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24,300 BCE
Bering Land Bridge
The Bering land bridge was a bridge that connected Asia to North America. This bridge was made of glaciers. It also helped bring in 3 waves of people to the Americas. This is important to the timeline because it helped bring the Native Americans to the Americas. -
Period: 24,300 BCE to
Beginnings of exploration
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1200
Aztecs
The Aztecs was a materialistic culture. They had an advanced irrigation system and a written language. Their civilization was ruled by warriors- nobles and priest. This event is important to my timeline because this was one of the biggest civilizations in the Old World. -
1300
The Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement in Europe. It imported technology and ideas and their classical ideas were reborn. This is important for the timeline because this change increased Europe's entire society. -
1347
The Black Death
The black death was a plague that killed 40-50% of Europe. The decrease in population increased the wages of peasants. This event transformed Europe's society and the merchant society was formed. This is important to the timeline because this was a major change for Europe and their economy. -
1492
Colombian Exchange
The Colombian Exchange was exchange of goods from old world to the new world. The benefits of this went mostly the old world. This is an important event for the timeline because this was the start of trading for the New World. -
Sep 3, 1492
Columbus
Columbus was a talented navigator born in Geneo, Italy. He believed shortest route to Asia was west and petitioned many European monarchs for financing. He found the Americas without even knowing. This is important to my timeline because he was the start of English colonizaton. -
1500
Fur trading
Fur trading traveled deep and claimed interior France. The French had the best relationship with the Indians and had cooperative conversion to Christianity. This is important to the timeline because it led to establishment to New Orleans. -
1500
Middle Passage
The middle passage was the stage in the triangular trade where millions of Africans was ship to the New World. More than 10% of all slaves died on the voyage. This is important to the timeline because this is what helped bring slaves in the New world. -
Chesapeake Colonies
The Chesapeake Colonies first colony was Jamestown. It started as a private charter from the English crown in 1606. In the first winter only 32 people survived. One of their first crops was tobacco. This is important for the timeline because Jamestown was the first permanent colony for Britain. -
Period: to
English Colonial Societies
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New England Colonies
The New England Colonies consisted of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The first permanent settlement was the Plymouth Colony which was established by the Puritans. This is important for the timeline because the Plymouth colony created the Mayflower compact which influenced government in the Americas later on. -
Southern Colonies
The Southern colonies included the Province of Maryland, Carolina, Georgia, and the colony of Virginia. This colony was mostly for people fleeing from religious persecution and debt.This is important to the timeline because this is where slaves and indentured servants were used more. -
Rebellion of Indentured servants
The Rebellion of Indentured servants was led by Nathaniel Bacon. The rebellion was created because of issues with the government of Virginia. Indentured servants and Africans united and had class resentment. This is important to the timeline because this was the first rebellion in the American colonies. -
Salem Witch trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and persecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. The trials started with a minister daughter who started acting strangely. The trials resulted in the executions of 20 people, 14 of them women. This is important to the timeline because this served as an object lesson in governance. -
Period: to
Colonial America to 1763
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John Locke
John Locke was a 17th century English philosopher. He argued against the belief that human beings are born with certain ideas already in their minds. He claimed that the mind is a blank state until experience begins to "write" on it. This is significant to the timeline because the Founding Fathers drew heavily on his ideas. -
Salutary Neglect
Salutary neglect is a term which refers to when the British Crown avoided strict enforcement of parliamentary laws mean to keep American colonies obedient to England. Basically, the British parliament stopped worrying about the colonies and let them do their own thing. This is significant to the timeline because this fueled the colonies to have the American Revolution. -
Act of Union
The Act of Union united England and Scotland. It led to the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. This is important to the timeline because it made New Britain an empire. -
Triangular Trade
The Triangular Trade was a multilateral system of trading in which a country pays for its imports from one country by its exports to another. In the Triangular trade raw goods were sent to Europe, manufactured goods to Africa, and slaves to America. -
Seven-Years War/ French and Indian War
The French and Indian war was a war fought between the British and French. The Britain and the colonies desired more land to the west. The British rolled out a new policy to defeat the French. This is important to the timeline because it helped expand the colonies. -
Acts of Parliament
An Act of Parliament creates a new law or changes an existing law. An Act is a Bill that has been approved by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords and been given Royal Assent by the Monarch. This is important to the timeline because this was how many of the taxes that made colonists rebel were formed. -
Period: to
The Revolutionary War
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Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the French and Indian War. The treaty made France give up all of its territories in mainland North America ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there. This is important to the timeline because it left Britain dominant in North America. -
Navigation Acts
he Navigation Acts were a series of Acts passed in the English parliament. The navigation Acts regulated trade with colonies and enabled England to collect duties. This is important to the timeline because this was one of the factors as to why the colonies started to rebel. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a riot in Boston arising from the resentment of Boston colonists toward British troops quartered in the city, in which the troops fired on the mob and killed several persons. This is important to the timeline because this led to a campaign by speech-writers to rouse the ire of the citizenry. -
George Whitfield
George Whitfield was a preacher and public figure who led many revival meeting in the American Colonies. He became a religious icon who spread a message of personal salvation. This is significant to the timeline because he helped create a more democratic Christianity. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a raid on three British ships in Boston Harbor in which Boston colonists, disguised as Indians, threw the contents of several hundred chests of tea into the harbor as a protest against British taxes on tea and against the monopoly granted the East India Company. This is important tot the timeline because this made the British create the Intolerable Acts. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker hill was the first great battle of the Revolutionary War. It was fought near Boston in June 1775. the British drove the Americans from their fort at Breed's Hill to Bunker Hill, but only after the Americans had run out of gun powder. this is important to the timeline because the inexperienced colonial forces inflicted significant causalities against the enemy and the battle provided them a confidence boost. -
Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was a letter to King George the third from members of the Second Continental Congress, which represents the last attempt by the moderate party in North America to avoid a war of independence against Britain. This is important to the timeline because this expresses hope for reconciliation between the colonies and Great Britain. -
Period: to
The Constitution
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Treaty of Paris- 1783
The Treaty of Paris of 1783 was negotiated between the United States and Great Britain. This ended the revolutionary war and recognized American Independence. This is significant to the timeline because it officially ended the American Revolutionary war. -
Shays Rebellion
Shay's Rebellion is an uprising led by a former militia officer, Daniel Shays, which broke out in western Massachusetts in 1786. Shays followers protested the foreclosures of farms for debt and briefly succeeded in shutting down the court system. This is significant for the timeline because it is seen as one of the major factors that led to the writing of the new Constitution. -
Central Authority
A Central Authority is an agency or organization that is designated to play a key facilitating role in the implementation and operation of an international treaty in public and private international law. This is important to the timeline because this is what the Articles of Confederation were. -
Virginia Plan
The Virginia Plan was a proposal by Virginia delegates for a bicameral legislative branch. The plan was drafted by Jame Madison while he waited for a quorum to assemble at the Constitutional Convention of 1787. This is significant to the timeline because it was the first document to suggest a separation of powers in executive, legislative, and judicial branches. -
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. This is significant to the timeline because it granted equal votes per state. -
Connecticut Plan
The Connecticut pan was an agreement that both large and small states reached during the Constitutional Convention of 1787 that in part defined the legislative structure and representation that each state would have under the United States. This is important to the timeline because this paved the way for the Constitution to be formed and set an important precedent of compromise in American Political culture. -
Anti- Federalist
Anti- Federalist refers to a movement that opposed the creation of a stronger U.S. Federal government and which later opposed the ratification of the 1787 Constitution. This is important for the timeline because this was one of the parties in the colonies. -
Election of 1788
The election of 1788 was the first quadrennial presidential election. It was conducted under the new United States Constitution, which had been ratified earlier in 1788. This is significant to the timeline because this was the first presidential election the United States had. -
Period: to
New Republic
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The Federalists
The Federalists were people who advocated a system of government in which several states unite under a central authority. This is important to the timeline because this was one of the parties in the colonies. -
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the US. Membership rose rapidly among baptist and Methodist congregations whose preachers led the movement. -
Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion was tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 during the presidency of George Washington. The whiskey tax was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed federal government. This is important to the timeline because this showed how strong the constitution was. -
Cotton Gin
The cotton gin was a machine for separating cotton from its seeds. It was invented by Eli Whitney. It was important because it dramatically reduced the amount of time it took to separate cotton seeds from cotton fiber. -
Jay's Treaty
Jay's Treaty was a treaty between the United States and Great Britain that averted war and resolved issues remaining since the Treaty of Paris 1783. This is significant to the timeline because this was a failed attempt. -
Pickney's Treaty
Pickney's Treaty established intentions of friendship between the United States and Spain. This is important to the timeline because the treaty was an important diplomatic success for the United States. -
XYZ Affair
The XYZ Affair was a political and diplomatic episode early in the administration of John Adams, involving a confrontation between the United States and Republican France that led to an undeclared war call the Quasi-War. This is significant to the timeline because it was an unsuccessful diplomatic incident. -
Iron Plow
The Iron plow is a farm implement consisting of a strong blade at the end of a beam, usually hitched to a draft team or motor vehicle and used for breaking up soil and cutting furrows in preparation for sowing. This is important for the timeline because this helped with industrialization. -
Period: to
The Age of Jefferson
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Marbury v. Madison
In Marbury v. Madison the court declared unanimously that a certain law passed by Congress should not be enforced,because the law was opposed to the Constitution. This is significant to the timeline because it forms the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United states under Article 3 of the Constitution. -
12th Amendment
The 12th amendment provides the procedure for electing the President and Vice president. This is important to the timeline because now thy had to vote for a President and Vice President. -
War of 1812
The war of 1812 was a war between Britain and the United States. It has been called the second war for independence. This is important to the timeline because it showed how strong the United States was becoming. -
Period: to
The American Industrial Revolution
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Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans was an American victory in a battle that never had to happen. American forces under General Andrew Jackson defeated British Forces. This is significant to the timeline because it was the last major battle of the War of 1812. -
Second Bank of the United States
The Second Bank of the United States was chartered for many of the same reasons as its predecessor, the First Bank of the United States. The War of 1812 had left a formidable debt. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is a formal statement written by Thomas Jefferson declaring the freedom of the 13 American colonies from Great Britain. This is important to the timeline because it helped the American colonies get freedom from Britain. -
Adams-Onis Treaty
The Adams-Onis Treaty was a treaty between the United States and Spain that ceded Florida to the U.S. and defined the boundary between the U.S. and New Spain. This is important to the timeline because this helped with Westward expansion. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
McCulloch v. Maryland was a landmark decision by the Supreme Court of the United States. The state of Maryland had attempted to impede operation of a branch of the Second Bank of the United States by imposing a tax on all notes of banks not chartered in Maryland. This is important for this timeline because this was one of the first and most important Supreme Court cases on federal power. -
Panic of 1819
The Panic of 1819 was the first major peacetime financial crisis in the United states followed by a general collapse of the American economy persisting through 1821. This is important to the timeline because it was the first financial crisis in the United States. -
Temperance Movement
Temperance movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication, promote complete abstinence, or use its political influence to press the government to enact alcohol laws to regulate the availability of alcohol or eevn its complete prohibition. -
Period: to
Cultural Changes
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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a settlement of a dispute between slave and free state contained in several laws passed during 1820 and 1821. Northern legislators had tried to prohibit slavery in Missouri, which was then applying for statehood. This is important for the timeline because it admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state and barred slavery from the Louisiana Territory north of the 36 30 parallel. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine was a principle of US policy, originated by President James Monroe in 1823, that any intervention by external powers in the politics of the Americas is a potentially hostile act against the US. This is important to the timeline because it created separate spheres of European and American influence. -
Election of 1824
The election of 1824 was the 10 quadrennial presidential election. John Quincy Adams was elected President. This is important because this was the most hotly contested and most important in American history. -
Period: to
Age of Jackson
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Canals
The canal is an artificial waterway constructed to allow the passage of boats or ships inland or to convey water for irrigation. This is important because this helped people trade along the waterways. -
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of houses and other places that abolitionists used to help slaves escape to freedom in the northern states or in Canada before the Civil war. This is significant to the timeline because this helped bring a lot of slaves to freedom. -
Telegraph
The Telegraph was a system for transmitting messages from a distance along a wire, especially one creating signals by making and breaking an electrical connection. This is important to the timeline because this was the first mass communication in the US. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
The Nat Turner's Rebellion was a slave rebellion that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, during August 1831. It was one of the largest slave rebellions ever to take place in the US. This is important because it played an important role in the development of antebellum slave society. -
Election of 1832
The election of 1832 was a unique one by the standards of the time. It was the first time that the respected parties would hold nominating convention. This is important because it was centered around the Bank of the US. -
Nullification Crisis
The Nullification Crisis was a US sectional political crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson, which involved a confrontation between South Carolina and the federal government. -
Election of 1836
In the election of 1836 Martin Van Buren was the personal choice of Andrew Jackson and faced no opposition for the Democratic nomination. In the end Van Buren destroyed the Whig strategy by polling well in all sections of the country. This is important because the whigs were able to make significant gains in Congress. -
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is an idealistic philosophical and social movement that developed in New England around 1836 in reaction to rationalism. Influenced by romanticism, Platonism, and Kantian philosophy, it taught that divinity pervades all nature and humanity, and its members held progressive views on feminism and communal living. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were central figures. -
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail is the route over which settlers traveled to Oregon in the 1840's and 1850's. The trails branched off from it toward Utah and California. The Oregon Trail passed through what is now Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Idaho. This is important to the timeline because this trail enabled the migrating of the early pioneers to the western United States. -
Election of 1840
The election of 1840 saw President Martin Van Buren fight for re- election against an economic depression and a Whig Party unified for the first time behind war hero William Henry Harrison. This is important because William was the first member of the Whig party to become president. -
Period: to
Westward Expansion
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Election of 1844
The United States presidential election of 1844 saw Democrat James Knox Polk defeat Whig Henry Clay in a close contest that turned on foreign policy, with Polk favoring the annexation of Texas and Clay opposed. This is important to the timeline because this helped annex Texas. -
Manifest Destiny
The Manifest Destiny was the 19th century belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American content was both justified and inevitable. This is significant for the timeline because this what made the United States go from sea to sea. -
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was a general and political leader. As a general in the War of 1812, he defeated the British in the Battle of New Orleans. This is important because he served both in the Revolutionary war and the War of 1812. -
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush was when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The news of gold brought some 300, 000 people to California from the rest of the U.S. and abroad. This is important to the timeline because this helped create the biggest mass migration in American history. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially entitled the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits and Settlement between the United States of America and the Mexican Republic. The treaty added an additional 525,000 square mile to the US territory. This is important to the timeline because this helped with Westward expansion. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls convention was the first women's rights convention. It advertised itself as " a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman." Held in Seneca Falls, New York. -
Period: to
Sectionalism
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Zach Taylor
Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States, serving from March 1849 until his death. Before his presidency, Taylor was a career officer int he United States Army, rising to the rank of major general. He also helped in the Mexican American war. This is important to the timeline because he helped in Mexican American war. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave act was a law passed as part of the Compromise of 1850, which provided southern slaveholders with legal weapons to capture slaves who had escaped to the free states. This is significant to the timeline because this helped convert many previously indifferent northers to antislavery. -
Election of 1852
In the Election of 1852 the incumbent president was a Whig who had succeeded to the presidency upon the death of his war-hero predecessor. This is important to the timeline because this election bore important similarities to the election of 1844. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was published Harriet Beecher Stowe. it paints a grim picture of life under slavery. The main character is a pious, passive slave, who is eventually beaten to death by the overseer Simon Legree. This is significant to the timeline because it helped lay the groundwork for the Civil war. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. This act served to repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which prohibited slavery north of latitude 36 30. This is important to the timeline because this allowed each territory to decide the issue of slavery on the basis of popular sovereignty. -
Upper South
The upper south was considered less harsh than the lower part of the south. It was easier to escape to freedom being at the top because it was so close to the free states. The Upper south was primarily the domain of subtropical cash crops. -
Lower South
The lower south was considered harsher. It was way harder to escape. The lower south was a land of cotton and slavery, a land dominated economically by the plantation agriculture. -
Copperheads
The Copperheads were peace-loving democrats who wanted a ceasefire. Some supported the confederacy and some called Lincoln a tyrant. The copperheads were vilified by pro-union media. This is important to the timeline because it showed that not all of America wanted war. -
Neutral States
The Neutral states during the Civil war was Missouri, Kentucky, Delaware, and Maryland. These slave states did not declare secession from the Union and did not join the Confederacy. This is significant to the timeline because Abraham considered their loyalty to the Union as an important factor in the Union winning the Civil War. -
Period: to
The Civil War
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Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation declared slaves free in the states where there was rebellion. The proclamation stops Britain from entering war on the south side. Also border states are allowed to keep their slaves. This is significant to the timeline because it was the beginning of freedom for slaves. -
Twenty Negro Law
The Twenty Negro Law was a piece of legislation enacted by the Confederate congress during the American Civil War. The law exempted one white man for every 20 slaves he owned. This made the poor Southerners upset. This is important to the timeline because it showed hoe the Civil war was a rich man's war but a poor man's fight. -
Lincoln's 10% Plan
Lincoln's 10% Plan was a part of his reconstruction, formerly known as the Amnesty and Reconstruction plan. This plan 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. This is important to the timeline because this helped bring the United States back together. -
Election of 1864
The Election of 1864 was between Abraham Lincoln and George B. McClellan. Lincoln was afraid he would lose but won easily because of Sherman's capture of Atlanta. This is important to the timeline because Abraham was being elected for his 2nd term. -
Appomattox Courthouse
The Appomattox Courthouse is where Lee surrenders to Grant. The siege at Peters burg/ Richmond starved Lees army which forced him to retreat. This is significant to the timeline because it was the ending of the war. -
Lincoln's Assassination
Five days after the Appomattox Courthouse Lincoln was attending a play at the Ford's Theater. A man named John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the back of his head. Lincoln died the next day. This is significant to the timeline because Andrew Johnson ended up becoming president. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for a crime. Lincoln and radical republicans reached common ground on this. This is significant to the timeline because this finally took slavery away in the United States of America. -
Period: to
Reconstruction
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14th Amendment
The 14th amendment addressed citizenship rights and equal protection of the laws and was proposed in response to issues related to former slaves following the American Civil War. Southern representation in congress would be denied if African Americans rights taken away. This is significant to the timeline because this was also a step to change within the African American society. -
Abolitionist
An Abolitionist is a person who favors the abolition of a practice, especially capital punishment or slavery. The Abolitionist movement in the US was an effort to end slavery in a nation that valued personal freedom and believed "all men are created equal." -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment prohibit the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on the citizens "race, color, or previous condition of servitude". This amendment made it necessary to protect the black vote. This is important to the timeline because this was a big step towards equal rights for African Americans. -
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee was a general of the 19th century and the commander of Confederate troops during the Civil War. Before the war, he led the marines who put down the insurrection by John Brown at Harper's Ferry and took Brown captive. This is important to the timeline because he led the losing team of the Civil war. -
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered a depression in North America that lasted until 1877. African Americans became less important because of the Panic. This is important to the timeline because this brought Reconstruction to a formal end. -
Election of 1876
The election of 1876 between Rutherford B. Hayes and Democrat Samuel Tilden of New York was one of the most hostile, controversial campaigns in American history. The vote was 8-7 along party lines to award the disputed electoral college votes to Hayes, making him the winner. This is significant to the timeline because this election tested the Constitution and resulted in a compromise that ended Reconstruction in America. -
Jim Crow
Jim Crow was a former practice of segregating black people in the U.S. Jim Crow laws were state and local laws passed from the end of Reconstruction in 1877. This is important to the timeline because this is what made black people want to protest. -
Lucretia Mott
Lucretia was a U.S. Quaker, abolitionist, a women's rights activist, and a social reformer. Mott helped write the Declaration of sentiments. -
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was a general and political leader of the 19th century. Grant became commanding general of the Union army during the Civil War. He accepted the unconditional surrender of the commanding general of the main Confederate army, Robert E. Lee, at Appomattox Court House. This is significant for the timeline because he was the general of Union which won the Civil War. -
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth was a reformer and feminist who joined with Lucretia Mott in issuing the call for the first women;s rights convention in America, which was held at Seneca falls, New York , in 1848. Stanton later worked in close partnership with Susan B. Anthony for Women's suffrage. -
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman was an American abolitionist, humanitarian, and an armed scout and spy for the United States Army during the Civil War. Her nickname was Moses and she never lost a passenger. She led over 300 slaves to freedom. This is important to the timeline because Tubman was seen as a symbol of how black people resisted slavery during te time before the Civil War.
