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Louisiana
Jefferson buys Louisiana from France, doubling the size of the country. -
Lewis and Clark
U.S. explorers Lewis and Clark head west on their two-year, 8,000-mile expedition to explore the new Louisiana Purchase territory. -
National Road
The first contracts for The National Road are signed and the first 10 miles are constructed westward from Cumberland, Maryland, which will make westward migration possible. -
war of 1812
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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise, precariously balancing the practice of enslavement, holds the Union together, at least temporarily. -
The Erie Canal
The Erie Canal opens, making New York the Empire State. -
Compromise of 1850
Compromise of 1850 over enslavement delays the Civil War. -
Abolitionist John Brown
Abolitionist John Brown leads a raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia, hoping to initiate a revolt of enslaved people that would put America back on the path to war. -
Jefferson Davis president
Representatives of seceded states meet in Montgomery, Alabama, and form the Confederate States of America, electing Jefferson Davis as president. -
ironclad warships
In the first battle of ironclad warships, the Merrimack (which had been rechristened by the Confederates as the Virginia) clashes with the Union Monitor. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. It states that “all persons held as slaves” within the rebellious states “are, and henceforward shall be free.” -
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Gettysburg
After invading the North, Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee meet Union forces at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. -
President Lincoln is shot
President Lincoln is shot in Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., by John Wilkes Booth.