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Aug 3, 1492
The discovery of America by Columbus
Columbus led his three boats westward and discovered areas we refer to now as the Americas -
The settlement of James Town
East Virginia is home to a historic site that was the first ruins of an English settlement in North America. It showcases items of the settlers, an archaeology site, and the 18th- century Ambler mansion. -
The French and Indian War
The Indian colonies of British America fought the armies of New France. The war was caused by both sides desire to extend their colonies into the Appalachian mountains. -
The Boston Tea Party
In Boston the Sons of Liberty started a political protest which included throwing crates of tea overboard because they didn't want to pay taxes on British tea. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
In the Middlesex County (which is the province of Massachusetts Bay) battles were fought in and around the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Arlington, and Cambridge. These were started because a British commander in Boston has heard of supplies of powder and weapons being held by patriots. -
The Declaration of Independence
The 13 Americans broke off their relations to the British and declared to become independent states. -
The Battle of Yorktown
Also known as the siege of Yorktown, the British army was nearly lost as Cornwallis surrendered to the combined French and American armies. This was significant because it marked the end of the revolutionary war. -
The Constitutional Convention
The small states and big states compromised because the small states wanted the same number of representatives in congress. -
The Invention of the cotton gin
A machine that separates cottons from their seeds was designed and used to shorten the time of picking fields, making work easier. -
The Alien and Sedition Acts
President Adams signed these acts into law. These included new powers to deport foreigners as well as making it harder for new immigrants to vote. -
The Louisiana purchase
This was the attempt and success of the Americans acquiring the territory of Louisiana from the France. -
The War of 1812
This conflicted pitted the United States against the United Kingdom caused by the sanctions the British took. -
The Missouri Compromise
The legislation that admitted Maine to become a state if Missouri came too as a slave state which was beneficial to balancing power between the North and South senates of the USA. -
Andrew Jackson's Election
This was the 11th quadrennial presidential election held from October 31st to December 2nd, and it was a rematch of the 1824 election. -
The Invention of the Telegraph
Developed in the 1830s and 1840s by Samuel Morse and other inventors, it revolutionized long distance communication by having a wire at either base and using electromagnetic signals between them. -
The Trail of Tears
A series of forced relocations of Native Americans from their homes and land to the Mississippi River which has thence forth been referred two as Indian Territory. -
The Panic of 1837
A financial crisis in the US which brought unemployment up and profits, prices, and wages down. -
The Mexican and American War
A politically divided and militarily unprepared Mexico had lost a third of its territory due to Texas breaking away from Mexico. This was the first armed conflict that we fought on foreign soil, and another victory we had. -
The Compromise of 1850
This was an attempt to stop feuds between the North and South. In the end the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington D.C. was ended. -
The Firing on Fort Sumter
The American Civil War began when confederates fired on this fort because they believed it belonged to them. Fort Sumter, being overwhelmed and beaten, surrendered the fort to the confederates. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
Issued by Abraham Lincoln, this proclamation changed the federal legal status of more than 3 million slaved people in areas of the south and declaring their freedom. -
Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
The court house confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered his army of northern Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant after the battle, This successfully brought the civil war to an end. -
Abraham Lincoln's Assassination
Actor John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln as he attended the play 'Our American Cousin' at Ford's theatre in Washington D.C. Mary Surratt supposedly took part in the conspiracy so she was sentenced to death under capital punishment and was hung. -
13th, 14th, 15th Amendments
The 13th amendment was outline slavery, before the Civil War had ended. The 14th amendment was passed to ensure black citizenship in 1866. The 15th amendment was passed to protect black voting rights after the Ku Klux Klan intimidated them. -
Andrew Johnson's Impeachment
The USA house of representatives impeached Andrew Johnson, 17th President of the USA, for "High crimes and misdemeanors." -
The Organization of Standard Oil Trust
1870 to 1911 was the industrial empire of oil by John D. Rockefeller. It became the largest oil refinery in the world. 1870 is the most popular year because of its renaming into the standard oil company. -
The Pullman and Homestead strikes
The Homestead strike in Pennsylvania was due to the owner of the steel factory refusing to increase wages. The Pullman strike occurred because of the way George Mortimer Pullman (the owner of a car company) treated his owners. -
The Spanish-American War
This began when an explosion of USS Maine in Havana Harbor in Cuba, which intervened the Cuban War of Independence and started the armed conflict between the Spanish and Americans. -
Theodore Roosevelt Becomes President
Statesman, politician, conservationist, naturalist and writer, Theodore Roosevelt became the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. -
The Invention of the Electric Light, Telephone, and Airplane
Edison and his team created an incandescent light. Alexander Graham Bell devised a phone in 1854 that revolutionized the models previously and credited him as the creator of the original phone. In 1903 (date used) Wilbur and Orville Wright made four brief flights at Kitty Hawk with their first powered aircraft. They are credited as the creators of the airplane and ran the first test run by using a stopwatch.