1800-1876

By jillianyuan

  • The Second Great Awakening

    The Second Great Awakening was another religious revival, this time aiding the abolition movement. It made citizens more consciously aware of their actions, because of their great fear of hell. So it helped sparked the abolition movement in that way because Northerners wanted to escape the fiery brimstones, however that wasn't the case for some. In some Southern states, the ministers told that the Africans we called by God into bondage.

  • The Louisiana Purchase

    Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana territory from France in 1803. Napoleon sold the entire Louisiana Territory for $15 million, equivalent to $250 million in today's time. Jefferson was worried about the constitutionality of the purchase, but he believed if the people benefited from this, it was justifiable, and his responsibility.

  • The Embargo Act

    Because of the British attack on the USS Chesapeake, Jefferson decided to close all American ports to foreign trade in the hopes of avoiding another war.

  • The War of 1812

    America had once again gone to war with Britain. This war had to do with distinct international issues. The first one being trade related and the second long conflicting interests between Great Britain and America. America wanted to remain a neutral trading ground during the Anglo-French wars, and the conflicting interests had begun since the colonial era. The war lasted 3 years and ended with the Treaty of Ghent, restoring the U.S and Great Britain to their prewar status.

  • Battle of Fort McHenry

    This battle remained pivotal during the War of 1812. The U.S soldiers defended this fort on the Chesapeake Bay for 27 tiring hours. They successfully prevented the British nineteen-ship fleet from landing. This is where Francis Scott Key penned the verses of "The Star Spangled Banner."

  • Civilization Fund Act

    It offered $10,000 annually to be allotted toward societies which gave funds to missionaries seeking to plant schools among the Indian tribes. These schools also allowed the federal government to secretly take more land from the Indians and justify it too.

  • The Missouri Compromise

    The Missouri Compromise, drafted by Henry Clay was the solution to the Missouri Crisis.The Missouri Compromise solved this crisis by allowing Missouri to come into the Union as a slave state along with Maine coming in as a free state. It also divided the rest of the Louisiana Purchase territory, so anything southern of the line of latitude slavery would be allowed, and anything northern, slavery would be prohibited.

  • The U.S lunches first long-distance railway

    Launching from Maryland, The United States launched the very first long-distance railway. This set up funds for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company.

  • Andrew Jackson becomes president

    Facing Adams in one of the dirtiest elections to date, Jackson eventually won the election launching one of the most famed presidencies known. Jackson was the type of president you either loved or hated. The Whig party was formed in 1833 in protest to the Jacksonian presidency and democracy.

  • The Bank War

    Jackson blamed B.U.S for the Panic of 1819, and the recent economic depressions, so he desired to shut B.U.S down. Congress desired to reauthorize B.U.S, but the president vetoed the bill deeming B.U.S unconstitutional, so he deposited federal finances in selected state banks deemed his "pet banks." Those who did not like Jackson's actions began to deem him "King Andrew I."

  • The Texas Revolution

    Texas wanted to declare its freedom from Mexico. So they had their own revolution. It was a successful secession movement, and Texas became their own Republic. This revolution included the famed Battle of the Alamo. The revolution ended with the Treaty of Velasco on May 14, 1836

  • Democrat Martin Van Buren becomes president

    Jackson's vice president easily won the next election, keeping the democratic president streak alive. Greatly disappointing the Whig party.

  • The Panic of 1837

    Banks were producing more banknotes then hard currency they actually contained within their banks. The veto Jackson made on banknotes did not help the problem either but only made it worse. As word began to spread, citizens were rushing to the bank to exchange their banknotes for hard currency. As more and more people did this banks began to run out of hard currency, and stopped redeeming their notes, and as word spread banks all around the nation began to follow this trend.

  • The U.S-Mexican War

    After the Texas Revolution, Mexico was dead-set on not loosing anymore of their land. So, when President Polk sent Taylor to negotiate land deals, the president of Mexico was not on board, and the U.S-Mexican War began. The was ended 2 years later with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848. The impact this war had on Mexico was far worse then it had on the U.S. Because of this war, Mexico lost roughly half its territory.

  • The Gold Rush

    James W. Marshall discovered gold on John Sutter's sawmill in Sacramento Valley area in California. Word spread like wildfire, and sooner rather than later men flocked to California seeking to get rich quick via gold. The gold rush spiked population on the West coast growing from about 500 in 1841 to about 50,000 by 1853.

  • South Carolina secedes

    South Carolina left the Union almost immediately after Lincoln was elected president, because they were afraid Lincoln would abolish slavery. Once they left, six other states quickly within the following two months.

  • The Civil War

    The Civil War began with the attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston. It is known as the bloodiest war in history with 750,000 deaths. It was a war that pitted brother against brother, and father against son. The war ended in 1865, along with the official end of slavery and the South rejoining the Union.