-
Period: to
''1600-1700''
-
Jamestown, Virginia was founded-
Jamestown significance is the start of a representative democratic government. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America. -
House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was an assembly of elected representatives from Virginia that met from 1643 to 1776. This democratically elected legislative body was the first of its kind in English North America. -
Mayflower
102 Pilgrims and 30 crew members from England arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts on the Mayflower and developed the city of Plymouth after surviving the harsh winter that was waiting for them when they landed. Mayflower Compact, the document signed on the English ship Mayflower on November 21 [November 11, Old Style], 1620, prior to its landing at Plymouth, Massachusetts. It was the first framework of government written and enacted in the territory that is now the United States of America. -
The Dutch Arrive
the Dutch West India Company arrived to join that trade, seeking animal furs for the European market. The company brought diverse groups of able-bodied Europeans to build their outpost. Germans, English, and Walloons (French speakers from today's Belgium) populated the colony along with Dutch nationals. -
Navigation Act
The Navigation Act is passed by the British Parliament to control the amount of commerce coming into the American Colonies. The act was put in place to expand the British Mercantilist agenda and expand the wealth that can be extracted from the colonies -
English Seize New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam, city and colony, is taken from the Dutch by the English. The town was surrounded by a blockade lead by Colonel Richard Nicolls. This led to the capture of the colony and then after treaties with the Dutch to its assimilation into the English colonies. The town is renamed, New York after the Duke of York. -
King Philips War
This war was a last-ditch effort for the Native Americans to take back their land from the ever-encroaching European immigrants. It was also a way for the Native Americans to not recognize the authority of the European colonists. However, the natives were quickly dealt with and the war was short-lived, but also extremely costly for both sides. The war's end was brought about by King Phillip's death, and while the war officially ended in 1676, fighting continued until 1678. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion significance was basically the increase in slaves. Only the rich could purchase land and have farms so there was a huge increase in slaves entering the colonies. -
Pennsylvannia is established
The frame of the government of Pennsylvania is established and the colony is officially apart of the English colonies. -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem witch trials commenced in 1692 when a group of girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several women of witchcraft. A wave of hysteria then spread throughout Massachusetts, and then a special court convened in Salem to hear the cases. Bridget Bishop, the first convicted witch, was hanged that June. By the time the trials terminated in 1693, more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft, and 20 were executed. -
Period: to
1700-1800
-
The War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was a European conflict triggered by the death of Charles II of Spain in November 1701. -
1713 Treaty of Utrecht
the agreement in 1713 which marked the end of the War of Spanish Succession. As part of the agreement, France gave Britain various parts of Canada and accepted Queen Anne rather than James Stuart as the British monarch. Britain also received possession of Gibraltar and Minorca from Spain. -
The First Great Awakening
a series of Christian revivals that swept Britain and its thirteen North American colonies in the 1730s and 1740s. The revival movement permanently affected Protestantism as adherents strove to renew individual piety and religious devotion. It marked the emergence of Anglo-American evangelicalism as a trans-denominational movement within the Protestant churches. -
Seven Years War
Britain and Prussia defeat France, Spain, Austria, and Russia. France loses North American colonies, Spain gives Florida to Britain in exchange for Cuba. -
Industrial Revolution
The era saw the mechanization of agriculture and manufacturing and the introduction of new modes of transportation including steamships, the automobile, and airplanes. -
Treaty of Paris
This treaty, signed on September 3, 1783, between the American colonies and Great Britain, ended the American Revolution and formally recognized the United States as an independent nation -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a riot that occurred on March 5, 1770. It took place on King Street in Boston. It began as a street brawl between American colonists and a British soldier. It quickly escalated to a bloody slaughter. The conflict energized anti-Britain sentiment and paved the way for the American Revolution. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a protest that occurred on December 16, 1773, at Griffin’s Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. The American colonists were very frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” therefore they dumped 342 chests of British tea into the harbor. This event was the first major act of opposition to British rule over the colonists. -
Declaration of Independece
By issuing the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain. The Declaration summarized the colonists’ motivations for seeking independence. By declaring themselves an independent nation, the American colonists were able to confirm an official alliance with the Government of France and obtain French assistance in the war against Great Britain. -
Beginning of the French Revolution
The French Revolution was a period of major social upheaval that began in 1787 and ended in 1799. It sought to completely change the relationship between the rulers and those they governed and to redefine the nature of political power. It proceeded in a back-and-forth process between revolutionary and reactionary forces. -
Period: to
1800-1876
-
Election of 1800
Thomas Jefferson was the author of the declaration of independence and the third U.S. president. Jefferson ran against John Adams in 1796 and came in second place, making him vice president by law. Then he ran again in 1800, with the election ending in a tie between Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The vote then went to the House of Representatives where Jefferson was then declared the victor and, furthermore, the third president of the U.S. -
Congress Declares War on England
The beginning of the War of 1812 was caused due to the British Royal Navy restricting trade routes to the U.S., impressing U.S. sailors, and the U.S.'s desire to expand its borders. -
American Military Disasters
British forces stormed into the Chesapeake Bay and burned multiple government buildings including the Capitol building, and the White House. The British forces pulled their forces only because they had achieved their war goals and were moving down to New Orleans to capture it as well. -
Florida is Purchased
Spanish minister Do Luis de Onis and U.S. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams came together to sign the document that would transfer control of Florida to the U.S. The Florida Peace Treaty was created to hand over the last Spanish American colony to the U.S. because of numerous boundary disputes. The U.S. gave Spain $5 million to cede Florida into the newly formed nation. -
Monroe Doctrine
President James Monroe gave his annual presidential speech warning European powers not to interfere in the western hemisphere or else the U.S. would step in and stop them. This speech stood against what George Washington wanted for the country. He wanted the country to stay out of foreign affairs and keep to themselves, however, the Monroe doctrine declared the U.S. as the policing force of the western hemisphere. -
U.S-Mexican War
The U.S.-Mexican War lasted from 1846-1848 and was the first U.S. conflict fought on foreign soil. It was a war that was disputing the independence of Texas and the border of the Rio Grande. At the end of the war, Mexico lost about a third of its territory to the expansion-minded U.S., who claimed nearly all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. -
Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln is elected as the 16th president of the U.S. When entering office Abraham Lincoln was tasked with dealing with an incredibly divided nation dealing with the issue of states' rights about slavery. Lincoln received only 40 percent of the popular vote, however, he still handily defeated the three other candidates. Lincoln was formally a Whig representative to Congress and gained his popularity after his series of public speeches that address many political issues of the time. -
Civil War Begins
The tension between the Northern and Southern states over states' rights and slavery finally got to the point where war broke out. The election of Abraham Lincoln caused 7 southern states to leave the Union and create the Confederate States of America. 4 more states soon joined these rebel states. -
Gettysburg Address
Lincoln's Speech at Gettysburg was done in order to address the war that was occurring. He wanted to dedicate the field to the fallen soldiers on both sides, and he wanted the soldiers to know what they were fighting for. He claimed that they were fighting to see if the new nation, and nations that had declared their freedoms from the European countries, could in fact survive without the aid of their previous owners. -
transcontinental Railroad is Completed
On the day of completion, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads meet in Promontory, Utah. The last spike of the railroad was ceremoniously placed to connect the two railroad lines together. This railroad made it possible to travel from the eastern side of the continent to the western side by utilizing nearly 2000 miles of railroad track. The work began in 1866 after many plans had been made and the Pacific Railroad Act(1862) was passed.