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Mayflower Arrival
The Mayflower ship travels from England and reaches land in Massachusetts. Once arriving the pilgrims name the land they are on Plymouth Harbor. The pilgrims realize they have nothing that shows they legally own or control the land, so they create a Mayflower Compact signed by 41 men aboard the ship. -
"First Bill of Rights"
The Body of Liberties was founded by the General Court for the state of Massachusetts. The Body of Liberties was created to state the rules and responsibilities created for the people to follow. It includes some rights for all people and accepts social inequality. -
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Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch Trials began with two young girls exhibiting violent uncontrollable behavior and blaming it on their slave. The witch accusations became more common by others noticing the same erratic behavior found in more people. Accused witches were brought to court and either hanged or brought to jail for a punishment for witchcraft. The accusations and trials finally ended when the General Court started to realize there was no evidence at trials and no longer held trials. -
The French and British try to win over the Indians
The French and the British both wanted to win over the Indians to encourage them to fight with them. The French were nicer to the Indians causing more Indians to ally with them. A small majority of the Indians did ally with the British as well. -
Fight for Ohio River Valley
The Ohio River Valley was originally controlled by both the British and French. Both countries wanted complete control over the land. The French set up Fort Duquesne in Pennsylvania to discourage the British from the area. The British sent troops to remove the French which starts the French and Indian War. -
Pontiac's Rebellion
The American Indians tried to create a conflict against to British and the French. The expectation of their plan would be for the French to return to North America and for the British to lose strength in their army. The French and Indians however could not capture Britain's 3 strongest ports causing a loss for the French. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act was a law given to the Colonists by Britain to put a tax on foreign sugar and molasses. The British decided to enforce this law which was thought it could have made money off the Colonists who smuggled in imported goods. The tax would then be used to pay for Britains' government debt caused by the French and Indian War. This law was, however, unpopular and protested against by the Colonists. This was one of many new laws by Britain taxing the Colonists. -
Boston Tea Party
With Colonists already protesting taxes on tea, Britain made it possible for the Colonists to purchase tea from British East India Company rather than foreign tea. The Colonists viewed this as a trick Britain was playing on them to make them pay taxes and hurt the wealthy whom were benefiting from smuggling tea. The Colonists, led by the Sons' of Liberty, boarded British ships and dumped three cases of tea into the harbor as an act of rebellion. -
First Continental Congress
After the Colonists refused the Coerce Act, all colonies except Georgia met at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for the First Continental Congress. Many delegates from the colonies came together to speak at the Congresss. One specific delegate from Virginia named Patrick Henry preached the famous quote, "Give me liberty, or give me death" and declared all people should be distinguished as American. -
Creation of the Cotton Gin
The cotton gin was invented by a man named Eli Whitney. The machine was used to separate the cotton seeds from the fiber needed. The process of disassembling the cotton led to reduced amount of time time and money bring spent. The cotton gin's success created a demand for more cotton and the popularity of growing it in other states. -
The XYZ Affair
The French felt betrayed by America's Jay Treaty of 1794, which caused France to demand bribes and seize American ships. President John Adams tried to maintain peace with the French by instating the XYZ Affair, however, it only insulted the French more. Congress decided to expand their army to fight the French and ended up winning French warships. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by the Federalists in Congress against immigrants. The acts state that the president can deport any immigrants who show a threat to the federal government. The Federalist were more even unhappy with the immigrants because most supported the Democratic-Republicans making it harder for people to become U.S. citizens. The Sedition Act also made it illegal of U.S citizens to criticize the federal government which helped Federalists quiet opposing Democrats. -
Virginia and Kentucky declare Sedition Acts
Two Democratic-Republican states of Virginia and Kentucky disagreed with the Alien and Sedition Acts and deemed them unconstitutional. The response to the acts was written by Jefferson and Madison. In their response, they mentioned how states should have the power to nullify federal laws if they are considered unconstitutional. However, no other state besides the two adopted the doctrine of nullification leaving it up to the winner of the presidential election of 1800. -
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The Barbary War
The region of Barbary in North Africa consisted of pirates who seized American ships and sailors. The countries that made up Barbary were Morocco, Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli. The Washington and Adam's administration had paid the Barbary region money for protection but the leader of Barbary was asking for more money from Jefferson. Jefferson instead sent a navy around Barbary's port to maintain peace and win their ships and sailors back resulting in America winning the war. -
Marbury v. Madison
The previous president John Adams appointed William Marbury a justice for the District of Columbia. James Marshall, the Secretary of State, did not agree to sign the papers of appointment. Marbury complained about this to the Supreme Court and Marshall, who stated himself in the judicial review, favored with the side of Madison. The Democratic-Republicans were very unhappy because Marbury was refused his appointment and it gave the Supreme Court more power Democrats did not want it to have. -
Louisiana Purchase
Napoleon bought the Louisiana Territory from Spain and was deciding to block America from New Orleans trading market. Jefferson offered to make a deal with Napoleon from France to buy the land of New Orleans to continue trade. Napoleon agreed because his plans had been compromised by Saint Domingue. Instead of just selling New Orleans, Napoleon sold all of the Louisiana territory for only $15 million of 828,000 square miles. -
Lowell Mills
Francis Cabot Lowell along with the Boston Associates created a mill used to manufacture cloth. Working at the mills were young women called to Lowell girls who would normally work until they got older and were married. The mills were one of very successful factories and did not require as many skilled workers at the time because of the advancement of machinery -
Adams-Onis Treaty
The Spanish began to lose power and did not have good control over Florida. Spain and America made a treaty deciding to sell Florida to America. Along with Florida, Oregon was also given to America. The Spanish and British both owned parts of Oregon at the time, so America and Britain decided to share the territory. -
Workers Strive for Pay Increase
The non-factory workers and artisans at the time came together to form the Workingmen's Party. The purpose was to compete in elections and support their thoughts on free public education and reduced working hours. To compensate for them feeling over-worked and under paid, labor unions were created to include better pay conditions. -
Missouri Compromise
Missouri Compromise was created by Henry Clay to equalize the amount of free and slave states. Missouri and Maine were being accepted as states and Missouri wanted to be a slave state. A congressman from New York, however, did not agree to Missouri being a slave state because of the excessive power it could offer slave states. The compromise agreed to the terms of Missouri becoming a slave state and Maine a free state to equalize the power and banning slavery in parts of the Lousiana Territory. -
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Tammany Hall
A popular political machine that worked during elections to win power. The Hall focused on the side of the Democratic party. It lasted until the 20th century throughout many elections mainly creating the outcome of corruption. It was run by William M. "Boss" Tweed for the main reason to help immigrants rise into politics. -
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Granger Laws
The Granger laws were a group of legislative regulations created after the Civil War from monopolies' high prices. The laws were first passed by Ilinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota. The laws had pushed state legislatures to pass laws protecting farmers from high prices of grain storage and railroads. -
Credit Mobilier Scandal
The Credit Mobilier was known for building the Union Pacific Railroad. It also gained the knowledge of the public from the claims of overcharging the public and the bribery of congressmen, mainly the Republican. One congressman was Oakes Ames who was found guilty of giving bribes; however, no one was guilty of receiving them. -
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Grange Movement (Farmer's Alliance)
This movement was started by a group of farmers who pressured state governments to have fair railroad rates and warehouses charges. Railroad rate changes usually didn't occur because of the government owning the tracks. The movement created the Sub Treasury Plan of 1890, in which farmers stored grain in government warehouses and bought seeds and supplies with cheap loans with the grain as collateral. Overtime these supporters created a party known as the Populist Party. -
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Social Gospel
This movement was a religious social reform that was very common between protestant liberals and ministers. It grew in popularity at the time interpreting the Kingdom of God as requiring social and individual salvation and including the principles of charity and justice. The Social Gospel was mainly shaped by the works of "In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do" by Charles Monroe Sheldon and "Christianity and the Social Crisis, 1907" by Walter Rauschenbusch. -
Building of the County Courthouse
The courthouse's purpose was for creating a center for the machine system to revolve around but now is used for holding the New York City Department of Education. While building the courthouse, it was expected to cost $250,000 to build but the overall cost was $13 million. All the everyday objects including, tables, chairs, and the lighting of the building was a large factor in the budget. Tammany Hall was successful from it by receiving $2 for every $1 the contractor made while building. -
Whiskey Ring Scandal
The scandal was started by a group of whiskey distillers who did not want to pay excise taxes. A granted administration official named John McDonald helped the distillers reduce their taxes by not counting all of the kegs of booze. Later on, tax evasion grew and McDonald confessed to miscounting the kegs, which caused him to be convicted. His actions tainted corruption on the presidency. -
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Sweatshops in late 19th Century
The workers in sweatshops were mainly immigrants, some women, and the lower class. The workers were forced to work for 15-18 hours per day and would not get paid until a certain requirement was completed. The most common job was within the clothing industry and included working the sewing machines, tailoring, basters, seam cutters, and finishers. The bad conditions left most workers with diseases, malnutrition, and exhaustion. -
Creation of the Populist Party
The Populist Party was known as the people's party because of its creation by middle-class people and including the ideas of the working class. The party planned on supplying Sub-Treasury Plan, government ownership of railroads and currency control, laborer rights to form Unions, and free coinage of silver. The party focused their audience on the "producing classes" and industrial workers, and allowed women to vote which to receive their vote. -
Panic of 1893
During the presidency of Benjamin Harrison, the economy began to weaken from the collapsing of the Reading Railroad and others. Along with the railroads struggling, the stock market also began crashing. Many banks and businesses that depended on railroads and stocks suffered tremendously and were in fear of losing profit. The panic left over 4 million people unemployed. -
Pullman Strike
After the Panic of 1893, Pullman cut the wages of all of his workers by 1/3. In response, The American Railway Union called a strike and walked out of the company. With no one working in the company, rail transportation and businesses almost stopped. The lack of transportation of products upset most of the economy and the federal governmnet became involved to watch the open railroads. -
National Consumers League
The National Consumers League was created by Jane Addams and Josephine Lowell and led by Florence Kelley National Consumers League. The league was directed towards women to advocate laws supporting rights for working children and women. The league also focused on protecting in-home workers, supporting Meat Inspection Act of 1906, creating minimum wage for women, and advocating for Children's Bureau. -
Roosevelt's Square Deal
Roosevelt felt that big businesses had been gaining too much power for themselves which destroyed smaller businesses, He used the deal to regulate big businesses to give all businesses a fair chance for success. He insured the Square Deal by controlling corporations, placing consumer protections, and conservations of natural resources. -
Meat Inspection Act
After noticing the diseases from meat and the industry, Roosevelt created the act to ensure all meat sent to the industries was inspected first. The animal would be checked by the United States Department of Agriculture before and after it was slaughtered. Along with inspecting the meat, the federal government would check the workplace itself to make sure nothing could contaminate the meat before it was shipped. -
Panic of 1907
Roosevelt declared he was not going to rerun for president in 1907 which upset many Americans and created fear about trusts. People feared their stability with money and many banks stopped giving loans to prevent any chance of any uncollateralized loans. Many also left their banks and withdrew from stocks causing prices to drop 25%. -
Dollar Diplomacy
A diplomacy created by Taft and Knox in order to expand America's influence and portray America as an ally to other countries. Through the diplomacy, America would intervene with different areas in conflict and aid certain sides. It was hoped that if other countries saw America sacrificing to help their country, the two countries could become allies and the next time America needs help, it will have a country's support. -
Election of 1912
The election was between Democrat Woodrow Wilson, Republican William H. Taft, and Progressive Teddy Roosevelt. Woodrow Wilson won the presidency along with the electoral and popular vote. Once Wilson was proclaimed president, he began to lower taxes and raise foreign object prices in order to persuade Americans to buy more American made objects. -
Creation of Progressive Party
The Progressive Party was created after the fade of the Populist Party and held similar ideals of supporting the lower class society. The party was originally created by Roosevelt and was directed towards the middle and lower class in order for them to gain a voice in politics. The main goals of the party were to create and preach about reforms, eliminate corruption, and remove large amounts of power from big businesses, -
Children's Bureau
The Children's Bureau was created by president Taft in order to ensure safe conditions and lifestyles for children in all classes. The bureau focused on infant mortality rate, birth rates, orphanages, juvenile courts, family security, child labor, and illness. If any problems occurred within the places investigated it would be reported to the Department of Commerce and Labor. -
Direct Primary Elections
Direct Primary Elections was an election that allowed people to choose candidates they want to run for offices. The opportunity was open to all citizens because it was not required for a person to be included in a political party to vote. The creation of Direct Primary Elections also increased the amount of secret ballots, limited the amount of money allowed to be spent for candidates campaigns, and gave way to the 17th Amendment of a direct election of senators. -
Women's Bureau
The Women's Bureau was organized within the Department of Labor and focused on the working conditions of women. Within the bureau, the goal was to inform the public on the importance of education and work for women. It promoted minimum wage, better hours, no nighttime work, and better working conditions. It was one of the first steps made to improve the working conditions for women and offer them more opportunities to soon lead to fairer wages between working men and women.
