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Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Territory was a huge piece of land in the mid-western part of the United States. Thomas Jefferson purchased it from France for 15 million dollars in 1803. This made some critics question if that was a constitutional move. Does the President have the authority to purchase land? -
Lowell's First Cotton Mill
Francis Cabott Lowell opened his first cotton mill in 1814. His factory used a series of machines all housed in one building that could turn raw cotton into finished cloth. -
The Missouri Compromise
In 1820, Henry Clay thought of the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri compromise would enter Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It also drew a line on the latitude 36°30’, in which any state north of that line would be free, and the other side a slave state. -
Andrew Jackson's Election
Andrew Jackson first ran in 1824 but lost the election to John Quincy Adams. This decision broke up the democratic/republican party, and later in 1828 Jackson won the election as a democrat. He was vied as the people’s president. -
Indian Removal Act
THe Indian Removal Act cleared all of the Indians east od the Mississippi River. They were forced onto reservations in present-day Oklahoma. -
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Trail of Tears
When gold was discovered on Cherokee land in Georgia the tribe was forced to move. However the Cherokee tribe resisted and sued the state, and got the Supreme Court in their favor. Jackson ignored this, and they had to walk 800 miles known as the trail of tears, leaving 4,000 Cherokees dead. -
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Mexican-American War
This war went from 1846 to 1848. It was a battle between Mexico and the United States over Texas. James Polk declared war, and after two years of fighting we eventually won. In the 9 years leading up to that, Texas had applied for annexation twice but was rejected. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was proposed in 1850. First it admitted California to the United States as a free state. Then it allowed slavery in the Utah and New Mexico territories. Its goal was to preserve the Union. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852, Uncle Tom’s Cabin increased hostilities between the North and South. It was about a slave who eventually got killed because he didn’t know something, and it described all of the horrors about being a slave. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
In 1854 the Kansas Nebraska Act was purposed. It established the Kansas and Nebraska territories and allowed for popular sovereignty in those territories. It also appealed the Missouri compromise. -
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Bleeding Kansas
When protesters against and for slavery went into Kansas, many violent riots and battles broke out. They were debating on whether Kansas should be a free or slave states. -
Bessemer Process Patented
This process involved blowing air into molten iron to produce steel faster and cheaper than before. Steel could be mass produced, and literally shaped cities and towns. -
The Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott decision was when a slave, Dred Scott, brought a case to court because he was traveling with his owner in free states. He said he should be let free and it was unfair that his owner worked him in free states. The case was brought all the way to the Supreme Court, and they asked two questions: Was Scott free if his owner moved to a free state? Could a slave bring a case to court? They said not to both. This angered the North. They also concluded that the Missouri Compromise was unc -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown was a radical abolitionist who was seen as a hero in the north and a villain in the south. He led John Brown’s Raid, a raid on federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry Virginia. He planned to lead an armed slave revolt, however no one showed up and he was captured and executed. -
Oil Discovered in Pennsylvania
While in Titusville, Edwin Drake rented a piece of land in search for oil. After several weeks of drilling, Drake struck the jackpot. -
Lincoln Elected
Abraham Lincoln beat out Stephen Douglas, John Breckenridge, and John Bell in the election of 1860 with less than 40% of the votes. Most of these votes were cast in the North. His victory eventually cause secession, or the withdrawl from the Union. -
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The Civil War
This war was caused when things got really bad with the North and South. Agricultural differences were the main problem between these two. Robert E. Lee was the general for the South, while Ulysses S. Grants was the general for the North. -
The Emancipation Proclomation
In early 1863 Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves in all southern states. This gave the North a moral cause for winning the war, and it was ignored by the confederacy. -
The Battle at Gettysburg
More than 50,000 soldiers died at this blood bath, as 75,000 COnfederate troops met 95,000 Union troops. The North won, and this was the turning point of the war. -
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Sherman's March to the Sea
William Sherman and his troops started his long march in Tennessee. He burned Atlanta to the ground and eventually captured Savannah, Georgia. While using total war, which is doing anything you can to defeat the enemy, he went north to the Carolinas and captured Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederacy. -
Surrender at the Appomattox Court House
Lee and Grant met at the court house to discuss terms. Grant offered Lee generous terms: they could keep their weapons, horses, and go home. The war was over. -
Lincoln's Assassination
While watching a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C., Lincoln was shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth, a southerner. This got the North more angry at the South, and they thought the South should be punished. -
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Reconstruction
In this time period, the U.S. began to re-attatch the South and try to move on. Lincoln was assassinated. All of the southern states were allowed back in easily. Andrew Johnson was disliked and impeached. It was a while before the U.S. got back on its feet again. -
The 13th Amendment
The 13th amendment abolished slavery. The Confederate states had to agree with this in order to rejoin the Union. -
The Black Codes
These were laws that intended to restrict freedom and opportunites of the African-Americans. These restricted them from voting or serving in juries. -
Johnson's Impeachment
When Andrew Johnson fired Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, it pushed Congress over the edge. They impeached Johnson and were one vote away from removing hime. After this, Johnson became quieter and let Congress rule. -
The 14th Amendment
This amendment stated that al state laws shall be equal among all, and said any person born in the United States is a citizen. It further prohibited any state from rejecting its citizens equal protection of laws. -
Transcontinental Railroad Completion
Once it was completed, the transcontinental railroad could take you all the way west in just 10 days. Cities sprang up around these railroads, and indusrty got larger and larger. -
Standard Oil Formed
Run by John D. Rockefeller, Standard Oil dominating the refining oil business, and soon became one of the first monopolies. They owned about 90% of the oil refining business. -
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The Gilded Age
Mark Twain called this period the Gilded Age because it looked like gold on the outside but was bad on the inside. -
The 15th Amendment
This stated that any citizen could vote and there would be no restrictions because of color, race, or previous condition. -
Carnegie Forms His Steel Company
Andrew Carnegie started Carnegie Steel Company near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Steel was mass produced in these steel companies, and cities started to go up. -
First Telephone called
Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call when according to legend he spilled acid and was trying to get his lab partner. By 1920, there were at least 13 million phones in use. -
The Lightbulb
Thomas Edison's groundbreaking lightbulb invention became so popular that soon there were countless generators powering over 3 million of these bulbs around the United States. Electricity was just another innovation that changed everything -
Sherman Antitrust Act
Outlawed trusts, monopolies, and other forms of business that restricted trade.