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Lexington and Concord
General Thomas Gage of the British sent a group of troops to Concord. Paul Revere and William Dawes formed a militia and faced the British on the village green. The Americans were forced to retreat. This was the first battle of the Revolutionary War. -
Second Continental Congress
Delegates met in Philidelphia. The congress was divided between one group of delegates, mainly from New England, who thought the colonies should declare their independence, and another group, mainly from the middle colonies, who hoped the conflict could be resolved by negotiating a new relationship with Great Britain. -
Battle at Bunker Hill
This was a true battle fought between the British and the Americans near the outskirts of Boston. A colonial militia of Massachusetts farmers fortified Breed’s Hill, which was next to Bunker Hill. The battle was named incorrectly. The British took over the hill but the Americans considered it a victory of sorts because they inflicted heavy losses on the British. -
Olive Branch Petition
The delegates voted to send an “Olive Branch Petition” to King George III, in which they pledged their loyalty and asked the king to intercede with Parliament to secure peace and the protection of colonial rights. King George III dismissed the plea and soon forbade all trade and shipping between England and the colonies. -
Common Sense
Thomas Paine wrote a pamphlet named "Common Sense" which argued strongly for what until then had been considered a radical idea. Paine’s essay argued in clear and forceful language for the colonies becoming independent states and breaking all political ties with the British monarchy. Paine argued that it was contrary to common sense for a large continent to be ruled by a small and distant island and for people to pledge allegiance to a king whose government was corrupt. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was adopted which gave America its independence from Britian. The declaration drafted by Jefferson listed specific grievances against George III’s government and also expressed the basic principles that justified revolution -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution written by the people of the United States after gaining freedom from Britian. The Articles had a very weak central government. -
Battle of Saratoga
This was an important win for the Americans. Burgoyne’s troops were attacked at Saratoga by troops commanded by American generals Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold. The British army was forced to surrender. News of the surprising American victory persuaded France to join in the war against Britain. -
Battle of Yorktown
This was the last battle of the Revolutionary War. Washington's Army with help from the French forced the British to surrender. This loss was a big blow for the Tory party. -
Treaty of Paris 1783
The Treaty of Paris made Britain recognize the United States as an independent nation. -
Shay’s Rebellion
Poor, veteran, farmers, burdened by debt stage a rebellion in Massachussets that is quickly put down but reveals the weakness of the Articles of Confederation, paving the way for a stronger centralized government. -
Northwest Ordinance 1787
The Articles of Confederation set a rule for making new states. The Northwest Ordinance granted limited self-government to the developing territory and prohibited slavery in the region. -
Constitutional Convention
Delegates from the states met in Philadelphia to talk about the problems with the government. They discussed New Jersey Plan, Virginia Plan, Great Compromise, and 3/5 Compromise. -
Judiciary Act 1789
The U.S. congress established a federal judiciary court. Article III of the Constitution established a Supreme Court, but left to Congress the authority to create lower federal courts as needed. -
Second Great Awakening
This was a Protestant movement starting in the 1790s. It lead to the formation of new Protestant denominations. People also spoke out about slavery. -
Chisholm v. Georgia
Alexander Chisholm, the executor of the estate of Robert Farquhar, attempted to sue the state of Georgia in the Supreme Court over payments due him for goods that Farquhar had supplied Georgia during the American Revolutionary War. United States Attorney General Edmund Randolph argued the case for the plaintiff before the Court. The defendant, Georgia, refused to appear, claiming that, as a "sovereign" state, it could not be sued without granting its consent to the suit. -
Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion was a protest against the taxes placed to help pay the national debt. The tax showed that the U.S. Constitution had the ability to levy taxes, but it didn't always work out well. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were about deporting aliens and their becoming of citizens, and made it a crime to talk bad of the government. Kentucky and Virginia believed that the acts were unconstitutional. -
XYZ Affair
The XYZ Affair was a diplomatic incident between French and United States diplomats that resulted in a limited, undeclared war known as the Quasi-War. -
Revolution of 1800
The Revolution of 1800 was so named by the winner of the 1800 election, Thomas Jefferson. He called this election a revolution because his party, the Republicans, peacefully and orderly received the power with nothing but acceptance by the federalists. This was how the founding fathers designed the government to be. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase is considered the greatest real estate deal in history. The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France at a price of $15 million, or approximately three cents an acre. The ratification of the Louisiana Purchase treaty by the Senate on October 20, 1803, doubled the size of the United States and opened up the continent to its westward expansion. -
Marbury v. Madison
William Marbury had been commissioned justice of the peace by President John Adams in the “midnight appointments” at the very end of his administration. When the new administration did not deliver the commission, Marbury sued James Madison.
The decision was the first by the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional and void an act passed by Congress that the Court considered in violation of the Constitution. This was known as judicial review. -
Embargo Act 1807
Law passed by Congress and signed by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807. This law stopped all trade between America and any other country. The goal was to get Britain and France, who were fighting each other at the time, to stop restricting American trade. The Act backfired, and the American people suffered. The Act was ended in 1809. -
Non-Intercourse Act 1809
In 1809, Congress repealed the Embargo Act. They passed the Non-Intercourse act, which reopened trade with all countries except England and France. -
Fletcher v. Peck
The first case in which the Supreme Court ruled a state law unconstitutional, the decision also helped create a growing precedent for the sanctity of legal contracts, and hinted that Native Americans did not hold title to their own lands. -
Macon’s Bill No. 2 1810
This forbade trade with Britain and France, but offered to resume trade with whichever nation lifted its neutral trading restrictions first. France quickly changed its policies against neutral vessels, so the U.S. resumed trade with France, but not Britain. -
War of 1812
America was angry with England and after England decided to board an American ship, they tried to hurt England by making an embargo but it hurt Americans more than it hurt the British. Thomas Jefferson decided to go to war, there were battles in Lake Erie, and the Burning of Washington, and as the British tried to take Baltimore harbor but the American troops held them off, this inspired a lawyer detained on a British ship to write the Star-Spangled Banner. -
Treaty of Ghent
Russia did not know how long Napoleon would last and they wanted to make sure Britain was not distracted and convinced them to negotiate in a city called Ghent in Belgium. Britain wanted more land for Canada, control of the Great Lakes, when they asked Britain won the battle of Bladensburg. America refused, then the US won the battles of Baltimore and Lake Champlain, and both sides signed the treaty. News traveled slowly and a group of rag-tag soldiers under Andrew Jackson defended New Orleans -
Election of 1816
This was the election between James Monroe and Rufus King. James Monroe won. This was the beginning of the Era of Good Feelings. -
Dartmouth College v. Woodward
Dealt with the application of the Contract Clause of the United States Constitution to private corporations. The case arose when the president of Dartmouth College was deposed by its trustees, leading to the New Hampshire legislature attempting to force the college to become a public institution and thereby place the ability to appoint trustees in the hands of the governor. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
The state of Maryland had attempted to impede operation of a branch of the Second Bank of the United States by imposing a tax on all notes of banks not chartered in Maryland. The case established:
The Constitution grants to Congress implied powers for implementing the Constitution's express powers, in order to create a functional national government.
State action may not impede valid constitutional exercises of power by the Federal government. -
Johnson v. McIntosh
Private citizens could not purchase lands from Native Americans. -
Gibbons v. Ogden
The Supreme Court held that the power to regulate interstate commerce was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution. The case was argued by some of America's most admired and capable attorneys at the time. -
Election of 1824
After the votes were counted in the U.S. presidential election of 1824, no candidate had received a majority of the Presidential Electoral votes, thereby putting the outcome in the hands of the House of Representatives. To the surprise of many, the House elected John Quincy Adams over rival Andrew Jackson. It was widely believed that Henry Clay, the Speaker of the House at the time, convinced Congress to elect Adams, who then made Clay his Secretary of State. -
Election of 1828
It was the official start of a new party system. Andrew Jackson started The official Democrat party system. Before him it was The Democrat-Republicans vs the Federalists. -
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. The act authorized him to negotiate with the Indians in the Southern United States for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their homelands. -
Nullification Crisis
The Nullification Crisis was a sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson created by South Carolina's 1832 Ordinance of Nullification. This ordinance declared by the power of the State that the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore null and void within the sovereign boundaries of South Carolina. -
Texas Independence
Texas got independence from Mexico when the won after a revolt. They captured Santa Anna and forced him to declare Texas as independent. Texas wanted indpendence because they wanted to be a slave state which Mexico didn't allow. -
Webster-Ashburton Treaty
In the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842, the disputed territory was split between Maine and British Canada. The treaty also settled the boundary of the Minnesota territory. -
Election of 1844
After a deadlock between Martin Van Buren and John Calhoun, the Democratic party nominated James K. Polk who won the election. -
Mexican-American War
This was the war that followed the U.S. annexation of Texas. This resulted in America winning and signing the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. -
Wilmot Proviso
This was a bill proposed by David Wilmot which forbade slavery in the new territories aquired from Mexico. It passed in House but failed in Sentate. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This treaty was signed by the Americans and Mexicans after the war. The treaty included: Mexico would recognize the Rio Grande as the southern border of Texas, and the United States would pay $15 million for New Mexico and California. -
Gadsden Purchase
Mexico sold thousands of acres of land to the United States for $10 million. -
Ostend Manifesto
This was a document that was stated the offer from the U.S. to purchase Cuba from Spain. The details were leaked which angered anti-slavery members of Congress. -
Panic of 1857
This was the first worldwide financial panic. The South was less affected than the North which gave some southerners the idea that their plantation economy was superior and that continued union with the northern economy was not needed. -
Civil War
The Confederacy goes to war with the Union over the issue of slavery and states' rights. -
Battle of Antietam
Bloodiest battle of the Civil War. There were over 23,000 casualties. Union victory but McClellan does not pursue Lee and is removed from duty. Used by Lincoln to put the Emancipation Proclamation in. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Declared that all slaves in seceded states were free. Slavery was not made illegal for everyone until the ratification of the 13th amendment. -
Conscription Act
Wealthy could pay $300 to get out or find a substitute for the Civil War. Caused issues with immigrants who didn't want to fight and couldn't pay or find replacements. -
Thirteenth Amendment
This amendment abolished slavery. -
End of the Civil War
Treaty signed between Union and Confederacy. #UNIONWINS #SUCKITMEREDITH -
Alaska Purchase
Russia sold Alaska to America for $7.2 million when they realized it was an economic burden. It took many years for Americans to realize the true value of Alaska. -
Fourteenth amendment
Black people gained the ability to acquire citizenship. -
Fifteenth Amendment
Black people gained the right to vote. -
Panic of 1873
This was a financial crisis in 1873.It raised the "money question", debtors seeking a monetary policy by continuing circulation of greenbacks. Creditors and intellectuals supported hard money. -
Bradwell v Illinois
Woman was discriminated and not given a job because she was a woman. -
Compromise of 1877
It removed all federal troops from the South and allowed Jim Crow Laws to stay in the South. -
Garfield's Assassination
The compromise between the halfbreeds and the stalwarts in the republican party did not last as Charles Guiteau (a stalwart) kills James A. Garfield (a halfbreed). -
Pendleton Act
This act that was made by Chester A. Arthur and said government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit. It created civil service exams for people applying and reformed some patronage acts during the gilded age. -
Dawes Act
This allowed the President to survey Native American tribal areas and divide the arable land into sections for the individual. By dividing reservation lands into privately-owned parcels, legislators hoped to complete the assimilation process. -
How The Other Half Lives
This was a photo story by Jacob Riis that showed the middle and upper class how the lower class lives in the slums. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
Troops went into the camp of the Lakota and starting firing upon them for no reason. They killed people, innocent or not. -
Homestead Strike
This was an industrial strike against Carnegie Steel Company. Pinkertons were called in and it resulted in 9 striker deaths and 7 Pinkerton deaths. Helped pave the way for unions and fair labor laws. -
U.S.S. Maine
The U.S.S. Maine was a battleship that was anchored at Cuba that exploded and killed 260 Americans. Yellow press accused Spain of the explosion, which was one of the causes of the Spanish-American War. -
Teller Amendment
This was an amendment that Congress passed that authorized the war with Spain. -
Spanish-American War
There were many causes of the Spanish-American War, including: the Cuban revolt, Yellow press, De Lome letter, Sinking of the Maine, and McKinley's war message. The war resulted in American victory. -
Open Door Policy
While other countries had spheres of influence in China, the United States didn't want to lose their access to the trade. John Hay sent out a letter to other countries asking that all nations should have equal trading rights in China. -
Boxer Rebellion
A secret society of Chinese nationalists attacked foreign settlements and murdered dozens of Christian missionaries. American troops marched into Beijing and crushed the rebellion of the Boxers. -
Election of 1900
President McKinley was renominated by the Republicans, and the Democrats nominated William Jennings Bryan, who didn't like American imperialism. Many people thought that taking the Philippines was an accomplishment so they sided with McKinley. -
Platt Amendment
This amendment required Cuba to agree to
1. never to sign a treaty with a foreign power that impaired its independence2. never to build up an excessive public debt3. to permit the United States to intervene in Cuba’s affairs to preserve its independence and maintain law and order4. to allow the U.S. to maintain naval bases in Cuba, including one at Guantanamo Bay -
Panama Canal
The United States needed a canal through Central America. Roosevelt wanted to build the canal but was angered by the fact that Colombia controlled Panama, so he helped the Panamanians revolt. -
Roosevelt Corollary
The United States would send gunboats to a Latin American country that was delinquent in paying its debts. U.S. sailors and marines would then occupy the country’s major ports to manage the collection of customs taxes until European debts were satisfied. -
Gentlemen’s Agreement
The Japanese government secretly agreed to restrict the emigration of Japanese workers to the United States in return for Roosevelt persuading California to repeal its discriminatory laws. -
Election of 1908
William Howard Taft ran against William Jennings Bryan and won. -
Founding of the NAACP
NAACP is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States. Its mission is “to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination”. -
Election of 1912
President Taft ran again against Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Eugene V. Debs. Roosevelt called for a New Nationalism, with more govern- ment regulation of business and unions, women’s suffrage, and more social welfare programs. Wilson pledged a New Freedom, which would limit both big business and big government, bring about reform by ending corruption, and revive competition by supporting small business. Wilson won in the end. -
Jones Act
Granted full territorial status to that country,
Guaranteed a bill of rights and universal male suffrage to Filipino citizens
Promised Philippine independence as soon as a stable government was established. -
First Red Scare
It came in the wake of World War I and the Bolshevik revolution. It showed an excessive fear leading to violations of individual rights. It was remembered during the McCarthy era as a precursor. -
Red Summer
Red Summer describes the race riots that occurred in more than three dozen cities in the United States during the summer and early autumn of 1919. In most instances, whites attacked African Americans. In some cases groups of blacks fought back. -
Election of 1932
This was the election between Franklin D. Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover. Roosevelt won. Hoover was seen by many as the reason that the country was in such a bad state as it was. -
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs enacted in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They involved presidential executive orders or laws passed by Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were in response to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call the "3 Rs": Relief, Recovery, and Reform. -
Attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan were conducted by the United States during the final stages of World War II in 1945. These two events represent the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a policy set forth by the U.S. President Harry Truman in a speech on March 12, 1947 stating that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere. Historians often consider it as the start of the Cold War, and the start of the containment policy to stop Soviet expansion. -
Creation of NATO
NATO is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. -
Fall of China to Communism
By the end of 1949, all of mainland China had fallen to the Communist forces. The only refuge for Chiang and the Nationalists was the island once under Japanese rule, Formosa -
Korean War
The Korean War was a war between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It was primarily the result of the political division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II. -
Election of 1952
The 1952 election was one that the Republicans felt strongly about winning, and with Eisenhower as their candidate it would be possible. In the 1952 election, Eisenhower said he would get the U.S. out of Korea, and would clean up the government especially on the tails of the bribery issues uncovered among the Truman appointees. -
Second Bank of United States
The Second BUS served as the nation's federally authorized central bank during its 20-year charter from February 1817 to January 1836. -
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement in the black community that put an emphasis on the arts, such as jazz and poetry. Also known as the “New Negro Movement” some key contributors were Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, and Jelly Roll Morton
