1600-1876 timeline

  • Jamestown was Founded

    Jamestown was Founded

    Jamestown was the very first successful colony in North America.
  • The Start of Tabacco

    The Start of Tabacco

    This was the first time Jamestown had come in contact with Tabacco. John Rolfe began experimenting with tobacco in 1612 as it soon became a major crop in the "English Atlantic Trade"
  • First African Slaves

    First African Slaves

    A Dutch ship brought 20 slaves to Jamestown, Virginia. Eventually, slaves became more widespread as a better and cheaper source of labor.
  • The Founding of Pennsylvania

    The Founding of Pennsylvania

    William Penn formed the colony of Pennsylvania which served as a refuge for Quakers and other religious minorities of Europe.
  • First Navigation Act Passed

    First Navigation Act Passed

    The Navigation Acts were a series of laws designed to restrict England’s carrying trade to English ships in the 17th and 18th centuries. Their efforts were to put the theory of mercantilism into actual practice.
  • king Philip's War

    king Philip's War

    King Philip's War was between colonists in Massachusetts and Connecticut and the Wampanoag Indians led by Metacom and their allies, the Nipmuck and Narragansett Indians.
  • Bacon's Rebellion

    Bacon's Rebellion

    This was an armed rebellion, led by Nathanial Bacon, against Colonial Governor William Berkeley, after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive Native American Indians out of Virginia.
  • The Glorious Revolution

    The Glorious Revolution

    The Glorious Revolution involved the overthrow of King James II, who was replaced by his daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange. The motives for the revolution were both political and religious.
  • King William's War

    King William's War

    King William’s War was between France and England for supremacy in North America. King William's War was the first of the French and Indian Wars.
  • Salem Witch Trials

    Salem Witch Trials

    The Salem Witch Trials, was when a group of girls in Salem Village, Massachusetts, claimed to be possessed by the devil and accused several women of witchcraft. By the time the trials terminated in 1693, more than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft, and 20 were executed.
  • The War of the Spanish Succession

    The War of the Spanish Succession

    The War of the Spanish Succession was a European conflict triggered by the death of Charles II of Spain in November 1701.
  • Stono Rebellion

    Stono Rebellion

    A Catholic governor in Florida promised freedom to fugitive slaves who came to fight for him. The slaves had to become catholic and make and oath.
  • The Stamp Act

    The Stamp Act

    The first tax was directed towards American Colonies. Items that are to be taxed must bear a stamp on them. Violators will be tried and convicted in Vice-Admiralty courts.
  • Steam Engine

    Steam Engine

    In 1766 the steam engine was invented by James Watt. This made a huge impact to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both Great Britain and the rest of the world.
  • Boston Massacre

    Boston Massacre

    The Boston Massacre was a riot that occurred on March 5, 1770. It took place on King Street in Boston. It began as a street brawl between American colonists and a British soldier. The conflict energized anti-Britain sentiment and paved the way for the American Revolution.
  • Boston Tea Party

    Boston Tea Party

    The American colonists were very frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” therefore they dumped 342 chests of British tea into the harbor. This event was the first major act of opposition to British rule over the colonists.
  • The First Continental Congress

    The First Continental Congress

    The First Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from 12 of the 13 British colonies that became the United States.
  • The Declaration of Independence

    The Declaration of Independence

    The Declaration of Independence, headed The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, is the founding document of the United States. It was adopted on July 4, 1776, by the Second Continental Congress meeting at the Pennsylvania State House.
  • Battle of Saratoga

    Battle of Saratoga

    Gate's American army was positioned between Burgoyne's army and Albany. On October 7, Burgoyne took the offensive. The troops crashed together south of the town of Saratoga, and Burgoyne's army was broken.
  • Shays' Rebellion

    Shays' Rebellion

    Shays' Rebellion was brought about by a monetary debt crisis at the end of the American Revolutionary War. Although Massachusetts was the focal point of the crisis, other states experienced similar economic hardships.
  • Thomas Jefferson elected

    Thomas Jefferson elected

    Thomas Jefferson was the author of the declaration of independence and the third U.S. president. Then he ran again in 1800, with the election ending in a tie between Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The vote then went to the House of Representatives where Jefferson was then declared the victor and, furthermore, the third president of the U.S.
  • War of 1812

    War of 1812

    The beginning of the War of 1812 was caused due to the British Royal Navy restricting trade routes to the U.S., impressing U.S. sailors, and the U.S.'s desire to expand its borders.
  • Burning the White House

    Burning the White House

    British forces storm into the Chesapeake Bay and burn multiple government buildings including the Capitol building, the White House. The British forces pulled their forces only because they had achieved their war goals and were moving down to New Orleans to capture it as well.
  • Purchase of Florida

    Purchase of Florida

    The Florida Peace Treaty was created to hand over the last Spanish American colony to the U.S. because of numerous boundary disputes. The U.S. gave Spain $5 million to cede Florida into the newly formed nation.
  • Monroe Doctrine

    Monroe Doctrine

    President James Monroe gave his annual presidential speech warning European powers not to interfere in the western hemisphere or the U.S. would step in and stop them. He wanted the country to stay out of foreign affairs and keep to themselves, however, the Monroe Doctrine declared the U.S. as the policing force of the Western hemisphere.
  • The U.S.-Mexican War

    The U.S.-Mexican War

    The U.S.-Mexican War lasted from 1846-1848 and was the first U.S. conflict fought on foreign soil. It was a war that was disputing the independence of Texas and the border of the Rio Grande. At the end of the war, Mexico lost about a third of its territory to the expansion-minded U.S.
  • Abraham Lincoln is Elected

    Abraham Lincoln is Elected

    Abraham Lincoln was elected as the 16th president of the U.S. When entering office Abraham Lincoln was tasked with dealing with an incredibly divided nation dealing with the issue of states' rights about slavery. Lincoln received only 40 percent of the popular vote, however, he still handily defeated the three other candidates.
  • Civil War Begins

    Civil War Begins

    The tension between the Northern and Southern states over states' rights and slavery finally got to the point where war broke out. The election of Abraham Lincoln caused 7 southern states to leave the Union and create the Confederate States of America. 4 more states soon joined these rebel states.
  • Gettysburg Address

    Gettysburg Address

    Lincoln's Speech at Gettysburg was done in order to address the war that was occurring. He wanted to dedicate the field to the fallen soldiers on both sides, and he wanted the soldiers to know what they were fighting for. He claimed that they were fighting to see if the new nation, and nations that had declared their freedoms from the European countries.
  • First Transcontinental Railroad Completed

    First Transcontinental Railroad Completed

    The last spike of the railroad was ceremoniously placed to connect the two railroad lines together. This railroad made it possible to travel from the eastern side of the continent to the western side by utilizing nearly 2000 miles of railroad track.