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Jamestown Founding
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement in the Americas.The significance of the founding of Jamestown is that it eventually leads to Great Awakening which contributes to American desire for independence from England. -
VA House of Burgesses
After the arrival of Governer George Yearley in Jamestown in 1619, he immediately gave notice that the Virginia colony would establish a legislative assembly. This assembly, the House of Burgesses, first met on July 30, 1619. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact, signed by 41 English colonists on the ship Mayflower on November 11, 1620, was the first written framework of government. The "plantation covenant" modeled after a Separatist church covenant, was a document that established a "Civil Body Politic" until one could be more permanently established. -
Plymouth Founding
Plymouth, Massachusetts holds a place of great prominence in American history, folklore and culture, and is known as "America's Hometown." It had one of the first charters in the new world between a government and its citizens. -
Fundamental Order of Connecticut
Fundamental Orders, in U.S. history, the basic law of the Connecticut colony from 1639 to 1662, formally adopted (Jan. 14, 1639) by representatives from the towns of Hartford, Wethersfield, and Windsor. The orders describe the government set up by the Connecticut River towns, setting its structure and powers. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was the North American theater of the worldwide Seven Years' War. The war was fought between the colonies of British America and New France, with both sides supported by military units from their parent countries of Great Britain and France, as well as Native American allies. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris of 1763, negotiated between the United States and Great Britain, ended the revolutionary war and recognized American independence. The Continental Congress named a five-member commission to negotiate a treaty–John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Laurens. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament on March 22, 1765. 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. -
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. The Boston Massacre, was known as the Incident on King Street by the British. In which British Army soldiers killed five male civilians and injured six others. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston, on December 16, 1773. A group of colonists protest thirteen years of increasing British oppression, by attacking merchant ships in Boston Harbor. In retaliation, the British close the port, and inflict even harsher penalties. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were passed in 1774 to punish the colonists for the Boston Tea Party. There were three major acts involved that angered the colonists. The first was the Boston Port Bill and it closed the Boston Harbor until the people of Boston paid for the tea that they threw into the harbor. -
Lexington & Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. Tensions had been building for many years between residents of the 13 American colonies and the British authorities, particularly in Massachusetts. -
Declaration of Independence
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.” The Declaration of Independence is an important part of American democracy because first it contains the ideals or goals of our nation. -
Saratoga Battle
The Battles of Saratoga marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign giving a decisive victory to the Americans over the British in the American Revolutionary War. His surrender to American forces at the Battle of Saratoga marked a turning point in the Revolutionary War. On October 17, 1777, 5,895 British and Hessian troops surrendered their arms -
Articles of Confederation (AOC)
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. -
Yorktown Battle
On this day in 1781, 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. -
Shay's Rebellion
As the name suggests, Shays' Rebellion was a rebellion led by Daniel Shay, who was an ex-soldier in Massachusetts. Began in 1786, it was an uprising of popular support from farmers against a conservative Massachusetts that wanted to increase what were already some of the highest taxes in the colonies. -
Constitution
The U.S. Constitution established America's national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens. It was signed on September 17, 1787, by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, presided over by George Washington. -
Pennsylvania Founding
Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, and the Great Lakes region. -
Washington's Inauguration
The Inauguration of George Washington, 1789. The Constitution of the United States was ratified by the states in June 1788. In February of the following year the new nation's Electoral College selected George Washington to be its first president. -
Industrial Revolution
The invention of machinery drastically changed the methods of production. First, there was a change from the slower and more expensive production by hand to the quicker and less costly production by machine. However, machines could not be placed in the homes of individual workers, because machines were too expensive. -
Washington's Farewell Address
In the 32-page handwritten address, Washington urged Americans to avoid excessive political party spirit and geographical distinctions. In foreign affairs, he warned against long-term alliances with other nations. The address was printed in Philadelphia's American Daily Advertiser on September 19, 1796. -
Marbury vs. Madison
Marbury v. Madison, possibly the most important case in Supreme Court history, was the first U.S. Supreme Court case to apply the principle of "judicial review" -- the power of federal courts to void acts of Congress in conflict with the Constitution. -
Louisiana Purchase
On Saturday, April 30, 1803, the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was signed by Robert Livingston, James Monroe, and Barbé Marbois. President Jefferson announced the treaty to the American people on July 4th. The Louisiana Purchase is important because it gave the U.S the port city of New Orleans, both of which were used by farmers to ship their crops and get paid -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict, lasting for two-and-a-half years, fought by the United States of America against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, its North American colonies and its American Indian allies. This was one absurd event.
