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The Pequot War (Native Americans)
An armed conflict that took place in 1637. It opposed the Pequot tribe to an alliance of the colonists of the Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut and Saybrook colonies and their indians allies from the Narragansett and Mohegan tribes.
The Treaty of Hartford put an end to the war and showed the defeat of the Pequots -
Beginning of King's Phillip War (aka Metacom's Rebellion) (Native Americans)
An armed conflict between Indian inhabitants of New England (Wampanoag, Nipmuck or Narragansett tribes) to New England colonists and their Indian allies (Mohegan and Pequot tribes) -
Exploration of the Mississippi River by René-Robert Cavalier de La Salle (Louisiana)
René-Robert Cavalier de La Salle, on the behalf of Louis XIV, king of France, explored the region of the Mississippi river, and claimed the lands. He called them Louisiana, in honor of his king. -
Treaty of Fontainebleau of 1762 (Louisiana)
In this treaty, which was a secret agreement, France ceded the western part of Louisiana (the lands on the right bank of the Mississippi) to Spain -
Treaty of Paris of 1763
This treaty put an end to the Seven Years' War, which opposed the kingdoms of Great Britain, France and Spain. This treaty marked Great Britain's victory over France and Spain. -
Proclamation Line
Imaginary frontier delimited by the British in order to forbid the American settlers to settle west of the line, in the Indian Reserve.
The line was drawn along the Appalachian Mountains. -
Beginning of the American Revolution
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1780 Resolution on Public Lands
The Thirteen original states agreed to cede their “claims” to all the Western lands, to the national government on condition that it timely dispose of the lands to create “distinct republican states with the same rights of sovereignty, freedom and independence as the other states”. -
Treaty of Paris of 1783
The United-States was officially recognized as independent.
The revolution had a lot of consequences on the American westward expansion, as the Americans were not anymore stopped by the political measures of the British government (The proclamation Line for example). -
Beginning of the Northwest Indian War
This war opposed the newly independent United States and a confederation of Native American tribes, with support from the British, for control of the Northwest Territory.
Since the Treaty of Paris (1783), the Northwest Territory was under the U.S. "control", even if it was occupied by Native American tribes.
The Tribes rebelled as they considered that area to be an Indian territory and should not be under American control. -
Land of Ordinance of 1785 (Northwest Territory)
Set of rules to administer the distribution of lands in the Northwest territory (lands between Ohio River, Mississippi River and the Great Lakes region). The Federal government (Congress of the Confederation) organized surveys of the land. Surveyors divided lands into square townships:
Each township was 6 miles on each side and then was further divided into 36 sections of one-square mile each.
The purpose of it was to obtain incomes from the sale of lands in the Northwest Territories -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
This Ordinance created a policy that would allow new states (3 to 5) of the Northwest Territory to be admitted into the union on “Equal Footing” with the original 13 states. -
St Clair's defeat (Northwest Territory)
Battle of the Northwest Indian War (1785-1795) that opposed the US army to the Western Confederacy of Native Americans. It was the largest victory ever won by Native Americans. -
Creation of the state of Kentucky
Before the 'Resolution on Public Lands', the land was claimed by the State of Virginia. On several occasions the region's residents petitioned theCongress for separation from Virginia and the creation of their own state. But, after the 1780 Resolution on Public Lands, the land was ceded by the state to Congress.
Kentucky officially became the fifteenth state in the Union on June 1, 1792.
It was first western state to rejoin the federation after the Northwest Ordinance -
Battle of Fallen Timbers (Northwest Territory)
The Battle of Fallen Timbers was the final battle of the Northwest Indian War. The American army, led by the "Mad" General Anthony Wayne defeated the Western Confederacy of Native Americans. -
Treaty of Greenville (Northwest Territory)
A treaty between the United States and Indians of the Northwest Territory, which put an end to the Northwest Indian War.
The Indians ceded (under duress) large tracts of lands thus the treaty recognized Indian land claims. It also established the Annuity system and the supplies in exchange for the lands
Plus, the Greenville Treaty Line marked the border between Indians lands and white settlers but the line was often violated by settlers. -
Tennessee rejoined the Union
Tennessee was the 16th state to rejoin the Union -
Treaty of San Ildefonso (Louisiana)
A secret treaty in which the Kingdom of Spain ceded Louisiana (from the present-day state of Louisiana to Montana) to France. In exchange, Napoleon promised Spain the creation of a Kingdom of Etruria in Italy that would be directly led by the Spanish government. -
The Louisiana Purchase Treaty
In this treaty, France agreed to cede French Louisiana (from the present-day state of Louisiana to Montana) to the United States for $15 million. -
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark begun their expedition
Lewis and Clark were commissioned by the US president Thomas Jefferson to explore and map the newly acquired territory named Louisiana. The main objectif of this expedition was to find a practical route across the western half of the continent to establish an American presence and to trade with the locals and Asia.
They left Saint-Louis in May 1804 and reached the Pacific ocean in November 1805. They were back in the East in November 1806. -
Treaty of Joint Occupation (Oregon)
This treaty, also known as the "Convention of 1818" was signed by the British and the US governments. The two countries agreed to share the control of the Oregon territory (from Northern Mexican California to the South of present-day Alaska). The US took the control of the coast and the British controlled the interior of the lands thanks to the Hudson’s Bay Company. -
Colonization Act of 1824 (California + Texas)
This law, passed by the Mexican government, allowed foreigners to settle on any vacant public land in Mexico. All immigrants were to be exempt from paying all taxes for a few years -
Gold was discovered on Cherokee lands (Georgia)
In 1829, gold was found on Cherokee lands, in the north of the state of Georgia. By the end of 1829, thousands of American men arrived in Cherokee territory in search of gold.
This important arrival of American miners was known as the Great Intrusion. -
Indian Removal Act (Georgia)
This act gave the President authority to negociate with southern Native American tribes (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, Semimole) for their removal to the federal territory west of the Mississippi River called « Indian Territory ». President Andrew Jackson was favorable to relocation as a measure of protection for the Indians against white encroachment. Plus, it was a measure to secure the US as a federal nation, as he though that Georgia might seceded if Indians were staying in the East. -
Battle of Gonzales (Texas)
The Battle of Gonzales (present-day Texas) was the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution. It was a confrontation between The Texian settlers and a detachment of Mexican army soldiers.
This confrontation, even if it was not militarily important, it marked the beginning of the Texas Revolution. -
Treaty of New Echota (Georgia)
This treaty was signed by officials of the United States government and by representatives of a minority of the Cherokee Nation. They agreed to move west of the Mississippi in exchange for $5 million.
The treaty was ratified by the U.S. Senate, but the Cherokee Nation rejected it. This rejection led to the forced removal in 1838. -
Beginning of the Alamo Battle (Texas)
This battle opposed about 200 Texans and Tejanos, entrenched in the Alamo Fort, to 1800 soldiers of the Mexican army. After a 13-day siege, the Mexicans attacked the fort and killed everyone inside, including Texan leaders William Travis, James Bowie, Davy Crockett -
Battle of San Jacinto (Texas)
This was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. The Texan Army, led by General Sam Houston, defeated the Mexican army led by the President General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
Three weeks after the fight, Santa Anna signed the peace treaty that recognized the Republic of Texas as an independent country. -
Creation of the Willamette Cattle Company (Oregon)
The aim of the creation of this company was to buy cattle in Mexican California and bring them to Oregon. This company turned Oregon into a cattle-raising territory -
The trail of Tears
The "Five Civilized tribes" were deported first to Arkansas and then to present-day Oklahoma.
This episode is known as the Trail of Tears because of the treatment received by the Indians during their deportation. Indeed, about 4000 Cherokees (out of the 18,000 who left Georgia) died during the journey. -
Manifest Destiny
The American journalist John O'Sullivan first used the term "Manisfest Destiny" to describe the divine nature of expansion to the West of the United States. -
The Republic of Texas became the 28th American state
The Republic of Texas lasted nine years, until December 29, 1845, when Texas was finally integrated into the United States, after a series of petitions.
This annexation led to the American-Mexican war. -
Thornton Affair (Texas)
Since the incorporation Texas into the Union, the United States and Mexico had been experiencing tensions, particularly on the border: the United States considered the Rio Grande as the border when Mexico thought the border was the Nueces River.
On April 25, 1846, a Mexican detachment of 2000 soldiers attacked a patrol of 70 American soldiers, who were sent in the disputed territory. 16 of them were killed. This is considered to be the first confrontation of the Mexican-American war. -
Declaration of war (Mexican-American War)
After the message of US President Polk to Congress on May 11, 1846, where he claimed that Mexico has invaded US territory, the Congress declared war on Mexico. -
Beginning of the Bear Flag Revolt (California)
On June 14, 1846, a group of 30 American settlers invaded the Mexican outpost of Sonoma, just north of San Francisco and soon declared California an independent republic.
The name of this revolt come from the flag used by the settlers. -
Oregon Treaty
This treaty was signed by the governments of the US and of the United Kingdom with the aim of settling disputes between these two over the occupation of Oregon. The Americans, led by President James K. Polk, claimed sovereignty over almost all of the territory up until 54°40' North, at the border of present-day Alaska. But as the US was already at war with Mexico, a compromise was reached and the region was divided at the 49th parallel north. South of the border, the Oregon Territory was created -
US troops invaded California
This invasion put an end to the newly Independent Republic of California, which was created on June 14, 1846. -
The wilmot Proviso (Mexican-American war)
The Wilmot Proviso was a project which would have prohibited slavery in any territory ceded by Mexico after the American-Mexican War.
The draft was first introduced in the House of Representatives on August 8, 1846. The bill passed the House but was rejected by the Senate, where the South had a greater representation. He was reintroduced in February 1847 but still did not pass to the Senate. In 1848, an attempt to incorporate it into the Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo also failed. -
Spot Resolution (Mexican-American war)
Abraham Lincoln, at that time Illinois Representative introduced this resolution to protest the U.S. war with Mexico. Like him, many Representatives disapproved the war, arguing that it was a mean to extend slavery in the United States by increasing slave-holding territory. -
Battle of Chapultepec (Mexican-American War)
The battle of Chapultepec was an engagement of the Mexican-American War. The fortified castle of Chapultepec sat on a rocky hill and was the last obstacle before Mexico City.
During this battle, five cadets of the military school of the castle refused to retreat and defended the castle to their death. This episode is reminded as "Los Niños Héroes." -
Gold was found on Sutter's Mill (California)
On January 1848, a gold nugget was discovered by James Marshall on Sutter's Mill, which was a sawmill, owned by John Sutter and located in present-day North California. This discovery trigerred the California Gold Rush. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (Mexican-American war)
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War in favor of the United States In this treaty, Mexico ceded to the United States an important territory, including present-day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Mexico also gave up all claims to Texas and recognized the Rio Grande as America’s southern boundary. -
The Compromise of 1850
This compromise was intended to maintain the balance between the representation of slave and non-slave states in the United States Senate.
In this compromise, the Senate accepted California to rejoin the Union as a free state, and in exchange, the Northern states promise to return any fugitive slaves to the Southern states.
In addition, the slave trade was suppressed in the District of Columbia, and New Mexico and Utah could decide whether to allow or forbid slavery. -
Act for the Government and Protection of Indians (California)
This act, enacted by the Californian government before the addition of the state of California to the Union, facilitated the removal of California Indians from their traditional lands and allowed white settlers to declare Indians as vagrants and to turn them into indentured servants to “protect them”.
The act was amended in 1860 -
Indian Appropriation Act of 1851 (Native americans)
The 1851 Indian Appropriations Act, passed by the US Congress, allocated funds to move western tribes onto reservations. Reservations were protected by the US government and was, according to it, created in order to protect the Native Americans from the white encroachment. -
Treaty of Fort Laramie (Native Americans)
This treaty was signed by the US government and the major Amerindian nations, such as the Sioux, the Cheyenne, the Arapaho or the Crow.
In this treaty, the Federal government guaranteed lands on Plains to each tribe, protection from white intrusion and supplies for fifty years. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of May 30, 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
It also allows immigrants settled in these territories to decide whether or not they will introduce slavery into the territories -
Division of the Oregon Territory
In 1859, Oregon (blue part of the map) became a state of the United States. The rest of the former Oregon territory became Washington territory. (green part) -
Colorado became a state of the United States
In February 1861, the Territory of Colorado was created, which included portions of the territories of Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah, and Kansas.
In 1876 the state of Colorado was created and became the 38th state to join the Union. -
Creation of the Sierra Club (California)
In 1892, in California, the Sierra Club was founded. This is an environmental association founded by John Muir to protect the Sierra Nevada; a mountain range in eastern California; against the destruction caused, at that time, by gold miners. It is the oldest non-governmental organization dedicated to protecting the environment.
