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Thomas Jefferson is inauguated as President of the US
Thomas Jefferson takes office as the third U.S. president, where he will stay until 1809. -
The Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson buys the Louisiana Territory from France, doubling the size of the country. Even though nothing was written against it in the Constitution, it was highly debated whether or not it was legal. -
The Lewis & Clarke Expedition
U.S. explorers Lewis and Clark head west on their two-year, 8,000-mile expedition, to explore the new Louisiana Purchase territory. Cateloging all their research and encounters with new plants and animals, their findings told stories of a bountiful, vast West, teeming with life and riches. -
Hamilton VS Burr Duel to the Death
U.S. founding fathers Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, the former Secretary of the Treasury in George Washington's cabinet, fight a duel. Hamilton misses his shot, and Burr shots Hamilton in the chest. Hamilton is dies from his wounds and Burr's polictical and social reputation is ruined. -
Act of Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves
The Act of Prohibiting the Importation of Slaves is signed, effectively halting the Middle Passage slave trade between Africa and the United States. Slavery is still allowed, but foreign slave trade is made illegal. -
James Madison is elected & inaugurated as President of the US
James Madison is elected & inauguated as the fourth President of the United States. -
The National Road
The first contracts for The National Road are signed and the first ten miles constructed westward from Cumberland, Maryland, which will make westward migration possible. -
The Battle of Tippecanoe
At the Battle of Tippecanoe, Native Americans led by Tecumseh fight and lose a major battle opposing White settlement. -
The War of 1812
The War of 1812 begins after the US gets fed up with the British's meddling and bitterness after we won our independence. They are forcing impressment of American sailors and aiding in Native American tribes' attacks on American frontier towns. -
The Treaty of Fort Jackson
Treaty of Fort Jackson ends Creek War, a conflict between the Native American Creek nation and American settlers. -
The British burn Washington D.C.
The British burn the White House and the Capitol, but first lady Dolley Madison saves the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington. -
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The Battle of New Orleans
Andrew Jackson becomes an American hero at the Battle of New Orleans, which took place after the War of 1812 had officially ended. -
James Monroe is elected & inaugurated as President of the US.
James Monroe is elected and inaugurated as the fifth President of the United States. -
Harvard is founded
Havard is founded as a distinguished university that specializes in law in Boston, Massachusetts. -
Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, and Mississippi are admitted into the Union
Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, and Mississippi are all admitted into the Union as states. Lousiana and Mississippi are slave states, while Ohio and Indiana are free states. -
The Jackson Purchase
The Jackson Purchase included the area of West Tennessee and southwestern Kentucky between the Tennessee and Mississippi Rivers. The Chickasaws had historically occupied this large tract, which they ceded in the Treaty of Tecumseh, negotiated by Andrew Jackson and Isaac Shelby. -
Illinois is admitted to the Union
Illinois is admitted into the Union as a free state, after Flordia is admitted as a slave state, keeping the balance of free-slave states. -
The Adams-Onis Treaty
Adams-Onis Treaty ceded Spanish-controlled Florida to the Union, while the border between Spanish-controlled New Spain and territories under the control of the Union were drawn. -
Alabama and Maine are admitted to the Union
Alabama and Maine admission to the United Staes. Alabama is admitted as a slave states, while Maine is admitted as a free state. -
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise precariously balancing the slavery issue holds the Union together, temporarily at least. It divides the country between free and slave states, and makes sure the ratio of free to slave states is even. -
John Quincy Adams is elected by the Supreme Court & inauguarated as President of the US
John Quincy Adams is elected as President by the Supreme Court and inaugurated as the sixth President of the United States. The American presidential election which made John Quincy Adams president is bitterly contested and must be resolved by the House of Representatives. -
The Erie Canal opens
The Erie Canal opens, making New York the Empire State, due to it being a major hub of trade, commerce, and immigration. -
Andrew Jackson is elected & inaugurated as the President of the US
Andrew Jackson is elected & inaugurated as the seventh President of the United States. The election of Andrew Jackson is no less bitter than the previous one, and Jackson's inaugural party nearly wrecks the White House (it was basically a frat party rave). -
The Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act removes all Native Americans from their ancestral lands and relocates them onto smaller reservations in the West, out of the way of settlers. -
Oregon Trail opens
Oregon Trail, the wagon train trail to the West coast territories of California and Oregon, is opened. Westward settlers flock to these two territories, making the journey over a period of several weeks and/or months. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner's Rebellion was a slave revolt that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831, led by Nat Turner, a former slave. Turner and his allies, over the course of a few days, raided multiple farms, targeting and killing many White slaveowners and family members in the process. -
The Black Hawk War
Led by Sauk Native American tribe leader, Black Hawk, a group of roughly around 1,000 men, women, and children on a campaign to reclaim land surrendered to the US in 1804 in Illinois. The settlers fought back, resulting in most Native tribes moving further West. -
The Seminole Wars
Three separate conflicts that took place in Flordia, in the Seminole Native American tribal lands. The Natives would lose, and their land would be opened up for white settlement. -
Texas Revolutionary War begins
Texans go head to head with the Mexican president, Santa Anna, to declare their independence from Mexico. They hope to eventually join the Union. -
Jackson is almost assasinated
Andrew Jackson is nearly killed by gunfire by an English-born house painter, who fails. Andrew Jackson then proceeds to beat the crap out of him with a cane. -
Arkansas is admitted into the Union
Arkansas is admitted into the United States as a slave state. -
Martin Van Buren is elected & inaugurated as President of the US
Van Buren is elected and inaugurated as the eighth President of the United States. -
The Panic of 1837
Due to President Jackson's aggressive policies against foreign involvement and disbanding the National Bank, the US was faced with the Panic of 1837 as a consequence for these crippling financial difficulties. -
Michigan is admitted into the Union
Michigan is admitted into the Union as a free state. -
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The Trail of Tears
The removal of the Cherokee Indians from their ancestral land east of the Mississippi to a small reservation in Oklahoma territory. 3,500 of the 15,000 Cherokee died on the journey. -
William Henry Harrison is elected & inaugurated as the President of the US
William Henry Harrison is elected and inaugurated as the ninth President of the United States. He is known for having the longest Inauguration Address and the shortest Presidency. He dies from sickness a month after entering office. -
John Tyler is inaugurated as President of the US
Following William Henry Harrison's death, his Vice President, John Tyler, is inaugurated as the tenth President of the United States. -
James K. Polk is elected & inaugurated as President of the US
James K. Polk is elected and inaugurated as the eleventh President of the United States. -
Texas and Flordia are admitted to the Union
Texas and Flordia are admitted to the Union. While Flordia was already owned by the United States, it was not yet an official state. Texas, which had won its independence from Mexico 9 years prior and had been functioning as a republic until then, is also admitted. Both Texas and Flordia become slave states. -
The Oregon Treaty
The Oregon Treaty settled the border dispute between Great Britain-controlled Canada and Union territory, dividing the territory betwen the two powers at the 49th parallel. America, dispite being in a war with Mexico at the time already, threatened war if the British did not agree. Britain, not wanting ANOTHER war with America, decided to go with the peaceful solution. -
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The Mexican-American War
After Texas's admission to the Union, they claim that the Rio Grande to be the southern border of Texas, while the Mexicans claim it it the Nueces River that is the Southern border. Union soldiers invade the territory north of the Rio Grande, Mexico declares war, and Mexico gets invaded by the US and is forced to give up their claims in California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah territory. -
The Treaty of Cahuenga
The Treaty of Cahuenga ends the Mexican-American War in California. -
Iowa is admitted to the Union
Iowa is admitted to the Union as a free state. -
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War completely. The Mexicans cede the New Mexico territories of California, Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico to the Union. They also give up the area north of the Rio Grande. -
Gold Fever
Gold is discovered at Slater's Mill in California, triggering the Gold Rush in 1849. -
Gold Fever: President Confirms there is gold in California
President James K. Polk confirms that gold has been discovered in California and Gold Fever strikes thousands who rush to the West in an event known as the Gold Rush. -
Wisconsin is admitted to the Union
Wisconsin is admitted to the Union as a free state. -
Zachary Taylor is elected & inaugurated as President of the US
Zachary Taylor, a veteran of the Mexican-American War, is elected and inaugurated as the twelfth President of the United States. -
Millard Fillmore is inaugurated as President of the US
Millard Fillmore, the last Whig party President and Vice President of Zachary Taylor, is inaugurated as the thirteenth President of the United States, following the death of Zachary Taylor. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 delays the Civil War for another decade, after it finds a temporary solution to the issue of slavery. States who wished to enter the Union would vote whether or not they wished to be a free state or a slave state based on popular vote. -
California is admitted to the Union
California is admitted to the Union as a free state. -
Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom's Cabin
U.S. abolitionist and writer Harriet Beecher publishes Uncle Tom’s Cabin as a book. She sells 300,000 copies in its first year and public opinion against slavery in the North grows even more. -
The Gadsden Purchase
The US makes the Gadsden Purchase, buying a strip of land along the southern border of Texas to create a railroad. The US government pays $5million dollars for it. -
Franklin Pierce is elected & inaugurated as President of the US
Franklin Pierce is elected and inaugurated as the fourteenth President of the United States. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
An act that repealed the Missouri Compromise, leading to violent conflicts between pro-slavery supporters and abolitionists in Kansas, which became known as "Bleeding Kansas". -
James Buchanan is elected & inaugurated as President of the US
James Buchanan is elected and inaugurated as the fifteenth President of the United States. -
Lincoln VS Douglas Debates
The upstart politician Abraham Lincoln debates Stephen A. Douglas, the politician who led the legislation that created the Kansas-Nebraska Act, in a series of debates that included slavery in the country. -
Minnesota is admitted to the Union
Minnesota is admitted to the Union as a free state. -
Oregon is admitted to the Union
Oregon is admitted to the Union as a free state. -
The Harper's Ferry Raid
Abolitionist John Brown leads a raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia hoping to initiate a slave revolt against white slaveholders. His actions would put America back on the path to war, due to many Northerners supporting his actions, while Southerners despised them. John Brown was executed for his actions. -
The Pony Express
While only lasting for a short while and being replaced by locomotives, the Pony Express, a Westward postal service, was started. -
Abraham Lincoln is elected & inaugurated as President of the US
Abraham Lincoln is elected & inaugurated as the sixteenth President of the United States. His election, due to his abolitionist point of view, will be the final reason and cause for Southern seccession and, consequentially, the Civil War. -
Kansas is admitted to the Union
Kansas is admitted to the Union as a free state. -
The Confederacy
The Confederate States of America is established under Jefferson Davis, following the South's seccession from the Union. -
The Capture of Fort Sumter & the start of the American Civil War
The American Civil War begins following the capture of Federal-held Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. -
The First Battle of Bull Run
The first major battle of the Civil War. Washington politicians, who believed the battle to be a one-and-done kind of thing, picniced on a nearby hill, watching the battle, only to be forced to retreat following the Union lines' collapse and the victory of Confederate forces. -
The Battle of Shiloh
The Battle of Shiloh was a defeat for Confederate forces in southwestern Tennessee. The results of the battle were the failure of Confederate forces to prevent Union forces from advancing into Mississippi River Valley. It was the bloodiest battle of the war up till that point. -
The Second Battle of Bull Run
Same place, but one year later, with no better outcome for the Union forces. -
The Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam was part of Robert E. Lee's offensive campaign into Northern territory. Fought in Maryland, it was the bloodiest day of battle in the history of the United States with a loss of 22,717. The immediate aftermath of the battle was enough of a victory to give President Lincoln the confidence to release the Emancipation Proclamation which declared an end to slavery in Confederate territory. -
West Virginia is admitted to the Union
West Virginia, formerly a part of Virginia, decided to side with teh Union during the Civil War, and thus, became its own individual state. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
Made possible by the Union victory at Antietam, the Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order of President Lincoln that emancipated all slaves in the states still in rebellion against the Federal government. It did not apply to slaves in border states that had remained loyal to the Union and the proclamation was not applicable until Confederate territory was retaken by Union forces,. The Proclamation shifted the goal of war from simply reunifying the Union to eliminating slavery. -
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The Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville was one of the major battles of the Civil War and was considered to be Robert E. Lee's "perfect battle" because his decisions ultimately led to a Confederate victory. The aftermath of the battle was mixed however for the Confederates as Southern General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson was accidentally killed by friendly fire. -
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The Battle of Vicksburg
The Battleof Vicksburg was a major siege in the western theatre of operations that together with the Battle of Gettysburg (which was fought at the same time in the East) was considered a major turning point in the Civil War. The capture of Vicksburg ultimately led to the Confederacy being split into two, cutting off the western Confederate states of Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas from the rest of the Confederacy. -
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The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was one of the most famous battles of the Civil War and together with the Battle of Vicksburg (which was fought at the same time in the west) considered a turning point in the war itself. It marks the last attempt of the Confederates under General Robert E. Lee to invade the north and move the conflict out from the area of Virginia. -
The Gettysburg Address
a speech given by President Lincoln when visiting the dedication of a Cemetery in Pennsylvania in the aftermath of the Battle of Gettysburg. It is considered to be one of the most famous and important speeches ever given in American history. -
The Battle of the Wilderness
The Battle of the Wilderness was the first time that the armies of Union General Ulysses Grant and Confederate General Robert E. Lee met in battle with both of them in charge at the same time. The battle was ultimately inconclusive as they both took heavy losses. -
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The Battle of Cold Harbor
The Battle of Cold Harbor was the last major victory by Confederate General Robert E. Lee. The battle was bloody and ended with massive Union casualties. -
The Battle of Atlanta
The Battle of Atlanta was fought on July 22 1864 though the city of Atlanta did not fall to Union forces until September 2nd. The fall of Atlanta marked the beginning of General William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea -
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Sherman's March to the Sea
The March to the Sea was the campaign of total war waged by General WIlliam Tecumseh Sherman following the capture and burning of Atlanta. Sherman and his forces marched through Georgia, destroying everything in their path to disrupt the southern economy and transportation networks. His march in the Carolina's ended when Sherman accepted the surrender of Confederate General Joseph Johnston on April 26 1865. -
Nevada is admitted to the Union
Nevada is admitted to the Union -
Andrew Johnson is inaugurated as President of the US
Following the death of Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson, the Vice President of Abraham Lincoln, is inaugurated as the seventeenth President of the United States. -
The Battle of Appomattox Court House
The final battle between the forces of General Ulysses Grant and General Robert E Lee was the Battle of Appomattox Court House. Following a forced retreat from the battlefield, Lee surrenders to Grant and the Civil War comes to an end. -
Lee surrenders to Grant & the Civil War ends
Following his defeat at Appomattox Court House, Lee surrenders to Grant, officially ending the Civil War. Grant was generous in his terms; he allowed for the surrendering Confederates to keep their sidearms and horses, imprisoned no one, and supplied Lee's army with food rations. Grant even forbade his own forces from celebrating their victory over the Confederates. -
Lincoln is assassinated
Abraham Lincoln is assassinated at Ford Theatre in Washington D.C. by famed actor and Southern supporter, John Wilkes Booth, four days after the end of the Civil War. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 is overwhelmingly voted into law, despite a veto from President Johnson. The act guarantees citizenship for all people born in America, and to be protected and given the benefits of American law and rights. -
Nebraska is admitted to the Union
Nebraska is admitted to the Union -
The Alaskan Purchase
Alaska is purchased from Russia, and becomes a territory of the United States. -
Ulysses S. Grant is elected & inaugurated as President of the US
Ulysses S. Grant, the famed major general from the Civil War, is elected and inaugurated as the eighteenth President of the United States. -
Yellowstone becomes a National Park
President U.S. Grant establishes Yellowstone Park as the first National Park. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1875
Civil Rights Act of 1875 was the last of the major Reconstruction statutes, which guaranteed African Americans equal treatment in public transportation and public accommodations and service on juries. The U.S. Supreme Court declared the act unconstitutional, and it would not be implemented until a century later. -
The Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, near the Little Bighorn River in Montana Territory, pitted federal troops led by Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer against a band of Lakota Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. Tensions between the two groups had been rising since the discovery of gold on Native American lands. Custer was unaware of the number of Indians fighting at Little Bighorn, and his forces were outnumbered and quickly overwhelmed in what became known as Custer’s Last Stand.