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Mar 3, 1540
Hernando de Soto Explores Georiga
Hernando de Soto marched with 600 men from Tampa, FL, into southwest Georgia, or Albany. He and his men were in search of gold. They defeated many Native Americans with their weaponry, attack dogs, and diseases. Later, they set up missions on Georgia's barrier islands to convert natives to Roman Catholism. The army marched into South Carolina without their gold and without half of their men including de Soto who had died in Georgia. -
Aug 10, 1566
Spanish Missions on Barrier Islands
In 1566, Spain carried out an expedition to St. Catherine's island, a barrier island on the coast of Georgia. They set up missions, here and on the other barrier islands to convert the natives to Roman Catholism. -
Virginia Colony Established
The King of England granted permission to the Virginia Company to colonize Virginia. The explorers landed in Virginia and created England's first permanent American colony: Jamestown. -
Massachusetts Colony Founded
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was a British colony on the east coast, one of the thirteen colonies. This colony was founded by the Massachusetts Bay Company. The population was mainly Puritan, and the economy was overall pretty successful. -
Fort King George Built to Protect the Southern Colonies from Invasion by the Spanish
Fort King George was built at the mouth of the Altamaha River to protect the colonies from Spanish invasion. Although this fort was later abandoned due to issues with the natives in the area, the fort still served to establish the presence of the British in Georgia. -
Georgia Colony Founded with Charter of 1732, Beginning the Trustee Period
James Ogelthorpe was a wealthy and influential member of British Parliament who had a friend in jail for debts. This friend, Castell, died of smallpox, and Ogelthorpe then started to believe that debters and prisoners should be treated better. He went to King George the Second, and the king granted him and his men the Charter of 1732 which stated that Ogelthorpe and twenty other men, the Trustees would oversee the Georgia colony, but would still have to abide to most of the king's rules. -
War of Jenkins' Ear
The War of Jenkins Ear was fought between the Spanish and the British over land disputes of the area between South Carolina and Florida. The war was also fought over oversea sabotage and lasted over two centuries. The war is given its name because of British captain Robert Jenkins, whose ear was cut off by a Spanish pirate. He presented his ear to the King and Britain was furious. -
Battle of Bloody Marsh
The Battle of Bloody Marsh was the only real Spanish invasion attempt of Georgia during the War of Jenkins Ear. Ogelthorpe however, saw the ships coming and prepared his men on a bluff at St. Simons island. There were over 4,000 Spanish troops, but the British ultimately stopped the Spanish with the help of the Highland Scots. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War, otherwise known as the Seven Year War, was fought between the French and the British during the colonization period over the land in the Ohio River Valley. France had a stonger army, but Britain had a better navy. The battles began when the French built forts in the valley. The Virginia governor, after hearing the complaints of the people, sent General George Washington with soldiers to Fort Necessity to drive them out of the area. The British won the war. -
Stamp Act
The Stamp Act was a tax placed on newspapers, legal documents, and licenses. This act was repealed because of boycotts. Georgia was the only colony that actually sold stamps. -
Townshend Acts
The Townshend Acts were import taxes on tea, paper, glass, and paint. Noble Wimberly Jones was a speaker for the Georgia Assembly and led the Townshend Acts. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a shooting in Boston Square begun by a group of colonist protestors one evening. They were throwing snowballs and sticks and taunting the British soldiers that came to disperse them. Then, amidst the confusion, one of the British soldiers fired a shot and the protestors which led to more shooting. Several were killed and many were injured. The colonists used this event as propoganda to boost the anti-British cause. -
Boston Tea Party
Hundreds of members of the Liberty Boys dressed as Indians and threw thousands of tea into the Boston Harbor. This was a result of the tea tariffs and was the direct cause of the Intolerable Acts. -
Intolerable Acts
The Intolerable Acts were put into place by the British after the Boston Tea Party. They included closing the Boston Harbor and cancelling the Massachusetts Charter. In addition, British officials accused of crimes in Massachusetts were tried in Great Britain and the king passed the Quartering Act, which forced the colonists to house and provide for British soldiers. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first battles fought in the Revolutionary War. They marked the beginning of the conflict between Great Britain and the thirteen colonies. The Americans ultimately won this battle. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was the official document that declared that the colonies wanted to break apart from Great Britain. Three people from Georgia signed this: Lymann Hall, Button Gwinnett, and George Walton. -
Battle of Kettle Creek
The Battle of Kettle Creek took place in Washington, Georgia. Elijah Clarke led the Georgia militia against 800 British soldiers in a time of low morale. They defeated the British and were able to replenish their stash of weaponry and horses. This battle boosted the people's morale. -
Siege of Savannah
The Siege of Savannah was a battle in the Revolutionary War during which the French and American forces allied to take back Savannah from the British. The American and French forces lost however, and the British continued their reign over Savannah for another 3 and 1/2 years. This was the first time international lives were lost for American independence. -
Articles of Confederation(Too Much Power tp States)
The Articles of Confederation were the first try at government for the newly freed colonies. It was originally created by the Continental Congress in 1776, but was fully ratified in 1781. These articles had many weaknesses. There was no national executive, no national court system to interpret laws, any changes to the articles had to be approved fully, no power to collect taxes which left them broke, no power to raise a national army, no power to create a single currency, & was hard to changelaw -
Battle of Yorktown(Virginia)
At the Battle of Yorktown, General George Washington led a force of 17,000 Continental and French troops against 9,000 British soldiers in Virginia led by General Charles Cornwallis. The Patriots won and this was the last battle in the Revolutionary War. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris formally ended the Revolutionary War between the colonies and Great Britain. This document was signed in Paris because it was neutral territory. The Treaty of Paris granted the colonies thier independence from Great Britain. -
Shay's Rebellion
It was begun by a man named Daniel Shay. He was a veteran from the Revolutionary War, but when he went back to his farm, there were high property taxes. He didn't believe he should have to pay them, so Congress took his farm. Other farmers followed his example and the movement spread across the states. Shay led a group of protestors to shut down local court houses. Without the power to build a strong army, there was no way to stop them, and without a court, the farmers could not complain peacefu -
Ratification of the U.S. Constitution
Instead of simply revising the Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Convention decided to begin an entirely new system altogether. The men that were part of this process struggled for a long period of time to devise a government system devoid of tyranny; one in which everyone was equal. The system that they came up with, although edited since the time, is generally the same government the U.S. has today. -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney. It made picking the seeds out of the cotton easier. The machine basically consisted of needlesthat could cut through the fabric, filter out the seeds, and leave only the fibers. However, this led to more demand for cotton since it was easier to produce and therefore slavery grew vastly. This invention was an indirect cause of the civil war. -
Yazoo Land Fraud
The Yazzo River is a river that runs into the Mississippi river. The Yazoo Land Company is named after this river because they land they dealt with was located in this area. The company went to the Georgia Gerneral Assembly with a bill that would allow them to sell land that did not belong to them. Because of bribery, this bill was passed into a law. When they were discovered they burned the records. In compensation, the govt paid for or let them keep the land. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise occurred when Missouri wanted to join the United States. However, there were laws in place tha required there to be an equal amount of free states and slave states so that all states got equal representation. If Missouri joined, there would be one more slave state than free. To even it out, the top half of Massachusetts, or Maine, joined at the same time as a free state so that there was a balance. -
Dahlonega Gold Rush
The white men in Georgia discovered gold in Dahlonega, land that belonged to the Cherokee at the time. Benjamin Parks was given credit for this discovery. However, this increased the pressure on the Cherokee to move out of the Georgia now that they were "hording" something of value. The Cherokee were treated even worse than before. -
Indian Removal Act
Andrew Jackson, the president of the U.S. at the time, signed this bill into law against the beliefs of several of his co-workers. He signed it because he knew that the majority of the white voters were in favor of having the Indians removed to the land west. These native americans were driven to the point of desperation; their rights were taken from them and they were abused and even killed. This caused them to give up and move. Those who didn't move were forcibly removed by U.S. soldiers. -
Nullification Crisis
The nullification crisis occured when the some states wanted the power to nullify, or disregard certain federal laws that had been made. A specific example of this is South Carolina. There was a tariff on cotton that they felt interfered with their bussiness. Therefore, the nullified it. They even threatened to secede. However, Andrew Jackson threatened to sent in troops if South Carolina seceded, so they didn't. -
Compromise of 1850
After the Mexican- American War, there were conflicts over slavery in the new land gained. These were settled by the compromise. California was admitted as a free state while Utah and New Mexico were allowed slavery. They could choose by popular vote. This settled a dispute over the Texas- New Mexico boundary which ended the slavetrade in Washington D.C. However, this made it easier for southerners to regain fugitive slaves. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
This Kansas Nebraska act was a bill that allowed popluar soveirnty, which meant that the people in a territory would be able to decided whether or not slavery was permitted in their state. Conflicts arose over this issue and this also led to the Civil War. -
Dred Scott Case
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in this case that slave owners could bring and own slaves in the west. Dred Scott was a slave. The Supreme Court was in favor of slave states. -
Lincoln Elected
B/c of this, southern states decided to secede. -
Election of 1860
This was a presidential election in which Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the U.S. as well as the first Republican one. By the time of his inaugaration, 7 states had already seceded, forming the Confederation. -
Anaconda Plan
Norther plan to block all of South's waterways to prevent them from trading with other countries essentially "strangling" them like an anaconda. -
Battle of Antietam
Single bloodiest day of war.
Ended as tie.
Excuse to issue Emancipation Proclamation. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Freed all slaves in states fighting against the US.
Issued after supposed Union "victory" not really at Antietam. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Union victory.
Unsuccessful invasion of North by Robert E. Lee.
"Turning point" of war. -
Battle of Chickamauga
Confederate victory. -
Sherman's March to Sea
Atlanta to the Sea.
Total war. -
13th Amendment
Freed the slaves.
Was the wordiest b/c of disagreements. -
14th Amendment
Equal protection of the law for all citizens of the US. -
15th Amendment
Gave all citizens the right to vote.
