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The U.S. Capital moves from Philadelphia, to Washington D.C.
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America buys the Louisiana Territory for $15 million from France.
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James Madison becomes the 4th U.S. President.
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The U.S. goes to war because of British attempts to restrict U.S. trade, the Royal Navy’s impressment of American seamen and America’s desire to expand its territory
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The Treaty of Ghent officially ends the war.
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James Monroe becomes the 5th president.
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The U.S. Congress passed a law that admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, while banning slavery from the remaining Louisiana Purchase lands located north of the 36º 30’ parallel
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Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation, the first U.S. constitution.
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In his annual address to Congress, President Monroe declares that the American continents are henceforth off-limits for further colonization by European powers
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John Quincy Adams becomes the 6th president.
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Construction is begun on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the first public railroad in the U.S.
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Andrew Jackson becomes 7th president.
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President Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, which authorizes the forced removal of Native Americans living in the eastern part of the country to lands west of the Mississippi River.
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Jackson's second inauguration.
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Texas declares its independence from Mexico.
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Texan defenders of the Alamo are all killed during siege by the Mexican Army.
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Texans defeat Mexicans at San Jacinto
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Martin Van Buren becomes the 8th president.
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More than 15,000 Cherokee Indians are forced to march from Georgia to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Approximately 4,000 die from starvation and disease.
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William Henry Harrison becomes the 9th president.
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William Henry Harrison dies one month after inauguration and is succeeded by vice president John Tyler.
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James Polk becomes the eleventh president.
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The term “manifest destiny” appears for the first time in a magazine article by John L. O'Sullivan. It expresses the belief held by many white Americans that the United States is destined to expand across the continent.
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The Wilmot Proviso, introduced by Democratic representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania, attempts to ban slavery in territory gained in the Mexican War The proviso is blocked by Southerners, but continues to enflame the debate over slavery.
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U.S. declares war on Mexico in effort to gain California and other territory in Southwest.
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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the war.
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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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Zachary Taylor becomes the twelfth president.
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Congress passes the Kansas-Nebraska Act, establishing the territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
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The Civil war caused by disagreements over the expansion of slavery begins.
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The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodies battle during the Civil War.
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Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery.
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The Fifteenth Amendment is ratified giving African American people to vote.
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The Civil Rights Act, giving equal rights to blacks in jury duty and accommodation, is passed by the United States Congress. It would be overturned in 1883 by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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The Battle of Little Big Horn occurs when Lt. Colonel George Custer and his 7th U.S. Cavalry engage the Sioux and Cheyenne Indians on the bluffs above the Little Big Horn River. All 264 members of the 7th Cavalry and Custer perish in the battle, the most complete rout in American military history.
