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Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson bought the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million, almost doubling the size of the U.S This treaty pushed the western boundary of the U.S. from the Mississippi River to the rocky Mountains. -
Lowell's First Cotton Mill
Francis Cabot Lowell invented the factory system and opened his first cotton mill in, hiring mill girls to work on machines that turned raw cotton into finished cloth. -
Missouri Compromise
The compromise said that Missouri would enter the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, land North of the line drawn threw the Louisiana Territory at the 36th parallel would be free, and slavery would be permitted in land south of the line. This was done to preserve the balance of power in the Senate and make both sides happy. -
Andrew Jackson Elected
After winning the popular vote, but losing the presidency in 1824, Jackson formed the Democratic Party and won the election because the people saw him as a common man. He threw a party, trashing the white house, and gave government jobs to his supporters ( spoils system). -
Indian Removal Act
Congress passed the Indian Removal Act to get rid of Indians in the lands east of the Mississippi River and relocate them to Indian Territory, which later became Oklahoma. Some tribes resisted by attempting legal defense, trying to be more like white men, and using arms. They were killed or forced to move anyway. -
Trail of Tears
On the forced journey to Indian Territory, 4,000 Cherokee indians died from starvation, disease, and harsh winter weather. -
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Mexican American War
Texas gained independence from Mexico, then joined the union as a state. The U.S went to war with Mexico over a border dispute in Texas. At the end of the war, the U.S had gained most of the American southwest in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. -
Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay's plan admitted California into the Union as a free state and divided the southwest into New Mexico and Utah, both having slavery. It ended slave trade in D.C, but allowed existing slaveholders to keep their slaves. It set the Fugitive Slave Law in place. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
It was a best- selling novel written by Harriet Beecher Stow describing the cruel acts a slave named Tom experienced. The North were angry at the South, who saw the novel as not true and insulting. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
This law said that the Kansas Nebraska territories were to have popular sovereignty. -
Bessemer Process Patented
Henry Bessemer invented a process where air was blown through molten iron to remove impurities in steel. Steel could be produced much faster and cheaper than before. -
Bleeding Kansas
Northerners and southerners came to Kansas to influence the vote on slavery. As the tension, grew violence broke out and Kansas became a battleground. -
Dred Scott Decision
After a slave going to court to find out about his freedom, the results were that Slaves did not have the right to bring cases to federal court, Slaves were still not free even if their owner moved to a free state, and the Missouri compromise was unconstitutional because it outlawed property in certain states. -
Oil Discovered in Pennsylvania
Edwin Drake discovered oil, oil wells were drilled in Pennsylvania and many other states. It became a huge industry, supplying fuel for lamps, oil for machinery, and gasoline for automobiles. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown was a radical abolitionist who conducted a raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, VA. He planned to lead an armed slave revolt. But he was captured and executed, seen as a martyr by the North, terror by the south. -
Lincoln Elected
After the election of 1860 when President Lincoln is elected, 11 southern states decide to leave the Union and form their own country established as the Confederacy because they thought Lincoln would end slavery. This angered the north and was an issue causing civil war. -
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The Civil War
The Civil War began at Ft. Sumter and lasted four long years between the Confederacy and the union. Main turning points in the war were the battles of Antietem, Vicksberg, Gettysberg, and Sherman's March. In the end, the confederacy surrendered to the union. -
Battle of Gettysberg
General Lee invaded the north, but was outnumbered, and foced to retreat, losing a third of his army. the war lasted three days -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln issued a proclamation freeing all slaves in Confederate slates. Althought the confederacy ignored the proclamation, it gave the union a moral cause for winning the war. -
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Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman marched troops south from Tennesssee through Georgia, the Carolinas, and on to Richmond destroying everything in his path. -
Surrender at Apomattox Courthouse
After Grant captured the capital of the confederacy (richmond) Lee was forced to surrender, his troops were surrounded. Grant said confederate officers could keep their weapons and horses and could return to their homes. -
Lincoln Assasinated
Lincoln was shot while attending a play at Ford's Theater in DC by a man named John wilkes Booth , who believed he was saving the Confederacy. -
13th Amendment
This amendment avolished slavery . -
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Reconstruction
After Lincoln's assassination, President Johnson and congress took over Reconstruction and biracial governments were established across the south, former slaves' rights were expanded. But South was still under the rule of white men. -
Johnson's Impeachment
Johnson said that congress was trying to restrict his power, so he fired Secretary of War Edward Stanton. The house voted to empeach him for violating th eTenure of Office Act. He was one vote short of the two- thirds majority required to be impeached -
14th Amendment
This law said that all laws shall operate equally for all people born who are citizens. It reversied the Dred Scott Desicion. -
Transcontinental Railroad Completed
The road connected the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the US by rail for the first time . It was a crowning achievement, revolutionizing travel at the time. -
15th Amendment
IT said that all people of the US will be able to vote no matter their race, religion, or anything else. -
Standard Oil Formed
John D. Rockefeller formed a corporation called Standard Oil and created a monopoly in the business, buying out or merging all other companies to illiminate competition. -
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Gilded Age
The American economy rapidly expanded due to steel, oil, and railroads. On the surface, business was great, but in reality, farmers and the rest of the country suffered. -
Carnegie forms his Steel Company
Andrew Carnegie invested in steel production and formed his own compan which later built the largest and most modern steel mill of it's time in Pittsburg, PA. -
First Telephone Called
Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone and first communicated using it when he called out to his lab assistant . -
Black Codes
After reconstruction ended, democrats regained control of state governments in the south and passed laws segregating blacks from whites in public life and putting restricitons on their freedom. -
Light Bulb Invented
Thomas Edison invented the lightbulb, which gave birth to thte electric power industry and generating stations. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
Congress passed the act, outlwawing trusts, monopolies, and other forms of business that restricted trade. Although, there were loopholes and it was not well inforced.