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A slave rebellion planning to march on Richmond, Virginia, is organized by Gabriel Prosser, an enslaved African American blacksmith. The conspiracy is revealed, and Prosser is hanged, along with a number of other rebels. Consequently, Virginia's slave laws are tightened.
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The U.S. capital is moved from Philadelphia to Washington, DC.
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Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated as the third president in Washington, DC.
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Supreme Court decision greatly expands the power of the Court by establishing its right to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional.
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For the Louisiana Territory, which stretches west from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and covers about 830,000 sq mi, the United States offers to pay France $15 million. As a result, the U.S. is about twice its size.
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From St. Louis, Mo., Lewis and Clark set out on an expedition to discover the West and find a way to the Pacific Ocean.
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The U.S. is declaring war on Britain over British involvement with American shipping and expansion to the west.
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Francis Scott Key writes Star-Spangled Banner as he watches the British attack on Fort McHenry at Baltimore.
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In order to preserve the balance between free and slave states, Maine (formerly part of Massachusetts) is admitted as a free state so that Missouri can be admitted as a slave state; in the Louisiana Purchase lands north of latitude 36 ° 30 ', slavery is forbidden except for Missouri.
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In an attempt to lay siege on Charleston, South Carolina, Denmark Vesey, an enslaved African American carpenter who had bought his freedom, plans a slave rebellion. The scheme is revealed, and they hang Vesey and 34 coconspirators.
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The Indian Relocation Act, allowing the compulsory removal of Native Americans living in the eastern part of the nation to lands west of the Mississippi River, was signed by President Jackson.
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The most prominent slave revolt in American history was led by Nat Turner, an enslaved African American preacher. A violent, day-long revolt in Southampton County, Virginia, was initiated by him and his band of about 80 supporters. The uprising is quashed by the army, and Turner is finally hanged. As a result, slave rules became much harsher in Virginia.
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William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing the Liberator, a weekly paper that advocates the complete abolition of slavery. He becomes one of the most famous figures in the abolitionist movement.
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More than 15,000 Cherokee Indians in present-day Oklahoma are being required to march from Georgia to the Indian Territory. Approximately 4,000 people suffer from malnutrition and sickness in the "Trail of Tears."
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Harrison dies one month after entering the office and is succeeded by his vice president John Taylor.
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The U.S. declares war on Mexico in an effort to gain California and other territories in the Southwest.
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Gold is discovered at Sutter's Mill in California. The gold rush reaches its height the following year.
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Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery and becomes one of the most effective and celebrated members of the Underground Railroad.
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The continuing debate whether territory gained in the Mexican War should be open to slavery is decided in the Compromise of 1850: California is admitted as a free state, Utah and New Mexico territories are left to be decided by popular sovereignty, and the slave trade in Washington, DC, is prohibited. It also establishes a much stricter fugitive slave law, than the original, passed in 1793.
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President Taylor dies and is succeeded by his vice president, Millard Fillmore.
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Landmark Supreme Court decision holds that Congress does not have the right to ban slavery in states and, furthermore, that slaves are not citizens.
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Abolitionist John Brown and 21 followers capture the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Va. (now W. Va.), in an attempt to spark a slave revolt.
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Emancipation Proclamation is issued, freeing slaves in the Confederate states.
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Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Va.
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Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Washington, DC, and is succeeded by his vice president, Andrew Johnson.
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Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, prohibiting slavery.
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The U.S. acquires Alaska from Russia for the sum of $7.2 million.
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President Johnson is impeached by the House of Representatives.
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Ulysses S. Grant is inaugurated as the 18th president.
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Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads are joined at Promontory, Utah, creating the first transcontinental railroad.
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Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, giving colored people the right to vote.
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Chicago fire kills 300 and leaves 90,000 people homeless.
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Lt. Col. George A. Custer's regiment is wiped out by Sioux Indians under Sitting Bull at the Little Big Horn River, Mont.
