US History A Timeline

  • 1492

    The Discovery of America by Columbus

    Christopher Columbus, a man from Italy sailed three ships out of Spain in hopes to find a successful path to India by sea but he ended up running into what we now call America. He thought he reached India because the people looked like indians due to the color of their skin.
  • The Settlement of Jamestown

    The settlement of Jamestown was the first settlement to be made in America. It was a difficult time due to the fact the Indians did not like the idea of welcoming what seemed like invaders. There was violence and natural destruction that happened that caused the town to no longer exist today but the overall idea is that Jamestown was the first settlement to be made in America.
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    French and Indian War

    France and Britain were fighting over British colonies and official war was declared in 1756. In the end, Britain won Canada from France, Florida from Spain, but the French were allowed to keep the West Indian sugar islands but they had to give Louisiana to Spain.
    The overall conflict was resolved.
  • The Boston Tea Party

    The Boston Tea Party was a protest being held by the people in Boston that was being imposed against the tea taxes Britain was enforcing. The act was to dump 342 containers of tea off ships on the boston harbor.
  • The Battle of Lexington and Concord

    The battle of Lexington and Concord was the first physical military engagement in the Revolutionary War.
  • The Declaration of Independence

    The declaration of independence was signed by 56 delegates on July 4th, 1776 and it was a document that announced and explained the official separation of America from Britain.
  • The Battle of Yorktown

    This was one of the final battles that finished off the revolutionary war, and probably the most important. The British surrendered and a peace treaty was signed not long after. There was some fighting that took place afterwards and happened on seas between britain and france but this war was won by the americans who would gain the right to be a free and independent country.
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    The Constitutional Convention

    This event was a series of meetings with which 12 states worth of 55 delegates attended these meetings, 39 of which signed it. The purpose of the meetings was to discuss the issues and hiccups that were in the plan to form a new type of government and converse about what the future with the constitution would be.
  • The invention of the cotton gin

    Eli Whitney, the inventor of the cotton gin, created this machine to make it faster and easier to remove seeds from cotton. Black slaves were working long and hard hours doing this by hand so the machine made the process easier, but it wasn't the safest tool to work around. There were many insidents in the factories.
  • The Alien and Sedition Acts

    A group of laws known as the Alien and Sedition Acts was put into order by the Federalist Congress and signed by into law by President Adams. The purpose of the laws were to make sure immigrants couldn't vote and it allowed for higher power to keep them out.
  • The Louisiana Purchase

    This is a time in which Louisiana was changing "owners" from Spain to America. $15 million went into the purchase in exchange for 828,000 square miles of land that stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada. The milage doubled the size of the United States as it was before the purchase took place.
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    The War of 1812

    This was a war that was mainly caused due to the fact that Britain was in a nasty argument with France and was trying to cut off supplies going to them. Both America and France were involved and it ended due to the fact that Britain had made attack attempts, failed, and peace treaties were being made.
  • The Missouri Compromise

    This was a legislation act that allowed Missouri to become a slave state as they wanted but also for Maine to become a free stand just like how they wanted it.
  • Andrew Jackson’s Election

    Andrew Jackson was elected for president.
  • The invention of the telegraph

    1830s-1840s
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    The Trail of Tears

    This was an act in which native American people had to move from their homelands to make room for country to grow to the west side of the country that was designated for Indian tribes.
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    The Panic of 1837

    This was a time where money was very scarce and unemployment was increasing. People were becoming poor because of the lack of money and pessemism was abounding.
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    The Mexican-American War

    This was was over land and the treaty ended with adding land that now makes up California, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and Wyoming.
  • The Compromise of 1850

    The compromise of 1850 was an act to determine which states would be free and which states would be slave owner states. The was a bill that was passed during this process that allowed for sections of the united states to not have to declare themselves as free or slave states and it created a certain amount of harmony for a while.
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    The Firing on Fort Sumter

    • the beginning of the civil war
  • The Emancipation Proclamation

    Abraham Lincoln created this proclomation where if the Union won the Civil war, freedom would come to all slaves in the confederate.
  • The Organization of Standard Oil Trust

    John D. Rockefeller built the Organization of Standard Oil Trust with the goal of making it the largest oil company in the world.
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    13th, 14th, 15th Amendments

    the 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments are created
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    Surrender at Appomattox Court House

    General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysess S. Grand, and it brought an end to the Civil war that lasted 4 years.
  • Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

    Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John W. Booth in the ford theatre; shot in the back of the head while he was enjoying a play.
  • Andrew Johnson’s Impeachment

    Andrew Johnson is impeached due to the fact he commited crimes and misdemeaners while being president.
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    The invention of the electric light, telephone, and airplane

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    The Pullman and Homestead Strikes

    This was a time when the homestead massacre took place and industrial problems leading to a strike happened.
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    The Spanish-American War

    This war started because of an attack by Spain on a ship that belonged to America right outside of Maine. The war did not last very long and it led to the fight for independence for Cuba, the Philipines, and Puerta Rico.
  • Theodore Roosevelt becomes president

    Theodore Roosevelt becomes president.