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Declaration of Independence
Marked a turning point for America Independence from Great Britain. Disputes over polices and taxation led to war and by 1776, colonial delegates America a free nation. -
Battle of Princeton
At Princeton, Washington launched a surprise attack, and succeeded in defeating the British. His efforts cleared most of New Jersey of enemy forces, and greatly boosted America. -
British Takes Charleston
The British took Charleston capturing 5,400 men and four American ships in the harbor. It was the worst American defeat of the war. -
The Battle of Yorktown
French and American forces joined at Yorktown, on land and at sea, and attacked the British. British General Cornwallis soon surrendered, giving up almost 8,000 men. -
Peace Negotiations
The British, French, and Americans met in Paris to discuss peace. The United States sent Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and John Jay. -
Treaty of Paris
Americans and British signed the Treaty of Paris ending the war. The treaty also gave the United States a large amount of western territory. -
The Louisiana Purchase
It was a land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. It doubled the size of the United States. -
Atlantic Slave Trade
Gave U.S. authorities the right to seize slave ships which were caught transporting slaves and confiscate their cargo. Then the "Act Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves" took effect in 1808. -
The Kansas Nebraska Act
Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois proposed a bill to organize the Territory of Nebraska, a area of land that would become Kansas, Nebraska, Montana and the Dakotas. The bill raised the possibility that slavery could be extended into territories where it had once been banned. -
The Pony Express
The Pony Express was a system that delivered mail on horseback between Missouri and California. The service lasted for only about a year and a half in the early 1860s.