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Hernando de Soto of Spain discovers the Mississippi River.
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The first permanent English settlement in the U.S. was Jamestown, Virginia.
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The House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly in America, meets for the first time in Virginia.
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November 9, the Mayflower ship lands at Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with 101 colonists.
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On November 11, the Mayflower Compact is signed, establishing a form of local government in which the colonists agree to abide by majority rule and to cooperate for the general good of the colony. The Compact sets the precedent for other colonies as they set up governments.
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The English Crown approves a Navigation Act requiring the exclusive use of English ships for trade in the English Colonies and limits exports of tobacco and sugar and other commodities to England or its colonies.
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The first American public library is founded in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin.
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The French and Indian War erupts as a result of disputes over land in the Ohio River Valley.
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British troops fire into a mob, killing five men and leading to intense public protests.
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Group of colonial patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians board three ships in Boston harbor and dump more than 300 crates of tea overboard as a protest against the British tea tax
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First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia, with 56 delegates representing every colony except Georgia. Delegates include Patrick Henry, George Washington, and Samuel Adams
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First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia, with 56 delegates representing every colony except Georgia. Delegates include Patrick Henry, George Washington, and Samuel Adams
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Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia
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Continental Congress approves the first official flag of the United States
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Continental Congress adopts the Articles of Confederation, the first U.S. constitution
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Shays's Rebellion erupts. Farmers from New Hampshire to South Carolina take up arms to protest high state taxes and stiff penalties for failure to pay.
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George Washington is unanimously elected president of the United States in a vote by state electors
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U.S. Supreme Court meets for the first time at the Merchants Exchange Building in New York City
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First ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, are ratified
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Washington's second inauguration is held in Philadelphia
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John Adams is inaugurated as the second president in Philadelphia
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Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated as the third president in Washington, DC
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Lewis and Clark set out from St. Louis, Mo., on expedition to explore the West and find a route to the Pacific Ocean.
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Jefferson is inaugurated for a second time.
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U.S. declares war on Britain over British interference with American maritime shipping and westward expansion
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Madison's second inauguration.
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British capture Washington, DC, and set fire to White House and Capitol
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In an effort to maintain the balance between free and slave states, Maine (formerly part of Massachusetts) is admitted as a free state so that Missouri can be admitted as a slave state; except for Missouri, slavery is prohibited in the Louisiana Purchase lands north of latitude 36°30'
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John Quincy Adams is inaugurated as the sixth president
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Andrew Jackson is inaugurated as seventh president
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President Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, which authorizes the forced removal of Native Americans living in the eastern part of the country to lands west of the Mississippi River
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Texas declares its independence from Mexico
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More than 15,000 Cherokee Indians are forced to march from Georgia to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Approximately 4,000 die from starvation and disease along the “Trail of Tears.”
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William Henry Harrison is inaugurated as the ninth president.
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U.S. annexes Texas by joint resolution of Congress
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James Polk is inaugurated as the 11th president
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President Taylor dies and is succeeded by his vice president, Millard Fillmore.
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Franklin Pierce is inaugurated as the 14th president
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Congress passes the Kansas-Nebraska Act, establishing the territories of Kansas and Nebraska
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Abraham Lincoln is elected president.
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South Carolina secedes from the Union
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Confederate States of America is established
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Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, giving blacks the right to vote
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Chicago fire kills 300 and leaves 90,000 people homeless
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Grant's second inauguration.
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James A. Garfield is inaugurated as the 20th president.
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James A. Garfield is shot.
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Statue of Liberty is dedicated.
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The american federation of labor is organized
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Oklahoma is opened to settlers.
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Ellis island becomes chief immigration station of U.S.
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William McKinley is inaugurated as the 25th president
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USS Maine is blown up in Havana harbor. Prompting the declartion of the Spanish-American war.
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U.S. annexes Hawaii by an act of Congress.
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Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Spanish-American War.
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U.S. acquires Panama Canal Zone
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Wright brothers make the first controlled, sustained flight in heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty Hawk, N.C.
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San Francisco earthquake leaves 500 dead or missing and destroys about 4 sq mi of the city.
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Bureau of Investigation, forerunner of the FBI, is established.
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William Howard Taft is inaugurated as the 27th president
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Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated as the 28th president
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Jeannette Rankin of Montana is the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.
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U.S. enters World War I, declaring war on Germany
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Armistice ending World War I is signed.
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Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor.
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Warren G. Harding is inaugurated as the 29th president.
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He signs resolution declaring peace with Austria and Germany.
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Charles Lindbergh makes the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in his plane The Spirit of St. Louis
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Herbert Hoover is inaugurated as the 31st president
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Stock market crash precipitates the Great Depression.
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The Star-Spangled Banner is adopted as the national anthem.
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Hattie Wyatt Caraway of Arkansas is the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of her husband
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Franklin Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd president
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Social Security Act is passed.
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Fair Labor Standards Act is passed, setting the first minimum wage in the U.S. at 25 cents per hour.
