History of America

  • 10,000 BCE

    First Americans enter North America

    First people came to America by a foot bride connecting present day Alaska and Eurasia at the end of the ice age. Approximate time is known
  • Period: 1436 to May 20, 1506

    Christopher Columbus

    An Italian explorer who discovered America in 1492.
  • Aug 3, 1492

    Christopher Columbus Lands.

    Columbus landed in various Caribbean Islands which is now the Bahamas. He explored Central and South American coasts.
  • Period: 1500 to

    Mercantilism

    A belief in the benefits of profitable trade. it was a reaction to the economical problems in the states.
  • Jamestown

    The first permanent English settlement in North America.
  • Navigation act of 1651

    The navigation act required all trade between England and the colonies to be carried in English or colonial vessels. It was primarily aimed toward the Dutch.
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    The Enlightenment

    A time period in the thirteen colonies which led to the American revolution.
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    Benjamin franklin

    One of the Founding Fathers of America. He was an inventor, and he helped Thomas Jefferson write the Declaration of Independence.
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    George Washington

    George Washington was the first president of the United States from 1789 - 1797. He served as the commander-in-chief of the Continental army during the Revolutionary War.
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    Thomas Jefferson

    Third president of the United States from 1801-1809. He organized the Louisiana Purchase which doubled the size of the country.
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    French and Indian War

    Britain and France had colonies in North America. The British wanted to settle in the Ohio River Valley and to trade with the Native Americans who lived there. The French built forts to protect their trade with the Indians. George Washington led an army against the French.
  • Proclamation of 1763

    Issued by King George, it forbade any settlement west of a line drawn west of the Appalachian Mountains.
  • The Stamp Act

    An act of the British Parliament that imposed a stamp duty on newspapers and legal and commercial documents. It got repealed in 1766 by the acts of the colonists.
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    American Revolution

    A colonial revolt where the thirteen colonies won independence from Britain and become the United States of America.
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    Andrew Jackson

    Seventh president of the United States who was favored by the common people because he listened to what they wanted. Called for the Indian Removal Act.
  • Boston Massacre

    A group of colonists in Boston provoked the British soldiers, the British shot and killed five people in confusion.
  • Boston Tea Party

    A political protest by the sons of Liberty in response to the taxed tea.They boarded a British ship filled with tea at night, and dumped it in the Boston Harbor.
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    Lewis and Clark

    Lewis and Clark explored the westward land of America, which led to the Westward expansion.
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    Manifest Destiny

    The idea that the colonists had a God-given right to take over land westward.
  • Declaration of Independance

    The Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Second Continental Congress. It states the reasons the British colonies of North America wanted independence in July of 1776.
  • United States Constitution signed

    This was the same place the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Constitution was written during the Philadelphia Convention.Now known as the Constitutional Convention
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    Dred Scott

    A black man who was a slave until he moved into a free state. He went to court to argue his freedom.
  • Louisiana Purchase

    Land purchased from the French under Thomas Jefferson as the president. The land makes up about half of the United States today.
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    Lewis and Clark Expedition

    The first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States.
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    Westward Expansion

    After the Lewis and Clark expedition, people started to move out wet was call the westward expansion.
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    Abraham Lincoln

    Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States from March of 1861 to his assassination in 1865. He was against slavery, and he led the country through Civil war on the Union's side.
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    Frederick Douglass

    A former slave part of the abolitionist movement.
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    Jacksonian democracy

    A movement for democracy where Andrew Jackson was president. It was against the Native Americans, and gave voice to the common people.
  • Election of 1828

    Election between Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams. Andrew Jackson won.
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    Abolitionist Movement

    The abolitionist movement was a social and political push for the freedom and rights of slaves in America.
  • Indian removal Act

    signed by Andrew Jackson, the law authorized the president to negotiate with southern Indian tribes for their removal to territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their lands.
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    Mexican-American war

    The United States wanted Mexico's land to gain more "slave states" for political power. The United States won.
  • Compramise of 1850

    The Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished. California entered the Union as a free state and a territorial government was created in Utah.
  • Dred Scott decision

    Dred Scott went to court for his freedom, and it took him 11 years to come through with it.
  • Election of 1860

    Abraham Lincoln won the election of 1860, due to the split of the democratic parties.
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    Civil war

    The war between the South (Confederate) and the North (Union.) The South fought for slavery and their state rights, while the North fought against slavery.
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    Era of Reform

    A widespread social and political activism that aimed to solve problems in industrialization, urbanization, immigration, and corruption in the government.