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Aug 3, 1492
Columbus “discovers” the new world for Spain.
Columbus set sail from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa María, the Pinta, and the Niña. On October 12, the expedition sighted land, probably Watling Island in the Bahamas, and went ashore the same day, claiming it for Spain. -
Aug 13, 1519
Hernan Cortez defeats the Aztecs
Hernan Cortés invaded Mexico in 1519 and conquered the Aztec Empire. Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador, or conqueror, best remembered for conquering the Aztec empire in 1521 and claiming Mexico for Spain. He also helped colonize Cuba and became a governor of New Spain -
Jamestown is founded
The Virginia Company of England made a daring proposition: sail to the new, mysterious land, which they called Virginia in honor of Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen, and begin a settlement. They established Jamestown, Virginia, on May 14, 1607, the first permanent British settlement in North America. -
The “Starving Time” in Jamestown
“The starving time” was the winter of 1609-1610, when food shortages, fractured leadership, and a siege by Powhatan Indian warriors killed two of every three colonists at James Fort. From its beginning, the colony struggled to maintaining a food supply. -
Plymouth is founded
The settlers were a group of about 100 Puritan Separatist Pilgrims, who sailed on the Mayflower and settled on what is now Cape Cod bay, Massachusetts. They named the first town after their port of departure. -
Mayflower Compact is signed
Mayflower Compact, document signed on the English ship Mayflower on November 21 [November 11, Old Style], 1620, prior to its landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was the first framework of government written and enacted in the territory that is now the United States of America. -
The Mayflower Compact is signed
Mayflower Compact, document signed on the English ship Mayflower on November 21 [November 11, Old Style], 1620, prior to its landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was the first framework of government written and enacted in the territory that is now the United States of America -
1st Thanksgiving
The event that Americans commonly call the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in October 1621. This feast lasted three days, and—as accounted by attendee Edward Winslow—it was attended by 90 Native Americans and 53 Pilgrims. -
Navigation Acts
The Navigation Acts were a series of laws passed by the English Parliament to regulate shipping and maritime commerce. The Acts increased colonial revenue by taxing the goods going to and from British colonies -
New Ansterdam becomes New York
On September 8th, 1664, Dutch Director-General Peter Stuyvesant surrendered New Amsterdam to the British, officially establishing New York City.Sep 7, 2018 -
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King Phillip’s War
King Philip's War, also known as Metacom's War or the First Indian War, was an armed conflict between English colonists and the American Indians of New England in the 17th century. It was the Native-American's last major effort to drive the English colonists out of New England. -
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Bacon’s Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion that took place 1676-1677 by Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor William Berkeley. -
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Salem Witch Trials
The infamous Salem witch trials began during the spring of 1692, after a group of young girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several local women of witchcraft. -
Stono Rebellion
was a slave rebellion that began on 9 September 1739, in the colony of South Carolina. It was the largest slave uprising in the British mainland colonies, with 25 colonists and 35 to 50 Africans killed. -
Ben Franklin proposed the Albany Plan of Union
The Albany Plan of Union was a proposal introduced by Benjamin Franklin during the Albany Congress in 1754. Franklin's plan called for the formation of a permanent federation of colonies, as a means to reform colonial-imperial relations, and to more effectively address shared colonial interests -
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French and Indian War
The French and Indian War began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The war provided Great Britain enormous territorial gains in North America, but disputes over subsequent frontier policy and paying the war's expenses led to colonial discontent, and ultimately to the American Revolution. -
Treaty of 1763
Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France, as well as their respective allies. In the terms of the treaty, France gave up all its territories in mainland North America, effectively ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there. -
Proclamation of 1763
Proclamation of 1763, proclamation declared by the British crown at the end of the French and Indian War in North America, mainly intended to conciliate the Native Americans by checking the encroachment of settlers on their lands. -
The 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. -
England passes the Quartering Act
made provisions for British troops to be given food and shelter at the expense of the American colonists. -
The Townshend Acts
a series of laws passed by the British government on the American colonies in 1767. They placed new taxes and took away some freedoms from the colonists including the following: New taxes on imports of paper, paint, lead, glass, and tea. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a street fight that occurred on March 5, 1770, between a "patriot" mob, throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks, and a squad of British soldiers. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that occurred on December 16, 1773, at Griffin's Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor. -
The 1st Continental Congress convenes
The First Continental Congress, convened in response to the Acts by the colonial Committees of Correspondence, met in Philadelphia on September 5, 1774. The declaration also denounced taxation without representation and the maintenance of the British army in the colonies without their consent. -
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The Battle of Bunker Hill
The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the early stages of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in the battle. -
The “shot heard ‘round the world”
Shot heard round the world. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. "The shot heard round the world" is a phrase that refers to the opening shot of the Battle of Concord in 1775, which began the American Revolutionary War and led to the creation of the United States of America. -
Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense
Common Sense was a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. -
Rhode Island is founded
He guaranteed religious and political freedom. Religious refugees from the Massachusetts Bay Colony settled in Rhode Island. It was one of the most liberal colonies. -
Maryland is founded
Maryland is a Mid-Atlantic state that's defined by its abundant waterways and coastlines on the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. Its largest city, Baltimore, has a long history as a major seaport. Fort McHenry, birthplace of the U.S. national anthem, sits at the mouth of Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, home to the National Aquarium and Maryland Science Center. -
Declaration of Independence is signed
In fact, independence was formally declared on July 2, 1776, a date that John Adams believed would be “the most memorable epocha in the history of America.” On July 4, 1776, Congress approved the final text of the Declaration. It wasn't signed until August 2, 1776. -
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Battle of Saratoga
marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign, giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. -
The Articles of Confederation are implemented
The Continental Congress adopted the Articles of Confederation, the first constitution of the United States, on November 15, 1777. However, ratification of the Articles of Confederation by all thirteen states did not occur until March 1, 1781. -
Battle of Yorktown
The significance of the conflict was that Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington as French and American forces trapped the British at Yorktown. -
Treaty of 1783
The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, ended the American Revolutionary War. -
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Shay’s Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts in opposition to a debt crisis among the citizenry and the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades; the fight took place mostly in and around Springfield during 1786 and 1787. -
Constitutional/Philadelphia Convention gathers
The point of the event was decide how America was going to be governed.Although the Convention had been officially called to revise the existing Articles of Confederation, many delegates had much bigger plans. -
The Northwest Ordinance was established
The Northwest Ordinance, adopted July 13, 1787, by the Confederation Congress, chartered a government for the Northwest Territory, provided a method for admitting new states to the Union from the territory, and listed a bill of rights guaranteed in the territory. -
Pennsylvania is founded
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state located in the Northeastern, Great Lakes, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The Appalachian Mountains run through its middle. -
Connecticut is founded
The Connecticut Colony was founded in 1636 by Thomas Hooker and other colonists, at Hartford. Word taken from a Native Indian phrase meaning “river whose water is driven by tides or winds.” -
The Constitution is ratified
the Constitution became the official framework of the government of the United States of America when New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify it. -
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Whiskey Rebellion
uprising that afforded the new U.S. government its first opportunity to establish federal authority by military means within state boundaries, as officials moved into western Pennsylvania to quell an uprising of settlers rebelling against the liquor tax. -
Jay’s Treaty is signed
On November 19, 1794 representatives of the United States and Great Britain signed Jay's Treaty, which sought to settle outstanding issues between the two countries that had been left unresolved since American independence. -
Treaty of Greenville
The Treaty of Greenville, formally titled Treaty with the Wyandots, etc., was a 1795 treaty between the United States and Indians of the Northwest Territory including the Wyandot and Delaware, which redefined the boundary between Indian lands and Whiteman's lands in the Northwest Territory. -
Pinckney’s Treaty
Pinckney's Treaty, also commonly known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo or the Treaty of Madrid, was signed in San Lorenzo de El Escorial on October 27, 1795 and established intentions of friendship between the United States and Spain. -
John Adams becomes 2nd President
When George Washington refused a third term in 1797, Adams was elected President (1797-1801). In 1797, Adams became the second President of the United States. He was the first President who belonged to a political party - the Federalists. -
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XYZ Affair
The XYZ Affair was a diplomatic incident between French and United States diplomats that resulted in a limited, undeclared war known as the Quasi-War. U.S. and French negotiators restored peace with the Convention of 1800, also known as the Treaty of Mortefontaine. -
George Washington inaugurated as first president
The presidency of George Washington began on April 30, 1789, when Washington was inaugurated as the first president of the United States, and ended on March 4, 1797. Washington took office after the 1788–89 presidential election, the nation's first quadrennial presidential election, in which he was elected unanimously. -
The Alien and Sedition Acts are passed
Included new powers to deport foreigners as well as making it harder for new immigrants to vote. -
Quasi-war
an undeclared naval war between the United States and France during the Presidency of John Adams. It grew out of the XYZ Affair and ended when French politics changed direction after Napoleon came into power. -
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were passed
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were political statements drafted in 1798 and 1799, in which the Kentucky and Virginia legislatures took the position that the federal Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. -
Thomas Jefferson becomes the 3rd President
sworn into office on March 4, 1801; his was the first presidential inauguration held in Washington, D.C. -
The Supreme Court rules on Marbury v. Madison
The U.S. Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison (1803) established the principle of judicial review—the power of the federal courts to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional. ... Marbury sued the new secretary of state, James Madison, in order to obtain his commission. -
The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (1803) was a land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. -
Chesapeake Affair
The Chesapeake–Leopard affair was a naval engagement that occurred off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia, on June 22, 1807, between the British warship HMS Leopard and the American frigate USS Chesapeake. The crew of Leopard pursued, attacked, and boarded the American frigate, looking for deserters from the Royal Navy -
Embargo Act of 1807
The Embargo Act of 1807 was a law passed by the United State Congress and signed by President Thomas Jefferson on December 22, 1807. It prohibited American ships from trading in all foreign ports. In 1806, France passed a law that prohibited trade between neutral parties, like the U.S., and Britain. -
James Madison becomes 4th president
James Madison, America's fourth President (1809-1817), made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing The Federalist Papers, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. In later years, he was referred to as the “Father of the Constitution.” -
Congress declares war on England
President James Madison signed the American Declaration of war after the War hawks kept pressuring them. The Royal Navy blockaded ports cutting off trade and making it possible for them to invade the coast. -
Treaty of Ghent
was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States of America and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now Belgium). -
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Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans was fought on January 8, 1815 between British troops led by General Edward Pakenham and American forces led by General Andrew Jackson. Despite being outnumbered 2:1, the Americans, who had constructed sophisticated earthworks, won a decisive victory against the British assault.
