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1900 BCE
Chocolate
The Olmecs of southern Mexico were possibly the first to ferment, roast, and grind cacao beans for drinks and gruels, possibly early as 1500 B.C. There is no written history for the Olmecs but pots and vessels uncovered from this ancient civilization show traces of the cacao chemical theobromine. The earliest known use of chocolate was by the Olmec around 1900 BCE and, enjoyed as a drink, drunk from the special round jars known as tecomates. This is important, because it shows how we've evolved. -
1724 BCE
The Bering Land Bridge
The Bering Land Bridge aided the introductory Americans cross from Asia to North America. As more people passed over more cultural things were brought over. North America and Asia are separated today by a narrow ocean channel known today as the Bering Strait. However, during the ice age, when much of the earth's water supply was locked in glacial ice, sea levels worldwide dropped and a land bridge emerged from the sea and connected the two continents. -
1500 BCE
Mesoamerican Ballgame
The Mesoamerican Ballgame was created by the Olmecs and makes its first appearance around 1500 BC in the central Gulf Coast of Mexico, an area known at the time for its latex production. The exact rules of the game are unknown, it is believed that the game was played similarly to modern volleyball (net-less) or racquetball. The importance of this game, is that the origins are still preserved over time, a less gruesome version of the game called "Ulama" is still played today. Olmecs-Maya-Aztec -
1200 BCE
Bloodletting 1200-500 B.C.
Through evidence bloodletting was a common form of sacrifice among all Mesoamerican cultures unlike the heart extractions which was mainly believed to be part of Mayan and Aztec cultures. It was the ritualized self-cutting or piercing of an individual's body that served with ideological and cultural functions within ancient societies. It is important to my timeline, because it tells a deeply symbolic and highly ritualized activity with strong religious and political significance the Olmecs had. -
1000 BCE
Pyramids 1000-400 B.C.
Built by the Olmecs, the first major Mesoamerican civilization, the pyramids were generally built of earth and then faced with stone, typically in a layered shape, topped by a platform or temple structure. Civilizations like the Olmec, Maya, Aztec and Inca all built pyramids to hold their deities, as well as to bury their passed kings. The first Olmec center, San Lorenzo, was all but abandoned around 900 BCE at about the same time that La Venta rose to prominence. Displayed cultural history. -
476
Fall of The Roman Empire
In 410 C.E., the Visigoths ruptured the barriers of Rome and dismissed the capital of the Roman Empire. Christianity became the new religion, which was monotheistic which countered traditional polytheistic Roman religion. -
Period: 1200 to
Beginnings to Exploration
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1440
The Printing Press
The printing press was created in the Holy Roman Empire by the German Johannes Gutenberg. Johannes Gutenberg was a German blacksmith known for inventing the mechanical movable type printing press. His printing press was based off from the technology of the screw-type wine presses of the Rhine Valley. His printing press has been widely considered the most important invention of the modern era because it profoundly impacted the transmission of knowledge. -
Jun 7, 1494
The Treaty of Tordesillas
The Treaty of Tordesillas split the New World into land, resources, and people claimed by Spain and Portugal. This line cut through Brazil and divided South America into Spanish and Portuguese territory. It was written to to solve a dispute following the return of Christopher Columbus. The cause was the discovering of Americas and the depute it caused by Spain and Portugal both wanting land. power of the pope and the catholic church. -
Oct 31, 1517
Ninety-Five Theses
The Ninety-five Theses or Disputation on the Power of Indulgences was a list of propositions for an academic disputation written in 1517 by Martin Luther. This was the foundation of the Protestant Reformation.The 95 Theses, which would later become the foundation of the Protestant Reformation, were written in a remarkably humble and academic tone, questioning rather than accusing. The overall thrust of the document was nonetheless quite provocative. -
Roanoke
A group of colonists from the old world established a colony in the New World. They all soon disappeared and Roanoke became widely known as the "Lost Colony". It was established in Rhode Island and was the first known British colony.It was a late 16th-century attempt by Queen Elizabeth I to establish a permanent English settlement in North America. The colony was founded by Sir Walter Raleigh. -
English Colonization
During the early and mid-sixteenth century, the English tended to conceive of North America as a base for piracy and harassment of the Spanish. But by the end of the century, the English began to think more seriously about North America as a place to colonize: as a market for English goods and a source of raw materials and commodities such as furs. America would also provide a place to send the English poor and ensure that they would contribute to the nation's wealth. -
Period: to
English Colonial Societies
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Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was a set of rules for self-governance established by the English settlers who traveled to the New World on the Mayflower. When Pilgrims and other settlers set out on the ship for America in 1620, they intended to lay anchor in northern Virginia.The original Mayflower Compact has been lost, perhaps falling victim to Revolutionary War looting. The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of Plymouth Colony. -
Quakers
The Religious Society of Friends, also referred to as the Quaker Movement, was founded in England in the 17th century by George Fox. He and other early Quakers, or Friends, were persecuted for their beliefs, which included the idea that the presence of God exists in every person. Quakers rejected elaborate religious ceremonies, didn’t have official clergy and believed in spiritual equality for men and women. The Quakers took up the cause of protecting Native Americans’ rights. -
Exploration of the Mississippi River
In February of 1682, La Salle led a new expedition down the Mississippi River. Along the way they built Fort Prod’homme at present-day Memphis, Tennessee. In April, they reached the Gulf of Mexico. La Salle named the region "La Louisiane," in honor of King Louis XIV, and cultivated important military, social and political alliances with Native American tribes in the upper Mississippi River area. On his return trip, La Salle had established Fort St. Louis in Illinois. -
The Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was the stage of the triangular trade in which millions of Africans were shipped to the New World as part of the Atlantic slave trade. The trip took anywhere from three to four months and most individuals lay chained in rows on the ship. They where also held on shelves that ran around the inside of the ships' hulls. The packaging was very uncomfortable and captives from different nations were mixed together which created confusion. -
Period: to
Colonial America to 1763
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The Great Awakening
In the 1730's, a religious revival swept through the British American colonies to what is known as the Great Awakening. It was a religious revitalization movement that swept the Atlantic region, and the American colonies which changed the protestant American religion leaving a permanent impact in the 1730's and 1740's. The Great Awakening resulted from powerful preaching that gave listeners a sense of deep, personal revelation of their need of salvation from Jesus Christ. -
Samuel Davies, Master Speaker
Samuel Davies was an evangelical Presbyterian pastor and educator who lived in Hanover Count in the 1740s and 1750s. He played a critical Role in the Great Awakening, when a series of religious revivals eventually lead to the disestablishment of the Church of England as America's official church. Davies was a skilled orator whose sermons were filled with vivid imagery and even influenced future revolutionary and Governor Patrick Henry. -
New England Economy
The climate and geography had a major impact on the trade and economic activities of the New England Colonies. In towns along the coast the colonists made their living off fishing, whaling, and shipbuilding. The fish included cod, mackerel, herring, halibut, hake, bass and sturgeon. Farming was difficult in New England for crops like wheat, therefore they planted crops such as corn, pumpkins, rye, squash and beans were planted. The Northern colonies concentrated on manufacture and ship building. -
The Enlightenment
European politics, philosophy, science and communications were radically reoriented as part of a movement referred to by its participants as the Age of Reason, or simply the Enlightenment.Their was a separation between the church and the state and ordinary citizens have more say. This was an intellectual and philosophical movement that dominated the world of ideas in Europe during the 18th Century. It revolved around the scientific method instead of beliefs. -
The French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was the North American conflict in a larger imperial war between Great Britain and France Known as the Seven Years War. The French and Indian War began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The war provided Great Britain enormous territorial gains in North America, but disputes over subsequent frontier policy and paying the wars expenses led to colonial discontent, and ultimately to the American Revolution. -
The Treaty of Paris 1763
The treaty of Paris of 1763 was a peace treaty that was signed after Britain won the Seven Years War, also known as the French and Indian War between Great Britain and France. France gave up all its territories in North America, ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there. The British government also wanted to end the war because of finances. -
Period: to
The Revolutionary War 1763-1783
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The Revenue Act
The Revenue Act, also known as the Sugar Act in 1764 was an Act passed by parliament on the American Colonies in order to raise revenue. The Sugar Act replaced the Molasses Act of 1733, reducing the tax on molasses by half, but stepping up the enforcement of tax. The purpose of lowering the tax on molasses was to make people buy them from the British colonies instead of smuggling it from the French and Spanish colonies. The Sugar Act also increased the enforcement of smuggling laws. -
The Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tariff on every piece of printed paper they used. This included ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications and even playing cards were taxed. This is one of the multiple Acts imposed by the British that will lead America to independence -
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, Massachusetts on the Boston harbor in 1773 that was caused by the Tea Act, which put tax on all tea. Three-hundred and forty crates of tea were thrown into the harbor. The main goal was to protest British Parliaments tax on tea. "No taxation without representation." It was also to let Britain and Parliament know that they could no longer use the colonies to their advantage through unjust tariffs. -
The Coercive Acts
The Coercive Acts, also known as the Intolerable Acts consist of four punitive measures enacted by the British Parliament in retaliation for acts of colonial defiance, together with the Quebec Act establishing a new administration for the territory ceded to Britain after the French and Indian War. The Intolerable Acts represented an attempt to reimpose strict British control over the American colonies, but , after 10 years of vacillation the oppression caused the First Continental Congress -
Militias
Militias were also known as Minutemen and were made up of civilian colonists who independently organized to form well-prepared combat groups. They were supposed to be easily gathered within a short notice of time.Militia companies self-trained in weaponry, tactics and military strategies from the American colonial partisan militia during the American Revolutionary War. -
The East India Company
The English East India Company was formed for the exploitation of the trade with East and Southeast Asia and India, incorporated by royal charter on December 31, 1600. Starting as a monopolistic trading body, the company became involved in politics and acted as an agent of British imperialism in India. The Tea Act was designed by Parliament to benefit the EIC and the Americas were the designated recipients of the tea. The act was meant to enforce the EIC's monopoly on tea in the colonies. -
Paul Revere
Paul Revere was a Whig courier and was seen as a hero for his 1775 "Midnight Rid".By 2775, tensions between the American colonies and he British govt. had approached the breaking point. On Joseph Warren's orders on the night of 18th 1775, he crossed the Charles River and rode to Lexington to warn Samuel Adams and John Hancock that British troops were coming through on their way to concord. Revere got the word to the radical leaders, but a British patrol prevented any further progress. -
Republicanism
Republicanism is the political value system that has dominated American political thought since the American Revolution. It stresses rights and liberties as central values, makes the people as a while sovereign, rejects aristocracy and inherited political power, expects citizens to be independent and civic minded, and is strongly opposed to corruption. The American version of republicanism was for by the Founding Fathers and it formed the basis for American Revolution and Dec. of Independence -
The Articles of Confederation (A.O.C.) Inability of congress
In the early Articles of Confederation, Congress had no power to levy or collect taxes. Congress also had no power to regulate foreign trade or to enforce its laws. Because of this the government went into debt, quarrels broke out among states and trading with other countries was difficult. The government depended on states for law enforcement. Congress also had trouble passing laws because a vote of 9 out of 13 states were needed. -
The Articles of Confederation (A.O.C.)
The Articles of Confederation was an agreement among the 13 original states the United States that served as its first constitution. It was created on November 15, 1777, and ratified March 1, 1781. It established a loose friendship of independent states. Money, laws, power and jurisdiction all varied from state to state. Revenue, military action, and diplomacy did not exist. Their was no central authority, which cause them to be weak and have a constant shortage of funds -
Period: to
The Constitution
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Shay's Rebellion
Shay's Rebellion was the effect of a protest led by Daniel Shay, a Revolutionary War veteran who led four thousand rebels in an uprising against perceived economic and civil rights injustices that were caused by the Revolutionary War. Shay's rebellion was a post-war recession that was bad for everyone because people started to loose farms. The rebellion created a sense of urgency and people thought it wasn't going to end. -
Virginia/New Jersey Plans
The Virginia plan was James Madison's plan of government, in which state got a number of representatives in Congress based on their population. This plan favorites large states with large populations. The New Jersey plan proposed a single-chamber congress in which each state had one vote. Because of conflict between larger states and smaller states we adopted a compromise in which a bicameral house distributes equal representation for each state. House of Representatives and the Senate -
The Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance, adopted by the Second Continental Congress, chartered a government for the Northwest Territory, provided a method for admitting new states into the Union from the territory, and listed a bill of rights guaranteed in the territory. A new state being admitted to the Union required a congressional appointed governor, secretary and three judges to rule in first phase. Also an elected assembly and one delegate of Congress, when the population reached five thousand free males. -
George Washington
George Washington was born in 1732 in Virginia and was the son of a prosperous planter. He worked as a surveyor and later fought in the French and Indian War. Washington was commander in chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. During the war he lead colonial forces to victory over the British and became a national Hero. After being elected in 1789 he served two terms as the first U.S. president. He favored a position of neutrality in foreign conflicts and created the Cabinet. -
Period: to
New Republic
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The District of Columbia
The District of Columbia, also known as Washington, D.C., is the capital city of the United States, located between Virginia and Maryland on the north bank of the Potomac River. The site was carefully chose by George Washington on Potomac's navigation head (to accommodate oceangoing ships), and near two well-established port cities, Georgetown and Alexandria. The city is home to all three branches of govt, the White House, Supreme Court and Capitol Building. -
The Bill of Rights
In the Bill of Rights their was a guarantee of individual rights and liberties. The Bill of Rights consists of the first ten amendments of the constitution written by James Madison i response to several calls for greater constitutional protection. Anti-Federalists held that a Bill of Rights was necessary to safeguard individual liberty. The Bill of Rights list specific prohibition on governmental power. -
The Bank of United States
The first Bank of the United States was a national bank chartered for twenty years by the U.S. congress on February 25, 1791. Companion ed by Alexander Hamilton he believed a national bank was necessary to stabilize and improve the nation's credit, and to improve handling of the financial business of the United States government under the newly enacted Constitution. but it just set off constitutional issues. -
The 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. The country suffered from significant debt from the Revolutionary War. Following years of aggression with tax collectors, the region finally exploded in a confrontation that had President Washington respond by sending troops to quell the radical farmers. The rebellion was ended by the militia and is seen as the first national test of America. -
Adams Presidency
The French are angry and recall envoy and seized American ships. Early in the administration of John Adams presidency the XYZ affair happened which was a political and diplomatic episode between France and the United States. The French ignored American envoys. The word got out and undeclared a naval war. The army will triple. -
The Election of 1800
The U.S. presidential election of 1800 was the fouth qudrennial presidential election between Thomas Jefferson andJohn Adams, Thomas Jefferson won the leection. The election was the end of the naval war, and it negotiated treaty. Their was a division among federalist, Adams seen it as weak and divided party. Their was Napoleon support against Britain and Spain. -
Period: to
The Age of Jefferson
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The Louisiana Purchase
Spain will cede Louisiana back to France. Napolean threatens to close New Orleans, therefore Jefferson sends over diplomats to Paris to buy New Orleans. However, Jefferson is all about a strong, limited power of government and buys Louisiana anyway for less than three cents per acre. He secures the Mississippi River and the purchase doubled the size of the nation. -
Marbury v. Madison
Madison was the secretary of state and withholds nominations and Marbury was the angry appointee that sues, Marbury versus Madison was the most important supreme court case that set up the judicial review. It was the foundation of when white and black kids can start going to school together. The chief justice was John Marshal, the supreme court lacked jurisdiction which gives themselves power. -
The Duel
The duel was between Burr and Alexander Hamilton. Duels were illegal, but they did it anyway because it was the culmination of a long and bitter rivalry between the two men. Burr shot Hamilton and wounded him, he died the next day in his bed. Burr is charged and looses his reputation as vice president. Burr becomes the outlaw and the federalist main leader is dead. -
The Embargo Act
The Embargo Act of 1807 deprived Britain and France of American goods. It was very unpopular in seaports. James Madison will inherit the Embargo Act, but it will become a big problem. The Embargo Act hurts the economy mostly in the South and the Northeast. This policy will anger the British, therefore, the British will give the natives more guns and supplies. -
Period: to
Westward Expansion
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Period: to
The American Industrial Revolution
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The Panic of 1819
America had an economic boom after the war of 1812. The founding of the Second Bank of the United States fueled economic expansion and speculation. Agriculture prices collapsed in 1819, and the banks failed. The economy went into a tailspin and started to decline. This was one of the worst depressions in the United States' history. It was the first major peacetime financial crisis in the united States followed by a general collapse of the American economy persisting through 1821. -
McCulloch V. Maryland
McCulloch vs. Maryland was a landmark supreme court case. The supreme court ruled that Congress had implied powers under the constitution to create a second national bank of the United States, and that the state of Maryland lacked the power to tax the bank because states cannot take place of a federal government especially in matters of commerce. -
The Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening led to the establishment of reform movements to address injustices and alleviate suffering such as the Temperance Movement, the Women suffrage Movement and the Abolitionists Movement in which people advocated for emancipation on religious grounds. Emphasized religious romanticism, making elaborate religious art. -
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise set up a balance between slave and free states. It was an imaginary line at thirty-six degrees thirty degrees latitude. The states that were above the line would be free, and the states that were below the line would be slave states. This was just a temporary solution to the Missouri compromise, however slavery had to be dealt with at some point. Their was a guaranteed conflict in the future because of this problem. -
Period: to
Cultural Changes
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The Invention of the Steam Engine
Steam power is one of the most important thins in the American industrial Revolution. the creation of the steam engine created may additions to the technology of this time, including steam powered locomotives which are vehicles that run on rails or tracks and are powered by steam. The steam engine wasn't just power trains, it was also used for mining and to pump water from deep areas. -
The Election of 1824
In this election, the Democratic-Republican Party splintered as four separate candidates sought the presidency, John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay(both sides like him; pragmatist) and William Crawford. Jackson wins popular vote, not electoral college. Adams was chosen to be president by the House of Representative. Jackson angry and bitter because of Adams and Clay's deal(corrupt bargain). -
Period: to
Age of Jackson
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The Presidency of John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was an american statesman who served as a diplomat, United States Senator, member of the House of Representatives, and also the sixth President of the U.S.. John Quincy Adams was John Adams' son. While becoming President, Adams chose Clay to be the Secretary of State. however, Jackson and his angry followers charged that a (corrupt bargain) had taken place, and immediately began their campaign to take away the presidency from Adams in 1828. -
The Election of 1828
Jackson's (Old Hickory) new strategy was to humble origins and better the military career (battle of new Orleans). Democratic-Republicans faded, second party system, and a modern democratic party. People attack each other as womanizers and attacks Jackson's wife Rachel because of bigamy. People accused Jackson of being a pimp and the election was very nasty. Jackson wins overwhelmingly, first elected by common man. The inauguration was very rowdy. -
The Eastern State Penitentiary
The Eastern State Penitentiary was the largest and most expensive former American prison site in Pennsylvania that was known for its strict discipline. It was a prison designed to inspire penitence, or true regret in the hearts of prisoners because Pennsylvania didn't want the punishment of prisoners to be death. In this jail they mad prisoners participate in hard labor. The jails eventually became a detention site for people who have done wrong or have mental illnesses. -
Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion
Nat Turner's rebellion was a slave rebellion that took place in Southampton, Virginia in 1831. Nat Turner and a few other slaves killed between fifty-five and sixty-five people starting with his white slave owner, the Travis family. The result of the revolt was that it caused greater fear and stricter enforcement of the slave codes by southern white. Nat Turner ran away, and when found he was tried, convicted and hung. -
Cherokee Trail of Tears
Gold Found. Indian Removal Act of 1830, gave power to president to exchange Indian land. In Worcester vs. George Cherokees have the right to govern for sovereign nation. Scotus gets involved and Jackson refuses to enforce decision under orders from President Jack the U.S. Army began enforcement of the Removal Act. Cherokees were forced to leave and rounded up to go to Tennessee, Ohio, Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers into Indian territory. Many died of starvation and diseases along the way. -
The Nullification Crisis
Congress raises import taxes (tariff Act of 1832), put a tax on textiles. South Carolina was affected and it hurt the southern agriculture. John Calhoun (VP), advocated the nullifying law and took Kentucky Resolutions further. He resigned from vice president over this. In the Webster-Haynes Debate, Webster attacked states rights. Denied states could judge constitution. -
The American Anti-Slavery Society
The American Anti-Slavery Society also known as the AASS; in 1833 through 1870 was an abolitionist society founded by William Lloyd Garrison, and Arthur Tappan. Fredrick Douglas, an escaped slave, was a key leader of this society who often spoke at its meetings. In 1840, the AASS split. Creation of a new government that prohibited slavery from the very beginning was called. Stating that the U.S. Constitution was an illegal document because it denied African Americans their freedom. -
The Invention of the Steel Plow
The steel plow was invented by John Deer in 1837 when the Middle-West was being settle. it was used to break up tough soil without soil getting stuck to it. The soil was different in the west and wasn't as easy to deal with as in the east. The wooden plows kept breaking and they needed to find a solution, Therefore they thought steel would be a sturdier alternative. The steel plow back then was about 10-12 dollars. -
John Calhoun
John C. Calhoun, was a prominent U.S. statesman and spokesman for the slave-plantation system of the South. He was fro South Carolina and served as vice president under both John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. He opposed the Mexican-American War and the admission of California as a free state, and was renowned as a leading voice for those seeking to secure the institution of slavery. He led a crusade against abolitionism and antislavery legislators trying to limit slavery in the west. -
The Election of 1840
(Democrat vs. Whigs) Van Buren runs for re-election against an economic depression (democrat). General William Henry Harrison(Whig). Whigs spread rumors about Van Buren and will get women to influence the vote of their husbands. William Harrison will win by a landslide, but he only makes it a month before John Tyler(VP) becomes the President. -
Lowell Mills
The Waltham system was a labor and production model employed in the United States during the early years of the textile industry in the 19th century. Lowell Mills centralized factories(mills). It was a large labor work force of ladies and also a dermatory (live on work site and company pays). Women earned more but had long hours, and bad working conditions. -
The Crank Churn
From the mid-1800s through the 1940's the crank churn was used to churn butter in many households in America One type of crank churn was a barrel churn, a simple device in which the user turned a handle that directly rotated a dasher inside a stabilized barrel. Over time these butter churns changed to work better -
The Telegraph
The telegraph was invented by Samuel Morse in May of 1844. The telegraph revolutionized long distance communication by transmitting electrical signals over a wire laid between stations. Samuel Morse also came up with a form of communication called the Morse code, which is a set of dots and/or dashes for each letter of the alphabet to transfer complex messages through the lines. -
The Mexican American War
The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) marked the first U.S. armed conflict chiefly fought on foreign soil. It pitted a politically divided and militarily unprepared Mexico against the expansionist-minded administration of U.S. president James K Polk, who believed the United States had a "manifest destiny" to spread across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. A border skirmish along the Rio Grand began the fighting, followed by a series of U.S. victories. -
The Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York and was the first women's convention that discussed and fought for the civil, social, and religious rights of women. The Seneca Falls Convention was the meeting that launched the women's suffrage movement which later ensured the right for women to vote. Their was a total of 300 men and women. Declaration of sentiments and resolutions. Secure rights in economics and voting made the convention a cornerstone in women's rights. -
Period: to
Sectionalism
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Chinese Migration
On January 24, 1848, gold was discovered in California at Sutter's Mill. By 1849, people were coming to California from all over the world to look for gold. At that time, war, famine, and a poor economy in southeastern China caused many Chinese men to come to America. Most of them hoped to find great wealth and return to China. Chinese immigrants soon found out that many Americans did not welcome them. High monthly taxes were placed on all foreign miners. Chinese had no choice but to pay the tax -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 consists of five laws passed in September of 1850 that dealt with the issue of slavery. In 1849 California requested permission to enter the Union as a free state. As part of the Compromise of 1850; the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished. Furthermore, California entered the Union as a free state and a territorial government was created in Utah. The boundary dispute between Texas and New Mexico was also settled. -
Greek Revival
Greek Revival was an architectural movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in Northern Europe and the United States in which people started to build and copy Greek style buildings from Ancient Greco-Roman influences. The style was seen as an expression of local nationalism, civic virtue and freedom from the lax detail and frivolity. -
Railroads
Railroads in the 1850's were a faster and cheaper way of transporting materials from one place to another which helped factories produce goods faster. It was one of the most important things in the Industrial Revolution because it brought social, political and economic change to the United States. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas is the term used to describe the period of violence during the settling of Kansas territory. In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska Act decreed that the residents would determine whether the area became a free state or slave state. Pro slavery and free-state settlers flooded into Kansas to try to influence the decision. Violence soon erupted as both factions fought for control. Abolitionist John Brown led anti-slavery fighters in Kansas before his raid on Harpers Ferry -
Dred Scott v Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri. From 1833 to 1843, he resided in Illinois and in an area of the Lousiana Territory, where slavery was forbidden by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. After returning to Missouri, Scott sued unsuccessfully in the Missouri courts for his freedom, claiming that his residence in free territory mad him a free man. Scott's master maintained that no pure-blooded Negro and descendant of slaves could be a citizen in the sens of Article III of the Constitution -
Fire-eaters
The Fire-eaters were a group of radical pro-slavery Southerns on the Antebellum South who urged the separation of Southern states into a new nation, which became the Confederate States of America. The leader of the group was Robert Barnwell Rhett of South Carolina. The Fire-Eaters demonstrated the high level of sectionalism existing in the U.S. during the 1850s, and they materially contributed to the outbreak of the Civil War. -
The Election of 1860
The election of 1860 set the stage for the American Civil War. The nation had been divided throughout most of the 1850s on questions of states rights and slavery in the territoies. The presidential election of 1860 was between Republican Abraham Lincoln, Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas and Constitutional Candidate John Bell. Abraham Lincoln won the election and brought the Republican Part to power without the support of any Southern states. -
The Trent Affair
The Trent Affair was a diplomatic crisis that took place between the United States and Great Britiain, during the U.S. Civil War. The crisis rupted after the captain of the USS San Jacinto ordered the arrest of two Confederate envoys sailing to Europe aboard a British mail ship, the Trent, in order to seek support for the South in the Civil War. The British were outraged and claimed the seizure of a neutral ship was a violation of international law. -
Military Leadership in the South
The south tended to have the better generals who could lead battle successfully. There were many important confederate generals and commanders during the American Civil Was. Some like Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson and Nathan Bedford Forrest are the well known generals. Others are less well known but were southern generals who led the troops and helped decide the ultimate outcome of most of civil war battles. -
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The Civil War
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Ulysses S. Grant
was a prominent United States Army general during the American Civil War and Commanding General at the conclusion of that war. He was elected as the 18th President of the United States in 1868, serving from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, Grant worked closely with President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union Army to victory over the Confederacy. After Lincoln's assassination, Grant's assignment in implementing Reconstruction often put him at odds with President Andrew Johnson. -
Lincoln's Percent 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 (from the voter rolls for the election of 1860) swore an oath of allegiance to the Union.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. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation granted freedom to the slaves in the Confederate States if the States did not return to the Union by January 1, 1863. In addition, under this proclamation, freedom would only come to the slaves if the Union won the war. The proclamation exempted the border slave states and all or parts of three Confederate states controlled by the Union army on the grounds that these areas were not in rebellion against the U.S. -
The Battle of Vicksburg
In the summer of 1863, General Ulysses S. Grant's army converged on Vicksburg on the Mississippi River, trapping a Confederate army under General John Pemberton. Pemberton's men created a series of trenches, forts, redans, and artillery lunettes in a 7-mile ring surrounding the city. Grant's army surrounded Pemberton and outnumbered him two to one. Pemberton finally surrendered on July 4th. Grant's victory boosted his reputation, leading to his appointment as General-in-Chief. -
The Northern Cotton Embargo
Cotton diplomacy refers to the diplomatic methods employed by the Confederacy during the American Civil War to coerce the United Kingdom and France to support the Confederate war effort by implementing a cotton trade embargo against the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. The president of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis, strongly supported the King Cotton diplomacy wanting Great Britain, the most powerful nation in the world's support. -
The Election of 1864
In the election of 1864, Abraham Lincoln was re-elected as president. Lincoln ran under the National Union banner against his former Civil War General, George B. McClellan. The 1864 election occurred during the Civil War, therefore none of the states loyal to the Confederacy participated. On November 8th, Lincoln won by over 400,000 popular votes and easilysecuredthe electoral majority. Lincolns 2nd term was ended just 6 weeks after his inauguration by his assassination. -
The Black Codes
In the United States, the Black Codes were laws passed by Democrat ran Southern states in 1865-66, and ended in 1877 because of the Reconstruction after the Civil War. They were a series of restrictive laws which were designed to restrict freed blacks' activity and ensure their availability as a labor force now that slavery had been abolished. Many states required blacks to sign yearly labor contracts; if they refused, they risked being arrested as vagrants and fined or forced into unpaid labor. -
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Reconstruction
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"Scalawags"
White southern Republicans, known to their enemies as "scalawags," made up the biggest group of delegates to the Radical Reconstruction-era legislatures. Some scalawags were established planters who thought that whites should recognize blacks' civil and political rights while still retaining control of political and economic life. Many were former Whigs. The majority of scalawags were non-slave holding small farmers as well as merchants and artisans who remained loyal to the Union. -
The Election of 1868
The Presidential Election of 1868 was the first election to take place during Reconstruction. President Andrew Johnson, who had ascended President Lincoln following the assassination in 1865, was unsuccessful in his attempt to receive the Democratic presidential nomination. Instead the Democrats nominated Horatio Seymour to take on the Republican candidate, Civil War hero General Ulysses S. Grant. Grant won a large amount of the electoral votes, as well as the popular vote. -
Sharecroppers
Sharecropping was an agricultural labor system that developed in Georgia and throughout the South following Reconstruction and lasted until the mid-twentieth century. Under this arrangement, laborers with no land of their own worked on farm plots owned by others, and at the end of the season landowners paid workers a share of the crop.Under this system, blacks would rent small plots of land, or shares, to work themselves. They would then give a portion to the landowner at the end of the year. -
The Whiskey Ring Scandal
In the United States, the Whiskey Ring was a scandal, exposed in 1875, involving diversion of tax revenues in a conspiracy among government agents, politicians, whiskey distillers, and distributors. The Whiskey Ring began in St. Louis but was also organized in Chicago, Milwaukee, Cincinnati, New Orleans, and Peoria. The scheme involved an extensive network of bribes involving distillers, rectifiers, gauges, storekeepers, and internal revenue agents. -
Jim Crow Laws
The segregation and disenfranchisement laws known as "Jim Crow" represented a formal, codified system of racial apartheid that dominated the American South for three quarters of a century beginning in the 1890s. Jim Crow Laws were statutes and ordinances established between 1874 and 1975 to separate the white and black races in the American South. In theory, it was to create separate but equal treatment, but in practice Jim Crow Laws condemned black citizens to inferior treatment and facilities.
