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Jamestown
Jamestown was the first permanent english settlement in North America. Founded by the Virginia Company of London, Jamestown was originally "James Fort" and became a permanent settlement in 1610. Starting in 1616, it served as the colonies capital for 83 years. It was temporarily abandoned in 1610 and again after 1699. -
House of Burgesses
The arrival of Govenor George Yeardley in Jamestown brought upon notice that the colony of Virginia would establish a legislative assembly. It was the first democratically elected body of legislation in the American colonies. Mainly created to encourage Englishmen to settle in North America, also to make conditions for settlers more agreeable. -
First Africans in Jamestown
Late August 1619, on a stormy night, about 20 africans arrived at the port of the Eglish colony on board a Dutch ship. The captain of the ship exchanged the africans for food, and then left. Record list the africans as indentured servants and not slaves, however, only the white servants had a listed date in which they would attain their freedom. The first free African in Jamestown was William Tucker, as he was the first African born in the colonies. -
Mayflower Compact
Signed by 41 Englishmen on the Mayflower, the compact was the first governing document established in the United States. It was written by saints that called themselves Pilgrims whom fled religious persecution by King James. The original Mayflower Compact was lost, but an exact copy was preserved by William Bradford. -
French and Indian War
Also known as the Seven Years' War, was fought between British America and New France. The war resulted in British victory and the Treaty of Paris. Fought primarily between Virginia and Nova Scotia, begining with a conflict of control of the Forks of Ohio. Washington defeated the French in a surprise attack and builds Fort Necessity. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Royal Proclamation was issued by King George III on October 7, 1763. It might have played a major role in the seperation of the US from GB. It dealt with managing inherited French colonies from the French and Indian War. Better government and teritorries. -
Stamp Act
It was the first tax on the American colonists by the British.The British Empire was in a lot of debt from the French and Indian warmand needed a source of revenue. So they taxed the colonists which led to many issues icluding the colonists deciding the act was unconstitutional.Which led to an armed rebellion against the British 10 years later. -
Boston Tea Party
This taxation protest was a big part of American and British history. On December 16, 1773, the Sons of Limberty and their leader Samuel Adams got on board 3 ships and dumped 342 crates of tea overboard. Thus bringing America and Britain closer to the break of war. -
Virginia Declaration of Rights
The Virginia Declaration of Rights was drafted to declare the inherent rights of all men. Mainly written by George Mason, neighbor of George Washington. The declaration is made up of 16 sections that numbered specific civil liberties that cannot be legitimately taken away by government. "That all men are by nature equally free and independent, and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot, by any compact, deprive or divest their posperity...ect" -
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence announced that the thirteen colonies considered themselves independent states. They formed a new nation known as the United States of America and were no longer ruled by the British. Thomas Jefferson drafted the declaration and then it was revised and produced by congress. It justified the United States independence by stating colonial grievances against King George III. -
Battle of Yorktown
Also known as the Seige of Yorktown, the battle Took place begtween September 28 and October 19, 1781. General George Washington was commanding 17,000 French and Continental troops beginning the battle against General Cornwallis and 9,000 British troops at Yorktow, Virginia. The defeat of the British at Yorktown provoked the British government to negotiate an end to the American Revolution and give the colonist their freedom. -
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
The Statute was written by Thomas Jefferson in 1777 but not enacted until 1786. It was the first amendment protections for religious freedom. Also, it was a statement about the idea of seperation of church and state and freedom of conscience. States that no person can be compelled to attend any church or support it with his taxes. -
Virginia Plan
The Virginia Plan was drafted by James Madison, and then presented to the Constitutional Convention on May 29, 1787 by Edmund Randolph. It was made up of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches and urged a stronger central government. The plan become the outline for what would become the United States Constitution. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is composed of the first ten amendments to the Constitution. The Bill list certain prohibitions on government power. It was written by James Madison, a member of the US House of Representatives. Only 10 of the 17 amendments approved by the House were approved for the Bill of Rights. Anti-federalists believed that a bill of rights was necessary to protect individual liberty. -
Louisiana Purchase
The US negotiated 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi from France for $15 million in 1803. Part or all of 15 states were eventually created from the land deal, which is considered one of the most important achievements of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. This situation was threatened by Napoleon Bonaparte’s plans to revive the French empire in the New World. Jefferson's plans for the nation depended upon western expansion and access to international markets for US farm products. -
War of 1812
From June 18, 1812 to Febuary 18, 1815, the war was faught primarily by the United States against Great Britain. In the early stages of the war, the American navy scored victories in the Atlantic and on Lake Erie while Britain concentrated its military efforts on its ongoing war with France. No definitive victory. The British restricted the American trade since they feared it was harmful for their war with France. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a United States federal statute devised by Henry Clay. In the years leading up to the Missouri Compromise of 1820, tensions began to rise between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions within the U.S. Congress and across the country. To keep the peace, Congress orchestrated a two-part compromise, granting Missouri’s request but also admitting Maine as a free state. -
Monroe Doctorine
The Monroe Doctorine stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression, requiring U.S. intervention. On December 2, 1823, President James Monroe used his annual message to Congress for a bold assertion. It soon became a cornerstone of American foreign policy. In the decades following Monroe’s announcement, American policymakers did not invoke the doctrine against European powers. -
War with Mexico
The Mexican-American War marked the first U.S. armed conflict fought on foreign soil. Resulting in the defeat of Mexico and the loss of roughly half of its national territory in the north. The war grew out of unresolved conflicts between Mexico and Texas. After having won its independence from Mexico in 1836, the Republic of Texas was annexed by the United States in 1845. -
Compromise of 1850
Divisions over slavery in territory gained in the Mexican-American War were resolved in the Compromise of 1850. It was a bundle of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 which ended a four-year conflict between slave and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican–American War . -
Kansas - Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by the U.S. Congress on May 30, 1854. It was an 1854 bill that mandated “popular sovereignty”–allowing settlers of a territory to decide whether slavery would be allowed within a new state’s borders. The conflicts that arose between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers in the aftermath of the act’s passage led to the period of violence known as Bleeding Kansas, and helped paved the way for the American Civil War. -
Election of 1860
The election resulted in Abraham Licoln's, a republican, presidency. It was the 19th presidential election and took place on November 6th, 1860. Withn four candidates in the runnin, Lincoln received 40% of the popular vote and 180 electoral votes. Lincoln did so in a divided nation on the brink of civil war. Durring the election cycle, Minnesota and Oergon become states. -
Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the first battle of the Civil War. The battle lasted April 12th to April 13th, 1861. It was 80 Union soldiers against 500 Confederate soldiers which ended in a Confederate victory. The Confederate Army bombarded the Unfinished Union sea fort. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. The law was signed by President Lincoln on May 20, 1862. By the end of the Civil War, 15,000 homestead claims had been established. The Homestead Act remained in effect for more than 100 years. The Homestead Act of 1862 provided that any adult citizen who headed a family could qualify for a grant of 160 acres of public land by paying a small registration fee and residency for ten years. -
Antietam
On September 17, 1862, Generals Robert E. Lee and George McClellan faced off near Antietam creek in Sharpsburg, Maryland, in the the first battle of the American Civil War to be fought on northern soil. Though the result of the battle was inconclusive, it remains the bloodiest single day in American history, with more than 22,000 casualties. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The proclamation freed more than three million slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order, presidential proclamation, and declaration issued by President Lincoln that all at once ended slaverey in the South. The Proclamation only applied to the southern states in rebellion. It changed the focus of the war and paved the way for African-Americans to fight for their freedom. -
Gettysburg
Gettysburg is a borough and town in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It’s known for Gettysburg National Battlefield, site of a turning point in the Civil War, now part of the Gettysburg National Military Park. The park also includes the Gettysburg Museum and Visitor Center, displaying Civil War artifacts, and Gettysburg National Cemetery, where a memorial marks the site of Abraham Lincoln’s 1863 Gettysburg Address. -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech delivered by Abraham Lincoln at the November 19, 1863, dedication of Soldier's National Cemetery.The Gettysburg Address is now recognized as one of Lincoln’s greatest speeches and as one of the most famous speeches in U.S. history. Beginning with the famous phrase, "Four score and seven years ago," Lincoln honored the Union dead and reminded the listeners of the purpose of the soldier’s sacrifice. -
Compromise of 1877
In the months directly after the election of 1876, the Democratic and Republican leaders secretly came up with a compromise to resolve the election standoff and address other far more important issues and problems. In this agreement, the democrats agreed to accept Republican presidential leadership as long as they would agree to a few terms such as appointing a democrat to the President's Cabinet. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Signed by President Chester Arthur, this law restricted all immigration of Chinese laborers to the US. The act also placed requirements on Chinese who were already in the contry. Very few Chinese coul enter the contry under the 1882 law. No matter what, the courts still had the right to deport them. When the Exclusion Act expired in 1892, the US Congress extended it for another 10 years.
