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President Thomas Jefferson purchases the Louisiana Territory
President Thomas Jefferson purchases the Louisiana Territory for $15,000,000 from Napoleon's France, nearly doubling the area of the United States and laying the path for the Manifest Destiny that would define the whole history of the nineteenth century. -
The very first steam-powered ferry service runs
The very first steam-powered ferry service linking New York City and New Jersey runs, which revolutionizes travel upon it's launch. -
Indian Removal Act is signed
President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law on May 28, 1830, enabling the government to award territory west of the Mississippi in return for Indian territories inside existing state limits. Although some tribes left quietly, many others opposed the relocation concept. The result was a mass genocide of Native Americans the we know now as the Trail of Tears. -
Texas loses the Alamo
3,000 Mexican soldiers led by Santa Ana attack the Alamo and its 189 defenders in San Antonio, Texas, and the epic struggle for the Alamo begins. After a thirteen-day siege, Texas forces tragically lose the fight. -
Invention of the Telegraph
Samuel Morse publicly displays his working telegraph with Morse code, revolutionizing the way messages are sent throughout America. -
Texas is annexed into the United States
On October 13, the Texas Congress approves for annexation to the United States of America, with a majority of Texas voters supporting a constitution. These measures followed President Tyler's signature of a law permitting the United States to annex the Republic of Texas, which resulted in the United States admitting the Texas as the 28th state to the Union. -
Civil War starts at Fort Sumter
Following tensions between slave and non slave states, Southern forces fire upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina. This signifies that The Civil War has officially begun. -
Civil War ends at Appomattox Court House
Confederate leader Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union general Ulysses S. Grant outside Appomattox Court House, sparking the surrendering of additional Confederate troops and bringing the deadliest conflict in American history to a close.
