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Battle of Lexington & Concord
This was the first military engagement of the American Revolutionary War. The Americans won the battle. The British retreated back to Boston. It's important because it proved to the British that the American army was not just a band of unorganized rebels, but an army that deserved respect. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign. The Americans were victorious in this battle. The Patriot victory at Saratoga is often seen as the turning point in the war. It's important because it was a turning point in the war. -
Battle of Yorktown
The last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War. The Continental Army won a decisive victory against the British Army. The surrender ended the American Revolutionary War. This battle lasted from Sep. 28, 1781 to Oct. 19, 1781. -
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance was an act of the Congress of the Confederation of the United States. It est. a govt. structure for the Northwest Territory and provided the opportunity for admitting a new state to the Union. It also guaranteed that the states would be equal to the original thirteen states. Slavery and any involuntary servitude was forbidden. It is officially known as the Ordinance of 1787. It's important because it added new states to the Union and was against slavery. -
Alien & Sedition Acts
The Alien Sedition Acts stripped immigrants of certain rights to make things harder on them. Immigrants were even deported. These were made in fear of the foreigners having communications with France during a war. The Alien Sedition Acts were signed into law by President John Adams and passed by the Federalist Congress in 1798. However, some argued that the sedition laws violated the first amendment. It's important to US History because it shows why immigrants struggle to fit in the lifestyle. -
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
These were political statements drafted in 1798-9. The resolutions became known as the "Principles of '98". These were written in response to the Alien & Sedition Acts. Authored by T. Jefferson and J. Madison, it says that the ASA were unconstitutional and asserted that the states had power to nullify them. It's important to US History because the legislatures wanted to take a stand against the government. -
Louisiana Purchase
This was a land deal between the United States and France. The U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. It gave the U.S. control of the Mississippi River and the port city of New Orleans. Both were used by farmers to ship their crops and get paid. It added the states of Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. -
Marbury v. Madison
This was a supreme court case that first established the principle of judicial review in the U.S. It's arguably the most important case in Supreme Court history. This expanded the power of the Supreme Court. It announced that the 1789 law which gave the Court jurisdiction in this case was unconstitutional. Marbury had been appointed a justice of the peace for the District of Columbia in the final hours of the Adams administration. It's important because it established judicial review. -
Missouri Compromise
Missouri Compromise was passed to admit Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It still maintained the balance of power between North and South in the U.S Senate. However, it failed to permanently ease the underlying tensions caused by the slavery issue. In 1854, the Missouri Compromise was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. It's important because it played a significant role in the relationship between the North and the South in the time leading up to the American Civil War. -
Monroe Doctrine(X)
It was a United States policy of opposing European colonialism in the Americas. -
Nullification Crisis
A political crisis that involved a confrontation between SC and the fed. govt. SC adopted the ordinance to nullify the tariff acts and label them unconstitutional. It was the only Southern state that did so. They did this because they thought that the tariff wasn't fair to them. People began to side with A. Jackson out of fear of his rule, instead of SC. It demonstrated to ultras in the South that nullification wouldn't be a viable way to exert their will on national politics in the future. -
Texas Annexation
The annexation of the Republic of Texas into the United States of America, which was admitted to the Union as the 28th state. Texas gained its independence in 1836. Polk completed this with the negotiation of the Oregon Treaty with Great Britain in 1846. Also with the conclusion of the Mexican-American War in 1848. That ended with the signing and ratification of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848.
It's important because we wouldn't have Texas, if not for this. Texas fought for its freedom. -
Oregon Treaty
The Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the British and the U.S, signed by Pres. Polk. The Oregon Treaty was one of the first successes of Manifest Destiny. It was signed between the US and Britain to settle the boundary dispute. It set the boundary between the United States and Canada at the 49th parallel west of the Rocky Mountains. It veered around Vancouver Island and then proceeding through the Strait of San Juan de Fuca. It's important because it peacefully settled a land dispute. -
Mexican Cession
The region that Mexico ceded to the U.S. in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. This recognized Texas as a U.S. state and ceded a large chunk of land to the United States for the cost of $15 million. It added the states of California, Nevada, and Utah. As a result, the United States achieved its largest land acquisition since the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. Mexico ceded over 500,000 square miles of territory and westward expansion began. -
Compromise of 1850
This was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress. It attempted to seek a compromise and avert a crisis between North and South. Due to this, the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished. It's important it defused a four-year political confrontation between slave and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican–American War. -
Bleeding Kansas
This was a series of violent civil confrontations in the United States. It started from a political and ideological debate over the legality of slavery in the proposed state of Kansas. This all stopped when Kansas entered into the Union a free state on January 29, 1861. It's important because it was a battlefield on which the forces of anti-slavery and the forces of slavery meet. They made a choice and fought for what they believed. -
Kansas - Nebraska Act
This allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. The popular sovereignty clause of the law led pro- and anti-slavery elements to flood into Kansas with the goal of voting slavery up or down. This law ended up failing. Antislavery forces viewed the it as a capitulation to the South, and many abandoned it. It's important because it gave these territories a choice between allowing slavery or not. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
This took place near Charleston, SC with the Confederate States Army. It started with Confederate forces opening fire on Fort Sumter. It was a 33 hour exchange of artillery fire, until Anderson and his 86 soldiers surrendered the fort. This resulted in a Confederate victory. It's important because it was the first battle of the American Civil War. -
Battle of Bull Run
This was the first major battle of the American Civil War. It resulted in a Confederate victory. It was fought in Prince William County, Virginia. It's important because it started the American Civil War. -
Battle of Antietam
This was one of the most gruesome of the American Civil War. It was the 8th costliest land battle of the American Civil War. There were over 23,000 casualties. The Union took the victory for this battle as well. It's important because it provided President Abraham Lincoln the opportunity he had wanted to announce the Emancipation Proclamation, making the Battle of Antietam one of the key turning points of the American Civil War. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Issued by the first president, Abraham Lincoln. It stated that all people held as slaves within the rebellious states. It not only declared slaves free, but that they could also join the Union Army. This freed 3.1 million of 4 million slaves. However, since it was issued as a military measure, it didn't apply to border slave states like Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri. It's important because it changed the federal legal status of so many enslaved African Americans. -
Battle of Vicksburg
This battle lasted for 6 weeks. It was the final major military action in the Vicksburg Campaign of the American Civil War. The consequences of Vicksburg were immense, but it benefited the Union. The Union also won this battle. It's important because Union forces had complete control of the Mississippi River and cut the Confederacy in two. -
Battle of Gettysburg
This battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire war and is often described as the war's turning point. It resulted in a Union victory. More than 50,000 men fell as casualties during the battle, making it the bloodiest battle of the American Civil War. It's important because it stopped Confederate General Robert E. Lee's second invasion of the North. -
The Gettysburg Address
This was a speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln. It was held at the dedication of soldiers National Cemetery. In the speech, he says "Four score ad seven years ago our fathers brought forth, on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to proposition that all men are created equal.". It's important because it honors the fallen Union soldiers. -
13th amendment passed
This amendment abolished slavery once and for all, unless it was to act as a punishment for a crime. It was signed by Pres. Lincoln on Feb. 1, 1865. Lincoln recognized that the Emancipation Proclamation would have to be followed by a constitutional amendment in order to guarantee the abolishment of slavery. The 13th Amendment was important because it created a constitutional amendment that banned slavery in ALL of the American states. -
14th amendment passed
On July 28, 1868, the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. The amendment grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States". This also included former slaves who had just been freed after the Civil War. It's important because it gave everyone citizenship, even former slaves. -
15th amendment passed
The 15th Amendment to the Constitution granted African American men the right to vote. Despite Democratic opposition, the Republicans steadily won ratification victories throughout 1869. President Grant officially proclaimed the 15th Amendment as part of the Constitution. It's important because Africa American men were now allowed to vote. -
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine.The case stemmed from an 1892 incident in which African-American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car for blacks. African Americans turned to the courts to help protect their constitutional rights. It's important because African Americans fought for their rights along with Plessy. They felt it wasn't fair and uncalled for.
