-
Period: to
Timeline
-
Declaration of Independence was adopted
The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. This act severed all ties with Great Britain. -
British Surrender at Yorktown
Washington's forces defeated Lord Charles Cornwallis' army in Yorktown, Virginia. This victory for America led to peace negotiations that ended the war and gave America its independence. -
George Washington Inaugurated
On April 30, 1789 George Washington delivered his first inaugural address to Congress in Federal Hall, New York City. This wast his first speech as president of the United States of America. -
Louisiana Purchase
The United States bought 8282,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. This land is now 13 states and France sold it to America very cheaply. -
Burning of Washington
On August 24, 1814, the British army invaded Washington DC, the capital of America. They captured the city very easily and then set many federal buildings on fire including the U.S. Capitol and the White House. -
Missouri Compromise
This compromise was an act to authorize the people in Missouri territory to form a state government and constitution, for the admission of a such state into the Union with even footing with original states, and to abolish and prohibit slavery in certain territories. This maintained a delicate balance between slave states and free states. -
Indian Removal Act
President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act into law on May 28, 1830. This authorized the president to grant lands west of the Mississippi River in exchange for Native American lands within existing state borders. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 had many parts. It included California being admitted into America as a free state and the borders of Texas were settled. The areas ceded by Texas became recognized territories of New Mexico and Utah. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
The United States Supreme Court kept slavery in United States territories and denied black citizenship being legal in America. It also declared that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. -
South Carolina Secedes
South Carolina was the first state to secede from the United States of America on December 20, 1860. President Abraham Lincoln had just been elected and the southerners feared that he would end their way of life.