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Free African American community of Philadelphia petitions US Congress to abolish the slave trade
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Alessandro Volta reports his discovery of the electric battery in a letter to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society of London
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The United States Library of Congress is founded
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John Adams becomes the first US President to live in the White House
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Thomas Jefferson is elected as the 3rd president of the United States.
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1st comic book "The Wasp" is published in Hudson, New York criticizing Republican politicians
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Haiti declares independence from France; first black nation to gain freedom from European colonial rule.
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Ordered by Thomas Jefferson to map the Northwest United States, Lewis and Clark begin their expedition from St. Louis and Camp Dubois. The journey begins with navigation of the Missouri River.
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The importation of slaves is outlawed, although between 1808 and 1860, more than 250,000 slaves were illegally imported.
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The first steam-powered ferry service between New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey is started on John Steven's ship, the Juliana.
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Napoleon's Grand Army invades Russia in June. Forced to retreat in winter, most of Napoleon's 600,000 men are lost. In the U.S., war with Britain declared over freedom of the seas for U.S. vessels (War of 1812).
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The Battle of Lake Erie is won by the American navy when Commodore Perry's fleet defeats the ships of British Captain Robert Barclay. This victory allows U.S. forces to take control of the majority of the Old Northwest and lake region.
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French defeated by allies (Britain, Austria, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, and Portugal) in War of Liberation. Napoleon exiled to Elba, off Italian coast. Bourbon king Louis XVIII takes French throne
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The flag of the United States is officially adopted by Congress with the configuration of thirteen red and white stripes and one star for each state in the union. At the time of adoption, with the most recent addition of Mississippi, the flag had twenty stars
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The first financial crises in the United States, the Panic of 1819, occurs, leading to foreclosures, bank failures, and unemployment. Several causes have been identified, including the heavy amount of borrowing by the government to finance the War of 1812, as well as the tightening of credit by the Second Bank of the U.S. in response to risky lending practices by wildcat banks in the west.
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March 3, 1820 - The Missouri Compromise bill, sponsored by Henry Clay, passes in the United States Congress. This legislation allows slavery in the Missouri territory, but not in any other location west of the Mississippi River that was north of 36 degrees 30 minutes latitude, the current southern line of the state of Missouri. The state of Missouri would be admitted to the Union, under this compromise, on August 10, 1821
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Mexico gains independence from Spain.
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The first fraternity in the United States is begun, Chi Phi, at Princeton University
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In New York State, slavery is legally abolished.
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The copyright for The American Dictionary of the English Language is registered and the book published that year by Noah Webster.
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William Austin Burt, of the United States, invents and patents the typewriter, at the time called the typographer.
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March 19, 1831 - The first bank robbery in United States history occurs at the City Bank of New York. Edward Smith robbed the Wall Street bank of $245,000. He would be caught and convicted of the crime with sentencing of five years in Sing Sing prison
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Henry Blair receives the second patent awarded to an African American when he patents a corn planter.
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The battle for the Alamo is waged in San Antonio, Texas when 3,000 Mexican troops under Santa Ana attack the mission and its 189 defenders. Texas troops lose the battle after a thirteen day siege. On March 2, 1836, Texas independence was declared at a convention of delegates from fifty-seven Texas communities at Washington-on-the-Brazos, making them an independent nation free from Mexican rule.
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Antarctica is claimed for the United States when Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigates the continent and claims Wilkes Land for the nation
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The first woman doctor in the United States, Elizabeth Blackwell, is granted her degree by the Medical Institute of Geneva, New York
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The United States of America participates in the opening ceremony of the first World's Fair in history, the Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, in the Crystal Palace designed by Joseph Paxton, in Hyde Park, London, England. The world's fair becomes the first major gathering of the works of nations in one location under the idea of Prince Albert and support of Queen Victoria.
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The first elevator is installed by Elisha Otis on Broadway in New York City.
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The Pony Express begins. Overland mail between Sacramento, California and St. Joseph's, Missouri is carried over the Oregon Trail for eighteen months by this series of riders on horseback, then rendered obsolete when the transcontinental telegraph is completed. Service ended on October 24, 1861
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March 4, 1861 - Abraham Lincoln is sworn in as president of the United States with Hannibal Hamlin as Vice President
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November 19, 1863 - "Four score and seven years ago," began what many perceive as the best speech in American history, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln in the town cemetery overlooking the fields of Gettysburg. The Gettysburg Address, only 272 words long and taking about two minutes to speak, captured the essence of the Civil War as both sacrifice and inspiration.
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The Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, takes effect
