U.S History timeline (From the discovery of America to the invention of the airplane)
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Oct 12, 1492
The Discovery of America by Columbus
Sailed westward in hopes of eventually reaching India. -
The settlement of Jamestown
The first permanent English settlement in what would eventually become America -
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The French and Indian War
This conflict marked yet another New World conflict between the French and the British. Also known as the Seven-year war. -
The election of Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson was appointed as President of the United States in the Waxhaws region between North and South Carolina. He was a lawer and a landowner, and became a national war hero after defeating the British in New Orleans during the war of 1812. He was the 7th president of the United States. -
The Boston Tea Party
Originally called "the destruction of the tea in Boston" by John Adams, the Boston Tea Party was initially the political protest by the Sons of Liberty it is said that a group of Massachusetts colonists snuck aboard three British tea ships and dumped atotal of 392 of tea into the Boston Harbor. -
The Declaration of Independence signed
Our independence wasn''t declared on July 4th! It was formally declared on July 2, 1776. Congressed approved the final text two days later on the 4th but didn't sign it till August 2, 1776. -
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The Battle of Yorktown
Also known as the Siege of Yorktown ended on October 19, 1781 at Yorktown, Virginia. -
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The Constitutional Convention
Also known as the Philadelphia Convention was heald to address problems in governing the United States of America. -
The invention of the modern cotton gin
The modern mechanical cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney in 1793. Eli Whitney applied for a patent on October 28, 1793 but the producted wasn't patened until March 14, 1794 and was not validated until 1807. -
The Alien Enemies Act
The signing of this act gave President Adams the power to deport any alien living in the U.S. with ties to the U.S. wartime enemies. -
The Sedation Act
The signing of this bill gave President Adams tremendous power to define reasonable activity which included any false, scandalous, and malicious writing. -
The Louisiana Purchase
The U.S. Louisiana Purchase Treaty, signed on April 30, 1803, officialized the purchase of 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. -
The War of 1812
This war was a militart conflict. Lasting two and a half years between the United States of America and the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, its North American colonies, and its American Indian allies. -
The Missouri Compromise
Congress passes bill grating Missouri statehood as a slave state under the condition that slavery was to be prohibited in the rest of the Louisiana purchase north of the 36th parallel (runs under Missouri's southern border) -
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The invention of the electric telegraph
In years prior, non-electrical telegraphs had been attempted. Samuel Morse along with oter revolutionar inventors successfully created the worlds first electric telegraph within a ten year timespan. Finally finishing the product in 1837, perfecting it in 1838, and getting funding from congress to set up a demonstration line between Washington and Baltimore in 1843. -
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The Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was the result of President Jackson forcing the Indian Removal Bill upon congress, which was passed in 1830. The Trail of Tears, also recognized as one of the most horific moments in U.S. history, began its forced march to Oklahoma from the Cherokee native land in northern state Georgia. Nearly a fourth of the Cherokee population died along the March. -
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The Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that started a major recession. This recession lasted until the mid 1840s. At this time, profits, prices, and wages went down while the national unemployment went up. The people of this time were known to be very pessimistic due to their situation. -
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The Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War, also known as the Invasion of Mexico, was an armed conflict between the United States and the Centralist Republic of Mexico. The war initially started April 25, 1846 and ended shortly after the fall of the Alamo on March 6, 1848. -
The Compromise of 1850
This compromise was the introduction a series of resolutions made by senator Henry Clay in an attempt to seek a compromise and avert a crisis between the North and South. As part of this, the Fugative Slave Act was amended an the slave trade in Washington D.C. was abolished. -
The Firing at Fort Sumter
This battle, commanded by General P.G.T. Beauregard who was in command of the Confederate forces around Charleston Harbor, opened fire on the Union garrison holding Fort Sumter. The battle did not end until April 13,1861 at 2:30pm, when Major Robert Anderson surrendered the fort. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued January 1, 1863 by President Lincoln as the nation approaches iths third year of civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
The Surrender at Appomattox Court House
The Battle of Appomattox Court House was foughton the morning of April 9, 1865. Known as one of the last battles of the American Civil War, it was the final engagement of Confederate Army general Robert E. Lee's Army of North Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under Lt. General Ulysses S. Grant. -
The passing of the 13th Amendment
The 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States. -
Andew Johnson's impeachment
On this day, Andrew Johnson was impeached. He was the first president in history to be questioned by the United States House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate on terms of his validity while still in office. -
The passing of the 14th Amendment
The 14th amendment granted citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States," which included former slaves who had been recently freed. -
The passing of the 15th amendment
The final piece of African American freedom of that time. This bill was passed by Congress February 26, 1869 and ratified February 3, 1870. This bill gave African American men the right to vote. -
The organization of Standard Oil Trust
Organized by John. D. Rockefeller, Standard Oil established its first headquarter in Cleveland, Ohio. By 1909 the company had 60,000 employees. -
The invention of the telephone
Although Alexander Graham Bell is the father of the telephone, and his design was patented first, he was not the first inventor to come up with the idea of a telephone. Antonio Meucci, an Italian immigrant, began developing the design of a talking telegraph/telephone in 1849. -
The invention of the electric light
Long before Thomas Edison patented his incandescent light bulb, the modern lightbulb was demonstrated once in 1879 and then a year later in 1880. His incandescent lightbulb had begun being commercialized. Meanwhile, British inventors were demonstrating that electric light was possible with the arc lamp. -
The Homestead Strike
Also known as the Homestead Steel Strike, was an industrial lockout and strike that began on June 30, 1892. The battle between strikers and private security agents met its climax on July 6. -
The Pullman Strike
The Pullman strike was a nationwide railroad strike in the United Sates in the summer of 1894. It pitted the American Railway Union against the Pullman Company, the main railroads, and the federal government of the United States. -
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The Spanish-American War
Not to be mixed up with the Mexican American war, was a conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States. It was the result of U.S. intervention in the Cuban War of Independence. -
Theodore Roosevelt elected as president
Theodore Roosevelt, often referred to as Teddy or TR, was an American statesman, author, explorer, soldier, naturalist, and reformer who served as 26th president of the United States from September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909. -
The invention of the airplane
The "Kitty Hawk" , made by Wilbur and Orville Wright, made four brief flights concluding that it was the first successful airplane.