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The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre started when a small group of Bostonians threw snowballs at British Soldiers. The soldiers were ordered NOT to fire, but it was misunderstood and the soldiers started firing. Five citizens were killed. When the incident leaked to the press parts where left out which caused further hatred of the Britain. -
Boston Tea Party
As an attempt to reimburse funds from the expensive French and American war, Britain put a tax on tea. This made many people furious. When three tea ships docked in Boston, a group of 'Indian' rebels went onto the ships and dumped all the tea into the harbor. That showed Great Britain that they would not put up with their unfair taxation. -
Revolutionary War begins
Many American were becoming fed up with British laws. The First Continental Congress met to try and resolove these issues. Americans were very anxious. A letter sent to King George by the First Continental Congress sparked war. This is the most important war for the United States because it ends up freeing our country from Great Britain rule. -
Post office estabslished
With no televisions or radios, newpapers and letters were of the few ways to communicate and get news to citizens. When people became frustraded with their current 'system' the post office was established by congress. Today the post office's importance is decreasing but is still something great to have. Whether you are getting bills or a Christmas card from Grandma the post office is a very important part of daily life. -
Flag is adopted
The first U.S. flag was made by Betsy Ross. The original design of the stars was to have a six point star but that was changed to a five point star. There were originally 13 stars and 13 stripes to accomedate the 13 original colonies. Another star was added for every state and now 50 stars and 13 stripes are on the American flag. A flag is a very important representation for every state or country. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was a major turning point in the Revolutionary War. The British surrenedered to the United States on October 17,1777. This battle is also considered one of the top 15 battles in U.S. history. -
The Treary of Paris was signed
The Treaty of Paris was the official ending of the Revolutionary War. This marked the United States's freedom from Great Britain. -
Rhode Island becomes a state
Rhode Island was the 13th state. It was the last state to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Rhode Island was also the first state (colony) to guarantee its citizens freedom of worship. Rhode Island is an important manufacturing state, especially during the Civil War. -
First Census
This was the first actually counting of all the popular of the U.S. This census included slaves. It's important to our history because a census is a big part of our country today. The census is used to determine how many representatives a state gets and to help distrubite public funds. -
Steamboat is patented
Many different steamboat designs were similar which had inventers fighting over whose idea it was. Nevertheless, the steamboat was a very important invention to transport things along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers as well as between continents. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights helped stabilize fears held by the people of the United States that the government would become too powerful. This document holds many freedoms not mentioned in the Constitution. Freedoms such as the freedom or speech, the right to bear arms, and women being able to vote are all things in the Bill of Rights that greatly effect us today. -
The cotton gin was patented
The cotton gin was a machine invented by Eli Whitney that allowed cotton fibers to be separated from the seeds. This invention made cotton a very profitable buisness. Many think this invention decreased the number of slaves, but the oposite is actually true. More slaves were needed to plant and pick cotton. The cotton gin was important because it helped spark the U.S.'s cotton industry. -
Ohio becomes a state
Ohio was the 17th state to enter the U.S. Besides the fact that you and I live here, Ohio is an important state because it is considered a 'swing' state for elections, it also became a major industrial state after the civil war. -
Louisianna Purchase
Thomas Jefferson purchased land from France. This land included all or part of 15 different states. This purchase was important because it was a little less than a third of the U.S. and it led to other purchases. -
Lewis and Clark set out
A select group of U.S. army volunteers were selected by Jefferson to explore the new land that had just been purchased. They were ordered to explore and map the area, find an easy way to travel to the western part of the U.S. (river), study plants and animals, and trade with local indian tribes. This was very important because it was the only way Americans could figure out what was in that land and if it was a good purchase. -
US Slave trade with Africa ends
No new slaves were to be imported to the U.S. This took effect in 1808. This was a major step towards freeing all slaves and having a completely free nation like we do today. -
War of 1812 starts
The war of 1812 was between Great Britain and the U.S. The was started because Britain was trying to restrict U.S. trade, the impressment of U.S. sailors, and the U.S. desire to expand territory. The was was won by the U.S., but it left many issues unanswer. It did however, foster new patriotism in the U.S. -
The White House is burned down
The British army set fire to the White House during the War of 1812 to get back at us for our attack on the city of York in Canada.The building as reconstructed in 1817. -
Jackson Purchase
Kentucky and western Tennessee. It usually only refers to the Kentucky part of the purchase, though. President Andrew Jackson purchased this land from the Chickasaw Indians. I could not find an official month or day of the purchase -
The Missouri Compromise
Tensions began to rise between slavery and anti-slavery states within the U.S. They reached a boiling point after Missouri’s request to join the U.S. as a slave state, which threatened to upset the balance between free and slave states. To keep the peace, Congress made Missouri a slave state and Maine a free state. It also passed an amendment that drew an imaginary line across the former Louisiana Territory creating a boundary between free and slave states. -
Erie Canal
It was very costly to transport good throughout New York so the Erie Canal was built. Work began on the canal in 1823. The canal stretched from Buffalo (a point on Lake Erie) to Albany (a point on the Hudson river.) This canal made it a lot cheaper to transport goods. Today, the canal is mostly used for recreational purposes, but could still be used to transport goods. -
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses used by black slaves to escape to free states. The 'railroad' wasn't really a railroad or underground. This was a very hard journey for slaves, but it was worth it. This was a big step to the freeing of many slaves. 30,000 to 100,000 slaves escaped on these routes. The date is approximate.. Just a time when usage was high -
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the U.S. that caused a major recession that lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices and wages went down while unemployment went up.It was caused due to a period of economic expansion from mid-1834 to mid-1836. -
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was a name given to the forced removal of many Native Americans in the southern U.S, It was a very harsh journey and many Indians died on it. 2,500-6,000 deaths were estimated. This was important back then because many southern plantation owners wanted to use this land to plant resources such as cotton. -
Telegraph first used
Samuel Morse developed the first successful electric telegraph. He created a code that transmitted over wires and wasmdeciphered by a clerk on the other end. The invention sped up communications and spread across the country. Eventually, with the ideas of the telegraph the telephone was invented.
