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American Revolutionary War
Started by Bristish army controlling Massechusets and America saying "enough." It created a new nation and stopped britain from becoming stronger. -
Declaration of Independence
Was to assert freedom to the people publicly and independently. To have free people not controlled by the government or any monarchy. -
War of 1812
War between Great Britain and the US. Causes of the war included British attempts to restrict U.S. trade, the Royal Navy's impressment of American seamen and America's desire to expand its territory. -
Indian Removal Act
Authorized the president to grant unsettled lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders, to gain more land for Settlers. Thousands of cherokee died. -
California Gold Rush
The discovery of gold nuggets in the Sacramento Valley in early 1848 sparked the Gold Rush, arguably one of the most significant events to shape American history during the first half of the 19th century. As news spread of the discovery, thousands of prospective gold miners traveled by sea or over land to San Francisco and the surrounding area; by the end of 1849, the non-native population of the California territory was some 100,000. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas is used to described the period of violence during the settling of the Kansas territory. In 1854 the Kansas-Nebraksa Act overturned the Missouri Compromise's use of latitude as the boundary between slave and free territory and instead, using the principle of popular sovereignty, decreed that the residents would determine whether the area became a free state or a slave state. Abolitionist John Brown led anti-slavery fighters in Kansas before his famed raid on Harpers Ferry. -
Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln became the 16th president of the United States and the first republican president. Lincoln received only 40 percent of the popular vote, but won the electoral college vote. He won against Steven Douglas, John Bell, and John C. Breckinridge. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
At 4:30 AM on April 12, Confederates opened fire on Fort Sumter and continued for 34 hours. They continued all day until Anderson surrendered the fort. Anderson did not return the fire for the first two hours. The fort's supply of ammunition was not suited for an equal fight It was the first battle of the Civil War, which was a huge part of history. -
Emancipation Proclamation
It freed all the slaves in the confederate states and left slavery untouched in the loyal border states the freedom it promised depended upon Union military victory. The slaves felt like there was going to be a change, and gave them hope for freedom. -
54th Massachusetts Infantry
However, African Americans were not allowed to serve as soldiers in the Union Army until January 1, 1863. On that day, the Emancipation Proclamation decreed that “such persons of suitable condition, will be received into the armed services of the United States.” It helped the African American men to feel equal to the white men. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States and provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." It officially freed the slaves, and made slavery illegal. -
14th Amendment
Made everyone who was born in the United States a citizen, made everyone equal no matter what race or gender. It helped everyone feel equal.
