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This made it so the King could not take land and money from people without parliment's permission. It also said that no one could be put in jail without a fair trial. King John for forced to sign it.
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Henry the Navigator starts the slave trade. Once he realizes how cruel it becomes, he tries to stop it. But, sadly, it is too late to do anything. (Exact Date Unknown)
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(Date Unknown)
Johannes Gutenberg's Printing Press brought reading and ideas to more people than ever before. -
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Columbus lands in America, but he does not know where he is at this point in time.
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Martin Waldseemuller makes the first map to use the name America.
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Bartolome de Las Casas makes his famous speech announcing that he is giving up all his slaves. He talks about the injustice of slavery.
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He was killed during a battle with the Calusa. Exact Date Not Known
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(Date Unknown)
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He bringss more than 300 people along with him. It was a two year trip and they traveled more than 7,000 miles.
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King Charles I (or Emperor Charles V) of Spain establishes a rule that Indians could not be made slaves. Date Unknown
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The French built Fort Caroline in what is now Florida. It was destroyed by the Spanish.
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John Smith, the famous explorer and governer of Jamestown, is born sometime in January of 1580.
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Matoaka (later known as Pocahontas and Rebecca Rolfe) is born sometime around 1595.
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'Good Queen Bess' dies, ending England's 'Golden Age'.
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First permanent settlement in New England was founded by the Virginia Company Of London in 1607
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Galileo built the strongest telescope of that time period. Exact Date Unknown
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He lands in what is now New York City. (Date Unknown)
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Santa Fe, New Mexico is the first permanent European Colony in the North American West. (Date Unknown)
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In March 1617, Pocahontas (her name then was Rebecca Rolfe) died on her way back to her home on a ship from England. She was 22 years old.
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A Dutch ship brings a boatload of Africans to Jamestown. (Exact date unknown)
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The ship ARABELLA brings over the first Puritans to New England from 'Old England'. :) These settlers give Massachusetts it's name.
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John Smith was the person who give New England's it's name. He was a brave and adventerous man who died in 1631 in his 50's.
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Harvard College is opened by the Puritans (exact date unknown)
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The first community open to ALL people, no matter what they believed was founded in June of 1636 by Roger Williams.
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The result of England's civil war.
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This allowed for freedom of religion, but only for Christians. Anyone who did not believe in or cursed God was to be hung. It would be a while before we got to 'tolerance for all people', but this was a start.
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Dame Alice Clawson became the first Virginian woman to divorce her husband, after she caught him cheating on her.
(Photo not of actual divorce record. Exact date not known) -
Oliver Cromwell, who overthrew King Charles I, dies in 1658
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The Glorious or 'Bloodless' Revolution took place in England in 1688 (exact start time is not known) and lasted about a year. The people of England demanded a Bill Of Rights. Also, for the first time in English history, this war made it so that Parliment had more power than the king. Since then English monarchs have never held absolute power. It was called the Bloodless Revolution because of the small amount of death it caused.
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First case of the witch trials- although it actually happened a few years before they technically started. Four of five of the Goodwin children became ill after having an argument with Ann Glover(their washmaid)'s daughter. Ann Glover was hanged on November 16th, 1688
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Cotton Mather publishes "Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions" about the Goodwin and Glover families. This book is read widely and sparks 'witch fever' in the colonists. (exact date unknown)
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Eleven year old Abigail Williams, nine year old Elizabeth Parris, and other girls in Salem begin to act strangely. In February, a doctor is called in. Cause is said to be 'witchcraft'.
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The College of William and Mary, in Virginia, was paid for by King William and Queen Mary of England and therefore named after them. It is the second oldest college in the United States, after Harvard in Boston.
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Governer of Salem issues a pardon for the accused witches. About 23 people died.
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After repeated burnings of the old Satehouse, Virginia's capital was moved to Middle Plantation (later known as Williamsburg). (Exact date unkown) It served as the capital until 1780
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She was born in Ireland and came to the New World as a child. She did not get a good start in life here. Her mother died, and her father could not make a good buck so he became a merchant. She had red hair and a fiery temper. It is said that when she was 13 she stabbed a serving girl with a table knife. She married a poor sailor and small time pirate named James Bonny, who wanted to inherit her father's estate. Sadly, Anne was disowned. She became one of the most famous pirates in history.
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Young Benjamin Franklin would grow up to be one of the smartest- and most famous- Americans of all time
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(exact date unknown) A nantucket fisherman brings a whale to shore and is credited with starting the Whaling Industry in the U.S. This became a huge and profitable buisness.
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The Great Awakening happened in the 1730's and 40's, especially in the American Colonies. Resulting from powerful sermons, religion started to pull away from formality and became a more personal experience. Many African slaves were turned to Christianity.
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This war lasted for nine years between the Spanish and English. The unusual name comes from an incident regarding an Englishman named Robert Jenkins who got his ear cut off by a Spanish pirate. His case was used as an example of the 'barbaric Spaniards'.
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Still in her teens, Eliza Lucas (later Pinckney) planted the first succesful crop of Indigo in the colonies- turning it into a major money-maker for South Carolnia.
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Thomas Jefferson, future founding father and president of the United States, is born to Peter Jefferson and Jane Randolph. Peter was a surveyor, who taught his son the trade, and Jane came from a wealthy plantation-owning family.
Thomas Jefferson's list of accomplishments is too long to fit here, so I will leave you to look that up yourself. I will tell you, however, that it is quite impressive. -
The last of the 13 Colonies, Georgia was made into a Royal Colony in 1752 (actual date unknown), 19 years after James Oglethorpe founded it. (It was named after King James II.
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While fighting at Fort Duquense during the French and Indian War, General Braddock and his English troops are beaten horribly by the French and Indians. Braddock was killed in this battle
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This treaty ended the French and Indian War, resulting in a English victory. By signing this treaty, the French gave up all their land in 'the new world' and Canada except for a few small fishing islands. Previously the French had owned most of the land in the 'New World'.
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This 'massacre' killed five people and is considered the 'start' of the Revolutionary War.
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The first American abolition society, some of it's members included Anthony Benezet, Thomas Paine, and Ben Franklin. Many were Quakers. It still exsists today.
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These were the first battles fought during the Revolutionary War. They took place in Massachusetts. To this day there is still much controversy over which side shot the 'shot heard 'round' the world' and started the Revolutionary War.
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Mercy Otis Warren, from Massachusetts writes and publishes a play about British soldiers shortly after they left Boston. The title? 'The Blockheads'. :)
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The famous document includes the statement that, all government power is, "derived from the people." This was a very new concept at the time. It was written mostly by George Mason.
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Contrary to popular belief, the Declaration of Independence was actually signed on July 2nd.
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A sad loss for the American troops during the Revolutionary War. The British troops caught the Colonial troops unexpectedly and the Colonists panicked. Maryland troops prevented most of the army from being captured. The army just luckily managed to escape because of the fog. The British had no casualties from this battle.
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Lafayette, soon to be military leader and George Washington's personal friend, arranges to enter the American service as a major general.
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After the battles of Saratoga, during the American Revolution, Biritsh General Burgyone surrenders his army on October 17, 1777. Even though the war was not over, this huge victory infulenced the French to support the American cause. Without them, the war might have ended differently.
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During the two-day battle (ending on Feb 24th) George Rogers Clark won back the fort from the British. Here is how he did it: With 150 men, many of whom were sick with fevers, confused their enemies inside the fort by making as much noise as they fired through holes in the walls. Inside, it seemed a large army was attacking. Clark never stopped moving and the British surrendered.
This battle made Clark famous. -
The newly- independent America's first form of government. It wasn't the best set up, which didn't give Congress power to collect taxes, control other states, or do much of anything. The only president was the president of the Congress.
The Articles of Confederation written on July 12, 1776- but were not ratified until 1781. They lasted until 1789. -
The British army surrenders to the French and Americans (they were fighting together) on October 17, 1781. This was the last major battle of the Revolutionary War and is widely considered the end. (The actual war would go on for two more years through small battles)
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Yes, you read that right. On this day, John Hanson officially became the first President of the Congress under the Articles of Confederation. He wasn't able to do much, thanks to the restricting laws of the document.
Washington was the first president of the whole United States, but Hanson is technically our first president. He usually is not remembered, though. -
She became a mistress of Calico Jack and had a child with him, At sea she divorced her husband and married him. Descendents claim this is how her life ended, but the truth we will probably never know. Her father managed to secure her release from jail and bring her back to Charles Town, South Carolina, where she gave birth to Rackham's second child. On December 21, 1721 she married a local man, Joseph Burleigh, and they had 10 children. She died a respectable woman, at the age of 80.
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Deborah Samson, under the name of Robert Shurtliffe Sampsom, enters the army. She succesfully fools everyone into thinking that she is a man for three years. Later she goes on tours and has a book written about her (this book contains mostly fiction stories) and her army experience.
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This is the name for the length of time it took America to go from a farming nation to an industrial society. The change took place mainly in the north, with the South supplying the cotton for the mills in the north (with their handy-dandy cotton gin). Sadly, this caused an increase in the popularity of slavery. A few inventions were the steamboat, train, interchangable parts for muskets, waterpowered mills, and much more.
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This act, passed for Virginia was written by Thomas Jefferson. It was basically (in an official way) bashing anyone who didn't believe in religious freedom. It declares: "Be it enacted by the General Assembly, that no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place or ministry whatsoever, nor shall he otherwise on account of religious opinions of belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, amd by argument to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion...."
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Tired of living under the dysfunctional Articles of Confederation, important law-making citizens (organized mostly by James Madison) gather in Philadelphia to draft a new document- the Constitution. They vow to keep all preceedings secret, although Madison took notes on everything- which is how we know what happened. They started in May and continued until the middle of September.
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This law was passed in 1787. A system was made for dividing land into areas called townships. Groups of townships could become states. Thousands of people moved out west for the things that it gaurenteed:
- Freedom of religion - Habeas corpus - Trial by jury
And a bill of rights that said( among other things):
-NO SLAVERY or INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE will be allowed in those lands. - It also required each township to set aside land for schools.
Sadly, this pushed the Indians off their land. -
In response to the debate at the Constitutional Convention over how to balance state power and influence, Roger Sherman came up with the Connecticut Compromise. It said:
That one house of the legislature should reflect a state's population (The House of Representatives), and the other should have an equal number of representatives from each state (The Senate).
This is the plan that made it into the constitution. It was a compromise between the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. -
The Consitution was ready to be signed on this day in 1787. Two delegates from Virginia (Edmund Randolph and George Mason) and one from Massachusetts (Elbridge Gerry) left without signing. They didn't think it was good enough. George Mason hated slavery and wouldn't compromise (yet he owned slaves) However, tears are said to have streamed down 81 year old Benjamin Franklin's cheeks as he signed his name.
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George Washington, our first and one of our best presidents, is inaugurated as President of the United States. He was greeted with great celebration on his journeys. He thought it was important for the people to meet their president, and he visited all the states he had control over during his presidency.
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Rhode Island finally ratifies the Constitution of the United States of America. (The constitution oficially adopted the name United States for the country) They were the last state to do so.
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Many states wanted to see a Bill of Rights before they ratified the Constitution, so James Madison wrote one in 1789. It was officially ratified in 1791. The Bill of Rights is made up of the first ten ammendments, protecting human rights.
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On this day, John Adams became our second president. His presidency was filled with controversial decisions and political battles and disagreements.
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The Alien Acts were a set of three laws that were unfair to forigners. These acts were aimed at the French, many of whom were fleeing the Revolution. The Sedition Acts made it illegal to criticize the government. John Adams signed them all. They were all controversial- especially the Sedition Act. It is clearly stated in the Bill of Rights that the government is never to make it illegal to criticize the government. This caused many arguments and led to Adams' downfall.
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Our beloved president and hero, George Washington died on this day after suffering a throat infection and dangerous medical treatment. America mourned for his death.
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President Adams appoints John Marshall as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Marshall helped strengthen the court and the Consitution when he introduced Judicial Review.
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Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated as our 3rd president at the age of 58. Jefferson was the main author of the Declaration of Independence and, as president remained one of the people. He would accept no favors and insisted that all visitors to the White House- from farmers to diplomats- be treated the same.
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President Jefferson signs the Louisiana Purchase, buying all the land France claimed in North America. 524,800,000 acres for 3 cents an acre. This about doubled the size of the United States. This was a big risk as no one knew exactly what this land was and what it held. Many thought it useless.
Jefferson announced the purchase to the public on July 4th. -
After plenty of training, the Lewis and Clark Expidition sets out to map and explore the land bought with the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis and Clark kept numerous journals and added 200 species to the World's list of known plants and animals. The expedition cost over $39,000
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One of the most famous duels in history took place on this day. It was between political rivals Aaron Burr (vice president) and Alexander Hamilton (founding father) and was fought with guns. Hamilton was shot and died the next day. This was a tragedy for the nation and might have possibly changed the course of history (who knows what Hamilton might have done if he had lived?).
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When the consitution was written, the framers gave the year 1808 as the year that the slave trade must stop in America.
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The writer of the Bill of Rights and previous speech writer for the president becomes president himself. I wonder if he wrote his own speeches? :)
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This was a battle between Mexico and their Spanish colonial authorities that lasted from 1810- 1821. Three of the leaders of the Mexican army were executes (a fate the U.S. was lucky to avoid). However, in the end Mexico won it's independence.
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This battle between William Henry Harrison and the Indiana territory Native Americans, fought to stop the Indians from becoming too powerful, resulted in Harrison's victory. This battle ended any hope for the creation of a United Indian Nation that could make peace between the natives and the Americans.
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'Revolutionary War Part II', or 'The War of 1812' officially started on this day in 1812 against Britian. Many Native American tribes teamed up with the British. Fought as a naval and land war, the ultimate outcome (after many fantastic battles) was in the United State's favor. Nothing really changed for the Americans, boundaries stayed the same, life went on as normal, etc. But, the Native Americans's attempt to gain their land back was squahsed for good.
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"We shall rebuild Washington. The enemy can not frighten a free people." -Dolley Madison
During the War of 1812 (which actually lasted until 1815)- British soldiers burn the Capitol building, the President's House (Dolley famously saved Washnington's portrait), the Treasury, and the Library of Congress. -
The battle that inspired the 'Star Spangled Banner' was fought on this day. For 25 hours the British bombed Fort McHenry, and American fort. Amazingly, the fort held and the Americans won an astonishing victory. At the end of the 25 hours, the American flag could be seen blowing in the wind. Francis Scott Key wrote the famous song lyrics aboard a British truce ship, where he was being held.
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This was a society that started colonies for African-Americans who wished to go back to Africa. They thought it would give them the ultimate freedom. It was a good attempt (in the 1800's, that is) to try and fix the slavery issue that was starting to arise. Paul Cuffe, James Madison, Henry Clay, and many others were a part of this society. However, most African-Americans didn't want to go back to Africa because they felt they had little in common with Africans. They were Americans now.
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A popular president who reminded some of George Washington, James Monroe, became our 5th president on March 4th 1817. His presidency is known as an era of 'good feelings'.
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In 1820, Missouri wanted to enter the Union as a slave state. This worried the free states, who would then become outvoted in Congress. The compromise, carved another state (Maine) out of Massachusetts and entered it into the Union as a free state- thus keeping the balance between slave and free states.
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(actual date unknown)
Jim Bridger and Etienne Provost become the first known Europeans to see the Great Salt Lake. -
A smart but difficult-to-deal-with president like his father, John Quincy Adams was inaugurated on March 4th, 1825. Many people claim he won the election unfairly through a 'backroom deal'. Like his father he only served one term.
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On the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, America lost two of our founding fathers. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died within hours of each other on this important day for the nation. Adams was 91 and Jefferson was 83. The two had become friends again after political rivalry and it is said that Adams's last words were about Jefferson.
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John James Audubon's book, 'Birds of America' is published over a twelve year period from 1827-1838. The book made him a huge sensation in England and is the basis for almost all bird books published since.
(exact date unknown) -
Using the Cherokee alphabet that Sequoyah invented, the first Native American newspaper, 'The Cherokee Phoenix', is published.
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On this day Noah Webster registers the copyright for his two-volume 'American Dictionary of the English Language'. It took him 20 years to write and established standard spellings for words. (Before people just kind of made up their own) The dictionary popularized spelling bees.
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A controversial, but generally well-liked president, Jackson changed the idea of president. Born in a log cabin and an orphan by age 14, Jackson was anything but proper and refined like the other six presidents before him. The Trail of Tears took place during his presidency. Yet, he also showed that anyone could become president- whether you were raised on a plantation or not. He was a very contradictory person and president.
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One of the worst chapters in American History began with this act that basically stated that the Indians had no right to their lands and that the government could move them out at any time. Thus began the Trail of Tears. Thousands of Native Americans walked over one thousand miles to the land the government had promised them out west. (Later we would take that too) President Andrew Jackson signed this act- possibly thinking it would keep them safe. 1 out of 4 died Indians died on this walk.
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Horace Mann, AKA 'Father of American Education', becomes the Massachusetts Secretary of Education in 1837. He served until 1848. Here are some of his accomplishments: -Doubled the money MA spent on schools -Organized the first teacher training schools -Doubled teacher's salaries -Improved the curriculum -Made it the law that every child in MA had to go to school for at least 6 months each year. Other states turned to Mann for advice.
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Angelina Grimke presented thousands of anti-slavery petitions that had been collected by women to the Massachusetts State Legislature. She spoke before them twice in February, becoming the first American woman to address a legislative body.
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William Henry Harrison became the first president to die in office. On a bitterly cold day in 1841, Harrison gave the longest inauguration speech in history (about 2 hours) without proper winter clothing on, caught pneumonia, and died after only a month in office.
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This 6 year, 7 month war was fought against the Seminole tribes of Florida who challenged the Indian Removal Act. Six attempts were made to bring down the army, finally resulting in foul play that ended up with the Seminole's leader (Osceola) dying in prison. No one actually won this war (many Seminoles ended up leaving, but some stayed) and the U.S. finally gave up after losing 1,500 soldiers and $20 million to the war.
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Samuel Morse sends the 2nd telegraph message in the U.S, to open the telegraph line. In the next 25 years, the world would be linked by under-the-ocean telegraph cables.
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Supporters of slavery in Congress had insisted on a "gag rule" that meant any antislavery petitions were put aside without discussion. John Quincy Adams kept introducing them anyway and finally, on this day, the gag rule was repealed.
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Douglass's moving account of his life as a slave was published in 1845 (I can not find the exact date), In his book he wrote down nearly everything that had happened to him (including the names of his cruel masters and where they lived!) except how he escaped from slavery. This way the route he took was still safe for other slaves to take. His book is now considered a classic, and Douglass is considered one of the most inspiring Americans in history.
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James K. Polk was a very serious and productive president. Amazingly, he (in one term) stretched the U.S. the length of the continent with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and the Oregon Treaty. This makes up the west coast.
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A very controversial war over boundary lines and debt begins. It would last until February 2, 1848- when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. This set Texas's border at the Rio Grande and (for a fee) gave the California lands to the U.S. This made it so that the U.S. stretched the length of the continent. (As we know it today)
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On this day in 1846, Great Britain gives its Oregon territory (the land in yellow on the map) to the United States under James Polk's Presidency.
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James Marshall, while building a mill for John Sutter in California, discovers gold. This started the massive gold rush that took the world by storm. Sadly, both Marshall and Sutter died poor, never getting any money for their discovery.
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The two day Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention. About 300 people attended. They wrote the Seneca Falls Declaration that states, "We hold these truths to be self evident; that all men and women are created equal...." 100 people signed it. 32 were men.
Women in the U.S. would not get the right to vote until 1920. -
Not yet a state, California calls a convention, writes a constitution, elects a governor and prohibits slavery. California would become a state in the next year.
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Here's how New Mexico became a territory:
James Magoffin had a secret mission from President Polk. He went to Santa Fe ahead of an American army and persuaded the New Mexican governer (who happened to be his brother-in-law) not to fight. Colonel Kearney, of the U.S. army took New Mexico for the U.S. without any fuss. -
Written by Stephen Douglas, this act:
-Divided the leftover Louisiana Purchase land (most had been given to the Native Americans) into 2 large territories: Kansas and Nebraska
-Repealed the Missouri Compromise (which banned slavery in the territories). Residents of the territories would decide on the issue for themselves.
This caused much violence and moved the Civil War closer. -
Throeau publishes the great American classic, Walden, based on his experiences living in a cabin on Walden Pond (in Concord MA) from 1845- 1847. He spent much time writing and rewriting the book. He also wrote Civil Disobedience.
Among many others, Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. were inspired greatly by Thoreau's ideas. -
Elizabeth Jennings sued a transportation company and won the first legal decision allowing all New Yorkers an equal right to public transportation.
(Could not find exact date) -
John Fremont becomes the newly-formed Republican Party's first presidental candidate. He did not win, but Abraham Lincoln would. :)
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Considered one of the worst decisions in the Court's history, on this day the Supreme Court, in the Dred Scott vs. Sandford case, decided that:
-Slaves are property (so even if you ran off to a free state, you were still a slave)
-That the Missouri Compromise (prohibiting slavery in the territories) is unconstitutional
-Blacks have no right to citizenship
-Even free blacks have "no rights which the white man is bound to respect." -
In the middle of the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday
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Louisa May Alcott, of Concord, has her classic book 'Little Women' published. The book came out in two parts, and this was the first. She delivered the second part on New Year's Day 1869. Alcott based the book on her personal experiences.
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Emily Dickinson, of Amherst MA, dies at her home on this day. When her family went through her things they found over 1,700 poems that Emily had written. They knew that she wrote poems, but they had no idea she had written so many. Emily became mostly reclusive and spent most of her time indoors, presumably writing poetry. Emily wrote in a creative, unconventional meter that, for fear of cauing controversy, was changed for the original publication.
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(Date Unknown) By accident, Bjarni Herjolfsson discovers America on a voyage to Greenland when the wind blew his ship off course.
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