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10,000 BCE
First Americans Enter North America
The First Americans to enter North America were Asians, and they began in southern China, went up the east coast, went through northern China, and went through Russia. Eventually they migrated through Canada and to what is now the United States. They got to Alaska and crossed more through North America by taking the land bridge which is today known as the Aleutian Islands that are separated. These were the first people to ever enter North America and populate it. -
1451
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 and died on May 20, 1506. He "discovered" the New World in 1492. He also enslaved and killed many Native Americans, such as the Tainos. -
1492
Christopher Columbus Lands
In 1492, Christopher Columbus "discovered" the New World. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella helped support Columbus on his journey that got him to the Americas. Columbus was the head of four expeditions to the New World. These expeditions were the beginning of conquering land on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and colonization. -
Period: 1500 to
Mercantilism
Mercantilism is when merchants would sell their raw resources to England, and England would make the finished product and sell it back to the merchants for a higher price. The purpose is for England to be able to control all the imports and exports and make money. This is related to the Navigation Act of 1651 that act made it so everything had to be done under the supervision of England, like how mercantilism mainly surrounds England and its power. -
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Jamestown
In December of 1606, the journey to Virginia began. In 1607, English men and boys arrived in North America, and on May 13, 1607, they picked Jamestown as the place for their settlement. This was the first permanent settlement in North America. -
Navigation Act of 1651
The purpose of the Navigation Act of 1651 was to make sure that Britain controlled trade with all of the colonies. Products had to be transported on British ships, the ships had to have British sailors, and the ships were required to go to only British ports. The colonists were not pleased this act because gave them fewer opportunities to make more money since they could not trade with other countries. This Act resulted in the Anglo-Dutch War/First Dutch War in 1652. -
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The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was when European politics, philosophy, science, and communications were completely remade. Enlightenment thinkers were skeptical. Ideas were based on reason as the main source of authority and legitimacy. The American Revolution was inspired by the Enlightenment ideals. -
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was considered to be a national hero because he lead an effort in London, England to get the Parliament of Great Britain abolish the Stamp Act. Franklin is one of the country's Founding Fathers because he helped write the Declaration of Independence. He was also very intelligent. -
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French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was a war between the North Americans and Great Britain which is most known as the Seven Years' War. The result of the war was the Treaty of Paris in 1763. -
Proclamation of 1763
At the end of the French and Indian War, Britain create the Proclamation of 1763 which separated the Native Americans and the English colonists. The proclamation line was along the Appalachian Mountains. -
Stamp Act
The French and Indian War left the British government with a large amount of debt. To pay this off, they came up with the Stamp Act. For every piece of paper a colonist used, they needed to buy a stamp, and this applied to all types of paper. This angered the colonists, and they said it wasn't fair because they had no representation. Eventually, the Parliament revoked the Stamp Act, but the Quartering Act was soon put into place. This only caused even more anger from both sides. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a fight between a group of patriots and a group of British soldiers. It is unclear who fired the first shot, but multiple colonists were killed. This event joined colonists against Britain, and this would lead to the Revolutionary War. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was caused by the Tea Act which was created by the Parliament of Great Britain. The Boston Tea Party was when three British ships were attacked by Boston colonists (Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty) who were impersonating Indians, and the colonists threw 342 chests of tea off the ship as a form of protest against the taxes put on tea. -
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American Revolution
The Stamp Act, the Tea Act, and the Boston Massacre were part of the lead up to the Revolutionary War. The war officially began on April 19, 1775 when the Battles of Lexington and Concord took place. In the battles, 49 colonists were killed, 39 were wounded, and 73 British were killed, and 174 were wounded. Due to the American Revolution the colonists gained there independence from Great Britain. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was drafted from June to July of 1776. The main purpose of it was to explain why the colonies decided the separate themselves from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was made after the Revolutionary War had already started. There were 56 people who signed the document. -
United States Constitution Signed
39 delegates signed the Constitution. It was signed in Philadelphia, the same location where the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Constitution established the national government, set the foundational laws, and gave specific basic rights to its citizens. -
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George Washington
George Washington was the first president of the United States, and he lead the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War. Washington was a major military and political leader. -
Dred Scott
Dred Scott was a slave who filed for his freedom in 1846 because he was moved to a free state at one point and moved back to a slave state, but he thought he should be free because of the "once free, always free" belief. The case was open for 11 years until the Supreme Court finally made a decision on March 6, 1857 and ruled against him. The ruling infuriated abolitionists and increased the tension between the North and South. -
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Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 and died on July 4, 1826. He was a Founding Father, and he was the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson was also the third president of the United States, and his term lasted exactly eight years. Jefferson was America's first secretary of state, second Vice President, and third president. -
Louisiana Purchase
The United States bought 828,000,000 square miles of land from France/ Napoleon Bonaparte. This purchase practically doubled the size of the United States.The president of the United States at this time was Thomas Jefferson. -
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Westward Expansion
During this time, the U.S. almost tripled in size. In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase occurred which allowed the U.S. to gain an immense amount of land. -
Lewis and Clark
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were the two men who led the journey known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Lewis was a field scientist and a member of the state militia along with many other things. Clark was a soldier and territorial governor. These two men made U.S. history when they explored uncharted territory for the first time. -
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Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition was when two men named Meriwether Lewis and William Clark traveled across the western part of the country to try and find a waterway that led to the Pacific Ocean. During this journey, Lewis and Clark started new relationships with the Native Americans. This expedition was over 8,000 miles long and lasted over two years. -
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Manifest Destiny
The belief that it is a God-given right for the United States to expand West. The United States used this as justification for the Westward Expansion that began in 1803 and lasted through to 1853. -
Frederick Douglass
Douglass was an abolitionist leader. In 1845, he wrote an autobiography titled, "Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave" which became a bestseller. Douglass was very important when it came to the formation of Civil War black soldiers. This resulted in the freedom of all the slaves held in the Confederacy. -
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Jacksonian Democracy
Jacksonian Democracy was when President Andrew Jackson actually heard and represented the common people, not just the rich. However, he was accused of overstepping the power of the presidency. -
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Election of 1828
In 1821, the Massachusetts voting laws were changed so 21+ white males who paid taxes could vote, so more people from that state would be able to vote. John Quincy Adams', the opponent of Andrew Jackson, home state was Massachusetts. Due to this election, Andrew Jackson became the 7th president who was a great leader but also very controversial. He created the movement of Jacksonian Democracy and was president during the Indian Removal Act. -
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Andrew Jackson
He was the president who created the Indian Removal Act of 1830, and with this he thought he was being the protector of Native Americans. Before he was the 7th president, Jackson was more known for being a general in the United States Army and for serving in both houses of Congress. -
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Era of Reform
Women were a major part of multiple reform movements in the 1800s and early 1900s. There were reform movements in American society regarding slavery abolition, education, prison, women's rights, African Americans, and temperance. -
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Abolitionist Movement
This was a movement to end slavery altogether. Before the 1830s and during the American Revolution, there had still been strong feelings about abolishing slavery. One very important and influential abolitionists at this time was Harriet Beecher Stowe. -
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was put into law by President Andrew Jackson. This Act was used to force Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi River. Jackson thought he was being kind and generous with this ruling because he thought he was protecting the Native Americans and allowing them to continue with their normal lives. Due to this ruling, the Trail of Tears came into existence where thousands of Native Americans died. -
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Mexican American War
The Mexican American War is also known as the U.S. Invasion of Mexico. It has been argued by some historians that the U.S. was more right in the war, but other historians say that Mexico was more right. In this war, the U.S. won possession of New Mexico, California, and Texas. -
Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay had a solution to the deadlock over California to decide if it would be a slave state. Clay's plan was meant to please both the South and North. California would join the Union as a free state while New Mexico and Utah would be allowed to decide for themselves if they would be slave states. Slave trade in Washington D.C. would be outlawed. His plan also would result in the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. Sadly, the South was still planning on succeeding from the United States. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a man who filed for his freedom, and his case went all the way to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court did not make a decision until 1857, 11 years after the case began. -
Election of 1860
In this election, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas were the two candidates competing against each other for the position of being president. One major issue during this election was slavery. The North wanted to abolish slavery while the South wanted to keep it. Lincoln won the election with 40% of the votes in the North, and in several states in the South he wasn't even on the ballot. Lincoln was the United States' 16th president who later ended slavery. -
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Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States who was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 15, 1865. Lincoln was in favor of abolishing slavery, ended slavery, and created the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863. -
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Civil War
The Civil War lasted more than four years, and it was between the Union and the Confederacy/ the North and the South. The war was also know as "The War Between the States." The war began because of the differing opinions of the United States of America and the Confederate States of America