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Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. Cause: British troops marched through BostonEffect: The first battle and possible start to the American Revolution -
Second Continental Congress
The second Congress managed the colonial war effort, and moved incrementally towards independence, adopting the United States Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. By raising armies, directing strategy, appointing diplomats, and making formal treatiesCause: America in need of a first form of governmentEffect: Directing the first draft of government -
Battle at Bunker Hill
Cause: British occupancy of BostonEffect: America’s introduction to a fighting causeLeaders of the colonial forces besieging Boston learned that the British generals were planning to send troops out from the city to occupy the unoccupied hills surrounding the city. In response to this intelligence, 1,200 colonial troops under the command of William Prescott stealthily occupied Bunker Hill and Breed's Hill, constructed an earthen redoubt on Breed's Hill, and built lightly fortified lines across -
Olive Branch Petition
The petition affirmed American loyalty to Great Britain and entreated the king to prevent further conflict.Cause: America in need of a treatyEffect: England is angry with the colonists -
Common Sense
Pamphlet written by Thomas Paine.Cause: America in need of hopeEffect: America had hope to gain their independence -
Declaration of Independence
A statement adopted by the Continental Congress, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire.Cause: America wanted to split off from Britain and declare independenceEffect: Britain gradually declared war on the colonists -
Articles of Confederation
An agreement among the 13 founding states that established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution.Cause: The colonies need to agree to become one nationEffect: The articles of confederation is made -
Battle of Saratoga
Conclusively decided the fate of British General John Burgoyne's army in the American War of Independence and are generally regarded as a turning point in the war. -
Battle of Yorktown
A decisive victory by a combined force of American Continental Army troops led by General George Washington and French Army troops led by the Comte de RochambeauCause: Britain struck battle with the colonistsEffect: With no choice, and surrounded on all sides, the British surrendered -
Treaty of Paris 1783
The other combatant nations, France, Spain and the Dutch Republic had separate agreements; for details of these, and the negotiations which produced all four treatiesCause: America in need of alliesEffect: Nations join America in the cause of the war -
Shay’s Rebellion
An armed uprising that took place in central and western Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787. The rebellion was named after Daniel ShaysCause: America in need of suppliesEffect: America gains useful supplies -
Northwest Ordinance
The primary effect of the ordinance was the creation of the Northwest Territory as the first organized territory of the United States out of the region south of the Great Lakes, north and west of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi River.Cause: To show territoryEffect: To show what the US owned -
Judiciary Act 1789
-A landmark statute adopted on September 24, 1789 in the first session of the First United States Congress establishing the U.S. federal judiciary.Cause – In need of a federal judiciaryEffect – establishing of the U.S. federal judiciary -
First Red Scare
Movements within the Americas in Washington and Massachusetts against politically powerful businessmen by anarchist led to politicians enabling constitutionally illegal actions to suppress these movements. This is the origins of suppression of different political ideologies within America and encourage anger among the masses for anyone in support of it. -
XYZ Affair
- A political and diplomatic episode in 1797 and 1798, early in the administration of John Adams, involving the United States and Republican France.Cause – The United States in need of an administration Effect – The diplomat
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Alien and Sedition
- Four bills passed in 1798 by the Federalists in the 5th United States Congress in the aftermath of the French Revolution and during an undeclared naval war with France, later known as the Quasi-War.Cause – The aftermath of the French RevolutionEffect – The four bills are passed
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Second Great Awakening
A backlash against the skepticism against evangelical preaching, The Second Great Awakening reinvigorated the religious movement within the United States. The liberal implementation of Christianity's to improve aspects of society would permanently make the United States a secular nation constitutionally but a religious nation societally. -
Louisiana Purchase
The acquisition by the United States of America in 1803 of 828,000 square miles of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana.Cause – The United States wanted to gain control of more landEffect – The United States purchases land from France -
Embargo Act 1807
- A general embargo enacted by the United States Congress against Great Britain and France during the Napoleonic Wars.Cause – To help the United States economyEffect – The United States economy is affected
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Nonintercourse Act 1809
This Act lifted all embargoes on American shipping except for those bound for British or French ports. The intent was to damage the economies of the United Kingdom and France.Cause – A need to affect other countries economiesEffect – The other countries economies are affected -
War of 1812
A 32 month military conflict between the United States and the British Empire and their allies which resulted in no territorial change, but a resolution of many issues remaining from the American War of Independence. The United States declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions brought about by Britain's ongoing war with France, the impressment of American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy, British support of American Indian tribes against American expansion, outrag -
Treaty of Ghent
Signed on 24 December 1814, in Ghent (modern-day Belgium), was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom.Cause – England surrenders to AmericaEffect – The treaty is signed -
Election of 1816
The 8th quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Friday, November 1 to Wednesday, December 4, 1816. It came at the end of the two-term presidency of Democratic-Republican James Madison. With the Federalist Party in collapse, Madison's Secretary of State, James Monroe, had an advantage in winning the presidency against very weak opposition. Monroe won the Electoral College by the wide margin of 183 to 34.Cause – New presidential electionEffect – James Monroe is elected -
Second Bank of United States
Served as the nation's federally authorized central bank during its 20-year charter from February 1817 to January 1836.Cause – In need of another bankEffect – New bank is created -
Nicholas Biddle
An American financier who served as the president of the Second Bank of the United States. -
‘corrupt bargain’
Refers to three historic incidents in American history in which political agreement was determined by congressional or presidential actions that many viewed to be corrupt from different standpoints. Two of these involved resolution of indeterminate or disputed electoral votes from the United States presidential election process, and the third involved the disputed use of a presidential pardon. In all three cases, the president so elevated served a single term, or singular vacancy, and either did -
Election of 1824
10th quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Tuesday, October 26 to Thursday, December 2, 1824. John Quincy Adams was elected President on February 9, 1825, after the House of Representatives decided the election.Cause – New presidential electionEffect – John Quincy Adams was elected President -
Henry Clay
A lawyer, politician and skilled orator who represented Kentucky separately in both the Senate and in the House of Representatives. He served three different terms as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and was also Secretary of State from 1825 to 1829. -
John C. Calhoun
A leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun eloquently spoke out on every issue of his day, but often changed positions. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist, modernizer, and proponent of a strong national government and protective tariffs. After 1830 he switched to states' rights, limited government, nullification and free trade. He is best known for his intense and original defense of slavery as something pos -
John Quincy Adams
The sixth president of the United States (1825–1829). He served as American diplomat, Senator, and Congressional representative. He was a member of the Federalist, Democratic-Republican, National Republican, and later Anti-Masonic and Whig parties. Adams was the son of former President John Adams and Abigail Adams. As a diplomat, Adams played an important role in negotiating many international treaties -
Tariff of 1828 (Tariff of Abominations)
A protective tariff passed by the Congress of the United States on May 19, 1828, designed to protect industry in the northern United States. -
Revolution of 1828
A rematch between John Quincy Adams, now incumbent President, and Andrew Jackson, the runner-up in the 1824 election. With no other major candidates -
Spoils system
A practice where a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party -
Election of 1828
11th quadrennial presidential election. It was held from Friday, October 31 to Tuesday, December 2, 1828. It featured a rematch between John Quincy Adams, now incumbent President, and Andrew Jackson, the runner-up in the 1824 election.Cause – New presidential electionEffect – Andrew Jackson is elected president -
Jacksonian Democracy
The political movement toward greater democracy for the common man typified by American politician Andrew Jackson and his supporters. Jackson's policies followed the era of Jeffersonian democracy, which dominated the previous political era.Cause – Andrew Jacksons supporters support his policiesEffect – Jacksonian democracy -
Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
A United States Supreme Court case. The Cherokee Nation sought a federal injunction against laws passed by the state of Georgia depriving them of rights within its boundaries, but the Supreme Court did not hear the case on its merits. It ruled that it had no original jurisdiction in the matter, as the Cherokee were a dependent nation, with a relationship to the United States like that of a ward to its guardian. -
Andrew Jackson
The seventh President of the United States (1829–1837). Based in frontier Tennessee, Jackson was a politician and army general who defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814), and the British at the Battle of New Orleans (1815). A polarizing figure who dominated the Second Party System in the 1820s and 1830s, as president he dismantled the Second Bank of the United States and initiated ethnic cleansing and forced relocation of Native American tribes from the Southeast to we -
Indian Removal Act (1830)
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. The act authorized him to negotiate with the Indians in the Southern United States for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their homelands. -
Peggy Eaton Affair
Was an 1830–1831 U.S. scandal involving members of President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet and their wives. Although it started over a private matter, it affected the political careers of several men and resulted in the informal "Kitchen Cabinet". -
Indian Removal Act 1830
Signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830. The act authorized him to negotiate with the Indians in the Southern United States for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their homelands.Cause – Too much Indian land, and not enough “white person” landEffect – The Indian removal act is authorized -
Trail of Tears
Forced relocation and movement of Native American nations from southeastern parts of the United States following the Indian Removal Act of 1830. The removal included many members of the Cherokee, Muscogee (Creek), Seminole, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations, among others in the United States, from their homelands to Indian Territory. -
Worcester v. Georgia
A case in which the United States Supreme Court vacated the conviction of Samuel Worcester and held that the Georgia criminal statute that prohibited non-Indians from being present on Indian lands without a license from the state was unconstitutional. -
Nullification Crisis
A sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson created by South Carolina's 1832 Ordinance of Nullification. This ordinance declared by the power of the State that the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore null and void within the sovereign boundaries of South Carolina. -
Nullification Crisis 1832
A sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson created by South Carolina's 1832 Ordinance of Nullification. This ordinance declared by the power of the State that the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore null and void within the sovereign boundaries of South Carolina. The controversial and highly protective Tariff of 1828 -
“pet banks”
Pet banks are a pejorative term for state banks selected by the U.S. Department of Treasury to receive surplus government funds in 1833. They were also named "Wildcat Banks". They were made among the big U.S. bank when President Andrew Jackson vetoed the recharter for the Second Bank of the United States -
Texas Independence
With this document, settlers in Mexican Texas officially broke from Mexico, creating the Republic of Texas.Cause: Mexicans want independence from salve free MexicoEffect: after many years of war, texas finally gains its independence -
Specie Circular
An executive order issued by U.S. President Andrew Jackson in 1836 and carried out by succeeding President Martin Van Buren. It required payment for government land to be in gold and silver. -
Martin Van Buren
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States. Before his presidency, he was the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, under Andrew Jackson. -
Panic of 1837
A financial crisis or market correction in the United States built on a speculative fever. The end of the Second Bank of the United States had produced a period of runaway inflation, but on May 10, 1837, in New York City, every bank began to accept payment only in specie (gold and silver coinage) -
Webster-Ashburton Treaty
A treaty resolving several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies. It resolved a dispute over the location of the Maine–New Brunswick borderCause – Treaty needed Effect: Treaty used between the British and colonists -
Election of 1844
Democrat James K. Polk defeated Whig Henry Clay in a close contest that turned on foreign policy, with Polk favouring the annexation of Texas and Clay opposed. -
Mexican-American War
An armed conflict between the United States of America and Mexico from 1846 to 1848Cause: War over land opportunities Effect: America gains lots more land -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1848
One of the major events leading to the American Civil War, would have banned slavery in any territory to be acquired from Mexico in the Mexican War or in the future, including the area later known as the Mexican Cession, but which some proponents construed to also include the disputed lands in south Texas and New Mexico east of the Rio Grande.Cause: Attempt to Ban slaveryEffect: Not effective -
Ostend Manifesto
A document written in 1854 that described the rationale for the United States to purchase Cuba from Spain while implying that the U.S. should declare war if Spain refused. -
Gadsden Purchase
A 29,670-square-mile (76,800 km2) region of present-day southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico that was purchased by the United StatesCause: America needed to expandEffect: America buys more land -
Panic of 1857
A financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy.Cause: financial panic in the United StatesEffect: Over expansion -
Alaska Purchase
The acquisition of the Alaska territory by the United States from the Russian Empire in the year 1867 by a treaty ratified by the Senate. Russia, fearing a war with Britain that would allow the British to seize Alaska, wanted to sell.Cause: Alaska up for saleEffect: America bought Alaska -
U.S.S. Maine
The United States Navy's second commissioned battleship and the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after the state of Maine. -
Dawes Act
Authorized the President of the United States to survey Indian tribal land and divide it. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
Occurred on December 29th, 1890 on Wounded Knee Creek. It was the last battle of the American Indian Wars. During the process of disarming the Lakota, a deaf Lakota refused to give up his rifle and then a shot was fired causing the cavalry unit to open fire upon the Lakota. At least 150 Lakota were killed. -
Spanish-American War
A conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States, effectively the result of American intervention in the on-going Cuban War of Independence.Cause: America’s hate on SpainEffect: war with Spain -
Open Door Policy
A concept in foreign affairs, which usually refers to the policy in 1899 allowing multiple Imperial powers access to China, with none of them in control of that country. -
Election of 1900
The United States presidential election of 1900 was a re-match of the 1896 race between Republican President William McKinley and his Democratic challenger, William Jennings Bryan. -
Platt Amendment
An amendment to a joint resolution of the United States Congress, replacing the earlier Teller Amendment.Cause: Needed a new replacementEffect: New replacement -
Election of 1908
The United States presidential election of 1908 was held on November 3, 1908. Popular incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt, honouring a promise not to seek a third term, persuaded the Republican Party to nominate William Howard Taft -
Founding of the NAACP
Was created in response to a race riot in Springfield, Illinois. A multiracial activist group wanted to find a way to help with racial equality. Thus began the NAACP. -
Mexican Civil War (Revolution)
A major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against long-time autocrat Porfirio Díaz, and lasted for the better part of a decade until around 1920. -
Election of 1912
The United States presidential election of 1912 was a rare four-way contest.Incumbent President William Howard Taft was renominated by the Republican Party with the support of its conservative wing. After former President Theodore Roosevelt failed to receive the Republican nomination, he called his own convention and created the Progressive Party -
Panama Canal
Is an 82-kilometre (51 mi) ship canal in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean (via the Caribbean Sea) to the Pacific Ocean. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a key conduit for international maritime trade.Cause: cuts ship time to reach the Atlantic OceanEffect: builds Panama Canal -
Harlem Renaissance
The movement within Harlem, New York in areas of literature and philosophy, inspired a movement within the United States from the black-American communities to retain their dignity. This inspired pushed from the black-American community for legally-guaranteed as well as social equality. -
Election of 1932
37th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 8, 1932. The election took place in the midst of the Great Depression that had ruined the promises of incumbent President and Republican candidate Herbert Hoover to bring about a new era of prosperity.Cause – New presidential electionEffect – New president elected -
Attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Conducted by the United States during the final stages of World War II in 1945. These two events represent the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.Cause – Japan wouldn’t surrender to AmericaEffect – The atomic bomb is dropped on Japan -
Creation of NATO 1949
An intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty, which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defense whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party.Cause – An organization was needed for countries in needEffect –NATO is created -
Korean War
A war between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It was primarily the result of the political division of Korea by an agreement of the victorious Allies at the conclusion of the Pacific War at the end of World War II.Cause – Political debates throughout KoreaEffect – The Korean War -
Election of 1952
42nd quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 4, 1952. During this time, Cold War tension between the United States and the Soviet Union was escalating rapidly. In the United States Senate, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin had become a national figure after chairing congressional investigations into the issue of Communist spies within the U.S. government.Cause – New presidential electionEffect – Dwight D. Eisenhower is elected president -
Red Summer
Race riots occurred in more than 3 dozen cities in the U.S. In many cases african americans were lynched or at least mobbed. They were hung, shot, put on stakes, or burned. Some cases they fought back. This caused a lot of social tension between the whites and the african americans.