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Period: Oct 1, 1000 to
Native Americans roam this vast expanse of praries, mountains, and rivers untouched by the "white man"
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John Smith discovers the New World
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First colonial treay signed with Massasoit
On March 22, the first colonial treaty with Native Americans was signed between Massasoit, Chief of the Wampanoag, and English pilgrims on behalf of King James I at Strawberry Hill, Massachusetts. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War ends with the Treaty of Paris; Louisiana is given to France. -
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The American Revolution
in 1783 Britain recognizes American independence -
The American Revolution Begins
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The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase adds to the United States territory from the Gulf of Mexico to the Northwest. The price for the purchase was $15,000,000. The agreement was signed on May 2.
The Lewis and Clark expedition begins its exploration of the West. -
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First trading post established
The North West Company establishes Spokane House, the first fur-trading post in Washington. -
The Land Act of 1820
On March 9, the Land Act of 1820 was enacted to eliminate the purchase of public land in the United States on credit, as well as reducing the minimum size of the tract from 160 to 80 acres. The act also required a down payment of $100 and reduced the price from $1.65 to $1.25 per acre for land. The act encompassed the land of the "West" located in what was then the Northwest and Missouri Territories. The act paved the way for westward expansion. -
Slavery of Native Americans
By this time, more than 20,000 Native Americans were living in virtual slavery at the California missions. -
Trail of Tears
The Hudson Bay Company establishes Fort Vancouver in what will become Washington state.
The U.S. government began moving what it called the "Five Civilized Tribes" of southeast America (Cherokee, Creek, Seminole, Choctaw, and Chickasaw) to lands west of the Mississippi River. -
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Fort Leavenworth is established in Kansas to protect travelers on the Santa Fe and Oregon trails. -
Indian Removal Act
On May 26 the Indian Removal Act is passed -
The revolver
Samuel Colt invents and begins producing the revolver. -
The Trail of Tears
On June 17, the Cherokee begin the Trail of Tears, a 1,200 mile forced march from the East to present-day Oklahoma. -
Mexican War
On May 8, the first major battle of the Mexican War was fought at Palo Alto, Texas, resulting in victory for General Zachary Taylor's forces. -
Gold and Stage Coaches
Gold is discovered in Colorado and the first non-stop stage coach from St. Louis, Missouri arrives in Los Angeles, California completing the 2,600 mile trip across the Southwest in 20 days. -
End of Pony Express
Crews working to complete a coast-to-coast telegraph line meet at Fort Bridger in Utah Territory. The first transcontinental telegram, transmitted from Sacramento to Washington, carries a message from the state's Chief Justice to President Lincoln. Completion of a transcontinental telegraph line signals the end for the Pony Express. -
Apache's Attack
Apache Chief Cochise attacks U.S. soldiers, igniting a war that last the next ten years. -
Jesse James Gang
Jesse and Frank James launch their criminal career with a bank robbery in Liberty, Missouri -
First Cattle Drive
The first cattle drive from Texas up the Chisholm Trail arrives at the rail yards of Abilene, Kansas. -
Wild Bill and Jesse James
Wild Bill Hickok is Marshall in Hays City, Kansas.
Jesse James robs first bank. -
Sioux War
The Sioux War begins, which disperses the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne. General Custer is continually outwitted by the native leaders Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, but it is a draining effort on their tribes. Native attacks become less and less frequent as Sitting Bull and others retreat into Canada. -
Double action revolver
The double action revolver is developed -
Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp begins his career as a law officer in Wichita, Kansas. -
Little Big Horn
Custer and his troops are slain at the Little Bighorn. -
Davy Crockett dies
Twenty-three-year-old David ‘Davy’ Crockett, related to the famous Crockett of the Alamo, bud a "bad guy" rather than a "good guy" is gunned down by Sheriff Rinehart and two others in the streets of Cimarron, New Mexico. -
Billy the Kid
Billy the Kid makes a name for himself as a killer in the Lincoln County War in New Mexico. -
Billy the Kid dies
Legendary outlaw Billy the Kid, charged with more than 21 murders in a brief lifetime of crime, is finally brought to justice by Sheriff Pat Garrett, who trails The Kid for more than six months before killing him with a single shot at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. -
Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt arrives in North Dakota to hunt buffalo and buys a ranch -
Butch Cassidy
Butch Cassidy is involved with his first robbery, the Telluride, Colorado bank for $10,000 -
Wounded Knee and Sitting Bull
The massacre at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, ends the Indian Wars
Sitting Bull is murdered in a confrontation at the Standing Rock Reservation -
Frontier officially closes
The U.S. Department of the Interior announces that the frontier is officially closed. -
Oil!!
"Black gold" is discovered at the Spindle-top oil field near Beaumont, Texas . -
Last Stage robbery
The last stage robbery in the nation took place in Jarbridge Canyon, one-quarter mile north of Jarbridge, Nevada.
