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Battle of Lexington & Concord
The Battle of Lexington & Concord kicked off the American Revolution. Paul Revere rode out of Boston to warn the militia men that "THE BRITISH ARE COMING!!" The Minutemen first met the British at Lexington in the early morning of April 19, 1775. Although they were defeated at Lexington, the minutemen defeated the British at Concord and chased them back to Boston. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga signaled to the French (a traditional enemy of the British) that the colonists had a chance to win the war. This led to the French declaration of war against the British and French military and financial aid for the colonists. This marked the key turning point of the war in favor the colonist. -
Battle of Yorktown
The American victory at the Battle of Yorktown led to the discussion of British surrender. The British later surrendered at Yorktown and fighting of the American Revolution ceases. The US & Great Britain begin negotiating the Treaty of Paris to officially bring an end to the Revolutionary War. January 14th of 1781, Congress ratified the Treaty of Paris and it properly ends the war. -
Northwest Ordinance
Sets the precedent for the creation of the new states. Once states had a required number of residents a territory could apply for statehood. These territories would become part of the Confederation on equal terms as the original 13 colonies. It also declared slavery illegal in the Northwest Territory (first effort of the new government to prohibit slavery. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
Federalists in Congress place restrictions on citizenship & political speech. The Alien Act restricted the activities of foreign residents in the US and their attempts at citizenship. The Sedition Act restricted freedom of speech in the US, particularly in response to the XYZ Affair and outlawed any "false, scandalous, malicious writing" against Congress or the president, and made it illegal to conspire "to oppose any measure or measures of the government". -
Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions
The legislatures in Kentucky and Virginia took the position that the Alien and Sedition Acts were infringing upon state's rights and thus were unconstitutional. These states were attempting to nullify (cancel out) or supersede (go above) a federal law. Remember, according to the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, federal law is supreme above all others. -
Marbury vs. Madison
Before leaving office, John Adams appointed several "midnight" judges, who would serve life terms and be able to undermine Jefferson's Republican administration from the bench. This included John Marshall who Adams appointed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. Marbury vs. Madison established the principle of judicial review which says that the Supreme Court has the authority to interpret the Constitution to overturn a law passed by Congress. -
Louisiana Purchase
President Thomas Jefferson purchased the territory through the treaty from France (Napoleon needed money to finance the French Revolution). Jefferson's purchased added a total of 13 states to US territory and secured control of the Mississippi River as a highway for American products through the port in New Orleans to world markets. Lewis and Clark were sent to explore the territory in search of a Northwest Passage which would connect the Atlantic and Pacific. -
Missouri Compromise
In 1819 there were equal free states and slave states. When Missouri applied as a slave state, it threatened that balance. Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. That drew the line for the expansion of slavery at 36 degrees /30 degrees AKA the Mason- Dixon Line. -
Monroe Doctrine
President James Monroe passes the Monroe Doctrine to warn European countries not to recolonize Latin America. This threat was depended on the British Navy as a US military had not grown yet. Though it didn't do anything immediately do anything, the Monroe Doctrine was used as a reason for future presidents' involvement in Latin American which will utlimately lead to resentment affairs. -
Nullification Crisis
John C. Calhoun from SC declared states rights, and that is that states have the right to declare a federal law (or tax) null and void if it harms that state. The federal government passed a very high protective tariff, which angered the South. John C. Calhoun attempted to nullify the tariff stating SC wouldn't pay. Andrew Jackson wanted to maintain that the federal government was stronger than that of the states. A compromise was reached, and the tariff was lowered. -
Texas Annexation
Americans in the Mexican controlled territory of Texas declared independence from Mexico after Mexico outlawed slavery. The US acquired the Republic of Texas through annexation (process of adding territory) 9 years after American born Texas declared and won independence from Mexico. -
Oregon Treaty
A conflict between the Americans & the British ld to the negotiations of a Britsh-American border. American newspapers headlined "54'40 or fight!" supporting war with the British over the territory. Negoations led to the Oregon Treaty of 1846 granting US control south the 49th parallel and avoiding war. -
Mexican Cession
The Mexican Cession contained territories that made up most of the rest of the southwestern US which the US acquired after the Mexican-American War. The war was ended by the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that granted the US over 525,000 square miles of new territory. The Mexican completed the Manifest Destiny by giving Americans control of land from the Atlantic to the Pacific (sea to shining sea). -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 introduced the principle of popular sovereignty to decide the slave population question. California is admitted as a free state. Other Mexican Cession states would be decided by the people. Sale of slaves but not slavery was prohibited in the capital (Washington, D.C.). The Fugitive Slave Law Act required northerners to return runaway slaves. -
Bleeding (Bloody) Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was a chain of violent civil disputes held within the US. The confrontations went on between 1854 and 1861. Those for slavery and those anti-slavery went neck to neck in Kansas. The "war" was a struggle for power over the expansion over slavery into Kansas which was considered part of the North, at the time anti-slavery. The South ended up victorious outraging the North. -
Kansas- Nebraska Act
Stephan Douglas proposed popular sovereignty to decide whether these states would be slave or free. This overturned the Missouri Compromise. Both sides sent supporters to sway the votes. With both pro and anti-slavery supporters to sway voting, things turned violent and became known as Bleeding Kanas. Eventually this led to the emergence of a new party (Repulbican). -
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter began the Civil War. Confederate bombed Fort Sumter (located near Charleston). After the battle, several states seceded which gave the Confederates power over 11 states. The battle resulted in the Union waving the white flag after a accumulated 33 hour stand off between both forces evolved. -
Battle of Bull Run
The Battle of Bull Run took place outside Bull Run Creek outside Manassas, Virginia. Although Union troops had the upper hand in the beginning, the Confederacy was triumphant. Shocked, those who hoped the war would end quickly and whowere unprepared for the carnage mondern warfare would produce. Lincoln replaced McDowell with General George G. McClellan in hopes he would lead the Union to victory. -
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam was fought in Antietam Creek, Sharpsburg, Maryland. The Battle of Antietam makes the single bloodiest day of the war. 23,000 soldiers were laid dead or wounded. Although the Union experienced more losses than the Confederacy, Lee retreated to Virginia and Lincoln had found the opportunity he needed to move with emancipation. -
Battle of Vicksburg
The Battle of Vicksburg was fought in Vicksburg, Mississippi. Grant lays siege againist Vicksburg after multiple attemps to capture the city. Lincoln believes the capture of Vicksburg is key to bringing an end to the war. The surrender of Vicksburg, and Port Hudson, Louisana days later, split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought in Gettysburg, Pennslyvania. Lee set off to Pennslvania to take some Union ground. Although the Confederates seemed victorious as night fell on the fight night of the battle, swift thinking and action on the part of the Union put them at an advantage. Lee retreats to Virginia. Nearly half of his fighting force was dead or wounded. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln feared the border states, which still allowed slavery, would secede if he pushed for the abolition of slavery throughout the Union. When emancipation was announced he promoted it as a "military measure" against the Confederacy. This document did not free the slaves.Only states in rebellion were commanded to free their slaves. As the slave population got word of the emanicpation, they ran to Union lines and freedom. African Americans were allowed to fight on the side of the Union. -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address was given in Gettysburg, Pennslyvania. Lincoln visited Gettysburg battlefield to dedicate a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. He describes the Civil War as a struggle to fulfill the Declaration of Independence and preserve a nation "dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal". -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment finally put an official end to slavery. The Amendment surfaced after the Civil War. It states, "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the US, or any place subject to their jurisdiction". Slaves were formally legalized freedom. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment defined citizens as any person born in or naturalized in the US. This overturned the outcome of the Dred Scott vs. Sandford case that slaves didn't count as people. The 14th Amendment was intended to grant former slaves citizenship and protect their rights. Although the Amendment granted citizenship it didn't prevent segration and discrimination. -
15th Amendment
The Amendment prohibited states from denying US citizens the right to vote based on race, color, or past servitude. This granted the right to vote known as suffrage. The only con present in this Reconstruction Amendment is that it only gave MEN the right to vote. Regulations were still placed to prevent African Americans from voting until the Voting Acts was passed to outlaw legal barriers denying Blacks the right to vote. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
The rights promised to the African Americans in the 14th, 15th, Amendments and protected by the national government during Reconstruction were gradually rescinded by Southern State Governments. Segregation was widespread, even in the North. Separate facililites for whites and blacks. Plessy v. Ferguson established "separte but equal" it upheld segregation.