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Louisiana Purchase
Was bought from France for 15$ million dollars by Thomas Jefferson. Over doubled the size of the United States, everything west of the Mississippi River. Many people critized Jefferson's decision, stating it was unconstitutional. -
Lowell's first Cotton Mill
The father of the factory system, Lowell used a series of machienes in one building that turned raw cotton into finished cloth. He hired women, because they were cheaper to pay, and they were happy to leave thier unpaied farm work for factory jobs. -
Missouri Compromise
Was passed by the Senate admitting Maine as a free state into the Union, while Missouri would enter as slave state. This also started the 36'30 line, where slavery was banned above the line, but permitted underneath. -
Andrew Jackson gets elected
Jackson ran as the "peoples president" and got many votes from "common people". He formed a new politcal party called the Democratic Party, which claimed to speak for ordinary farmers and workers -
Indian Removal Act
Was a descision during Andrew Jackson's presidency in order to remove Native Americans from their home land in order for the U.S. to acquire gold. They were moved to land west of the Mississippi River. -
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Trail of Tears
The removal of Native Americans by force over 800 miles. Mostly Cherokee Indians were removed and over 4,00 died because of famine and extreme conditions. -
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Mexican American War
Was a war caused after Texas seceeded from Mexico and asked to be annexed to the Untited States. Mexican soldiers crossed the disputed border and killed U.S. soldiers on dispusted land, causing a 2 year war to start. -
Compromise of 1850
It allowed California as a free state which pleased the Union, while two territories New Mexico, and Utah were admitted as slave states which pleased the South. It also came with the Fugitive Slave law which did not make the North happy. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Publlished by Harriet Beecher-Stowe in order to describe the real life situations of slavery. Showed the life of a former slave, Uncle Tom who was beaten to death, this shocked the North and made them more hostile to the South. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
Many Northerners feared that slavery would spread like a plague after Congress allowed a vote to decide whether Kansas and Nebraska would be slave states. As a result they formed a new political party, the Republican Party. -
Bessemer process patened
Henry Bessemer patened his process of blowing air through molten air to create steel. Steel could now be massed produced since this process was cheaper and quicker. -
Bleeding Kansas
Pro slavery forces raided the Free-Soil town of Kansas, burned buidings, looted stores, and destroyed two printing presses. They were there to influence the vote on slavery and take down the free-soilers. -
Dred Scott Decision
Asked two questions- First did slaves have the right to bring a case before federal court?, and second, Did the Scott's stay in Wisconsion make them free? Both were ruled as a no, raising more tension between the North and South. -
Oil Discovered in Pennsylvania
Edwin Drake went to Titusville, Pennsylvania on a buisness trip after buying stock from Pennsylvania Rock Oil Company. After finally stricking oil, it would later be used for fuels for lamps. lubricants for machienery, and eventually gasoline for cars. -
John Brown's Raid
The Dred Scott decision made many abolionisists angry and they wanted to act. John Brown raided Harpers Ferry and seized the arsenal. However without the help he needed he died along with others because they were taken down by soldiers. -
Lincolns elected
When Lincol was elected it drew the final line between the North and South, having many states in the South to seceed and form the confederate States of America. -
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The Civil War
War bewteen the Union states in the North and the confederate states of the South. Started after the election of 1860, conflicts of slavery had been dividing the nation for decades. -
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Transcontinental Railroad Completed
Was completed by Central Pacific which started in California and had a workforce of Chiense and Union Pacific which started in Nebraska and had a workforce of Irish immigrants. The two would meet in Utah to complete the first railroads in America. -
Emancipation Proclamation
After the battle of Antietam Lincoln issued a warning to the confederate states to return to the union by January 1, 1863 or he would free their slaves. The Proclomation had little effect because the Confederacy did not view Lincoln as their president. -
Battle of Gettysburg
This battle was the turning point in the war. With both sides tied, the North finally got an edge in the war. More than 50,000 confederate soldiers die, over one-third of their army. -
Sherman's March to Sea
Union general William Tecumseh Sherman marched his troops through the south implying total war the entire way. He burned the state of Georgia to the ground and left paths of destruction. -
Surrender at Appoomattox Court House
After being surrounded by the Annaconda Plan, Robert E Lee decided to surrender. Robert E. Lee met with the Union at the Courthouse and the Civil War finally Ended -
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Reconstruction
The time period after the civil war intended to mend the country back together again. During this time blacks had civil rights taken away, and the south resisted reconstruction -
Lincoln's Assassination
After the Civil war ended President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth who believed he was saving the confederacy by murdering the president. Lincoln would never get to see his plans for reconstructing America. -
13th Amendment
This ammendment finally abolished slavery. Was required to be ratified by the south in order to be accepted into the Untion again -
Black Codes
These black codes were laws passed in the south intended to limit the freedoms and eliminate civil rights of blacks. It also ensured a workforce for plantation owners who feared of going bankrupt after the war ended since they lost all of their free labor. -
14th Ammendment
This ammendment stated that anyone born in the United States was immediatley an American citizen. The ammendment reversed teh Dred Scott decisison, and allowed citizens to have equal protection under the law. -
15th Ammendment
This ammendment was the last of the Reconstruction ammendments stating that the right to vote would not be denied because of race or color. This ammendment allowed African Americans to finally vote. -
Johnson's Impeachment
President Johnson faced impeachment after firing Secretary of War, Edwin Staton appointed by Lincoln. Johnson was trying to prove to congress after they passed laws he claimed were unconstitutional. Congress said his act went against the Tenure of Office Act and held a trial to impeach him. Johnson fell only one vote short from being impeached from office. -
Standard Oil Formed
John D. Rockefeller formed Sandard Oil company which would be a monoply for Oil companies everywhere. Rockefeller would buy out other companies, and undercut competeion by lowering his prices after striking deals with railroads to cut his shipping costs. Standard Oil would eventually control 90% of the nation's oil production. -
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The Gilded Age
Mark Twain called this period in American history "The Gilded Age" because when something is gilded it only appears to be gold on the outside. While only a couple people were making it bigger in the U.S. the line between poor and wealthy became way to strong. -
Carneige forms his Steel Company
Andrew Carneige decided to invest in the steel company and built the larges and most modern steel mill of its time in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Steel would now be used for construction in railroads, bridges, and eventually skyscrapers. -
First Telephone Called
Created by Alexander Grahm Bell the telephone would soon replace the telegraph. Along with the telephone came Bell Telephone Company where telephone lines would soon be laid down. -
Lightbulb Invented
Invented by Thomas Edison the lightbulb helped start an age of innovation after the Civil War. After trying over 1,000 fillaments Edison finally found the perfect fillament, bamboo fibers/ cardboard. The lightbulb was the first way to connect electricity and be able to use it. -
Sherman Antitrus Act
Passed by congress, the act was intended to outlaw monopolies, trusts, and other forms of buisness that restricted trade. However the law was barley enforced and was filled with unclarified terms, which lead to confusion.