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Oct 12, 1449
Columbus's "Discovery"
Columbus lands in the Bahamas, in a place he called San Salvador, known to the natives as Guanahani -
Jamestown Established
The first permanent European Colony, named after King James the First, is established and settled. -
Slavery First Introduced to the Colonies
"20 and odd" Angolans (a natively African people), kidnapped by the Portuguese, were sold in the British Colony of Jamestown, and were put to work by the British Colonists. This marks the (official) beginnings of slavery in the Colonies. -
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The French and "Indian" War
The colonies of both British America and New France go to war, supported by Native American allies on both sides. -
The Boston Tea Party
Exasperated from the inane and heavy taxes of the English government, the colonists planned a rebellion, in which 342 chests of tea (one of the many taxed items) were dumped into the wharf. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
One of the first major engagements of the British American Civil War, the Battle of Lexington and Concord was one of the fuses that led to the widespread support of American Independence as the Rebels won. -
The Declaration of Independence
Arguably the most important document in the history of the United States, the Declaration of Independence stated the Colonies reasons for independence, and more than that, rallied the various colonies to one single cause for freedom. -
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Battle of Yorktown
Also known as the Siege of Yorktown (as it lasted for a couple weeks), the Battle of Yorktown was a major victory for the Continental Army (led by George Washington) against the opposing British forces (led by General Lord Charles Cornwallis). General Cornwallis was forced to surrender to Washington's army after being surrounded. -
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The Constitutional Convention
At first called to revise the old Articles of Confederation (the governing laws of the colonies under British rule), many delegates proposed instead an entirely new national constitution be ratified, and that it was. -
Cotton Becomes King
Tobacco (the most profitable crop of the time) had become difficult to grow well due to soil depletion. This, combined with the newfound industrialization of weaving in England, created the most well known cash crop debatably of all time, cotton. This led to a MASSIVE increase in the kidnapping and purchasing of Africans to farm and produce cotton. -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
The actual inventor of the cotton gin is most commonly reported to be Eli Whitney, but many many news articles, american history sites, and documents show this not to be the entire truth. In actuality, different versions of the cotton gin had existed in the South for a time before Whitney claimed the patent. Eli Whitney was reportedly assisted by Catherine Greene, and various African slaves, before he filed a patent for his version and got it approved in 1793. -
The Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were laws signed into effect by President Adams. Their purpose was to silence criticism from foreign immigrants, by making it more difficult for them to vote. It also became illegal for them to publish any sort of works denouncing the federal government. And finally, it made it legal to deport them, arrest, or imprison them without a formal cause. -
The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was a deal made between the United States (under President Thomas Jefferson) to buy the territory of Louisiana from the French government for 15 million dollars (about $325 million in today's money, which roughly equates to about $403 per square mile. not a bad deal in my opinion.) This doubled the effective size of the United States, and allowed for a massive midwestern colonization period. -
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The War of 1812
A large scale conflict fought between the United States, Britain, Spain (allied with Britain), and France (who was going against all others, under leadership of Napoleon). Essentially, the French and British each tried to prohibit the U.S. from trading with the other, which cause the U.S. many problems. This, along with the British's habit of kidnapping US naval officers and forcing them to serve in the British Navy, caused a major conflict to spark. -
The Missouri Compromise
To try to quell tensions between slaveholding and free states, the Missouri Compromise essentially ratified Maine as a Free State, and Missouri as a Slaveholding State, as well as outlawed slavery in any new states north of the southern border of Missouri. This kept the voting balance between either side equal, but was later repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. -
The Election of 1824
For the first time in US election history, no candidates ran under the traditional parties of Republican/Federalist. Instead, they ran as either Republican or Democratic (setting the stage for current US political parties). US war hero Andrew Jackson won with 99 electoral college votes, with Adams at 84 votes. Since no one had the majority vote, the matter went to The House of Representatives the head at the time (Henry Clay), held a rivalry against Jackson, and had Adams elected instead. -
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The Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was a large scale (military enforced) march of Native Americans from their indigenous homes to different territories in the West and Midwest. -
Nat Turner's Revolt
Nat Turner was a Southern slave who led one of the biggest (and most successful) African rebellions in the United States. Leading around 75 liberated slaves to the town of Jerusalem, to take hold of an armory in order to defend their newfound freedom against state military. The uprising was, however, suffocated, after around 100 enslaved people were killed (including innocent bystanders), and Nat Turner was arrested and hanged. -
The Invention of the Telegraph
The telegraph was invented mainly by inventor Samuel Morse, to communicate over long distance relatively instantly. It worked by sending an electrical signal down a wire, which was then picked up by another such machine. An electromagnetic would pick up the electricity, and then pull a small metal arm down. This arm would then write a small dot, or dash, on a piece of paper, depending on the length of the electric signal. This revolutionized speed communication, as mail was no longer necessary. -
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The Panic of 1837
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The Mexican-American War
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The Compromise of 1850
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The Firing on Fort Sumter
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The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was a legal document ratified by President Lincoln in response to the Civil War, as an effort to prevent crumbling of the Union. Something to note: He himself admitted that it had nothing to do with the moral implications of slavery, and that in fact, if he could keep slavery legal and the Confederation from seperating from the US, he would. -
The Organization of Standard Oil Trust
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Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
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Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination
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Andrew Johnson’s Impeachment
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13th, 14th, 15th Amendments Ratified
Commonly called the Civil Rights amendments, these 3 outlawed slavery, recognized enslaved as US citizens, and allowed black people to vote. However, they did not outlaw poll tests, literacy tests, and so called "grandfather laws" (as a black person, if your grandfather didn't vote, then you weren't allowed to either). Which all were a major part of Jim Crow. -
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The invention of the electric light, telephone, and airplane
Possibly some of the most revolutionary inventions of their time, these 3 inventions set the stage for technology of many many years to come. They have been developed, improved on, and in many ways transformed into new more sophisticated technology beyond their creators wildest dreams -
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The Pullman and Homestead Strikes
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The Spanish-American War
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Theodore Roosevelt becomes president