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Lewis and Clark expedition
President Jefferson persuaded Congress to give them money for an expedition to chart new land acquired by the Louisiana Purchase to give others knowledge of the area. Mapped four thousand miles with major river sources, the Rocky mountains, and the Atlantic Coast. -
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Native American skirmishes against white settler colonists
Resistance was limited because of the superior weapons that they faced -
Louisiana Purchase
James Monroe signed treaty with France that sold the USA the whole of Louisiana, 828000 miles for less than 3 cents an acre. France had only just got the land back from Spain, but the USA was more threatened by France as a neighbour than Spain -
Defeat of Shawnees
A confederation of Native American tribesmen launched a surprise attack on U.S. forces near the Tippecanoe River in Indiana Territory. US then led 1000 men to destroy their village. This was what started Tecumseh's attempt to unite the tribes -
Tecumseh attempts to form confederation of Native American tribes
Tried to negotiate with the US government to stop expansion into Western lands. He then organised a Native American confederacy to try an make an autonomous Indian State to stop white settlement -
Some Native American tribes fight on the side of the British
They hoped that fighting on the side of the US would make them respect their boundaries, rights and treaties more -
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War of 1812
US forces successful at defeating a Creek tribe at Horseshoe bend in 1814. Creek had to cede 2/3rds of their land. The war played a significant part in weakening resistance to the US, partly because Natives lost support from the British. Many tribes conceded their land after this after threats and bribes, and after signing treaties with the US that were later broken by the government. Tribes in the mid-west found the land they controlled reduced in size. -
Treaty of Ghent so NA lose British as allies
The treaty ended the war between the US and the British, leaving Natives without aid from the British -
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First Seminole War
Followed the stalemate of the 1812 war. US invaded Florida despite protests from France and Spain. Spanish were unable to control the land so ceded it to the US, and in 1823 the Seminole were expected to leave North Florida for a reservation in the centre of Florida -
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Seminole Wars
Seminole were a tribe that were formed in Florida in the early 18th century as Natives fled from South East. Though 3 separate wars against the governmnet to resist loss of their land, resulting in them being the longest and most costly war the US had to fight against the Natives -
Jethro Wood iron plough developed
Inventor of a cast-iron mouldboard plough with replaceable parts, the first commercially successful iron mouldboard, which accelerated the development of American agriculture. Simplifying and strengthening the plough design and adding interchangeable parts broadened accessibility and eased replacements of ploughs -
Adam-Onis / Transcontinental Treaty
The US and Spain defined the western limits of the Louisiana Purchase and Spain surrendered its claims to the Pacific Northwest. In return, the US recognized Spanish sovereignty over Texas. -
Missouri Compromise
Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a non-slave state at the same time, so as not to upset the 11 pro 11 anti balance between slave states in the nation. It also outlawed slavery above the 36º 30' latitude line in the remainder of the Louisiana Territory -
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Oversaw treaty negotiations with Natives and managed education and trade with the tribes.
Significant role in removal of many tribes west of the Mississippi,. Became part of the Department of the Interior and played a significant role in the government policy. Initially hoped to protect the Natives through the reservation policy but the Civil War disrupted this. Then played an important role in 'civilising' them and attempts to assimilate them -
Indian Removal Act
Authorised the president to grant lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. A few tribes went peacefully, but many resisted the relocation policy. -
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Second Seminole War
Result of US orders for Seminole to leave Florida completely under the treaty of Payne's landing. Led by their chief, they waged a guerrilla war to frustrate American forces. Led to a change in US tactics who destroyed farms and villages. 3000 Seminole survived, and they were moved to lands that would be Oklahoma. The war lost the US 1500 men and $50million -
Texan independence from Mexico
Mexico had officially abolished slavery in Texas in 1829, and the desire of Anglo Texans to maintain the institution of slavery in Texas was a major cause of secession. -
John Deere's steel plough developed
Particularly strong plough known as the sod buster because it could deal with the tough grass roots of the prairie soils -
Trail of Tears
The forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the "Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and thousands of Native Americans and their enslaved African Americans within that were ethnically cleansed by the United States government. -
Texas joins USA
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Start of Mexican-American War
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Wilmot Proviso
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Mexican-American war
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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
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California Gold Rush
Rapid influx of fortune seekers in California that began after gold was found at Sutter's Mill. 100,000 travelled to the region -
1850 Compromise
Goal was to maintain peace between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in Congress, which was crucial for keeping the Union together. Prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Purchase north of the parallel 36°30′, except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri -
First Indian Appropriation Act
Authorised the creation of reservations in modern day Oklahoma. -
Treaty of Fort Laramie
The US recognized the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation, set aside for exclusive use by the Sioux people -
Gadsden Land Purchase
Gave slave owning Southerner James Gadsden authority to negotiate with Mexico the purchase of 250,000 square miles of territory. Only 54,000 square miles in the end as Northerners felt this threatened the Northern route. Further 9000 square miles taken from the agreement before Senate passed it. -
Republican Party founded
Founded by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas–Nebraska Act, which allowed for the potential extension of slavery to the western territories -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. Intended to open up new lands to develop and facilitate the construction of a transcontinental railroad. However, the Kansas–Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, causing national tensions over slavery and contributing to a series of armed conflicts known as "Bleeding Kansas". -
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Third Seminole War
Following the US attempt to remove the last Seminole from Florida, those who avoided leaving for Oklahoma. Provoked the conflict by sending out scouting parties to encroach on Seminole land. Forced most out by cutting off food and most left for Oklahoma, with a few staying in the Everglades (southern Florida) -
Republican Party fights Presidential Election
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Senator Sumner assaulted
A member of the House of Representatives entered the Senate Chamber and savagely beat a senator into unconsciousness. -
Sack of Lawrence, Kansas
Proslavery mob swarmed into the town of Lawrence and wrecked and burned the hotel and newspaper office. -
Dred Scott decision
Supreme Court stated that enslaved people were not citizens of the United States and, therefore, could not expect any protection from the federal government or the courts. -
Lincoln-Douglas debates
7 debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Party candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. Lincoln was anti-slaver, and Douglas was pro-slavery -
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Pikes Peak Gold Rush
Discovery of gold lead to tens of thousands of prospectors to journey through the Rocky Mountains to the Kansas Territory. New mining hubs like Denver, Boulder, and Central City were founded very quickly -
Comstock Lode discovered
The discovery of silver and gold in the area drew people in from across the country, and the town of Virginia City was created -
John Brown's raid
Effort by abolitionist John Brown to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. His party of 22 were defeated by a company of U.S. Marines. Ten of the raiders were killed during the raid, seven were tried and executed afterwards, and five escaped. -
Lincoln wins presidential election
Lincoln a victory in both the popular vote and the electoral vote, with just under 40 percent of the popular vote, which totalled 1,866,452, and 180 electoral votes. No south states voted for him. They feared that Lincoln and the Republican party would end slavery in southern states. -
South Carolina leaves USA
South Carolina became the first state to secede from the federal Union on December 20, 1860. The victory of Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 presidential election triggered want for disunion across the slaveholding South -
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Indian wars
A series of battles and massacres between Native American tribes, settlers, and government agents -
6 Southern States leave the Union
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South Carolina secessionists open fire on Fort Sumter
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Transcontinental telegraph line completed
Helped to unite America as messages could be transmitted virtually across the country -
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American Civil War
The Civil War began primarily as a result of the long-standing controversy over the enslavement of black people. -
Pacific Railroad Act
Aided the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean and gave use of that line to the government. Authorized 2 railroad companies, the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific, to construct the lines. -
Sioux War breaks out in Minnesota
The Dakota, facing starvation and displacement, attacked white settlements at the Lower Sioux Agency along the Minnesota River valley in southwest Minnesota. Lasted 5 weeks and resulted in hundreds of settlers dying and 1000s being displaced. In the aftermath, the Dakota people were exiled from their homelands, sent to reservations in the Dakotas and Nebraska, and the rest of their land was confiscated and sold. 38 Dakota men were hung -
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The Plains Wars
A series of conflicts between Native Americans and the United States, along with its Indian allies, over control of the Great Plains between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. -
Massacre at Sand Creek
Surprise attack upon a camp of Cheyenne and Arapaho people in southeastern Colorado. The camp contained approximately 750 Cheyenne and Arapaho people. More than 230 Native Americans were massacred, including some 150 women, children, and elderly. Thirteen Cheyenne chiefs and one Arapaho chief were killed -
Transcontinental Railway completed
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Second Indian Appropriation Act
Took power away from individual tribes, and brought all Native Americans under US law as 'wards' of the US government. US would stop treating Plains Indians as 'an independent nation -
Discovery of silver in Comstock Lode, Nevada
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Discovery of gold in Dakota leads to Black Hills gold rush
Prospectors found gold in 1874 in South Dakota, but the deposit turned out to be small. In 1876, thousands of gold-seekers flocked to the new town of Deadwood, although it was still within Native American land. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
The Lakota and Cheyenne won against the US, and it became a rallying point for the US to increase their efforts -
Great Sioux War
Series of disputes between Native Americans and the United States, also known as the Black Hill Wars. Conflict between the allied forces of the Lakota Sioux/Northern Cheyenne and the US government over the territory of the Black Hills -
Carlisle school for Indians established in Pennsylvania
Attempted to 'kill the Indian' and 'Save the man'. Children taken from tribes in an attempt to assimilate them. However they were never fully accepted by Americans, and were rejected from their tribes when they returned as they were seen as foreign -
Fewer than 200 Buffalo left in the West
Soldiers were sent onto the plains to use the Buffalo as shooting practice, and there were trains that ran for people to shoot them for fun. The increase of tanning also lead to them being hunted for their pelts, and they began to be sold throughout the East -
US government defines Natives as wards
The president declared that Native tribes were 'domestic dependant nations' whose relation to the US 'resembles that of a ward to its guardian' -
Dawes Severalty Act
This allowed the US government to break up tribal lands. It gave tribes allotments in reservation land to stop them continuing to live in their smaller communities. This was an attempt to force assimilation onto the tribes, and it made the Natives land owners to try to force them to become tax paying American style citizens -
Massacre at Wounded Knee
The slaughter of around 150–300 Lakotas by US army in Wounded Knee Creek in southwestern South Dakota. It was an attempt to suppress their collective culture and way of life after the soldiers were scared by the Ghost Dance