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Presidency: Thomas Jefferson
In this timeline, presidencies are calculated from when a president takes office, not elections. In fact, the previous president John Adams had confirmed new judges and justices to various courts late into the night before Jefferson's inauguration. -
Marbury v. Madison
Marbury v. Madison was a landmark ruling in the Supreme Court that gave the Supreme Court the ability to determine the constitutionality of government actions. -
Louisiana Puchase
During Thomas Jefferson's presidency, in the year 1803, Napoleon decided to sell the entire Louisiana Territory for $15 million. Jefferson jumped on the opportunity and doubled the size of the United States of America. While Jefferson was skeptical of the constitutionality of the Louisiana Purchase, he believed the public benefit outweighed the risk of constitutional error and that the American populace would forgive any wrong he had done in getting the massive territory. -
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Presidency: James Madison
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War of 1812
The War of 1812 was largely caused by the British practice of impressment, forcing American sailors to serve in Britain's navy. Britain considered English citizenship permanent and immutable and believed that former English citizens to be valid subjects of conscription, even if they had become American citizens. Some Americans also thought that Britain was arming Native Americans and inciting them to attack American settlements. -
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Presidency: James Monroe
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Missouri Compromise
In late 1819, Missouri applied for statehood. At the time, there were equal numbers of free states and slave states. Both sides (slave states and free states) wanted to add to their numbers, so the federal government had trouble deciding whether Missouri would be admitted as a free or slave state. In 1820, Maine applied for admission, and the federal government decided on a compromise. Missouri would be a slave state, Maine free, and states above Missouri's southern border would be free states. -
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Presidency: John Quincy Adams
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Presidency: Andrew Jackson
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Presidency: Martin van Buren
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Presidency: William Henry Harrison
William Henry Harrison died shortly after taking office. -
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Presidency: John Tyler
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Annexation of Texas
On March 3, 1845, president John Tyler offered to annex Texas into the United States. Texas later accepted, becoming the twenty-eighth state. Texas had recently won its independence from Mexico after General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna came into power and shown an unwillingness to follow the previous Constitution, instead taking control as a tyrannical dictator. -
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Presidency: James K. Polk
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Presidency: Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln was assassinated shortly after his re-election. -
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Civil War
The Civil War was the immediate result of Abraham Lincoln's election. Lincoln had been elected without a single electoral vote from the South, and the South perceived that it would be possible for the North to entirely control the presidency without their influence. In response, the South seceded, starting with South Carolina. On April 12, 1861, forces from the newly established Confederate States of America fired on Fort Sumpter, starting the Civil War.