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George Washington inaugerated
On this day, George Washington was inaugerated as the first president of the United States of America. -
Cotton Gin Patent Granted
The cotton gin was invented by a man named Eli Whitney. It was a machine that mechanically seperated the seeds from cotton plants, saving hours of manual labor which in turn let the south produce lots of cotton. This brought the wholesale price of cotton down considerably. All of this made the slave trade even bigger because more people were needed to plant cotton fields. -
Washington's Farewell Address
Before George Washington retired, he published his farewell address. He reccomended that America not get tied up in European problems. Her's an excerpt:
"Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent Alliances, with any portion of the foriegn World.... The great rule of conduct for us, in regard to foreign nations is....to have with them as little political connection as possible" -
Free Enterprise
Free Enterprise A.K.A Capitalism is a government/economic system that doesn't tell companies what to make, who to sell it to, how much to charge, etc. The opposite of Capitalism would be Communism in which the government controls the economy. -
Louisiana Purchase
The US buys 800,000 square miles of land in the West from France for a total of $14 million. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
After the Lousiana Purchase, America was curious to see what it bought. So, they sent out Lewis and Clark to explore and paid them $2500. -
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a period in American and European history when there were big changes in the way that things were manufactured. Big factories started popping up which in turn brought lots of people to cities. This changed AAmerican culture in a lot of ways. -
The Battle of Tippecanoe
This was a battle fought between US Forces and Tecumseh's army. The US attacked Tecumseh's HQ because of the growing tensions and war threats. -
Tecumseh
Tecumseh was a Native American leader who was against America in The War of 1812 and Tecumseh's War. -
The Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans was the last major battle of the war of 1812. Britain wanted to take New Orleans, but the Americans commanded by Andrew Jackson defeated the British. -
Manifest Destiny
In the 1800s, there was the belief called Manifest Destiny that Americans moved out west. It all started with the Florida Purchase Treaty in 1819 when Spain gave up Florida and Texas. -
Spoils System
The spoils system is an unofficial government system that rewards supporters with government jobs. In the Election of 1828, Jackson got elected for president and got rid of over 200 government officials and replaced them with the people that voted for him, even though they weren't qualified. He then got together an unofficial cabinet of actual advisors that he met with in his kitchen. He called them "The Kitchen Cabinet". -
Jim Bowie
Jim Bowie was an American Pioneer and Soldier. He is most famous for fighting at the Alamo and the Bowie Knife. -
The Battle of the Alamo
The battle of the alamo was a twelve day siege with the Texans holding the fort and the Mexican army storming it. The Mexican army was 2,400 soldiers strong while the alamo only had about 260 soldiers. Even under heavy fire, the texans held the fort off for 12 whole days, out numbered by the hundreds. In the end, 157 Americans died and the Mexican army took the fort. -
John Deere Cast-Steel Plow
John Deere was a blacksmith. In 1837, he created the first cast-steel plow. He sold it to a farmer and the word quicky spread, with Deere selling lots of plows. His plow waas knows as "The plow that broke the plains" -
Horace Mann
Horace Mann was a big part of American education reform. When he was a kid, he had access to a library founded by Benjamin Franklin. When he joined American Legislature, he had no real intrest in education. Then he acquired an intrest and started giving lectures on teaching and making big reforms. Horace Mann made an effect on our education today. -
Frederick Douglass Escapes Slavery
On this day, Frderick Douglass escaped for slavery by boarding a train and escaping. Frederick Douglass went on to live a long life and give speeches about Slavery and he also wrote an autobiography. He revised the biography three times. He is now buired in Rochester, New York. -
Telegraph is Publicly Demonstrated
Samuel Morse and Alfred Vail created the telegraph. This was a huge step for communications because messages could be sent long-distance. In 1843, Congress gave $30,000 to fund a line from Washington DC to Baltimore. The first successful test sent said "What god hath brought" -
The San Francisco Gold Rush
In 1848, James Marshall discovered gold in California. When the word spread, over 300,000 people came to San Francisco to find gold. These people were nicknamed "forty-niners" -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was a women's rights convention held in Seneca Falls, New York. This was a big step in the fight for women's equality. The event was advertised as being the first time that women and men gathered together to demand for women the right to vote. The woman to the left is Lucretia Mott, a very big part in this convention. -
Ellis Island Opens
Ellis Island was America's immigration center from 1892 to 1954. When people left their country (usually European) to go to America, most of them went to Ellis Island. Over 12 million immigrants were inspected there by US Officials for health problems or other things. The highest amount of immigrants ever coming in one day was on April 17th, 1907 with 11,747 immigrants.
