-
Jamestown being Founded
English colonists founded one of the first permanent colonies. -
The Starving Times
The Starving Time refers to the winter of 1609–1610 when about three-quarters of the English colonists in Virginia died of starvation or starvation-related diseases. -
Pocahontas Marries John Ralfe
On April 5, 1614, Pocahontas and John Rolfe married with the blessing of Chief Powhatan and the governor of Virginia. Their marriage brought peace between the English colonists and the Powhatans, and in 1615 Pocahontas gave birth to their first child, Thomas. In 1616, the couple sailed to England. -
First Slaves Brought to Colonies
In late August, 1619, 20-30 enslaved Africans landed at Point Comfort, today's Fort Monroe in Hampton, Va., aboard the English privateer ship White Lion. -
Mayflower Compact / Pilgrims Arrive
The Pilgrims arrive in New England and before leaving the Mayflower, they all sign an agreement that forms the basis of the colony's government. -
Creation of the House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly in America, meets for the first time in Virginia. -
Mercantilism
Mercantilism was based on the idea that a nation's wealth and power were best served by increasing exports and reducing imports. -
King Phillips War
The first time colonists handled an altercation without Great Britain's help -
Bacon's Rebellion
Nathaniel Bacon revolted after wanting more land for his small farm and led to more slavery in the colonies. -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Thirty people were found guilty, 19 of whom were executed by hanging. -
French and Indian War
In 1754, the French and Indian War began. This war was fought between British colonies in North America and the French colonies as well as their allies -
The Stamp Act
An act of the British Parliament in 1765 that exacted revenue from the American colonies by imposing a stamp duty on newspapers and legal and commercial documents. Colonial opposition led to the act's repeal in 1766 and helped encourage the revolutionary movement against the Crown. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a confrontation in Boston on March 5, 1770, in which nine British soldiers shot several of a crowd of three or four hundred who were harassing them verbally and throwing various projectiles. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was an American political and mercantile protest on December 16, 1773 by the Sons of Liberty in Boston in colonial Massachusetts. -
The Articles of Confederation
This was a document that established the earliest form of the U.S. government and was the predecessor of the U.S. Constitution. It gave very little power to a national government, but many viewed it as simply a temporary solution until they could face the larger issues of federal authority and western land claims. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence, headed The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, is the founding document of the United States. It was adopted on July 4, 1776, by the Second Continental Congress meeting at the Pennsylvania State House, later renamed Independence Hall, in Philadelphia. -
Shay's Rebellion
A violent insurrection in the Massachusetts countryside during 1786 and 1787, Shays' Rebellion was brought about by a monetary debt crisis at the end of the American Revolutionary War. Although Massachusetts was the focal point of the crisis, other states experienced similar economic hardships. -
US Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the national frame and constraints of government. -
George Washington Elected as Presdient
Unanimously elected twice, President Washington established many crucial presidential precedents. George Washington helped shape the office's future role and powers, as well as set both formal and informal precedents for future presidents. -
Cotton Gin is Invented
The cotton gin is the machine used to pull cotton fibers from the seed which was invented by Eli Whitney in 1793. It increased the employment of slavery in plantations. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase encompassed 530,000,000 acres of territory in North America that the United States purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition was a federally funded venture to explore the North American West. The expedition's principal objective was to survey the Missouri and Columbia rivers, locating routes that would connect the continental interior to the Pacific Ocean. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and Great Britain, primarily over the impressment of American sailors by the British Navy, as well as disagreements over trade, western expansion, and Native American policy. The war ended inconclusively after three years of fighting. -
Treaty of Ghent
A meeting in Belgium of American delegates and British commissioners ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1814. Great Britain agreed to relinquish claims to the Northwest Territory, and both countries pledged to work toward ending the slave trade. -
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830, authorizing the president to grant unsettled lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. A few tribes went peacefully, but many resisted the relocation policy. -
Annexation of Texas into the US
The Republic of Texas was annexed into the US, becoming the 28th state. -
Dred Scott Decision
Missouri's Dred Scott Case, 1846-1857. In its 1857 decision that stunned the nation, the United States Supreme Court upheld slavery in United States territories, denied the legality of black citizenship in America, and declared the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This treaty, signed on February 2, 1848, ended the war between the United States and Mexico. By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including the present-day states California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
Lincoln's Assassination
The murderous attack on Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on the evening of April 14, 1865. Lincoln died the next morning, shot in the head by Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth.