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Gabriel Prosser,an enslaved African American blacksmith, organizes a slave revolt intending to march on Richmond, Virginia. The conspiracy is uncovered, and Prosser and a number of the rebels are hanged. Virginia's slave laws are consequently tightened
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The U.S. capital is moved from Philadelphia to Washington, DC.
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U.S. Congress meets in Washington, DC, for the first time
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Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated as the third president in Washington, DC.
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Landmark Supreme Court decision greatly expands the power of the Court by establishing its right to declare acts of Congress unconstitutional.
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The United States agrees to pay France $15 million for the Louisiana Territory, which extends west from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and comprises about 830,000 sq mi. As a result, the U.S. nearly doubles in size
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Lewis and Clark set out from St. Louis, Mo., on an expedition to explore the West and find a route to the Pacific Ocean.
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Jefferson's second inauguration.
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Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific Ocean
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James Madison is inaugurated as the fourth president.
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The U.S. declares war on Britain over British interference with American maritime shipping and westward expansion.
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Madison's second inauguration.
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British capture Washington, DC, and set fire to White House and Capitol in August
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Francis Scott Key writes Star-Spangled Banner as he watches British attack on Fort McHenry in Baltimore.
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Treaty of Ghent is signed, officially ending the war.
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James Monroe is inaugurated as the fifth president.
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Landmark Supreme Court decision upholds the right of Congress to establish a national bank, a power implied but not specifically enumerated by the Constitution.
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Spain agrees to cede Florida to the United States.
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In an effort to maintain the balance between free and slave states, Maine is admitted as a free state so that Missouri can be admitted as a slave state; except for Missouri, slavery is prohibited in the Louisiana Purchase lands north of latitude 36°30'.
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Monroe's second inauguration.
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Denmark Vesey, an enslaved African American carpenter who had purchased his freedom, plans a slave revolt with the intent to lay siege on Charleston, South Carolina. The plot is discovered, and Vesey and 34 coconspirators are hanged
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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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Landmark Supreme Court decision broadly defines Congress's right to regulate interstate commerce
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John Quincy Adams is inaugurated as the sixth president.
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U.S. Constitution goes into effect, having been ratified by nine states.
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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 is inaugurated as the seventh 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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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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Jackson's second inauguration.
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Texan defenders of the Alamo are all killed during a siege by the Mexican Army.
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Texas declares its independence from Mexico.
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Martin Van Buren is inaugurated as the eighth 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 along the “Trail of Tears.”
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William Henry Harrison is inaugurated as the ninth president.
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William Henry Harrison dies one month later and is succeeded in office by his vice president, John Tyler.
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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 U.S. annexes Texas by a joint resolution of Congress
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James Polk is inaugurated as the 11th president
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The U.S. declares war on Mexico in an effort to gain California and other territories in Southwest.
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Mexico recognizes Rio Grande as new boundary with Texas and, for $15 million, agrees to cede territory comprising present-day California, Nevada, Utah, most of New Mexico and Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
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Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin is published. It becomes one of the most influential works to stir anti-slavery sentiments.
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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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War concludes with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
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Women's rights convention is held at Seneca Falls, N.Y.
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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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Zachary Taylor is inaugurated as the 12th president.
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President Taylor dies and is succeeded by his vice president, Millard Fillmore.
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Franklin Pierce is inaugurated as the 14th president.
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The legislation repeals the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and renews tensions between anti- and proslavery factions.
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Congress passes the Kansas-Nebraska Act, establishing the territories of Kansas and Nebraska.
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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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James Buchanan is inaugurated as the 15th president.
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Abraham Lincoln comes to national attention in a series of seven debates with Sen. Stephen A. Douglas during the Illinois state election campaign.
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Confederates attack Ft. Sumter in Charleston, S.C., marking the start of the war.
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Abraham Lincoln is elected president.
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South Carolina secedes from the Union.
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Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana secede.
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The conflict between the North (the Union) and the South (the Confederacy) over the expansion of slavery into western states.
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Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee seceded.
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The Confederate States of America are established.
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Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederacy.
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Texas secedes.
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Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the 16th president.
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Emancipation Proclamation is issued, freeing slaves in the Confederate states.
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Homestead Act becomes law, allowing settlers to claim land (160 acres) after they have lived on it for five years.
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Battle of Gettysburg is fought.
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President Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address.
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Lincoln's second inauguration.
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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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President Johnson is impeached by the House of Representatives.
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Johnson is acquitted at his trial in the Senate.
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Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, defining citizenship.
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Ulysses S. Grant is inaugurated as the 18th president.
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Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, giving blacks the right to vote.
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Grant's second inauguration.
