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Massacre at Mystic
This attack on the Pequot people was the first to be won by the Puritans marking it as a turning point in the ongoing war. -
The Scalp Act
In response to years of attacks by local Native Americans, Pennsylvania Governor Robert Morris enacted the sale of Native American scalps. The reward was for scalped ages 12 and older - $150 for males, $130 for females. -
Three-fifths Compromise
Constitutional Convention delegates voted that, in slave-holding states, only 3 out of every 5 slaves would be counted when determining a state's total population for purposes of taxation and representation. -
Slave Trade Ends in the U.S.
Though it wasn't put into practice until January of 1808, this act made it illegal to participate in the trading of slaves with other countries. However, it did nothing to stop the trading of slaves within the U.S. -
Battle of Tippecanoe
Native American chief, Tecumseh, of the Shawnee tribe organized a confederacy of several tribes to combat the Treaty of Fort Wayne which required them to sell 3 million acres of land to the U.S. government. Following their defeat, Tecumseh pledged his remaining forces to Great Britain during the War of 1812. -
Missouri Compromise
In order to keep the balance of slave to non slave-holding states equal, legislation admitted Missouri into the nation as a slave state, and Maine as a non-slave state. It also made slavery illegal above the 36º 30' latitude line in what remained of the Louisiana Territory. -
Indian Removal Act
Passed by Congress to allow President Andrew Jackson to negotiate the relocation of Native Americans from U.S. lands to west of the Mississippi River. -
Trail of Tears
Following the Indian Removal Act, Native American tribes that refused to leave their lands were forcibly removed. The Trail of Tears began in the winter with the Choctaw Tribe when they were forced to make the journey on foot without food, shelter, or help from the U.S. government resulting in thousands of Native American deaths. -
Nat Turner Rebellion
African-American slave Nat Turner believed God had chosen him to lead people out of slavery. Using this belief, he convinced his followers to attack his master's house where they killed the whole family. Afterwards, they marched throughout the county killing at least 50 others before authorities stopped them. This revolt led to further restrictions on the lives of enslaved people. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Part of the Compromise of 1850, this act required that all slaves be returned to their owners regardless if they lived in a free state. It also made finding and returning escaped slaves the responsibility of the government along with legally trying them. -
Dred Scott Decision
Also known as Scott vs. Stanford, this decision ruled that enslaved people were not to be honored as American citizens and as such were not under the protection of the federal government. -
Emancipation Proclamation
In the third year of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln announced that beginning January 1st of 1863, all enslaved people within rebelling states, "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." -
13th Amendment
This was the first of the three Reconstruction Amendments. It forbids slavery across the United States and in every territory that the United States has control over. -
14th Amendment
Extended citizenship and “equal protection under the law,” to all people, including former slaves, who were "born or naturalized in the United States." -
15th Amendment
Granted African-American men the right to vote stating they, "shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude." -
Battle of Little Bighorn
Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer led U.S. troops against Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors of the Montana Territory when they missed the deadline to relocate to Native American Reservations. Custer and his men were overwhelmed leading to their defeat; this battle is also known as Custer's Last Stand. -
Battle of Wounded Knee
When the U.S. began removing Native Americans from their lands, a new form of religion known as Ghost Dance was formed at Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Followers believed that their gods were angry with them for abandoning their traditions and that if they practiced Ghost Dance, the gods would rid the world of non-believers. To disband the resistance, U.S. soldiers were sent to the reservation and a fight broke out killing over a hundred Native Americans. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The Supreme Court ruled "separate but equal rights" for African-American citizens stating that the 14th Amendment only protected them in matters of political and civil rights, but not social.