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1492
Columbus
Christopher Columbus discovers lands to the west. His ships are the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria. http://www.theimaginativeconservative.org/2016/10/columbus-the-exemplar-russell-kirk.html -
Jamestown colonization
Virginia Trading Company sends men to colonize Virginia. They expect to make money from this expedition. http://www.history.com/topics/jamestown -
Virginia establishes Slavery
The first Africans came to America as indentured servants. However in 1661 Virginia imported the first African slaves. https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-enslavement-timeline-45398 -
Yale College
Yale College was founded in 1707 so that the Calvinist ideas would remain. The founders were upset that Harvard ministers became so liberal. Unfortunately for them, all of the professors converted to the Church of England in 1722. (The website says it was founded in 1701) https://www.yale.edu/ -
A Slave Revolt
The first slave UPRISING occurred in 1712 in Manhattan. The population of African Americans in the colonies grew to a substantial number, and probably exceeded the number of white colonists. The colonists were afraid and passed the SLAVE CODES.
https://www.britannica.com/topic/New-York-slave-rebellion-of-1712 -
A Free Press
In 1733 Zenger was accused of libel when he brought out the corruption of the Royal Governor, William S. Crosby, in his newspaper. The trial, which ended in Zenger’s acquittal, brought to light freedom of the press and keeping sources anonymous, which is guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. (www.ushistory.org/us/7c.asp) -
Result of King George's War
The treaty of Aix-La-Chapelle gave countries back lost territory which had been fought for by the colonist. They were incensed and probably started thinking about independence. https://www.uswars.net/king-georges-war/ -
Nationalism
After the success of the French and Indian War and the treaty of Paris was signed, the thirteen colonies realized a sense of Nationalism. They fought together and were victorious! This was something in which all colonists could take pride. Many cartoons depicted how the nation should be united in nationalism including the one from Benjamin Franklin. http://www.americanforeignrelations.com/E-N/Nationalism-Constructing-an-american-identity.html -
Boston Massacre
Thought of as the first deaths of the American Revolution, five men: Crispus Attucks, Patrick Carr, Samuel Gray, Samuel Maverick, and James Caldwell were killed and three injured in an attack by British soldiers. The soldiers were tried and convicted of manslaughter but the punishment was a brand of "M" on their thumbs. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-boston-massacre -
Patrick Henry
Patrick Henry spoke to the Second Virginia Convention in March of 1775 advocating that the colonies fight for their freedom. He was adamant in his plea for organizing against the British to the point of "Give me liberty or give me death." (http://www.history.org/almanack/life/politics/giveme.cfm) -
Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement that took place during the late 17th and early 18th century. People like Thomas Jefferson believed in the characteristics of the Enlightenment including reason, liberty and the scientific method.. Enlightenment philosophy was influential in ushering in the French and American revolutions and constitutions. (https://www.livescience.com/55327-the-enlightenment.html) -
The Treaty of 1818
The Treaty of 1818 established the border between the United States and Canada, a border 5,525 miles long, along the 49th parallel. It secured the fishing and navigation rights of both countries. There was to be joint occupation of Oregon by the British and Americans, however, “led by missionaries, American settlers began to outnumber British settlers by the late 1830s.” (https://myviewofhistory.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/ the-treaty-of-1818/) -
The Erie Canal
The Erie Canal, sarcastically called “Clinton’s Big Ditch,” connected the Hudson River to Lake Erie. Started in 1817 and completed in 1825, it allowed travel from Albany (and thus New York City) to Buffalo, shortening the trip from 2 weeks to 5 days. (https://eriecanalway.org/learn/history-culture) -
Maysville Road Act
The Maysville Road Act of 1830 was vetoed by President Jackson. He thought the Federal government should not be the principle stockholder in a private company. Though Congress clearly believed the Federal government should encourage internal development this way, many Southerners believed that such investment was an infringement on states' rights because it would give the Federal government too much direct control. (https://historyengine.richmond.edu/episodes/view/1445) -
Transcendentalism
Transcendentalism is the concept that people, men and women equally, have knowledge about themselves and the world around them that "transcends" or goes beyond what they can see, hear, taste, touch or feel. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau were transcendentalists. (Section 26f) (http://www.transcendentalists.com/what.htm) -
Worcester v. Georgia
In Worcester v. Georgia, the U.S. Supreme Court held in 1832 that the Cherokee Indians constituted a nation holding distinct sovereign powers. Although the decision by Chief Justice John Marshall became the foundation of the principle of tribal sovereignty in the twentieth century, it did not protect the Cherokees from being removed from their ancestral homeland in the Southeast.
(http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/government-politics/worcester-v-georgia-1832) -
Pinckney Resolutions (Gag Rule of 1835)
This resolution automatically "tabled" any petitions relating to slavery, preventing them from being read or discussed. On May 26, 1836, the third of which was known from the beginning as the "gag rule" passed with a vote of 117 to 68[4] (The first stated that Congress had no constitutional authority to interfere with slavery in the states and the second that it "ought not" do so in the District of Columbia.) https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/treasures_of_congress/text/page10_text.html -
Popular Sovereignty
Popular Sovereignty in 19th century America was an idea that came about as a compromise strategy for determining whether a Western territory would permit or prohibit slavery. Democratic Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan, offered up the idea of popular sovereignty.
http://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/popular-sovereignty -
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism describes the Christian religious movements and denominations which sprung forth from a series of revivals that swept the North Atlantic Anglo-American world in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Southern evangelical culture was the glue of secession and the war effort.
(https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt130j3j9) -
Jim Crow Laws
The segregation laws known as "Jim Crow" represented a system that dominated the American South beginning around 1876 and lasting until the 1960s. The laws affected almost every aspect of daily life, mandating segregation of schools, parks, libraries, drinking fountains, restrooms, buses, trains, and restaurants indicated by "Whites Only" and "Colored" signs (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedom-riders-jim-crow-laws/) www.nps.gov/malu/learn/education/jim_crow_laws.htm
