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1000 BCE
The Olmec Pyramids
The Olmec Pyramids date back to as early as 1000 B.C up to the conquest by the Spanish. Contrary to popular belief their were more pyramids built in the Americas than the rest of the world -
1 BCE
Bering Land Bridge
The Berring Land bridge was a stretch of Ice connecting Asia to North America than Asians used to cross. It later melted and destroyed the only way to cross by land. -
476
Fall of Rome
The fall of Rome was a conquest of Rome by Barbarians that officially ended when a Germanic tribe forced the last emperor of Rome to give up his crown. -
1000
Feudalism
Feudalism was the social system of Medieval Europe. This was the This time period begat the famous Knights we hear about today. -
1096
The First Crusade
The First crusade was a war between the Byzantite empire or the Holy Roman Empire and the Suljuq Turks over the Holy Land in which the Holy Roman Empire won. Pope Urban II of the called for it and said that anyone who fought would would go to heaven. -
1271
The Ninth and Last Crusade
The ninth crusade was not successful and and was called by King Edward. It was led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Raymond of Saint-Gilles, Bohemond of Taranto, and Hugh of Vermandois -
1347
The Start of the Black Death
The Black Death was the worst epidemic in human history. It was carried by fleas that bit rats and infected them which would die and spread the disease to humans or another rat that came in contact with it. Also humans could get it if they came in contact with a human that had it. -
1400
Start of the Colombian Exchange
The Colombian Exchange was the exchange of goods, ideas, technology, animals, and human populations between the new and old world. -
1440
The Invention of the Printing Press
The Printing Press was an invented by Johannes Gutenberg. His invention revolutionized literature because before books had to be copied by hand making them expensive so only the rich had them. Also many people were illiterate they had to rely on priests to interpret the bible for them. The printing press made books affordable which resulted in a rise of literacy and people could interpret the bible their selves -
Period: 1480 to
Beginnings to Exploration
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1500
Start of Triangular Trade
The triangular trade was a trade route between the New and Old World and Africa. Raw materials would be sent to the Old World from the New World to make a product which would be used to trade with the Africans for slaves which would be sent to the New World. -
1500
Indulgences
The selling of indulgences was when someone would sin the pay money to have their sins "wiped away" from the church. This shows how corrupt the catholic had gotten during this time. -
1500
The Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was the three to four month trip to transport Africans slaves to the New World. This trip was gruesome, slaves were packed into tight areas where they could barely move and there were many diseases. Many people died on this trip or threw themselves overboard rather endure this trip and then become a slave for the rest of their lives. -
Oct 31, 1517
Martin Luther 95 Theses
Martin Luther was a German professor of theology and priest. He nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in order to shed light on the corruption of the Church, like the buying and selling of indulgences. -
Jan 15, 1559
Start of Elizabeth I Rule
Her reign is referred to as the Golden age. She established the English Protestant Church which later evolved into the Church of England. -
Period: to
English Colonial Society
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Roanoke Colony
This colony was the first attempt by the English to establish a permanent colony in North America. John White, the govenor of the colony left to gathe supplies from England. As soon as he returned a naval battle broke out with Spain so he could not return for a few years. When he finally made it back there was no trace of the colony or its inhabitants. The only clue that was found was the word "Crotoan" carved into a tree. -
Plymouth Colony
The Plymouth colony was the first colony in the New England. They came over on the mayflower and despite popular belief they were not all pilgrims. A lot of the people came over with the intentions of finding gold and getting rich. -
The Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower compact was the governing document written by the male passengers of the Mayflower. -
Navigation Acts
Te Navigation Acts were acts passed give the government more control over trade between England and the rest of the world. -
The KKK
The KKK stand for the Ku Klux Klan which was a secretive racist group that went around terrorizing free Blacks. The Klan usually showed up when a black person would start to gain power and they would hang the person or beat them close to death. Their symbol was a cross because they believed God was telling them to do these things. When they committed the heinous acts they often would leave a burning cross behind. -
The Pennsylvania Colony
The Pennsylvania colony was established by a Quaker named William Penn. It was a royal charter granted by King Charles ii meaning it was a colony under British rule not a colony established by people leaving England seeking different freedoms. -
Isaac Newtons in the Enlightenment
Isaac Newtons ideas laws of gravity played huge ole in the American Enlightenment. His ideas about gravity later became the center of the American Enlightenment. -
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution was when William of Orange's wife and King James II's Daughter Mary II took the throne from King James II. It is also know as the bloodless revolution because so many people were against King James II knew he would be killed so he fled without a fight. -
English Bill of Rights
The English Bill of Right gave a majority of the power to parliament and outlined the rights of the English people. This made sure that the English people would be safe from their harsh monarch. -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch Trials were a series of prosecutions of people suspected of witchcraft. In the end 200 people were tried and 19 were found guilty and executed. -
The American Enlightenment
The American Enlightenment was a period of intellectual growth and new ideas, especially ideas of independence. These ideas later led to the American Revolution. -
Period: to
Colonial America Until 1763
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Deism in the American Enlightenment
Deism is the belief that God created the world and left and is no longer involved. Also that God's reasoning is accessible by man. This is important because this belief and religion helped shape the minds of many of the American Founding Fathers. -
Fort William Henry
Fort William Henry was a one sided fight from the British resulting the the French's surrendering -
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The American Industrial Revolution
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Period: to
The Revolutionary War
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Treaty of Paris- 1763
The Treaty of Paris marked the end of the Seven Years War (French and Indian War).The treaty was signed by the Britain, Spain, and France and as a result of this treaty Britain gained most of Frances territory in the Americas. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was a tax placed on sugar in the colonies by the British in order to raises revenue for the colonies. The Colonists did not like the idea of paying taxes to a country thousands of miles away that did not help them at all. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was an incident where British soldiers shot and killed five people. It started when colonist surrounded British soldiers and protested and threw rocks and spit on them. Out of nowhere a gun went off and the rest of the soldiers fired and killed five people. This event fueled the fire in the revolutionary minds of the colonists. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea party occurred after the British placed a tax on tea for the colonies. The colonies did not like this so the dressed up as Indians and boarded a ship that brought tea to the colonies and dumped out 46 tons of tea into the harbor. Today the tea lost would be worth an estimated 1 million dollars. -
Paul Revere's Ride
Paul Revere was a patriot businessman who rode through the streets warning people about the British coming to invade the colonies. Despite popular belief he did not ride creaming through the streets he secretly warned people. Also he was not the only one he just became famous by a poem written about him after the fact. -
Battle of Lexington
The Battle of Lexington was the first battle of the American Revolution. This Battle is know for "The Shot Heard Round' the World" because when both armies stood across from each other waiting to start the fight a shot was fired. No one knows which side fired the first shot but once the shot was fired both sides fired and the battle began. -
Common Sense Pamphlet Published
Common Sense was a Pamphlet written and published by Thomas Paine to advocate for independence from Britain. In this pamphlet he outlined why independence was necessary. -
The Deceleration of Independence
The Deceleration of Independence was a document ,proposed at the second continental congress meeting, that officially declared that the colonist wanted Independence. When Britain received this document they declared war on the colonies and sent troops over. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation or (AOC) was the governing document of the governing body at the time. The Articles Confederation was created weak in order to prevent a harsh monarch from arising. So the government under the AOC could not do any thing such as, tax, have a congress, or even take precedence over the states government. -
Period: to
The Constitution
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Shay's Rebellion
Shay's Rebellion was a rebellion of Massachusetts farmers led by former Revolutionary War Veteran Daniel Shay. The Rebellion broke out because after the Revolutionary war the US had lots of debt from the war. In return the US raised taxes that affected poor farmers and when they couldn't pay they would take their farms and put them in jail. These farmers were tired of this happening to them so they rebelled. -
The Virginia Plan
The Virginia Plan was presented at the constitutional convention and proposed a bicameral legislature and states got representatives based on size and population. -
The New Jersey Plan
The New Jersey Plan was a plan that opposed the Virginia plan by saying that all states should have equal representation regardless of size or population. -
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance was a law passed to regulate the settling of the newly acquired Northwest territory. -
The Connecticut Compromise
The Connecticut Compromise also know as the Great Compromise was an agreement between the smaller and larger states. This compromise set in place a bicameral legislature with one of them having representative based on population and the other an equal number for every state. -
The Federalists Papers
The Federalists Papers was a collection of 85 essays and articles written by our founding fathers in order to promote the ratification of the constitution. -
Period: to
New Republic
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Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a religious movement that started around 1790 in the United States. and was most popular with Baptists and Methodists in the 1820's. This religious revival changed the landscape of American religion and created an opprtuniyt for churches to become more organized. This movement also involved more white woman and African-Americans in Christianity than ever before. -
Whisky Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion was the result of a tax placed on whiskey that affected Farmers being that it was the first tax placed on domestic goods by the new government. This Rebellion gave the new government a chance to establish their authority and set an example for the rest of the country. The Rebellion ended with George Washington marching his Army to Pennsylvania to put it down. -
Start of Federalists Party
The first political party of the Untied States was The Federalist Party. The Federalist Party, led by Alexander Hamilton, was a party that believed that we needed a strong central government to run he country properly. They Also believed in a loose interpretation of the constitution. -
The Bank of the United states
The Bank of The United States was founded by Alexander Hamilton the Secretary of Treasury under George Washington. He felt that since there was a lot of debt from the revolutionary war, we needed a national bank in order to have one central currency since each state had their own. -
Bill of Rights
The United States Bill of Rights was the first to amendments to the U.S Constitution. The Bill of Rights' main purpose is to protect the citizens from the government gaining too much power. The Bill of Right outlines the basic rights all American citizens have and cannot be take away. -
Start of the Democrat-Republican Party
The Democrat republican party, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, believed in the power of the States. They also believed that the constitution was a strict governing document that outlined the exact power of the government. -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
The Cotton Gin was invented by Eli Whitney in 1794. The Cotton Gin separated the cotton fibers from the cotton seeds.The Invention of the Cotton Gin revolutionized farming. Now instead of one slave taking ten hours to separate seeds from a pound of cotton 2 or three slaves could do around 50 pounds a day. This did not make the demand for slaves go down instead the demand went up in order to maximize the production of cotton. -
XYZ Affair
The XYZ Affair was happened when John Adams sent diplomats to France in order to negotiate solutions to problems that were leading to war. When the American Diplomats got to France they were met by French diplomats that demanded bribes before the negotiations could begin -
Dueling
Dueling was a big part of Southern culture. Men that had disputes dueled, and declining a duel would result in a loss of honor and since dueling was seen as honorable and something only the upper-class participated in you did not want to lose respect from your peers. Dueling was a crime at the time that most people turned a bind eye too. Even Andrew Jackson himself participated in duels. The first duel dates back to Plymouth Rock in 1621 but it became a staple of Southern culture in the 1800s. -
Period: to
The Age of Jefferson
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Marbury v. Madison
Marbury versus Madison was one of the most influential Supreme Court cases. In Marbury v. Madison The Supreme Court established Judicial review which gave congress the power to decide whether acts of congress were constitutional or not. -
The Louisianna Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was a deal between France and the U.S in which President Jefferson bought 828,00 aces of land for 3 cents an acre. This deal was important because the democratic-republican party didn't believe in doing thing outside of the constitution. Jefferson acted fast and purchase the land without an amendment to the constitution. This deal was controversial because now he was seen as a hypocrite -
Great Migration - Start of Westward Expansion
The Great Migragration was the focal point of Westward expansion and began with the Louisiana Purchase, and it was fueled by the Gold Rush and a belief in "manifest destiny." It was also aided by the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, and passage of the Homestead Act in 1862 which provided 160-acre lots to anyone who claimed it in the west. All they had to do become the official owners was to live on the land for 5 years and build a house on it. -
The Invention of the Steamboat
The Steamboat was invented by Robert Fulton in 1807. With rowboats people could only go downstream on rivers because the current was too strong for them to row back upstream. Therefore they had to go back on land. With the invention of the Steamboat rivers could be traveled both up and down stream making trade routes much faster. -
The Embargo Act of 1807
The Embargo Act of 1807 was an act passed by congress during Jefferson's presidency. This act prohibited all american ships from trading with foreign countries especially France and great Britain. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a war between the United States and The United Kingdom over a problem of impressment. Impressment is when one country takes another countries ship and forces their soldiers into their army The Untied States warned the United Kingdom to stop and they UK did not so the US declared war on The United Kingdom and their allies. -
Francis Scott Key's Star Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Key was an American lawyer, author, and Amateur Poet. He wrote the Star Spangled Banner, formerly known as The Defense of Fort McHenry, after witnessing the battle from a British ship. This poem was later turned into a song and in 1831 became the Country's National Anthem. -
Hartford Convention
The Hartford Convention was a series of meetings where Federalists Delegates met to discuss their problems with the war of 1812 and how it effected their states economies. These meeting were held in secret and marked the start of the downfall of the Federalist Party. -
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans is significant because it was actually fought after the Treaty of Ghent that ended the was of 1812 was signed. After the two week long Battle of New Orleans US General Andrew Jackson was victorious and he went down as a hero. -
The American System
The American System was put into place by the Secretary of State Henry Clay. This system had tariffs to promote Americas Industries, a national bank to have a national currency, and other improvement to roads, canals, etc. -
The Rush-Bagot Treaty
The Rush-Bagot Treaty set a boundary between the United States and British Canada. This Treaty also limited the amount of military force on Lake Ontario and Lake Champlain -
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is the philosophy that all people, men and women equally, have knowledge and insights about themselves and the world "transcends" or goes beyond what one can see, hear, or touch. Those associated with the movement were also connected to nature and was made most popular by the scholars Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, and Sarah Margaret Fuller. -
Corrupt Bargain
During the Election of 1824 there was a famous scandal known as the Corrupt Bargain. Henry Clay ran against John Quincy Adams for the Democratic Republican-Party Candidate and Lost. The Presidency was then between Andrew Jackson, who won the popular vote and Adams, who won the majority vote, so The House of Representatives would decide who the next President would be. Henry clay went to the House and convinced them to vote for John Quincy Adams in return for Adams making him Secretary of State -
Period: to
Age of Jackson
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The Election of 1828
The Election of 1828 was one of the nastiest elections in terms of personal attacks. Each parties goal was to dig up as dirt about the other side as possible. Jackson tried to paint his image as a humble origins and a hero of the Battle of Louisiana. This election changed elections forever every election from now on each side personally attacked each other instead of displaying their good quality. -
The Temperance Movement
The Temperance Movement was a push to stop the consumption in alcohol during the 1800. Most people that what to put an end to the consumption of alcohol look down upon intoxication and practice abstinence. This movement was centered around negative effect of alcohol to your health, family life, and personality. -
Period: to
Cultural Changes
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Nat Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner's Rebellion was started when Nat Turner, a slave preacher, believed God wanted him to lead slaves to freedom through a violent uprising like in biblical times. -
The American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS)
The American Anti-Slavery Society was an abolitionist organization founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan. Frederick Douglass also played an important role in this society, and he often spoke at the meetings. Though controversial, the AASS was well supported and had 1,350 charters with nearly 250,000 members by 1838. -
Period: to
Westward Expansion
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Invention of the Iron Plow
The Steel Plow was invented by John Deere when people started settling the Midwest. With the Steel Plow dirt did not stick to it which mad it easier to plow the soil in the Midwest that was different from the East which they were used to. The Previous wood plows that they tried using in the Midwest kept breaking so John Deere invented the steel plow as a solution to this problem. -
Lowell Mills
The Lowell system was created in 1814 and was at full force by the 1840. During this the Lowell Mills employed an estimated 8,000 people of which were normally in between the ages of 15 and 35. These are important because it made it possible to by clothes on a large scale instead of having to make your own. In these Mills women worked and lived there. The Lowell Mills gave women a chance to make their own money and was a stepping stone in women's rights and equality. -
Irish Immigration
Many Irish people immigrated to the United states during the mid 1840s to early 1850s. Many people came over mainly to escape poverty, disease and the potato famine happening at the time. Many died crossing the ocean due to disease and poor conditions of the ships they were on. -
Texas annexation
The annexation occured becuase the Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico in March of 1836. At the time, most Texans wanted the annexation, but the leadership of both U.S. political parties, the Democrats and the Whigs, opposed the annexation. And because Texas was a large slave area, there were further objections to the move. Texas's economy was also declining, so the President of the Texas Republic, Sam Houston, needed to explore his options. -
Mexican American War
The Mexican-American War was the first war fought mainly on foreign land. It was a war over land and entitlement, also known as “manifest destiny.” A border skirmish along the Rio Grande started off the fighting and was followed by a series of U.S. victories. After the war, the Mexican's lost over a third of its land which included modern day Utah, California, Arizona, Nevada, and New Mexico. -
Battle of Palo Alto
Just before the U.S. declared war on Mexico, Gen. Zachary Taylor defeated the Mexican army in the Battle of Palo Alto which took place north of the Rio Grande River near present-day Brownsville. Gen. Taylor lead his much small army to victory by fighting 2 battles against the Mexican army, one near Palo Alto and the other at Resaca de la Palma. This along with several other victories made Taylor a war hero and in 1848, he was elected the 12th president of the U.S. -
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush started when James Marshall found gold at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The excitement about this gold brought over 300,000 people to California. This sudden influx of gold boosted the American economy, and the population increase gave California statehood, in the Compromise of 1850. The gold rush also greatly increased California's politcal influence. -
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Sectionalism
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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This treaty aka the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits and Settlement between the U.S. and Mexico ended the Mexican American War and went into effect on July 4, 1848. It required the U.S. to pay over $15 million directly to Mexico and greatly expanded land ownership giving America California, half of New Mexico, most of Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, and even parts of Wyoming and Colorado. Mexicans who lived in these areas could either relocate to Mexico or become a US citizen. -
Seneca Falls Convention
Seneca Falls, also known as the first women’s rights convention in the United States. It was held in July 1848 in Seneca Falls, New York at the Wesleyan Chapel and was the beginning of the women’s suffrage movement which eventually led to women getting the right to vote in 1920. And even though there was minimal promotions, 300 people showed up the first day!The Seneca Falls Convention helped to promote the civil, social, and religious rights of women. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 consisted of five laws that dealt with slavery. Because California wanted to enter the Union as a free state in 1849, this threatened to upset the free-slave state balance, so Senator Henry Clay introduced a series of resolutions to avoid a crisis between the North and the South. In the end, the Compromise of 1850 amended the Fugitive Slave Act, allowed California to enter the Union as a free state, and settled a boundary dispute between Texas and New Mexico. -
The Whig Party’s Last Hurrah
The presidential election of 1852 was higly contested race because the recently passed Compromise of 1850, a series of outstanding slavery issues. The campaign was marred by division within the political parties over slavery and was the last presidential election in which the Whigs participated. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was the best-selling novel only second to the Bible was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Many say it was responsible for an increase in the abolitionist movement in the 1850s. In the first year after it was published, 300,000 copies of the book were sold in the U.S. and a million more were sold in Great Britain. Many say that when Abraham Lincoln met Stowe at the start of the Civil War, Lincoln declared, "So this is the little lady who started this great war." -
Republican Party founded
Former members of the Whig Party met to establish a new political party to fight the spread of slavery into the western territories. The Whig Party was formed in 1834 to oppose the “tyranny” of President Andrew Jackson and the institution of slavery in the South. By 1854, these anti-slavery Whigs started meeting in Wisconsin and founded the Republican Party. -
The 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 its borders. The Act also repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which admitted Missouri into the Union as a slave state. This angered many people because they thought the Missouri Compromise would be a long-standing binding agreement. -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown, a white abolitionist led a raid on the U.S. military arsenal at Harpers Ferry which was intended to be the first stage in an elaborate plan to free slaves in Maryland and Virginia. Unfortunately, Brown was captured during the raid, convicted of treason, and hanged. The event fueled the fears of white southerners and increased the tension between the North and the South just before the Civil War. -
Millennialism of the 1800's
Millennialism seeks to explain the second coming of Christ and is the belief that Christ will return to establish his kingdom on earth for a duration of 1,000 years and is based on Revelation 20:1-6 in the bible. There are various views on millennism; some believe that the return of Christ will happen before the millennial kingdom, while others believe it will occur after the millennial kingdom. Seventh-day Adventists and Mormons believe that Christ will return before the millennium. -
Election of 1860
The presidential election of 1860 was one of the most significant elections because Abraham Lincoln defeated several Southern slavery supporting opponents among which were John C. Breckinridge and Democrat Stephen A. Douglas. The electoral split between Northern and Southern Democrats was visible proof of how divided the nation was over slavery. Lincoln's election also resulted in 7 Southern states seceding from the Union and setting the stage for the Civil War. -
Crittenden Compromise
The Crittenden Compromise was an unsuccessful proposal introduced Kentucky Senator John J. Crittenden. His goal was to resolve the secession problem by addressing the concerns of Southern slave owners and slave-states to preserve the union and avoid their secession. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle fort Sumter was the first Battle of the Civil War. The Confederate Army attacked Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina causing the North to surrender which marked the start of the civil War. -
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The Civil War
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1st Battle of Bull Run
The Battle or fort Sumter was the first battle of the civil war but the 1st battle of bull run was the first major battle of the war. This battle was very disorganized by both the Union and the Confederate Army, but once again the Confederate army forced the Union to retreat and came away victorious. -
Trent Affair
The Trent affair almost started a war between the U.S and Britain. The U.S Navy captured two diplomats from a British ship without t being ordered to. Britain demanded an apology and a release of the diplomats. The U.S complied and ended the matter. -
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam gets its name due to near Antietam creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland. This battle is the bloodiest single day battle of the civil war with an estimated 23,000 casualties in only 12 hours. This Battle Confederate Army invaded Maryland but the Union Army came out victorious. This was one of the only battles fought in the North. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
As the U.S. began its third year of the bloody Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation which declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." However, despite its beautiful and extensive language, slavery was still not abolished until the close of the Civil War with the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in December 1865. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg is considered the most significant battle in North American history. It began when Union and Confederate forces collided at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The epic battle lasted 3 days and caused Robert E. Lee’s Southern Confederate Army to retreat marking a turn in the Civil War. -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is one of the most powerful speeches in American history. It was delivered by President Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War just four and a half months after the Union armies defeated Confederate forces at the Battle of Gettysburg. -
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Reconstruction
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"FORTY ACRES AND A MULE"
"40-ACRES AND A MULE," is a phrase that was echoed throughout the South after the Civil War and asserted the right of newly freed slaves to the redistribution land in the South as payment for services rendered during slavery. Many historians attribute the phrase to General William Sherman's Special Field Order Number 15, which set aside a 30-mile tract of land along the South Carolina and Georgia coasts for former slaves and promised the army's help in securing mules. -
The Thirteenth Amendment
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. And although the amendment passed the Senate on April 8, 1864 and the House on January 31, 1865, it was not ratified by the required number of states until December 6, 1865. On December 18, 1865, the Secretary of State William H. Seward proclaimed its adoption. This would be the first of the 3 Reconstruction Amendments adopted following the American Civil War. -
The Freedmen’s Bureau
The Freedmen’s Bureau was established by Congress to help millions of former slaves and poor white people in the South after the Civil War. The Freedmen’s Bureau provided food, housing, and medical assistance. It also established schools and offered legal aid. It attempted to give former slaves land that was confiscated or abandoned during the war. But unfortunately, the bureau was not able to fully carry out its mission because it ran out of funds and didn't have enough personnel. -
General Lee Surrenders
General Lee Surrenders to General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. This legally marks the end of the of the civil war, however there were a few battles that happened after this. -
Panic of 1873
The Panic of 1873 was a six year long depression that started because of railroad overbuilding and bad railroad financing resulting in banking failures. J.P Morgan led a bond offering that saved the country from the depression. -
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow laws enforced racial segregation and inequality in the South starting in 1877. These laws were enacted by white-dominated state legislatures after Reconstruction and lasted until 1965. Jim Crow laws mandated racial separation in all public facilities and were strengthened in 1896 by the U.S. Supreme Court's "separate but equal" legal doctrine and its decision in the case of Plessy vs. Ferguson.
