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Louisiana Purchase
The purchase that gave a big chunk of land to America. America bought the land from French for a price of $15 million. Thomas Jefferson believed that it was a good deal. -
Missouri Compromise
Allowed Missouri to be admitted into the Union as a slave state and admitted Maine as a free state. -
Andrew Jackson Gets Elected
Andrew Jackson is elected into office and started his presidency. -
Indian Removal Act
This act was signed by Andrew Jackson. This act was to clear the Indians from the lands east of the Mississippi River. The plan was to move Indians west to the Indian Territory. -
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Trail of Tears
The Americans strated removing the Indians from their land. They sent them on an 800 mile walk. Over 4,000 Cherokees died from the cold and starvation. -
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Mexican American War
The Americans believed that the land of Texas was their land and the Mexicans beleieved that land was theirs. They fought over the land and a result was that Mexico ceded the region of Texas to the United States. -
Compromise of 1850
Passed in 1850 to admit California into the Union as a free state, split the remaining Southwest into New Mexico and Utah territories, with the people there determining for themselves via popular sovereignty whether or not to accept or deny slavery, to ban slavery in D.C., and to establish a new, stronger, fugitive slave law -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
A novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It showed the horrible things that the South did to the slaves -
Kansas Nebraska Act
Made Kansas and Nebraska decide if they wanted to be a slave or free state using popular sovereignty. -
Bessemer Process Patented
Henry Bessemer patented a new way of making steel. It was quicker and less expensive. -
Dred Scott Decision
Ruled in 1857. Supreme Court case of Scott v. Sandford that legalized slavey in the territories that were declared in the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. Scott believed that since his owner let him go, he should be free. -
Oil Found in Pennsylvania
In Tituville, Pennsylvannia, Edwin Drake had drilled for oil. He struck oil in 1859. -
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John Brown's Raid
John Brown planned to take armed slaves and other people to revolt at Harpers Ferry. This took place in 1859. He fought off a lot of men, but the slaves didn’t show up. He fought with a few other people. He ended up being captured and he was executed for his crimes. -
Abraham Lincoln Elected
Abraham Lincoln is elected the 16th President of the United States. -
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Civil War
The South seceeded from the Union in 1861. They fought against the North for slvaery to be legal. Largest amount of casulties in one war. North was victorious. -
Emancipation Proclamation
An order issued by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863 to free the slaves in the Confederate States. The Confederates didn’t listen to him because they believed that he wasn’t their president. -
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Battle of Gettysburg
A battle fought in Gettysburg, Virginia. One of the bloodiest battles ever. South lost almost 1/3 of its men -
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First Transcontinental Railraod
There were two companies building railroads. the Union Pacific and the Central Pacific. They worked really hard to make these railroads long. they eventually connected and they traveled from Omaha to Sacramento. -
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Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman marched from Atlanta, Georgia to Savannah, Georgia. He burned the cities that he came to. He used total war to get there. -
Surrender at Appomatox Courthouse
General Robert Lee had surrendered to the Union. -
Lincon's Assassination
Abraham Linclon was assassinated by John Wilkes Boothe in Ford's Theater. He was shot in the back of the head. -
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Reconstruction
After the Civil War, America had to reconstruct their country. They had built new inventions that sparked a new start to the country. -
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Black Codes
Laws that restricted the freedom and opportunities of African Americans -
13th Amendment
Stated that slavery is illegal and not allowed. -
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Johnson's Impeachment
President Andrew Johnson had fired his Secretary of War. The government believed that he couldn't do this, so they charged him and tried to impeach him. -
14th Amendment
This protected the right of freedmen -
15th Amendment
States that any person can vote no matter of their race or color -
Standard Oil
Standard Oil started out as Standard Oil of Ohio. It was formed by John D. Rockefeller. It was later turned into Standard Oil. He made millions of dollars with this company. -
The Gilded Age
Mark Twain had referred to this time as the Guilded Age. He said that industrialists who made great fortunes led good lives, but under that sparkle, the period was marked by political corruption and social unrest. -
Carnagie Forms His Steel Company
Carnagie saw the way Bessemer made steel. He made his own machine to mass produce steel and formed his own steel company. -
First Telephone Call
Alexander Graham Bell had created the first telephone. He used it to call people. More than 13 million people had telephones by 1920. -
First Lightbulb
Thomas Edison worked day and night on a carbon filament used to create light. He made about two thousand bulbs before the first one worked. Once he figured out how it worked, he tweeked it and made it better. -
Sherman's Antitrust Act
Congress passed a law that outlawed trusts, monopolies, and other forms of business that restricted trade.