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Jamestown was founded
Jamestown was the first permanent and first joint-stock colony in North America. It became the model for other towns in the area and would become one of the most well-know colonies. -
Tobacco
In 1613, John Rolfe developed a type of tobacco that could be grown in North America. The plant instantly became very popular and thus very profitable: its income would benefit the colonies for many years to come. It also provided need for slave labor. However, it exhausted the land and created the need for more land of Indian territories. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact, signed in 1620 by the men of the Mayflower, was the first document of self-government in North America, It would become a precedent to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. -
Massasoit
Massasoit, leader of the Wampanoags, offered to help the struggling Pilgrims in return for an allegience against an enemy tribe. The Native Americans taught the Pilgrims to utilize the land; because of this, the Pilgrims survived and these valuable skills were passed on to other colonists. -
Chesapeake Bay established by the Calverts
The land of the Chesapeake Bay was given to the Calvert family to govern as a proprietary colony. It was a huge portion of land and grew into one of the largest, most powerful, and most prosperous colonies. -
Roger Williams establishes Providence
Roger WIlliams, having been banished from Salem because of his views on religious toleration and separation of church and state, founded the colony of Providence with people of his same beliefs. This would be one of many insstances where dissenters of the popular church were banished, and it led to the establishment of a large colony. -
Harvard College
Harvard College, established 1636 in Massachussets, along with grammar schools, started a tradition of great schooling and high literacy and education rates in the New England colonies. -
Hartford Established
Because Thomas Hooker believed in women's suffrage as well as men's, he moved away from the Puritain community and established Hartford, Connecticut with his followers in 1636. There they created a place where their religion could be practiced freely and the town of Hartford grew intoa a city. -
The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution
Written by Roger WIlliams in 1644, was one of the first formal arguments gor religious toleration. It led to King Charles II prohibiting religious persecution in Massachussets. -
The first of the Navigation Acts was passed
In 1651, the first Navigation Act was passed. It restricted trade and controlled the import of American goods into other nations by only allowing trade with England, From this, England recieved great profit by buying and selling these goods. These would lead to the following two Navigation Acts among others, all which angered the colonists, who wanted comtrol of their own economy. -
Cardinal Richelieu
Cardinal Richelieu, a French Prime MInister, planned a Catholic imperial policy and made a Catholic empire by aggressivley controlling church administration in French colonies. This brought Catholicism deeper into the colonies. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Nathaniel Bacon, along with former indentured servants, led raids on nearby Indian villages in a struggle over land. They turned against Jamestown when Governor Berkeley angered Bacon. The villiage was nearly destroyed and this rebellion became an inspiration to others. The Virginian colonists were afraid of another uprising of indentured servants and began the transition to slavery. -
King Philip's War
The need for land created the need for further expansion into Indian territories. Because colonists were encrouching on their land, the Wampanoags were forced to break the treaty with the Pilgrims to defend themselves. A colonial army was sent to destroy Indian forces and killed Metacomet in 1676. 4,000 Indians and 2,000 English were killed and this conflict marked the end of Indian resistance in New England. -
Quakers
In 1676, the Quakers moved to the New World and with William Penn as their leader, founded Philidelphia in 1677. They were famous for their views on religious toleration, and ethnic diversity. They treated the Indians with respect and encouraged others to hold to their beliefs. But, in the 18th century, they became a minority and were persecuted for their beliefs. The Quakers were one of the first large groups to believe in religious toleration. -
Culpepper's Rebellion
Following Bacon's Rebellion, backcountry men violently overthrew the government in North Carolina. This, along with Bacon's Rebellion, developed conflict between colonists on the policies of dealing with the "Indian problem". -
Sovereignty and the Goodness of God
Written by Mary Rowlandson in 1682, it was about her time in captivity of Indians during King Philip's War . It reached many people, telling them of the tale, and it was the first of the captivity narrative genre, -
William Penn establishes Philidelphia
In 1682, after being given a huge territory by King Charles, William Penn establishes Philidelphia, which would become a safe place for the religious sect, the Society of Friends. The colony would later grow and become one of the country's largest cities. -
Letter on Tolerance
Written by John Locke in 1688, it discussed his thoughts of the seperation of church and state and the existance of the state to ensure the happiness of the individual. This work would affect the cultural and religious change in the colonies and reach many. -
The Glorious Revolution
After King James II was removed from the throne for abolishing colonial assemblies and forcing ANgelican religion on the colonists, Mary and her husband, William, enacted a Bill of Rights. Because of this, England became a constitutional monarchy and the colonies became royal colonies with representatives and governments approved by the monarchy. -
King William's War
In 1689, a war over the North American land began between the English and the French. Either side attacked the other's colonies with help form Indian allies. Eventually, it was ended with the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697. King William's War was just one of many conflicts between the French and English over the colonies. Although this war was ended, the fighting would continue five years later, causing even more conflict. -
Salem Witch Trials
In Salem 1692, a group of girls accused townspeople of witchcraft. The scare spread throughout town and o other towns and many people were falsely condemned and executed. Instances like this continued and the Puritain community especially carried on the ideas of women being evil. -
Florida Slave Policy
In 1699, the Spanish declared their colony of Florida a place of refuge for runaway slaves. They were offered land under the conditions that they would help to defend the colony and become Catholic. Both Indians and Africans established communities and thus Florida was further populated. This would lead to further conflicts between the Spanish, English, French, Indians, and Africans. -
Wool Act of 1699
England placed a limitation on colonial wool production to eliminate competition and increase their own profits. This, along with the other impositions, angered the colonists who wanted control of their own market. Because of these, the economy in the colonies suffered. -
"Hiving Off"
In the 1700s, many dissenters and others left their hometown to create new churches and towns when they disagreed or the colony was growing too big. This is known as "hiving off". Very quickly, this created many diverse towns, churches and establishments. -
Yale College was founded
Because people thought Harvard was too liberal, Yale College was established in 1701 and made education more available and offered dfferent ideas and teachings than Harvard alone. -
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War, beginning in 1702, was a conflict between Great Britain, France, and Spain over slavery.British soldiers tried to destroy the refuge for slaves in Florida, and the French and Spanish attacked Charleston. It ended in 1713 with the Peace of Utrecht, but the hostilites and conflict continued years later. This war would only be one of many in the colonies. -
Virginia Slave Code
The increasing number of slaves in the Virginia colony created the need for laws specifying it. Laws accumulated until 1705, when the Virginia Slave Code was created. It was the first of its kind, and it became a model for the other colonies. -
Saybrook Platform
On account of disagreements among churchgoers, the Puritain churches of Connecticul agreed to a system of governance of councils and elders. This caused passions to weaken among dissenters and people to lose their commitment to the church. -
Peace of Utrecht
The Peace of Utrecht ended Queen Anne's War in 1713 and gave Great Britain the right to supply slaves to the Spanish colonies. This declaration angered Spain, and the conflict continued. -
The Great Awakening
With their efforts concentrated on gaining wealth in the New World, colonists lost dedication to religion. With the preaching of Jonathan Edwards, however, people were greatly moved and became more devout. -
Johnathan Edwards
A reverend from Massachussets who started the Great Awakening in 1730 by delivering powerful sermons, which led many people to religion. He toured and many o ther preachers took after him and led the Enlightenment. -
James Oglethorpe
In 1732, James Oglethorpe was made leader of the Georgia colony by Parliament. He wanted to make it a promising place for poor British farmers by outlawing slavery. Because South Carolinians were settling in Georgia with their slaves, he later agreed to allowing slavery in 1752. Allowing slavery in Georgia made the slave trade and slave labor on plantations grow further into the south. -
Poor Richard's Almanac
Poor Richard's Almanac, written by Benjamin Franklin until 1757, was very popular literature for townspeople. He used traditional almanac writing style to bring the Enlightenment to the middle and lower classes. In this way, the ideas of Enlightenment spread quickly. -
Molasses Act of 1733
Britain prohibited sugar from being brought into North America from foreign colonies. This lessened the production of any sugar goods in the colonies and colonists suffered without it. -
George Whitefield
George Whitefield was an Evangelical preacher who brought the Great Awakening to many colonies by touring, starting in 1738. He made the "fire and brimestone" preaching style popular and moved many people back to religion. -
War of Jenkins's Ear
Fighting began in 1739 in Spanish ports between the Spanish and the British. Prime Minister Walpole of Britain wanted to avoid conflict until a captain with one ear told how they suffered from the Spanish. He agreed on a war which lassted until 1743. This war increased the tensions and conflict between the British and the Spanish over the colonies. -
Stono Rebellion
The largest slave rebellion occured in Stono, South Carolina in 1739. A group of slaves paraded, armed with weapons, attracting more people. They ransacked homes and killed colonists. They were eventually stopped and killed by a militia. This influenced other slave revolts and led to the Charleston slave trade being closed temporarily. -
King George's War
Beginnign in 1744, England and france fought in Canadian territory, New England, and New York. The English captured the French fortress of Louisburg, but it was returned during negotiations ending the war in 1748. The British were unhappy at the loss and the animosity continued. This would cause later battles, but was the first concluding battle fought on American soil. -
Log College Established
In 1746, William Tennant established Log College to train evangelical ministers. It later became the College of New Jersey and then Princeton University. The school affected education then by making it more accessible to some and continues to be a leader in higher education today. -
Iron Act of 1750
England limited the production of iron in the colonies and therefore eliminated competition and increased their own profits. ALong wiith the other limitations, this negatively affected trade into the colonies. -
John Woolman
In 1754, John Woolman wrote Considerations on the Keeping of Negroes in which he talked about antislavery. He used ideas of equality from the Bible to prove a slave's similarity to the masters. He was one of the first to publish antislavery sentiments but the idea wouldn't become widespread until the American Revolution. -
French and Indian War
Fought between Britain and France 1754-1763, it was the last colonial war between the two, but also the most desstructive, ruining many colonies. -
Salutory Neglect
The idea coined by Prime Minister Walpole that any colonial rules and regulations that inhibited successful business were not inforced. Because of this, by 1760, the amount of goods exported from the colonies rose 165%. Clearly, this policy helped the colonial economy to grow significantly. -
Junipero Serra
Junipero Serra, the president of the Franciscan missions in Baja founded the first mission and Pueblo complex in California at San Diego. This mission would bring the Franciscan religion into California and farther north. -
Indian Epidemics
Colonists and goods from Europe carried diseases when they came to North America. Indians were not immune to these like the colonissts and by 1800, the Indian population had fallen to about one million. The diseases significantly decreased the Native American population and also decreased their chances of defending themselves against attacks from colonists. -
Columbine
During the Columbine shooting, many people were harmed and killed and so many others were affected. Columbine inspired other school shootings and school rules regarding weapons were tightened in order to prevent the same thing from happening again, -
September 11th
On September 11th, terrorists hijacked planes and flew them into the World Trade Center. Many people were killed, the stock market decreased, and it started the United States's active participation in the War Against Terrorism. -
The Columbia Shuttle Crashes
On Ffebruary 1st, the space shuttle, Columbia, exploded during its reintry into the atmosphere. The entire crew was killed. -
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina devestated the Gulf of Mexico area, leaving many people without homes and destroying cities. The damage total was upwards of $100 billion. -
Hillary Rodham Clinton
Even though she wasn't selected for the Presidential Ticket for the Democratic party, Hillary Clinton was the first woman to make it all the way to the Primaries in a Presidential Race. This also is a huge step toward equality. -
The Bailouts
In an attempt to save the US's credit market and industries, the government gives a bailout to lenders, banks, and some car manufacterers. This, in addition to the Economic Stimulus Package, increased the US's deficit. -
The Inauguration of Barack Obama
When Barack Obama, the first African-American President, was inaugurated, it was a sign for how far the United States has come in regards to equal rights and was a huge step for equality.