Title: American History Timeline (Colonial Period to Civil War)

  • Declaration of Independence

    The Declaration of Independence, formally titled The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America in the engrossed version and original printing, is the founding document of the United States.
  • U.S. Constitution Ratified

    The US Constitution was ratified on June 21, 1788, when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify, making it the official framework for the government of the United States
  • Louisiana Purchase

    a land deal in 1803 where the United States purchased 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River from France for $15 million,
  • War of 1812 Begins

    Conflict between the U.S. and Britain over trade restrictions and British support for Native American attacks.
  • Missouri Compromise

    An agreement to maintain the balance of free and slave states by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.
  • Trail of Tears

    Forced removal of Native Americans from southeastern U.S. to west of the Mississippi River, resulting in thousands of deaths.
  • Mexican-American War Ends

    Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the war and gives the U.S. vast southwestern territory.
  • Compromise of 1850

    A package of laws passed to defuse tensions between slave and free states after the Mexican-American War.
  • Kansas-Nebraska Act

    Repealed the Missouri Compromise by allowing new territories to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty
  • Civil War Begins

    Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter, officially starting the American Civil War.