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Jamestown Founding
Jamestown was the first colony of the United States. People sought here for religious freedom. -
VA House of Burgesses
This was the first legislative assembly of elected representatives in North America. They met once a year and madde laws here. -
Mayflower Compact
Was the first written framework of government established in what is now the United States. The compact was drafted to prevent dissent amongst Puritans and non-separatist Pilgrims who had landed at Plymouth a few days earlier. -
Fundemental Orders of Conneticut
Is a short document, but contains some principles that were later applied in creating the United States government. It provides that all free men share in electing their magistrates, and uses secret, paper ballots. -
Pennsylvania Founding
The founding of Pennsylvania, about 40,000 square miles, was confirmed to William Penn under the Great Seal. Penn induced people to emigrate, the terms being 40 shillings per hundred acres, and "shares" of 5,000 acres for 100 pounds. -
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French and Indian War
The name given to the American theater of a massive conflict involving Austria, England, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and Sweden called the Seven Years War.The English and the French battled for colonial domination in North America, the Caribbean, and in India. The English did ultimately come to dominate the colonial outposts, but at a cost so staggering that the resulting debt nearly destroyed the English government. -
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Industrial Revolution
America became industrial and urban. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the late 1700s, manufacturing was often done in people’s homes, using hand tools or basic machines. Industrialization marked a shift to powered, special-purpose machinery, factories and mass production. -
Sugar Act
Parliament passed a modified version of the Sugar and Molasses Act , which was about to expire. Under the Molasses Act colonial merchants had been required to pay a tax of six pence per gallon on the importation of foreign molasses. Colonists didn't like this. -
Stamp Act
The new tax was imposed on all American colonists and required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. Ship's papers, legal documents, licenses, newspapers, other publications, and even playing cards were taxed. The money collected by the Stamp Act was to be used to help pay the costs of defending and protecting the American frontier near the Appalachian Mountains. -
Quartering Act
Required the colonies to house British soldiers in barracks provided by the colonies. If the barracks were too small to house all the soldiers, then localities were to accommodate the soldiers in local inns, livery stables, ale houses, victualling houses, and the houses of sellers of wine. -
Townshend Acts
British government moves to mollify outraged colonists by repealing most of the clauses of the hated Townshend Act. the Townshend Act constituted an attempt by the British government to consolidate fiscal and political power over the American colonies by placing import taxes on many of the British products bought by Americans, including lead, paper, paint, glass and tea. -
Boston Massacre
The killing of five colonists by British colonists. A mob had gathered around British soldiers. The soldiers were "prevoked" and fired towards the colonists. News spread quickly. -
Boston Tea Party
A political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston. They boarded the ships and threw the chests of tea into Boston Harbor, ruining the tea.The Tea Party became an iconic event of American history. -
Intolerable Act
Parliament was utterly fed up with colonial antics. The British could tolerate strongly worded letters or trade boycotts. They could put up with defiant legislatures and harassed customs officials to an extent. -
Lexington and Concord
During the hours of April 19, he would send out regiments of British soldiers quartered in Boston. Their destinations were Lexington, where they would capture Colonial leaders Sam Adams and John Hancock. Then to Concord, where they would seize gunpowder. -
Declaration of Independence
As Jefferson drafted it, the Declaration of Independence was divided into five sections, including an introduction, a preamble, a body, and a conclusion. In general terms, the introduction effectively stated that seeking independence from Britain had become “necessary” for the colonies. Famously known as Independence Day. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. 5,895 British and Hessian troops surrendered their arms. General John Burgoyne had lost 86 percent of his expeditionary force -
Articles of Confederation
The first constitution of the United States. The Articles created a loose confederation of sovereign states and a weak central government, leaving most of the power with the state governments. The need for a stronger Federal government soon became apparent and eventually led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. -
Battle at Yorktown
General George Washington, commanding a force of 17,000 French and Continental troops, begins the siege known as the Battle of Yorktown against British General Lord Charles Cornwallis and a contingent of 9,000 British troops at Yorktown, Virginia, in the most important battle of the Revolutionary War. By September 28, Washington had completely encircled Cornwallis and Yorktown with the combined forces of Continental and French troops. He surrendered -
Treaty of Paris
The treaty is named for the city in which it was negotiated and signed. The last page bears the signatures of David Hartley, who represented Great Britain, and the three American negotiators, who signed their names in alphabetical order. It ended the Revolutionary War. -
Shay's Rebellion
a series of protests in 1786 and 1787 by American farmers Against state and local enforcement of tax collections and judgments for debt. Although farmers took up arms in states from New Hampshire to South Carolina, the rebellion was most serious in Massachusetts, where bad harvests, economic depression, and high taxes threatened farmers with the loss of their farms. -
Constituition
A plan for a stronger federal government with three branches: executive, legislative and judicial, along with a system of checks and balances to ensure no single branch would have too much power. The Bill of Rights (10 amendments guaranteeing basic individual protections such as freedom of speech and religion) became part of the Constitution in 1791. There are now a total of 27 constitutional amendments. -
Washington's Inuaguration
Washington appeared in a plain brown broadcloth suit holding a ceremonial army sword. At 6' 3, Washington presented an impressive figure as he took the oath of office standing on the second balcony of Federal Hall. After delivering his address, Washington walked up Broadway with a group of legislators and local political leaders to pray at St. Paul's Chapel. -
Bill of Rights
Virginia became the 10th of 14 states to approve 10 of the 12 amendments, giving the Bill of Rights the two-thirds majority of state ratification necessary to make it legal. Of the two amendments not ratified, the first concerned the population system of representation, while the second prohibited laws varying the payment of congressional members from taking effect until an election intervened. -
Washington's Farewell Address
Washington warned that the forces of geographical sectionalism, political factionalism, and interference by foreign powers in the nation's domestic affairs threatened the stability of the Republic. He urged Americans to subordinate sectional jealousies to common national interests. Many senates said his address over again. -
Marbury v. Madison
Established judicial review. The court ruled that Thomas Jefferson was wrong to prevent William Marbury from taking office as justice of the peace for Washington County in the District of Columbia. However, it also ruled that the court had no jurisdiction in the case and could not force Jefferson and Madison to seat Marbury. -
Louisiana Purchase
French asked a surprised Livingston if the United States was interested in purchasing all of Louisiana Territory. It is believed that the failure of France to put down a slave revolution in Haiti, the impending war with Great Britain and probable British naval blockade of France, and financial difficulties may all have prompted Napoleon to offer Louisiana for sale to the United States. -
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War of 1812
United States declared war against Great Britain in reaction to three issues: the British economic blockade of France, the induction of thousands of neutral American seamen into the British Royal Navy against their will, and the British support of hostile Indian tribes along the Great Lakes frontier. A faction of Congress, made up mostly of western and southern congressmen, had been advocating the declaration of war for several years. -
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Civil War
Started because of slavery. The Confederate States of America is formed with Jefferson Davis as President. The North won the war.
