-
Jamestown
Jamestown was the first sucessful colony in the 13 original colonies -
Slavery
Slavery introduced to the Colony of Virginia. -
Puritans
Puritans settle in Massachusetts -
1st Attempt at Slavery
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was the 1st to bring over africans and turn them into slaves. After this several other colonies followed. -
King William's War begins
King William's War begins when the combined forces of the French and the Indians attack towns in New York, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. -
First group of slaves
The first group of black slaves is brought to the Louisiana territory. -
Benjamin Franklin begins publishing The Pennsylvania Gazette
Benjamin Franklin begins publishing The Pennsylvania Gazette, which eventually becomes the most popular colonial newspaper. -
The Iron Act is passed by the English Parliament
The Iron Act is passed by the English Parliament, limiting the growth of the iron industry in the American colonies to protect the English Iron industry. -
Currency Act
The Currency Act is passed by the English Parliament, banning the issuing of paper money by the New England colonies. -
Sugar Act
The Sugar Act is passed by the English Parliament to offset the war debt brought on by the French and Indian War and to help pay for the expenses of running the colonies and newly acquired territories. This act increases the duties on imported sugar and other items such as textiles, coffee, wines and indigo (dye). It doubles the duties on foreign goods reshipped from England to the colonies and also forbids the import of foreign rum and French wines -
English Parliament passes the Townsend
In June, The English Parliament passes the Townshend Revenue Acts, imposing a new series of taxes on the colonists to offset the costs of administering and protecting the American colonies. Items taxed include imports such as paper, tea, glass, lead and paints. The Act also establishes a colonial board of customs commissioners in Boston. In October, Bostonians decide to reinstate a boycott of English luxury items. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre occurs as a mob harasses British soldiers who then fire their muskets pointblank into the crowd, killing three instantly, mortally wounding two others and injuring six. After the incident, the new Royal Governor of Massachusetts, Thomas Hutchinson, at the insistence of Sam Adams, withdraws British troops out of Boston to nearby harbor islands. The captain of the British soldiers, Thomas Preston, is then arrested along with eight of his men and charged with mur -
Trail begins for the british soliders
trial begins for the British soldiers arrested after the Boston Massacre. Colonial lawyers John Adams and Josiah Quincy successfully defend Captain Preston and six of his men, who are acquitted. Two other soldiers are found guilty of manslaughter, branded, then released. -
The Tea Act
The Tea Act takes effect. It maintains a threepenny per pound import tax on tea arriving in the colonies, which had already been in effect for six years. It also gives the near bankrupt British East India Company a virtual tea monopoly by allowing it to sell directly to colonial agents, bypassing any middlemen, thus underselling American merchants. The East India Company had successfully lobbied Parliament for such a measure. In September, Parliament authorizes the company to ship -
The English Parliament enacts
The English Parliament enacts the next series of Coercive Acts, which include the Massachusetts Regulating Act and the Government Act virtually ending any self-rule by the colonists there. Instead, the English Crown and the Royal governor assume political power formerly exercised by colonists. Also enacted; the Administration of Justice Act which protects royal officials in Massachusetts from being sued in colonial courts, and the Quebec Act establishing a centralized government i -
First African Baptist Church
First African Baptist Church, one of the earliest black churches in the United States, is founded in Petersburg, Virginia. -
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Massachusetts abolishes slavery in that state. -
The Treaty of Paris is signed by US
The Treaty of Paris is signed by the United States and Great Britain. Congress will ratify the treaty on January 14, 1784. -
England refuses to semd an ambassdor to the U.S
Although England refuses to send an ambassador to the U.S., John Adams is sent as the American ambassador to Britain. He will spend the next three years trying without success to settle problems regarding the existence of a string of British forts along the Canadian border, pre-war debts owed to British creditors, post-war American treatment of Loyalists, and the closing of the West Indian colonies to American trade. -
US founded
The United States Library of Congress is founded. -
Thomas J is inaugurated
Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated as the third president in Washington, DC -
Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark set out from St. Louis, Mo., on expedition to explore the West and find a route to the Pacific Ocean. -
War of 1812
WAR OF 1812 begins as U.S. declares war on Great Britain over issues of borders, trade,
freedom of the seas, and the rights of neutrals. Indians under Tecumseh fight on British side. -
British soliders burns
British soldiers burn the White House and other government buildings -
British defeated at ew Oreleans
British are defeated at the Battle of New Orleans (two weeks after Treaty of Ghent is signed).
American settlers begin large migration to the “Old Southwest” (Alabama and Mississippi) -
Missouri Compromise
Missouri Compromise, admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Maine immediately gives right to vote and education to all male citizens. The compromise also prohibited slavery in the remainder of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36°30'N lat. (southern boundary of Missouri). The 36°30' proviso held until 1854, when the Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise. See map. -
African American colonists
Free African American colonists, eighty-six in number, plus three American Colonization society members, leave the United States from New York City, and sail to Freetown, Sierra Leone. -
John Quincy Adams is inaugurated
John Quincy Adams is inaugurated as the sixth president. -
Underground Railroad
“Underground Railroad” established -
Trail of Tears
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" -
Mexican War
MEXICAN WAR begins; Congress declares war after Mexican troops
attack U.S. troops in disputed territory north of the Rio Grande. -
Mexican War ends
MEXICAN WAR ends officially by treaty. -
Compromise of 1850
Compromise of 1850 admits California as free state but Fugitive Slave Law enacted. -
President Filmore dies
President Filmore dies in office, succeeded by Franklin Pierce -
Gadsen purchase
Gadsden purchase was made for $10,000,000 from Mexico. -
Abraham Lincoln elected
Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest and most remembered presidents of the America, was elected on this day. His election spurred on the most brutal and deadliest war in American history. Soon after he was elected, South Carolina seceded from the Union and was then followed by the Civil War. -
Battle of Gettysburg
After three days of battle surrounding the tiny town of Gettysburg, including over 150,000 troops, Union defenders of Cemetery Ridge turn back General Pickett and Pettigrew during Pickett's Charge. With over 51,000 dead, wounded, or missing, the Battle of Gettysburg, on the farm fields of central Pennsylvania, proved to be the "high water mark of the Confederacy" and the last major push of Confederate forces into Union territory. Gettyburg remains a tribute of remarkable propo -
Foour score and seven years ago
"Four score and seven years ago," began what many percieve as the best speech in American history, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln in the town cemetery overlooking the fields of Gettysburg. The Gettysburg Address, only 272 words long and taking about two minutes to speak, captured the essence of the Civil War as both sacrifice and inspiration. -
The 15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment to the Constitution is declared ratified by the Secretary of State. It gave the right to vote to black Americans. Race would officially no longer be a ban to voting rights. -
Jesse James
Jesse James and the James-Younger Gang engage in the first successful train robbery in the American West, taking three thousand dollars from the Rock Island Express at Adair, Iowa. -
Civil Act giving equal rights
The Civil Rights Act, giving equal rights to blacks in jury duty and accommodation is passed by the United States Congress. It would be overturned in 1883 by the U.S. Supreme Court. -
Civil Rights Act of 1875
Civil Rights Act of 1875. Congress approved the Civil Rights Act on March 1, guaranteeing equal rights to black Americans in public accommodations and jury duty. The legislation was invalidated by the Supreme Court in 1883. -
Assasination of President Garfield
President Garfield assassinated. President Garfield was shot on July 2; he died on September 19. Vice President Chester A. Arthur (Republican) succeeded Garfield as president. -
Standard Oil Company
The Standard Oil Company trust of John D. Rockefeller is begun when Rockefeller places his oil holdings inside it. -
The Brooklyn Bridge is opened
The Brooklyn Bridge is opened. It was constructed under a design by German-American Johann A. Roebling and required fourteen years to build. Six days later, a stampede of people fearing a rumor about its impending collapse causes twelve people to be killed. -
The Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty arrived for the first time in New York harbor. -
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty, known during its construction and erection as "Bartholdi's Light" or "Liberty Enlightening the World" is dedicated by President Grover Cleveland in New York Harbor. First shown in the United States at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia ten years earlier, the huge sculpture by French artist Auguste Bartholdi provided the beacon to millions of immigrants and citizens who would pass its position in the decades to come. (Picture right) Torch and Arm of the Statue of -
W.E.B DuBois
Devoted himself to socialogical investigations of blacks in America. He produced 16 monographs. -
Payne-Aldrich Tariff
A bill that wanted to lower tarriffs, counter acted with the Dingley Tariff. -
The Dollar Diplomacy
A term used to describe America's efforts to further its foreign policy in Latin America and East Asia through use of its economic power byguaranteeing loans -
Booker T Washington
Dominant figure for African Americans. Representatie who speak for the African American Community he spoke for blacks living the south, -
Hepburn Act
The Hepburn Act increased the authority of the Interstate Commerce Commission over railroads and other types of carriers. It provided reasonable rates, and established routes.
