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Period: Jan 1, 1492 to
US History
US History beginning with Columbus' "discovery" of the New World and continuing through 1877. This is the period commonly referred to as Early American History. -
Jamestown Settlement and the "Starving Time"
The first joint-stock company to launch a lasting venture to the New World was the Virginia Company of London. The investors had one goal in mind: gold. They hoped to repeat the success of Spaniards who found gold in South America. In 1607, 144 English men and boys established the Jamestown colony, named after King James I. -
The Growth of the Tobacco Trade
Tobacco was introduced to Europe by the Spanish, who had learned to smoke it from Native Americans. Despite some early criticism of "drinking smoke," tobacco became popular among the middle classes in England. Much of the tobacco smoked in England was grown in the West Indies. -
Birth of George Washington
eorge Washington was born on February 22, 1732, in Westmoreland County, Virginia. He died on December 14, 1799, in Mount Vernon, Virginia. -
The French and Indian War
French and British soldiers butted heads with each other over control of the Ohio Valley. -
the melting pot
At the time of the American Revolution, English citizens made up less than two thirds of the colonial population, excluding Native Americans. Nearly one fifth of the population was of African descent. Of the white population, there was still tremendous diversity, particularly in Pennsylvania, America's first melting pot. Most numerous of the non-English settler population were the Germans and the Scots-Irish. -
the declaration of independence
On June 7, 1776, Richard Henry Lee introduced a resolution to the Congress that declared the thirteen colonies "free and independent states." -
shays rebellion
This led the rebels to close courts by force in the fall of 1786 and to liberate imprisoned debtors from jail. Soon events flared into a full-scale revolt when the resistors came under the leadership of Daniel Shays, a former captain in the Continental Army. This was the most extreme example of what could happen in the tough times brought on by the economic crisis. Some thought of the Shaysites (named after their military leader) as heroes in the direct tradition of the American Revolution, whil -
The Economic Crisis of the 1780s
The war had disrupted much of the American economy. On the high seas the British navy had great superiority and destroyed most American ships, crippling the flow of trade. On land, where both armies regularly stole from local farms in order to find food, farmers suffered tremendously -
The Antifederalists' Victory in Defeat
The ratification process included ugly political manipulation as well as brilliant developments in political thought. For the first time, the people of a nation freely considered and approved their form of government. It was also the first time that people in the United States acted on a truly national issue. -
A New National Capital: Washington, D.C.
President Washington first took office in New York City, but, when reelected in 1792, the capital had already moved to Philadelphia where it would remain for a decade. Fittingly, Jefferson was the first president to be inaugurated in the new and lasting capital of Washington, D.C. in March 1801. -
Westward Expansion: The Louisiana Purchase
Knowing full well that he could not force Americans out of the land France possessed in North America, Napoleon offered all of Louisiana to the U.S. for 15 million dollars. The massive territory stretched from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and more than doubled the size -
Exploration: Lewis and Clark
In May 1804, a group of 50 Americans led by Meriwether Lewis, Jefferson's personal secretary, and William Clark, an army officer, headed northwest along the Missouri River from St. Louis. Their varied instructions reveal the multiple goals that Jefferson hoped the expedition could accomplish. While trying to find a route across the continent, they were also expected to make detailed observations of the natural resources and geography of the west. Furthermore, they were to establish good relation -
slaveocrracy
The Slave Power (often called the "Slaveocracy") was a term used in the United States ca. 1840-1865 to denounce the political power of the slaveholding class in the South. The argument was that this small group of rich men had seized political control of their own states and was trying to take over the national government in an illegitimate fashion in order to expand and protect slavery. -
Manifest Destiny
Newspaper editor John O'Sullivan coined the term "manifest destiny" in 1845 to describe the essence of this mindset. A symbol of Manifest Destiny, the figure "Columbia" moves across the land in advance of settlers, replacing darkness with light and ignorance with civilization. -
California Gold Rush
John Marshall spotted the first fleck of gold near John Sutter's mill in Northern California. This began the Gold Rush of 1849. -
impeachment
Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as criminal or civil punishment. -
secession
Secession, as it applies to the outbreak of the American Civil War, comprises the series of events that began on December 20, 1860, and extended through June 8 of the next year when eleven states in the Lower and Upper South severed their ties with the Union. The first seven seceding states of the Lower South set up a provisional government at Montgomery, Alabama. After hostilities began at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861, the border states of Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, an -
Battle of Gettysburg
This three day battle began in Gettysburg over a rumor that there were a large amount of shoes available. The battle lasted three days and involved 170,000 troops. 40.000 casualties were sustained. -
presidential reconstruction
The period of Presidential Reconstruction lasted from 1865 to 1867. Andrew Johnson, as Lincoln's successor, proposed a very lenient policy toward the South. He pardoned most Southern whites, appointed provisional governors and outlined steps for the creation of new state governments. Johnson felt that each state government could best decide how they wanted blacks to be treated. Many in the North were infuriated that the South would be returning their former Confederate leaders to power. They wer -
Early American Railroads
The development of railroads was one of the most important phenomena of the Industrial Revolution. With their formation, construction and operation, they brought profound social, economic and political change to a country only 50 years old. Over the next 50 years, America would come to see magnificent bridges and other structures on which trains would run, awesome depots, ruthless rail magnates and the majesty of rail locomotives crossing the country.
