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9000 BCE
First People Enter North America
This is when people first entered North America. The people here built societies and they interacted with Europeans when they came to the Americas. -
Period: 1436 to May 20, 1506
Christopher Columbus (Person)
Christopher Columbus was famous for discovering the "New World", or the Americas. If he never discovered the new world, it is possible that the Americas would have never been colonized until much later than they were. America as a country would be very different or possibly nonexistent if Christopher Columbus never attempted to make his trip around the world. -
Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Columbus Lands in the Caribbean
Christopher Columbus first lands in the "New World" marking the start of Europe's colonial interaction with the Americas. -
Period: 1500 to
Mercantilism
Mercantilism takes place, especially in Europe, which promotes the government regulating the economy to increase its power. -
Jamestown is Established as a City
Jamestown is established as a city, which starts the colonization of the Eastern Coast of the geographical area now part of the United States. -
Navigation Act of 1651
An act that required all trade between England and colonies to take place in English vessels. -
Period: to
The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment begins, which creates many of the values that American revolutionists valued. -
Period: to
George Washington (Person)
George Washington was the well known American War General, and first president of the United States. He was very popular and made a large impact on America as a whole. -
Period: to
Thomas Jefferson (Person)
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States, holding office shortly after its formation. By holding office this early into the United State's history, he was influential over its history. One of his more well known acts was the Louisiana Purchase. -
Period: to
The French and Indian War
The French and Indian war was a war that early Americans fought against the French with support from the British which the Americans won. -
Proclamation of 1763
The proclamation of 1763 was a proclamation which inhibited settlers to go west of a line in hopes of pleasing Native Americans. It however did anger the colonists themselves. -
Stamp Act Passed
The stamp act was an act passed by the British parliament that required newspapers and many documents to have a stamp on them, which was a form of taxing the colonies. This lead to much anger within colonists, and it was repealed a year later. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was an incident where British soldiers fired upon a mob of people in Boston, angry at previous acts made by the British which killed five people. This only angered the people more. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a protest by colonists where many ships from Britain that were bringing tea had the tea on board thrown off into the Boston Harbor. It was conducted by a group that called themselves the Sons of Liberty. -
Period: to
The American Revolution
The American Revolution was a revolution where the American colonies declared their independence from Britain and fought a war against Britain to keep their independence. They won the war and became an independent country. This was what originally created the United States. -
Ratification of the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a document created by American colonists which declared that they were separate from Britain as their own country. The date of ratification has now become very well known as Independence Day, and it marked the start of the United States. -
United States Constitution Signed
The United States constitution was signed at the Philadelphia Convention, and it states the laws and values of the new country. The document is still followed today, but it has had many amendments, or changes. -
The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was a purchase made from France which contained all of France's territory in the current United States boundaries. It was intended to only buy the small New Orleans port, but the whole land was offered for very little more, so the whole plot of land was bought. This nearly doubled the size of the United States. -
Period: to
The Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition was an expedition to search some of the recently purchases land from the Louisiana Purchase, along with some unclaimed land North of Spain's land. -
Period: to
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, and is very famous today for leading the North to win the civil war, and for passing the emancipation proclamation to end slavery in the United States completely. He was assassinated in 1865 by John Wilkes Booth. -
United States Election of 1828
The Election of 1828 was an election in the United States where Andrew Jackson won. This was the first election after it was no longer required that in order to vote, you needed to be the head of a house, which lead to much higher numbers of votes. Andrew Jackson winning the election was the start of "Jacksonian Democracy". -
The Indian Removal Act of 1830
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was an act which forced Native Americans to be moved West and away from the United States. The Native Americans were treated very unwell, and the act only worsened bad relations between the United States and Native Americans. -
Period: to
The Mexican American War
The Mexican American War was a was between Mexico and America where America annexed Texas, which Mexico claimed still belonged to them. This lead to a war which America won. This gained the United States more land from Mexico. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a compromise between the beliefs of abolitionists and slaveowners which passed acts that tried to please both sides of the argument. This was supposed to stop and slow the succession of Southern states and the country being divided. -
The Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott Decision was an infamous decision by the supreme court that a slave, Dred Scott, should still be a slave even after he was in a free state before being returned to a slave state. This decision angered many abolitionists and was a cause for the Civil War. -
United States Election of 1860
The United States Election of 1860 was the election where the now famous president Abraham Lincoln was first elected. Lincoln was controversial at the time due to the split between the North and South, and he would end up being assassinated in 1865. -
Period: to
The American Civil War
The American Civil War was a war between the United States of America, and the group of states that recently succeeded from the United States, the Confederate States of America. The North ended up winning the war, and reclaiming the South as being a part of its one country.