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Aug 20, 1441
African Slavery
Native people from African villages were taken by colonists and forced into slavery. It wasn't as popular at first; indentured servants were cheaper and less likely to struggle. But after Bacon's Rebellion, slaves were overall deemed safer, and it became much more popular to have slaves rather than servants. -
Aug 20, 1580
Indentured Servants
Indentured servants were around for as long as the colonies were first being established in the late 16th century. They were passengers, usually young, unskilled males who could not afford to sail to the New World. Indentured servants prepared the colonists for many generations to be used to a servant doing most of any type of work. -
Aug 20, 1580
Freedom Dues
After an indentured servant's term of servitude was finally concluded, their caretakers were obliged to provide clothing and money, so they could start anew. Freedom dues was simply a means to provide the servant with the materials to live independently. -
Aug 20, 1580
Mortality Rates
Not all indentured servants concluded their terms of service with their masters. Roughly 2/5 of them died while attempting to complete their tasks. These deaths could have been caused by overwork or lack of proper care by their caretakers. The improper care of servants didn't end quickly. Future slaves were also treated very poorly, many of them dying too. -
Mercantilism
In the 18th century, the economic capital gained by Great Britain alone valued at over 300 million pounds. It was probably at this time that mercantilism was born. Mercantilism was the policy of controlling the economies of the colonies by their respective mother countries, in order to squeeze out all profit for the benefit of those same countries. The regulations of the colonies' trade was a contributing factor leading to the Revolutionary War. -
East India Trade Company
The East India Trade Company was a company set up by English mercantilists. It capitalized the trade in its region, sending the profits back to England. The Hudson Bay and Royal African companies were similar organizations at different parts of the globe. -
Building of Jamestown
100 men built the town of Jamestown to honor the current English king. Jamestown became the English colonial capital. -
William Bradford
William Bradford was a pilgrim, an English Separatist against the established Anglican church, believing it very corrupt. In 1609 he led 102 pilgrims to North America via the Mayflower's fleet. William Bradford's actions eventually tested the limits of religious tolerance in the New World when the pilgrims clashed with the Puritan communities. -
Tobacco
Tobacco had already begun to provide the colonies, predominantly Virginia with a "merchantable commodity", but in 1613 John Rolfe began developing new types blending North American and Indian varieties, which were soon sold to England, thus providing another economic advantage to England. -
French Fur Trade
Fur was a prominent trade in the economies of the French and English colonies. From the 1660s to 1680s, the French wanted to dominate the fur trade, and built strategic outposts to intercept furs owned by others, thus attempting to control the economic growth of the colonies. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the first governing document of North America. The Compact led the way for America to experiment with many governing documents, eventually leading to the Constitution in effect today. -
Great Migration
Puritans in England had attempted to reform the National Church of England. But in the 1620s, they realized they would not succeed and also decided that they needed to migrate in order to protect their interests. 200 men sailed to Massachusettes Bay, and were given the town Naumkeag, which they renamed Salem. -
Exiling of Roger Williams
Roger Williams was a puritan preacher. But he believed that the puritans did not have absolute right to Indian land. Because puritans believed that their religion was the one and only, they were not happy that they should not be able to claim all land as theirs. They exiled Williams from their community in Massachusetts. He founded a new one, one promoting religious tolerance in New England. -
"The Bay Psalm Book"
"The Bay Psalm Book" was the first American publication. It helped spur many other works of writing to flourish in the colonies. -
'The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution'
Written by: Roger Williams; 'The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution' was a text promoting religious tolerance, and it scorned the puritan's doctrines of forced worship. Upon reading it, reinstated King Charles II ordered a stop to religious persecution in Massachusetts, basically telling the puritans to allow other religions. -
Navigation Acts
King James II was restricting the trade of the colonies with all countries except England. James wanted England to be the only country to benefit from its colonies' trade. King James II also set up more Navigation Acts in 1660 and 1663, which simply added more restrictions to America's trade. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Wealthy backcountry owner Nathaniel Bacon led many violent raids throughout 1675 against Indians living on the upper Potomac River. Bacon led many former indentured servants, those who could not truly support themselves on their freedom dues, even torching Jamestown when its governor attempted to oppose them. Bacon's sudden death of dysentery in 1676 ended his rebellion. But people became afraid of taking in indentured servants, now believing slaves would be safer to them to keep. -
William Penn
Ownership rights to western New Jersey was granted to a group of Quakers, predominently among them William Penn. William Penn was determined to make the new territory, Pennsylvania, a haven for the Society of Friends (the formal title for the Quakers). He promoted the Quaker beliefs of religious tolerance and pacifism of the people. -
Representtive Assembly
Representative Assembly was a part of William Penn's 'Holy Experiment.' He wanted to experiment with the idea that people could decide on their own representation in a government. The other colonies had not officially attempted this. -
Glorious Revolution
Back in England, Parliament, England's primary legislative body, was displeased with the tyranny of King James II. They engineered to have him replaced with his daughter, Mary. The new queen would bring new policies to be beared on the colonies. -
John Locke
John Locke was an English philosopher who agreed with the ideas of religious tolerance. He wrote the 'Letter on Tolerance.' -
'Letter on Tolerance'
The 'Letter on Tolerance', written by John Locke, was fervently against the union of church and state. It argued that church societies were absolutely voluntary. It also argued that churches did not have the power to rule or control, only the power to attempt to persuade a person to their beliefs. Puritans were very unhappy about these views, for they had been dominating their people since before they were based in England. -
King William's War
King William's War was a long, hard struggle between England and France (usually allied with Spain). It was primarily about colonial supremacy. The colonies were tired of dealing with each other. Each wanted to have North America for themselves. Though the war officially ended in 1697, the battles for supremacy lasted until 1763. The frontiers between British Georgia, Spanish Florida, and New France and New England witnessed the majority of the fighting. -
Wool Act of 1699
The Wool Act of 1699 was a mercantilist act. It dominated the trade of wool in the colonies. The extra limitations helped lead to the American Revolution. -
The Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was the sailors' title for the route taken in the slave trade. Processed goods from England were sailed down to wealthy Africans. Then African slaves were loaded onto those same vessels, and taken across the Atlantic to the colonies, from which those same slaves would produce raw material to be sailed back to England. The Middle Passage eventually collapsed with the slave trade in the 1880s. The slaves brought over added an entirely new cultural aspect to the colonies. -
Queen Anne's War
Queen Anne's War was a brutal war in the southern colonies. Slavery was a primary focus of this war. Georgians moved south to destroy the slaves' haven in Florida, St. Augustine. In 1713, the British finally won, gaining exclusive rights to the slave trade, which would lead to another war between France and England very soon. -
Virginia Slave Code
The Virginia Slave Code became a model of slavery that other states eventually adopted. It stated that anyone born to slaves was a slave themselves, even if they had a free parent. Before the Code, if a slave was baptized, then that slave was free. That was no longer the case after the Code. Overall, it strengthened the hold masters held over their slaves, allowing for fewer opportunities of freedom. -
Predestination
Predestination: the belief that God had already determined the few people he would save in the Second Coming. It was a depressing view, one that belittled the worth of human beings. It became a large controversey during the Great Awakening. -
Arminianism
Arminianism: the belief that God gave people the opportunity to determine their own fates of salvation or damnation by their deeds. It was a more comforting idea that arose during the Enlightenment era, and was debated furiously during the Great Awakening. -
Peace of Utrecht
The Peace of Utrecht was the peace agreement written up by the British and French at the conclusion of Queen Anne's War. It was the Peace of Utrecht that granted exclusive rights to the slave trade to the British, eventually leading to more wars. -
Great Awakening
In the 1730s, people stirred against the 'radical' approaches to religion, such as God judging all fairly after death, and science beginning to disprove religion. This was known as the Great Awakening, which became a massive revival of religion across the country. Old scientific views clashed with the new uprising of religious beliefs. -
Jonathan Edwards
Reverend Edwards was one of the primary instigators of the Great Awakening. He saw how the impoverished young in his community of Northampton, Massachusetts was lacking in religious faith or fervor, due to their low standards of living. His fiery oratory helped rally them back, for many of them believed that they were going straight to Hell. Edwards' preaching heralded several other revivals, and the Great Awakening began. -
'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God'
'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God' was the fiery sermon Reverend Edwards gave to the youth in his community. It is the sermon that heralded the Great Awakening, and began the revival movement. -
Georgia
Parliament created the colony of Georgia in 1732. Its purpose was to protect the rest of the colonies by acting as a buffer against Spanish invasion from Florida. Georgia became pivotal in the colonial wars started between England, France, and Spain. -
Hat Act of 1732
The Hat Act of 1732 was another mercantilist act set up by England. It restricted the hat trade in the British Colonies, providing more profit to the mother country, -
Poor Richard's Almanac
An almanac is a combined calendar, astrological guide, and book of advice on many matters, including everything from farming to folk culture. Poor Richard was a pen name used by Benjamin Franklin for the purpose of writing this book. Franklin used it to promote Enlightenment views. Poor Richard's Almanac was one of the first opportunities of getting Enlightenment views to the mass public. It lasted until 1757. -
Molasses Act of 1733
The Molasses Act of 1733 was a mercantilist act, but it was slightly different from the rest. The Hat Act and Iron Act simply discouraged trade from the colonies to other countries. The Molasses Act, however, went a step further. It placed prohibitions on the sugar products arriving from other countries. England didn't want the colonies buying foreign sugar. -
George Whitefield
Reverend George Whitefield was another Anglican preacher, and well known for being evangelical. Reverend Whitefield was from England, but in 1738, he made his first of several tours throughout the colonies, rallying back several who had fallen out of faith with the Anglican church. -
Stono Rebellion
20 recently-arrived Anglican slaves were unhappy with the treatment they were receiving from their masters, and decided to revolt. They sacked an armory in Stono, gathering weapons, and started marching south towards Florida. They were joined by many other slaves on their way, but were intercepted and destroyed by the militia before they could reach the Floridan border. -
New Lights
In the 1740s, a religious sect called the New Lights arose. It cried out against the 'heretical' view of Arminianism, calling it radical and calling for a return to Calvinism. The New Lights were looking for religion to return to its former prominence. -
Old Lights
To counteract the New Lights, the 1740s also gave birth to the Old Lights. The emotional enthusiasm displayed by new worshippers disgusted the Old Lights, who saw this as the New Lights seeking personal relationships with God outside the church. The nation was severly divided by the two factions. -
Log College
A Pennsylvanian school, founded in 1746 by William and Gilbert Tennent. They wanted to school like-minded men for the new ministry of the Great Awakening. William Tennent traveled with Whitefield and delivered the sermon 'The Dangers of an Unconverted Ministry'. -
Iron Act of 1750
Of the mercantilist acts, this was potentially the most vital. Iron was a very valuable commodity, for its uses were increasing in the 18th century. England was determined to completely dominate the economies of the colonies, so limited the most valuable resources available to them. -
Enlightenment
Enlightenment: the thinking that the universe was governed by natural laws that people could, indeed, understand and manipulate, as oppose to the whimsical rulings of a god controlling the universe, with normal people left with no explanation as to why. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was the final great Colonial War between France, Spain, and England. The control of the Mississippi River and the Appalachian Mountains were decided in this war. It preceded and prepared the American Revolutionary War. -
Desert Storm
On the second of August, 1990, Iraqi soldiers invaded the neighboring country of Kuwait in order to secure their oil fields. A few hours later, U.S. troops were air-lifted to neighboring Saudi Arabia, in order to defend the vital oil supplies being shipped to North America from that country. Desert Storm demonstrated the ability of the U.S. military to quickly mobilize anywhere in the world. -
Birthday of Eric Campbell
Eric Campbell is currently a student at Dakota Ridge High School. Maintaining a fairly strong g.p.a., he generally succeeds at any endeavor attempted. He has great skill in, and plans to pursue, piano playing. -
Columbine Shooting
2 students, begrudged, angry, and unable to imagine any better solution, decided to 'solve' a bully problem they felt severly infested Columbine High School. They were delusioned, and along with attacking students, they attacked many innocent students and teachers, shocking the entire surrounding community. -
September 11 Terrorist Attacks
On September 11, 2001, the terrorists executed their most daring and heinous assaults on American soil. Hijacking planes and trucks, they used bombs to assail certain key targets of America's hierarchial structure. They targeted the Pentagon, America's primary military center, the White House, house of the President, and the World Trade Center, America's path to world trade. Through the valiant efforts of soldiers and civilians alike, only the World Trade Center was destroyed in the assault. -
No Child Left Behind Act
The newly instated Bush administration wanted to find a way test all American students' proficiency in school. Thus they created the No Child Left Behind Act, which mandated the distribution of standardized by the 50 states in certain academic fields according to grade level. Despite good intentions, teachersand administrators have disapproved. The stressful tests steal precious teaching time for preparation, and schools that underperform are severley punished with funding cutbacks. -
Columbia Disaster
The space shuttle was one of many American shuttles to be launched into space, whether to orbit the planet or land on the moon. But for reasons unknown, the shuttle failed to reenter the atmosphere, disintegrating upon attempted reentry. The Columbia disaster proved that America still has a long way to go before truly perfecting space travel. -
Hurricane Katrina
The devastation of Hurricane Katrina, one of the strongest storms to ever strike the United States left terror and hopelessness in its wake. But the government was able to affect relief quickly and efficiently, and though the restoration process still continues, much progress has been made in repairing the destroyed towns and ruined lives of Americans. -
Execution of Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein was the dictator of the country Iraq, instated after Desert Storm. For several years prior to his death, it was speculated that Hussein was a terrorist supporter, and that Iraq was serving basing as a terrorist base of operations. 3 years prior, the United States declared war on Iraq, under the impression that Iraq was constructing nuclear weapons that would be fired at America. Saddam Hussein was a dictator and a terrorist supporter. -
American Economic Collapse
Unexpected fluxuations in the national market of the United States caused fear that stock prices would unfavorably drop, which caused several parties involved to rapidly sell their shares. This event was similar to the beginning of the Great Depression of the 1930s, though not quite as devastating. Since the collapse, consumers have been cautious, and it became a large topic of debate for the 2008 presidential elections. -
Election of Barack Obama
Barack Obama is a president walking into a country beset by terror and a recently conceived economic crisis. His campaign focused on abating, and eventually ending, both problems. Barack Obama stands apart from all other American presidents in the fact that he is the first American black president.