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The capital city is moved from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.
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Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated as the third president in Washington, DC.
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The United States pays France $15 million to purchase the Louisiana territory. This made the United States almost double in size.
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Madison succeeded Jefferson with a victory in the 1808 presidential election.
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The United States declares war to the British for interference in their expansion to the west.
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The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent in which border issues were settled.
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James Monroe unsuccessfully challenged Madison in the 1808 presidential election, but in April 1811 he joined Madison's administration as Secretary of State. During the later stages of the War of 1812, Monroe simultaneously served as Madison's Secretary of State and Secretary of War. His wartime leadership established him as Madison's heir apparent, and he easily defeated Federalist Party candidate Rufus King in the 1816 presidential election.
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Spain agrees to cede the land of Florida to the United States due to issues with resources.
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Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation, which is the first constitution of the United States.
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John Quincy Adams. John Quincy Adams is inaugurated as the sixth president of the United States.
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Andrew Jackson is inaugurated as the seventh president of the United States.
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Nat Turner, a black slave, initiated a bloody rebellion against slavery that lasted for two days in Southampton County, Virginia.
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Texas declared its independence from Mexico, making it a free land.
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All Texan defenders are killed by the Mexican army laying siege on the Alamo.
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The term Manifest Destiny first appears in a magazine article. It represents the idea that the United States is entitled to expand throughout the continent from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
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The United States goes to war with Mexico to obtain the California territory.
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Oregon Treaty fixes U.S.-Canadian border at 49th parallel; the U.S. acquires Oregon territory.
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The Mexican War ends with the signing of the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty in which Mexico cedes the territories of California, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, and Arizona for $15 million.
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Abraham Lincoln is elected president after receiving public attention in debates.
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South Carolina secedes from the Union due to the cause that its state's rights were not being respected when it came to slavery.
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Confederates attack Fort Sumter in South Carolina and begin the Civil War.
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Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at a theatre in Washington, D.C.
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The United States acquires the Alaska Territory from Russia for the sum of $7.2 million.
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The Battle of the Washita River ends with Lt. Colonel George Custer's defeat of Black Kettle's Cheyenne. This ended the organized campaign of Indian forces against white settlers.
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The first African-American to be sworn into office in the United States Congress, Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi takes his place in the United States Senate.
