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Oct 12, 1492
Columbus lands in the New World
Christopher Columbus, sailing for Spain, lands in the New World and claims it for Spain. He thinks he is in the Indies, but in reality he has hit another continent unknown to Europe. -
Nov 7, 1497
John Cabot arrives in Newfoundland
John Cabot, believing he had landed in Asia, planted two flags: One for England, the country he was sailing for, and one for Venice, his hometown. Later, England claimed all of North America because of theses flags. -
Nov 7, 1519
Spanish conquistadors arrive
Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico with horses and 500 soldiers to take over the land, and in the process, defeat the Aztecs. -
Nov 7, 1534
Jacques Cartier arrives in North America
He claims North America for France, but originally was searching for a "Northwest Passage", a route through the New World to Asia, but failed. -
Sir Walter Raleigh founds Roanoke Island
Roanoke Island's first settlers were originally more interested in gold than farming, and didn't accept help from Native Americans in the area. They left when their supplies ran low. A second voyage was sent, but arrived too late to plant crops. When John White, their leader, sailed back for more supplies, England and Spain broke out in war. He didn't return for another three years. When he came back, the colony had dissapeared except for a doorpost with the word CROATOAN. -
The first settlement in New France is established by Samuel de Champlain.
Champlain sailed up the St. Lawrence River and built Quebec, a trading post that served as a base for the next 150 years for exploration and the fur trade. They made the local Huron their business partners, and traded furs. -
New Amsterdam is established by the Dutch
Peter Stuyvesant is named governor; he allowed people of all religions, cultures, and races to settle in New Amsterdam, a sanctuary for those who are not Christian and/or caucasian. -
New Amsterdam is taken over by British
At first, Peter Stuyvesant, the governor at the time, didn't want to surrender. After realizing the supreme firepower of the British, though, he forfeited New Amsterdam to the Duke of York. It was renamed New York. The Duke of York originally expected New York to be a money-maker. He created a system where he selected people to make laws and set taxes. This benefited the rich, but did not help the poor at all, as well as really lowered the desirability of settling there. -
New York receives an elected assembly, but loses it
After years of protesting, New York finally received a more democratic government. After they created laws including religious freedom, freedom of speech, and so forth, the Duke of York removed them from power and returned to the original system. -
New York regains its elected assembly
New Yorkers, under leadership of Jacob Leisler, rebelled against the unfair rules of the Duke of York, eventually leading him to grant New York the power to create new laws and set its own taxes in 1691. -
Proclamation of 1763
Settlers were forced to stay on the east side of the Appalachian mountains to avoid conflicts with the Native Americans, because the British government was low on funds and did not want to waste money on soldiers. The settlers were enraged and thought it was an act of tyranny and argued against it, but the British ignored them and increased the amount of soldiers in the colonies to 7,500. -
Stamp Act is passed
In 1765, the colonists were one of the most lightly taxed people in the British Empire at the time, and thus the British enacted the Stamp Act, which forced colonists to buy a stamp for every single paper item they used. The colonists saw this as a violation of their rights because the colonists had no representative in the Parliament and shouted, "No taxation without representation!" After months of protest and even some violence, Britain finally repealed the law, and colonists celebrated. -
Quartering Act is passed
The colonies were forced to provide a home, food and things such as salt, vinegar, and beer for British soldiers, because the British could not pay for the soldiers themselves and told the colonists to pay for their own "defenders". The colonists saw the act as a tax in disguise, and felt it was just as unfair as the Stamp Act. They were enraged and attempted to stop providing for the soldiers, but the British refused to let assemblies of the colonies meet until they obeyed the law. -
The Townshend Acts are passed
Charles Townshend convinced Parliament to put a tax on imported goods, including very popular items such as glass and paint. Colonists everywhere were outraged, and a Patriot named Samuel Adams led boycotts throughout all the colonies. Women, who did all the shopping, were a big part of this because they started only buying American-made goods, and made their own dresses and tea. After seeing the losses from the boycotts, the British repealed all the acts except the tax on tea. -
Tea Act is passed
After seeing severe profit drops in the British East India Company from the colonists boycotting British tea, Britain lowered the tea's price to below even smuggled Dutch tea and monopolized the colonies' tea trade. When the first loads of British tea arrived in American ports to unload, they were blocked from doing so. Some Sons of Liberty decided to raid the ships in Boston disguised as Native Americans, and managed to dump 90,000 pounds of tea into Boston Harbor during the Boston Tea Party. -
The Intolerable Acts
The British government was stunned at the actions of the Patriots in Boston, and passed a series of laws made to punish them. First, Boston Harbor was closed to shipping until the dumped tea was paid for. Massachusetts was also placed under strict British control. British soldiers accused of murder were tried in England, not the colonies, and finally, more soldiers were sent to enforce the laws. Colonies began to come together by making a Congress and organizing militias to fight the British. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
After finding out about weapons stores in Concord, British troops in Boston headed out to capture them. Colonists in the nearby town of Lexington were tipped off by Paul Revere, and blocked the path. After refusing to move, shots were fired, and a few colonists were killed. -
Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia
Militia had gathered around Boston. They still needed a leader, however. The Second Continental Congress decided to appoint George Washington, a skilled leader, as the new general of the Continental Army. -
The Siege of Boston
After disciplining the Continental Army, Washington learned that the army had only 36 barrels of gunpowder. He started a rumor that he had 1,800 barrels of gunpowder, and begged the colonies for the powder. He also called for artillery from Fort Ticonderoga to be brought onto the hills lining Boston. When the British troops saw these, they didn't want another bloody battle and fled the city on a ship to Canada. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill
Colonial troops made a fort on one of the two hills outside of Boston. Seeing this, British troops started marching up the hill to take the fort, as it was very strategic. They were surprised, however, when the colonists didn't fire. When the redcoats almost reached the fort, the colonists fired at point-blank range, confusing all the British. After three attacks, the colonists ran out of gunpowder and the British took the fort, but not without British losing 1,000 and colonists losing 450. -
The Olive Branch Petition and Common Sense Pamphlet
The Second Continental Congress met again, and agreed to send an "olive branch" petition to the king, kindly asking for a ceasefire. The king, however, viewed the colonists as traitors, and demanded more troops to be sent. Meanwhile, Thomas Paine, a patriot, sent out a pamphlet called "Common Sense". It convinced many colonists that Britain was an enemy, and that the colonies needed to break away. -
Declaration of Independence
After meeting again, 12 of the 13 colonies in the Continental Congress voted for a formal declaration of independence. Thomas Jefferson drafted a "Declaration of Independence". -
Articles of Confederation are ratified
The Articles of Confederation were the United States' first attempt at making a unified government. Although on paper it granted the central government some power, it turned out to not be enough to keep the people under control. In the end, it sparked Shay's Rebellion and was thrown away in favor of the new constitution. -
Shays' Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion was caused by the people's discontent over the Articles of Confederation. The government, under the Articles, could not collect taxes, and thus had to ask the states for money. The states were not always willing to give the government money; in turn, the national treasury was empty due to the debts from the war. Unhappy veterans were protesting against the government's inability to pay back their debts, forcing a convention to be held to write a new constitution. -
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia
During the Constitutional Convention, delegates from every state met in Philadelphia to create a new Constitution that would replace the Articles of Confederation. As Shays' Rebellion showed, the Articles were not very popular with the people. The new government would have to have more power, but could not have too much, in fear that the nation would turn back into an autocracy. Other issues were the representation of each state, and the population count of each state. -
US Constitution is ratified by all states
The new constitution was a major improvement over the Articles of Confederation, but required a set of 10 amendments (the Bill of Rights) to convince all the states for adoption. The Constitution divided power in the federal government into three branches (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial), which could check each other to prevent any one branch becoming too powerful. This system has been so successful that it is still in use today. -
Louisiana Purchase
After realizing the risks of losing Louisiana to Britain due to war in France, Emperor Napoleon strikes a deal with James Monroe, the representative of America sent to France to negotiate about New Orleans, to buy the entire Louisiana Territory for $7.5 million. -
Spain gives Florida to US
After attempting to ask Spain to give Florida to America through diplomacy, Andrew Jackson is sent to follow Seminole Native Americans. He goes too far and winds up killing many Spanish settlers. The US makes a treaty with Spain, agreeing that Florida will be given to the US for $5 million, and the US will adhere to Spain's claim of Texas. -
Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state
The application of Missouri as a slave state upset Northerners because it would upset the balance between slave and free states. To solve this, the Missouri Compromise was created, adding Maine as a free state to balance out the numbers. The Missouri Compromise Line was a line that prohibited slave states north of it, except Missouri, and allowed slavery south of it. -
Northerners assist fugitive slaves escape.
Southerners were angered by the northerners assisting what they considered their "property" escape. To them, the northerners were helping to "rob" the southerners of their things. -
The Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act allowed the president to make treaties with Native American tribes in the US to force them to relocate to a small territory west of the Mississippi, called Indian Territory. Although some tribes moved voluntarily, many were unhappy and resisted, and one tribe, the Sac and Fox led by Black Hawk, started a war. -
Thousands of Native Americans die on the Trail of Tears
The Native Americans living in the US were forced to relocate to Indian Territory due to the Indian Removal Act. The Cherokee, Seminole, Creek, and many other tribes were forced to follow a trail more than 2000 miles long to reach their new homes, which were much smaller compared to their homelands. Of the 15000 Cherokee that followed the trail, 4000 died from hunger, disease, and other causes. -
Texas is given to the US by Mexico
After rebelling, the original settlers of Texas under Austin were defeated at the Alamo. Then, Sam Houston surprise attacked Santa Anna's troops, making Texas independent. In 1845, ten years after the war, Texas was admitted to the US. -
Oregon Treaty
After the Spanish and Russians withdrew their claims on Oregon Territory, Britain and the US were left, agreeing at first to live in peace. After Jedediah Smith discovered a new way to Oregon, many settlers came, hoping to exploit the rich land. Finally, US President Polk won the election by convincing people that he was going to annex all of Oregon. Instead, a treaty was made to divide Oregon with Britain at the 49th parallel. -
Mexico gives control of California and New Mexico to the US
After declaring war with Mexico, Polk sends a General Kearny's army to occupy New Mexico. The Mexican army surrendered, and California was ceded to the US. Afterwards, more American soldiers went to Mexico to fight the opposition, and eventually captured the capital. The Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo was signed, and all of California, New Mexico, and other areas were given to the United States for $15 million. Finally, the Gadsden Purchase was completed and the Manifest Destiny had come true. -
The Fugitive Slave Law is passed
The northerners were upset by this law because it prevented slaves from escaping. The northerners did not want to enforce the law, because they had been helping fugitive slaves, who were free men as soon as they entered the north. The new law allowed southern slave owners to find any slave and "reclaim" them. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin is published
Uncle Tom's Cabin was an extremely controversial book when it was published. It showed the bad sides of slavery, and how slaves were treated. The South hated the book because it promoted antislavery and showed the true side of it.
