VUS Timeline

  • 1492

    Discovering America

    Discovering America
    Christopher Columbus "discovered" America first while trying to find a western route to Asia to trade. Amerigo Vespucci is the one who really discovered America in 1501, discovering the country that we live in now.
  • Founding of Jamestown

    Founding of Jamestown
    Jamestown was established by the Virginia Company of London. Jamestown was the first permanent settlement in this new continent, North America. And the tobacco farming made the colony profitable for the Virginia Company of London.
  • the French and Indian War

    the French and Indian War
    It was a war between the French and their Native allies versus the British/colonists and their Native allies. The war was ended by the Treaty of Paris and made way for the British to try to control the colonists more. This was the first step towards the American Revolution.
  • Battles of Lexington and Concord

    Battles of Lexington and Concord
    Lexington and Concord was the start of the Revolutionary war. It started with "the shot heard around the world" while the minutemen or American soldiers and the British soldiers started eyed each other.
  • The Signing of the Declaration of Independence

    The Signing of the Declaration of Independence
    The Declaration of Independence was written by Thomas Jefferson and signed by many others such as Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Hancock, etc. After everyone signed the Declaration of Independence the room was silent because they just pretty much wrote out a confession to treason against the king if they were to lose the war.
  • Battle of Yorktown

    Battle of Yorktown
    The Battle of Yorktown is the battle that ended the American Revolution. The American colonists and the French forced the British to surrender in Yorktown, Virginia.
  • Constitutional Convention

    Constitutional Convention
    The Constitutional Convention took place in Philadelphia and many leaders such as George Washington, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, etc. were all present at the Convention. The Convention debated and drafted up plans for the Constitution including the New Jersey and Virginia plans.
  • Election of 1800

    Election of 1800
    This election was the first American election that power was peacefully transferred to one party to another. It is the election where Thomas Jefferson who was a Democratic-Republican beat John Adams who was a Federalist.
  • Louisiana Purchase

    Louisiana Purchase
    Thomas Jefferson as president purchased the Louisiana territory from France. The land had doubled the size of America and was only 3 cents per acre, adding up to 15 million dollars
  • War of 1812

    War of 1812
    The War of 1812 was fought between the British and America. It was caused by British impressment with American shipping as well as American westward expansion.
  • Missouri Compromise

    Missouri Compromise
    The Missouri Compromise brought Missouri into the nation as the 24th state as a slave state and made Maine a free state. There was a line and everything above the line was free, except for Missouri, and everything below was a slave state.
  • Nullification Crisis

    Nullification Crisis
    During the Nullification Crisis, South Carolina was arguing with Andrew Jackson that since they entered the Union on their own free will, that they should be allowed to leave when they want. Andrew Jackson in turn threatened to send federal troops down their to collect their tariffs, which is why South Carolina is wanting to leave the Union.
  • Battle of Fort Sumter

    Battle of Fort Sumter
    At the Battle of Fort Sumter, the Confederates fired on the Union who had taken Fort Sumter as their own. This marked the beginning of the Civil War.
  • The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

    The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
    The Assassination of President Abraham Lincoln was a tragic event during the Reconstruction. Abraham Lincoln had been out a theater performance with his wife and other higher ups when he was shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth. It devastated the country and made way for Andrew Johnson to become president.
  • The Transcontinental Railroad

    The Transcontinental Railroad
    The Transcontinental Railroad was finished being built on this day and there was a cermonous spike to mark the finishing of it being built. It had been mostly built by immigrants from China and US Steel helped it be finished cheaper.