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Oct 12, 1492
Columbus Discovers America
Columbus led his three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria, across the ocean with hopes to discover a western sea route to Asia. Instead, on October 12, 1492, him and his crew came across the land known as America. -
The Settlement of Jamestown
In 1607, a group of over a hundred Englishmen and boys ventured to North America to start a settlement. On May 13, they picked Jamestown, Virginia for their settlement, which they named after their king. This settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America. -
The French and Indian War
The French and Indian War began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. This war began over the issue of whether the British Empire or the French Empire had control over the upper Ohio River valley, which they each wanted for trade and influence in North America. While this war provided Great Britain with many territorial gains the country, the after-effects of this war led to colonial discontent and eventually the American Revolution. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party occurred on December 16, 1773, in Boston Massachusetts. This was a political protest against Britain for taxing tea (an example of taxation without representation). During this event, angry colonists dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company, into the harbor. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord, fought on April 19, 1775, were the start of the Revolutionary War. Tensions had been building for many years between colonists and British authorities. British soldiers went again John Parker's small militia in both Concord and Lexington. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was mainly written by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. This document outlined the colonists' motivations for seeking independence and also gave some foundations of the country we are today. Some points in the declaration relating to this are "all men are created equal," "people have certain unalienable rights including Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness," and that individuals have a civic duty to defend these rights. -
The Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown was the last great battle of the Revolutionary War. This battle was where Britain finally surrendered and began to consider a peace treaty. -
The Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention was a series of meeting between 55 state delegates that took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This event was officially called to revise the existing Articles of Confederation, however, soon new ideas of how America could be governed surfaced and the Constitution was eventually born. -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney In 1794. This was a machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by greatly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber. With this ability, America was able to make cotton their leading export. -
The Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were four laws passed by the U.S. Congress in 1798 due to widespread fear that war with France was approaching. These laws restricted the activities of foreign residents in the country and limited both freedom of speech and freedom of the press. -
The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase occurred in 1803 and was when the US bought the land of the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million. This event is actually quite controversial- many debate that it was unconstitutional- but the benefits to the United States outweigh those doubts. The purchase doubled the size of the United States, strengthening the country materially and strategically, and encouraging westward expansion. -
The War of 1812
The War of 1812 happened in, you guessed it, 1812! This was a conflict between Great Britain and the United States (again, totally didn't see that coming) fought over British violations of US Maritime rights. Although the British won this war, the US benefited greatly. For example, the US gained international respect for basically fighting against the world's greatest military power, and the citizens also developed a renewed sense of nationalism. -
The Missouri Compromise
In an effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, the Missouri Compromise was passed in 1820. It admitted Missouri, who was applying for statehood, as a slave state and a new free state, Maine. Also, this compromise established the 36°30' line as the dividing line between enslaved and free states in the US. -
Election of Andrew Jackson
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Invention of the Telegraph
The telegraph was developed in the 1830s by Samuel Morse and other inventors. This device revolutionized long-distance communication. It worked by transmitting electrical signals over a wire laid between stations. Samuel Morse also developed Morse Code, which allowed for simple transmissions of complex messages through telegraphs. The telegraph laid groundwork for later inventions like the telephone, fax machine, and internet. -
Trail of Tears
As part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up their land and migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The 60 mile journey led to the death of thousands of Indians, from bad weather conditions, starvation, exhaustion, or disease. Hence, this was named the Trail of Tears or the death march. -
The Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major depression. Profits, prices, and wages went down; unemployment went up; and pessimism abounded. This panic is said to have ended in around 1843, although the country didn't fully recover economically until the California Gold Rush in 1848. -
Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American war occurred between the United States and Mexico from April 1846 through February 1848. The conflict arose from the United States' annexation of Texas in 1845. There was a dispute over whether Texas ended at the Nueces River (mexican claim) or the Rio Grande (US claim). The US were victorious in this war, which resulted in the United States acquiring more than 500,000 miles of Mexican territory from the Rio Grande to the Pacific Ocean. -
The Compromise of 1850
On January 29th, Senator Henry Clay introduced a series of resolutions following California's request to enter the Union as a free state, which would upset the balance between free and slave states. As part of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington DC was abolished. Also, California entered the Union as a free state, a territorial government was created in Utah, and an act was passed settling a boundary dispute between Texas and New Mexico. -
The Firing on Fort Sumter
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The Emancipation Proclamation
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The Organization of Standard Oil Trust
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13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments are Passed
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Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
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Abraham Lincoln's Assassination
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Andrew Johnson's Impeachment
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Invention of the Telephone
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Invention of the Electric Light
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The Pullman and Homestead Strikes
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The Spanish-American War
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Theodore Roosevelt Becomes President
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Invention of the Aeroplane
