-
Aug 10, 1492
The Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire started when Christopher Columbus landed in the Americans in 1492. He sailed here in 3 ships and called the land he claimed, "San Salvador". The spanish landing here, led to the Columbian Exchange where the spanish exchanged goods between the Americas and Europe. This also resulted in the African Slave Trade when the Native Americans started dying out in their land. -
Nov 8, 1492
Christopher Columbus lands in The New World
Christopher Columbus landed in The New World while trying find India. He claimed this land for Spain and named it "San Salvadore". -
Nov 10, 1534
New France
Jacques Cartier was sent by the French to explore the Atlantic coastline of North America, instead he found modern day Canada and claimed it for France. The courer de bois were fur trappers who setlled here and started working in Quebec, a trading post. -
Nov 22, 1534
Courer de Bois
The courer de bois were fur trappers and hunters who began a trading post in present day Canada called Quebec. Here, they traded fur with the Huron Indians to learn to adapt to the harsh conditions in their new found land. -
Jamestown: The First English Colony
John Cabot was inspired by Columbus and went to find his own route to Asia, when he found Jamestown. In 1608, a leader- Captain John Smith took control of this place, with the help of a native- Pocahontas, who helped the colony survive. -
Captain John Smith
Captain John Smith took control of Jamestown in 1608. Pocahontas, a native american girl helped John Smith by getting his colony food and helping the colony in Jamestown survive. -
Starving Time in Jamestown
When the English settlers came and established a colony in Jamestown, it turned out they did not have enough supplies. When all the supplies ran, all the enlishmen were starving. They had to work, if they did not work, they did not get any food. This was called "Starving Time" in Jamestown. -
New Netherland
Henry Hudson found claimed the area along the rive bank and claimed it for the Netherlands. In 1626, Peter Minuit was sent as the governer of this place. They made good deals with the natives for fur trade. -
Virginia
Virginia was one of the first successful colonies in America. The economy of Virginia depended on their main cash crop- tobacco. Slavery was also very common here. In Virginia, the summers were hot and humid, while the winters were mild. -
Proclamation of 1763
George III made a new law which forbid the colonists settling west of the appalacians. This is to keep the Indians and colonists separate to prevent war. -
The Stamp Act
A law was passed out, that a stamp must be purchased for any paper product. This would pay off the large debt left from the French and Indian war. -
The Quartering Act
The British Parliament passed out a new law. This law ordered colonists to provide british soldiers with homes, food, etc. They had to stay in the colonists houses and had to be payed for by the colonists to provide things for the troops. This was done because the soldiers were brought to "protect" the colonists (even though they did not ask for it). -
The Townshend Act
Townshend persuaded the British Parliament to pass the Townshend ACts. This law placed a duty/tax on certain goods that colonies imported from Britain. This was to pay for the soldiers that were being sent to the colonists to keep peace between them. -
The Tea Act
The Tea Act was started by Lord North, to save the British East India company from going broke. Since the colonies had boycotted british tea, the company was in great danger. To save this company, they had to sell 17 million punds of tea from the London warehouses. The price of the tea was lowered for the colonies, but, the company only chose merchants who could sell the bargain-priced tea. -
The Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were laws passed out by the British Government to punish Massachussetts for the Boston Tea Party (when they threw all the tea overboard). There were 3 main laws:
1) The Boston Harbour was closed till the ruined tea was paid for
2) The colonists were under strict British control- they could not even hold town meetings without the governer's permission.
3) More British troops were sent to the colonies to enforce the new laws. -
Lexington & Concord
This was the first battle between the colonists and Britain, this battle led to a seven year long war. -
The Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress met in Philadelphia. During this meeting, the decided George Washington was to lead the New England Army. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
The Americans had elected George Washington as their new commander in chied of the new Continental Army and was attacked by 2000 British troops. The british had attacked thrice, but on the third attack, the Americans had to back down because they run out of gunpowder. In this war, more than 1000 British troops were killed or wounded and half that many americans. This war showed the strength of the Colonial Army. -
The Olive Branch Petition
The Olive Branch Petition was when the Colonists send a peace petition to King George. By the time the petition reached London, the King had declared the colonies to be in "open and avowed rebellion.". He ordered the ministers to bring them to justice. -
The Siege of Boston (The British Abandon Boston)
The Siege of Boston was when George Washington's army decided to attack the British forces with a lot of gunpowder and cannons. This made the British run away to Canada, about 90,000 loyalists followed. Many thought the war was overm but Washington new it had just begun. This proved that the Continental Army could defeat the British. -
Battle for New York
The Continental Army and The British Army met in Brooklyn, New York for the battle. The British had defeated the americans badly. The British lost 377 men and the americans lost 1407. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Continental Congress appointed a committee to write th declaration of independance. Thomad Jefferson was given this job. He wrote about how King George was an unfit ruler, how he he had no concern for the rights of the colonists and his policies were a tyranny over the states. Jefferson said that all colonists were equal and the colonists had equal rights. -
Trenton
Washington made a surprise attack on Trenton the night when everyone in the town would be sleeping peacefully after their christmas feasts. They took 868 prisoners without losing a single man. -
Saratoga
Washington was afraid to loose more of his men in another big battle so he decided to play "hide and seek" with the British. By the time Burgoyne reached Saratoga the place was swarming with Militia. The British were out numbered so the Americans held the British back. On October 17, 1777 the British finally admitted defeat. -
Yorktown
The French and Americans had surrounded Yorktown because the British had gone there. The war ships from France blocked all escape roots by water. Soon, the French and Americans opened fire on Yorktown. -
Treaty of Paris
Both American and British representatives signed the Treaty of Paris. The treaty stated that the British would recognize America as an independant country, Britain would give up its claims to all lands between the Atlantic Coast and the Mississippi River, from Canada south to Florida and Americans agreed to return all rights and property taken from Loyalists during the war. -
Ratification of the Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation served as the United States' first constitution. They were adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777. But, there wer disputes over representation, voting and the western lands claimed by some states. The articles denied congress the power to collect taxes, regulate interstate commerce and enforce laws. The Articles wer officially ratified in 1783 -
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention met for the first time in the east room of Pennsylvania State House. Fifty-five delegates from 12 states attended this convention. Here, the Declaration of Independence was signed. -
Shay's Rebellion
Daniel Shay was a farmer who couldn't pay his debt. So, he got thrown in jail. Shay's Rebellion was a farmer's rebellion against unfair Government. They attacked courthouses and the arsenal. It was a wake-up call for the Congress. -
Ratification of the U.S. Constitution
The U.S. Constitution had to be approved by atleast 9 states before it could be ratified. New York and Virginia were not convinced, so, the Bill of Rights was added for Virginia. New York was convinced after articles in the newspaper. Rhode Island and North Carolina ratified after they saw the Bill of Rights. -
The Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson bought the land for $15 million from the French in The Louisiana Purchase. This land was sold by Napolean because he was afraid of losing it to Britain in the war. This way, he would get the money instead of nothing. -
Spain gives Florida to the U.S.
President James Monroe send Andrew Jackson to Georgia to end the raids. At this time, Florida was under Spain's rule. Florida was invaded with 1700 troops, Spain wanted to call Jackson for illegal invasion. But, Spain was too scared so they handed Florida over to the U.S. In return, U.S paid $15 million. -
Issue 1 (Northerners): Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state.
Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state. This upset the Northerners. They opposed this because it was above the Mississippi River and the slaves states would become a larger number and overpower the free states. A larger number meant that the slave states would have more representation in the senate and this would make it imbalanced. -
Issue 1(Southerners): The Tallmadge Amendment
The Tallmadge Amendment proposed that Missouri be admitted as a free state. This upset the Southerners and they opposed because if Congress allowed to end slavery in Missouri, They could end it in other places. If the North had more states in the senate, they could end slavery by voting it out. -
The "Trail of Tears"
President Jackson wanted the Native Americans to move west into a small "Indian Territory", so the "white" could get more land. Some groups moved to the Indian Territory willingly, but the Sac & Fox, led by a chief called Black Hawk resisted removal for 2 years. The Cherokee tribe members were dragged from their homes in Georgia and pushed west by federal troops. This terrible journey was remembered as the "Trail of Tears". -
The Indian Removal Act
President Jackson wanted the Native Americans to move west into a small "Indian Territory", so the "white" could get more land. Some groups moved to the Indian Territory willingly, but the Sac & Fox, led by a chief called Black Hawk resisted removal for 2 years. -
Texas is annexed
Most of the people in Texas were the Americans who wanted Texas to become a part of the U.S. territory. Texas was independant for 10 years. People in the south wanted another "slave state", but, people in the North disagreed to this. Some feared that this would lead to a war with Mexico. James K. Polk really wanted Texas as a part of the U.S. territory, so, Congress voted to annex Texas after he was elected. -
Oregon Treaty
After James K. Polk was elected president, he wanted all of Oregan Country to be annexed, although, he did not want to risk war with Britain. Polk decided on a treaty that divided Oregan roughly in half at the 49th parallel. This line is now the border of the U.S. and Canada. This treaty was ratified by a vote of 41 to 40. -
War with Mexico
President Polk wanted the U.S territory to be expanded as far as possible. On April 25th 1846, Mexican soldiers fired on the American Soldiers patrolling the river River Rio Grande. Congress soon declared war on Mexico. Mexico lost many men and in the end, decided to give California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico to America. In return, U.S payed Mexico $15 million. The U.S signed the Treaty of Guadalupe and Rio Grande was the new border for Texas. -
Issue 2(Northerners): The Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act stated that the issue of slavery in those territories would be decided by popular sovereignty. Both pro-slavery and anti-slavery rushed to the territories to vote. This upset the Northerners they did not want slavery to spread. -
Issue 2(Southerners): John Brown's Raid
John Brown attacked the arsenal at Harper's Ferry to get weapons for a slave rebellion. This upset the Southerners and made them fearful because tjeu thought if a slave rebellion begun, there would be a lot of bloodshed in the South. -
The Civil War
The US Civil War began in 1860-1860 and ended in 1865. It started because 11 southern states seceded from the US. They called themselves the Confederacy and the states that stayed called themselves the Union. Lincoln didn't want the states to leave. The main reason for this war was mostly because of slavery and how the south wanted it and north didn't. This war ended with a lot of deaths, that includes the assassination of Abraham Lincoln who was the President during this war.
