to Colonel in June 1861. He became famous around the nation after capturing Fort Donelson in Feb. 1862 and was promoted to Major General by President Lincoln. Then moved on to be promoted to Lieutenant General. -
Black Codes
During Presidential Reconstruction, white supremacist Congressmen passed a series of laws called the black codes, which denied blacks the right to make contracts, testify against whites, marry white women, be unemployed, and even loiter in public places. They kept African-Americans from their inalienable rights. In 1866, a small group of leaders in the Radical Republican Party got Congress to pass a Civil Rights Act which eliminated it. -
Freedman's Bureau
The Freedmen's Bureau was established by Congress as the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands on March 3, 1865, to aid and protect former slaves after the end of the war. Its original charter was for one year. -
President Abraham Lincoln's Assassination
On the evening of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor and Confederate sympathizer, assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The attack came only five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his massive army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War. -
The 13th Amendment
The 13th amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "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." -
Ku Klux Klan
Founded in 1866, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) extended into almost every southern state by 1870 and became a vehicle for white southern resistance to the Republican Party’s Reconstruction-era policies aimed at establishing political and economic equality for blacks. Its members waged an underground campaign of intimidation and violence directed at white and black Republican leaders.
