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Period: 1436 to May 20, 1506
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was one of the first explorers of the Americas and was one of the men who started European countries to start trying to claim land in the Americas. -
1492
Christopher Columbus Lands in America
Christopher Columbus landed in what is now the Bahamas. He would go onto to be known as the first man to discover the Americas. -
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Mercantilism
A economic system that let Britain profit off of the colonies and maximized trade. -
Jamestown
The first English settlement in the Americas. Was located on the coast of Virginia. -
Navigation Act of 1651
An act that required all trade between American Colonists and England to happen on English vessels. -
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The Enlightenment
A philosophical movement in European politics that stressed the importance of voting and equal rights. This was a catalyst for modern day democracy. -
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Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was not only a very important founding father but was also a scientist, inventor and important author. -
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Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was a founding father who helped write the Declaration of Independence and was the Third president of the United States. -
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French and Indian War
A war that lasted for 7 years between Britain and France because of both countries interest in colonizing North America. Both England and France had Native American allies in the war. -
Proclamation of 1763
A proclamation issued by King George the Third that stopped any colonist from making settlements West of the Appalachian Mountains in order to improve relations between Native Americans and Britain. -
The Stamp Act
A act the parliament issued that taxed the American colonists on stamps. This was a catalyst for the revolution -
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Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was 7th president of the United States who was really the first president who listened to the people and their wants. -
Boston Masacre
After being provoked, British soldiers fired on a crowd of people, killing 5. Many revolutionist used this event as away to raise support from the American colonist. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of men named the Sons of Liberty, lead by Samuel Adams, dumped around 46 tons of tea in the Boston Harbor to protest the high taxes on Tea. -
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American Revolution
The war that American colonists fought to get their freedom from England. Lead by General Washington, a man who would later become the first president, the U.S. won their independence from England. -
Declaration of Independence
The document that severed the 13 American Colonies from the political power of England. -
United States Consitution Signed
On this day, the Constitution was signed. The Constitution is the document that protects all citizens and gives them their rights. -
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Westward Expanision
The westward movement of the United States across America. Westward expansion is what gave the U.S. almost all of it's Western territories. -
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Manifest Destiny
The belief that the U.S. had a god given right to move Westward and take over all of North America. This belief fueled Westward Expansion. -
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Jacksonian Democracy
Named after president Andrew Jackson, Jacksonian Democracy stresses the voice of the little man and the rights of all people no matter their economic class. -
Louisiana Purchase
The U.S. desperately wanted the rights to New Orleans which at the time was under the control of the French. The land the French controlled had recently became useless to them so they sold most of what is the Mid-West now to the U.S. for $15 million dollars. -
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Lewis and Clark Expedition
After the Louisiana Expedition, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned an expedition to find out more about their newly acquired land. Lead by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the expedition lasted 2 years, 4 months and 10 days. -
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Abraham Lincoln
The first president who attempted to free slaves and publically believed that slavery was wrong. He was the president during the civil war and wrote the Emancipation Proclamation. -
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Frederick Douglas
An abolitionist leader who was a escaped slave. Despite being a slave Douglas knew how to read and write and used this to help free slaves. -
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The Era of Reform
The movement in the Antebellum period that focused on the issues and hypocrisy of slavery and called for change -
Election of 1828
Democratic candidate Andrew Jackson won the election of 1828 over John Quincy Adams. Jackson is famous for being the first president who listened to the voices of all people. -
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The Abolitionist Movement
The movement that fought for civil rights and the immediate emancipation of all slaves. -
Indian Removal Act
Signed by President Andrew Jackson, the Indian Removal Act forced all Native American tribes to move out West. Many Indians died on this journey out West. -
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Mexican American War
A war between Mexico and America fought for land and the ownership of states like Texas and California. -
Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott decision was a court case that made it's way to Supreme Court. The court was around a man named Dred Scott, a slave. He had traveled to Illinois, a free state, with his owner. His case was based around a old court saying, "once free, always free", Scott saying that because he had been to a free state and lived free he shouldn't be not free in another state. He eventually lost because there was no real law that said this, it was only a saying. -
Election of 1860
President Abraham Lincoln was elected after democratic candidates failed to find somebody who they could fail to rally behind. The election of 1860 was a catalyst for the South seceding from the North. -
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Civil War
A war fought between the Northern and Southern states of America that ended slavery.