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Oct 12, 1492
Columbus Discovers America
Columbus sails westward and discovers the Americas. -
Period: Jan 1, 1518 to Jan 1, 1530
Smallpox Ravages Indians
Europeans expose Indians to smallpox which resulted in thousands of deaths. -
Jamestown
(King James I, pictured, who granted Jamestown's charter)
Historic Jamestown was founded by 104 settlers, and was the first successful attempt at colonization in America. -
Massachusetts Law of 1647
A law passed in Massachusetts which mandated schooling for varying size communities. This law in Massachusetts is what our public schools are based on. -
King Philip's War
A war between English settlers in Connecticut Valley and the Pequot Indians. -
Period: to
The Great Awakening
George Whitefield Preaching During the 1730’s and 1740’s colonists felt that religious piety was in decline. Out of this came the Great Awakening. -
The Stono Rebellion
100 blacks rose up, seized weapons, killed several whites, and attempted to escape to Florida. Library of Congress Today in History -
Benjamin Franklin
Demonstrated his theory that electricity and lightning were the same.
The Mythbusters took on this challenge. Check out their findings at: Mythbusters' Fansite Franklin in the Library of Congress -
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The Seven Years War
A war between England and the French & Indians which was very costly. The war costs were eventually passed to the English colonies in America which created resentment toward the British. -
The Intolerable Acts
Four legislative acts passed by the British parliment in response to the "Boston Tea Party." -
First Continental Congress
"Continental Congress." Granger Collection.The first meeting of the Continental Congress in which delegates rejected a plan for a colonial union under British rule and agreed to begin military preparations for a possible British attack. -
"Shot heard 'round the world."
The "Shot heard 'round the world" was the first shots fired by British and Colonial Militia men that marked the start of the revolutionary war. -
Second Continental congress
Second Continental CongressCongress met to decide important things. Most importantly breaking away from Great Britain -
Thomas Paine's Common Sense Published
Thomas Paine's pamphlet, Common Sense, was originally published in January 10, 1776. Within a short amount of time, the pamphlet sold more than 100,000 copies and helped stir up thoughts of revolution in the months before the Declaration of Independence. -
Declaration of independence
Declaration The document was signed by 56 delegates; it expressed the colonist's grievances with England and affirmed America’s independence. -
French-American alliance (Treaty of Alliance)
The Treaty of Alliance was signed on Feb. 6th 1778. An Alliance was formed between the United States and France against Britain -
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States Ratify Constitution
On December 7th, Delaware became the first state to ratify the US Consitution. After Rhode Island ratified the United States Consititution in 1790, the U.S. Constitition replaced the Articles of Confederation and became the law of the land. -
Washington Becomes First President
George Washington wins all electoral votes and becomes the first president of the United States. -
Jay's Treaty
Paved the way for settlement of important American disputes with Spain. -
Pickney's Treaty
Agreed to fix northern boundry of Florida, commanded preventions of the Indians in Florida from launching raids north across the borer. -
Interchangeable Parts
Eli Whitney invents interchangeable parts and receives an order to make 1000 muskets for the US Army -
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Quasi War
Quasi War photo Navy capturing 85 French ships. -
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Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis And Clark take a three year survey of the Western half of the United States. -
Francis Cabot Lowell
Lowell founded the first mill in America to carry on the process of spinning and weaving under one roof -
Erie Canal created
The Erie Canal was the greatest construction project in American History. Created easy trade and jobs -
The Missouri Compromise
Legislation inacted to maintain the balance of slave and non-slave states
www.OurDocuments.gov -
Denmark Vesey's Conspiracy
Denmark Vesey planned a slave revolt in order to overthrow slavery. His plan was foiled and he and his forty-six follwers were hanged. News of his planned slave revolt contributed to a crackdown on abolitionism and also contributed to the pasage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. -
The Monroe Doctrine- European invovlement
The Monroe Doctine warned European powers to stay out of the Western Hemisphere problems. -
President Jackson's Inauguration
On March 4, 1829, Andrew Jackson becomes the first “common man” inaugurated as President of the United States. -
Two-Party System Goes National
Following the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828 at two-party system began to operate at a national scale in the 1830s. As a result, only one of the two major parties have had a majority in either the congress or senate since. -
Nat Turner slave rebellion
Slave leading African Americans to destroy a city. -
The Spoils System
The system first proposed in the Senate by William Macy stating "to the victor belongs the spoils"; this system is what allows presidential appointments. -
The Telegraph- Samuel Morse
Samuel Morse created this in 1832 to change the way people communicated. Instead of waiting days, weeks, or months to recieve news, you could now recieve it in seconds. -
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The Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was the forced relocation of the Cherokee tribe of Native Americans to the Midwestern United States; many thousands of Cherokee died along the journey. -
The California Gold Rush
A foreman's discovery of traces of gold sparks a rush westward with the hopes of becoming instant millionaires. -
Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Book about abolitionism that caused a huge controversy. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
A slave sued his former owner's wife for his freedom and the Supreme Court ruled that "property" is unable to sue for freedom. -
Period: to
The US Civil War
The surrender at the Appomattox Court HouseA war between the states pitting brother against brother that resulted in a stronger union and more than six-hundred thousand casualties. -
The Homestead Act
The Homestead Act allowed a citizen to purchase a 160 acre tract of land for a small fee after living on it for 5 years. This act helped create the modern American Dream and helped greatly to settle the west. -
Freedmen’s Bureau
U.S. government created a temporary federal agency to assit 4 million freed slaves to make the transition from slave to free. -
Lincoln Assassinated
John Wilkes Booth assinated Abraham Lincoln while attending a special comedy performance. Lincoln died 9 hours after the shot. -
Jim crow Laws
Colored people were described as second class citzens under whites. Everything was "seperate but equal" as in bathrooms had 2 different rooms for whites and colored -
13th Amendment Ratified
The 13th Amendment was ratified by twenty-seven of the thirty-six states, achieving the required three quarters majority. It was also the first of the Reconstruction Era amendments. -
15th amendment ratification
Allowed black males to vote -
Plessy v. Freguson
U.S. Supreme Court decided that a Louisiana law mandating separate but equal for blacks and whites was constitutional.
