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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
Following a revolt by the English nobility against his rule, King John puts his royal seal on the Magna Carta. The "Great Charter" was signed by King John, showing that he recognized the rights of nobles. -
Period: Aug 27, 1504 to
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was the 16th-century religious, political, intellectual and cultural upheaval that splintered Catholic Europe. This was the beginning of the structures and beliefs that would define the continent in the modern era. -
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English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists in the Kingdom of England over, principally, the manner of its government -
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Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion in which Virginia settlers went against the rule of Givernor William Burkeley. Bacon's rebellion was led by Nathaniel Bacon. -
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Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England. A union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau overthrew King James. -
Two Treatises of Government
As Treasury Secretary, Hamilton designed a financial system that made the United States the best credit risk in the western world. The paramount problem facing Hamilton was a huge national debt. He proposed that the government assume the entire debt of the federal government and the states. -
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Salem Witch Trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. The trials resulted in the executions of twenty people, most of them women, and all but one by hanging. -
Salutary Neglect
Salutary neglect is an American history term that refers to an unofficial and long-term 17th & 18th-century British policy. The policy includes avoiding strict enforcement of parliamentary laws meant to keep American colonies obedient to England. -
First Great Awakening
The arrival of the young Anglican preacher George Whitefield sparked the Great Awakening. Whitefield, whose reputation as a great pulpit and open-air orator preceded his visit, traveled through the colonies in 1739 and 1740. -
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French and Indian War
Was fought between British-American colonies and New France. They were both helped by military from both parent countries and Native American ally troops. -
Proclamation of 1763
The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued October 7, 1763, by King George III following Great Britain's acquisition of French territory in North America after the end of the French and Indian War/Seven Years' War. This forbade all settlement past a line drawn along the Appalachian Mountains. -
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American Revolution
The American revolution was the colonies controlled by Britain revolting over taxes. The Boston Tea Oarty also took place aroubd this time. -
Land Ordinance of 1785
The Land Ordinance of 1785, coming on the heels of the Ordinance of 1784, was the effort of a five-person committee led by Thomas Jefferson. The ordinance established a systematic and ubiquitous process for surveying, planning and selling townships in the western frontier. -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Ordinance of 1787, adopted by the Congress of Confederation for the government of the Western territories ceded to the United States by the states. It created the Northwest Territory and is frequently called the Northwest Ordinance. -
3/5ths Compromise
The 3/5ths Compromise was created in order to appease the south for wanting to count their slaves as actual humans just so they had more say than the North. The north brought up the fact that the south said they were property, and used it against them, so the slaves only counted as a fraction of a person. -
Constitutional Convention
A gathering that drafted the Constitution in 1787, ALl states were invited to send delagates. -
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George Washington
George Washington was the first president, and also the first to serve 2 terms. -
Judiciary Acts of 1789
The judiciary Act of 1789 is a landmark statute in the fist session of the first US Congress. And it established the US federal Judiciary. -
Hamiltonian Policy
As Treasury Secretary, Hamilton designed a financial system that made the United States the best credit risk in the western world. The paramount problem facing Hamilton was a huge national debt. He proposed that the government assume the entire debt of the federal government and the states. -
Bill of Rights
On September 25, 1789, Congress transmitted to the state Legislatures twelve proposed amendments to the Constitution. Numbers three through twelve were adopted by the states to become the United States Bill of Rights, effective December 15, 1791. -
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John Adams
John Adams was the first Vice President of the US, and became President when George Washington left office. -
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century enslaved people of African descent in the United States. It was used to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. -
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Marshall Court
Marshall Court refers to a time when John Marshall was in charge of the Supreme Court. John Marshall was the Chief Justice. -
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Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the first Democratic-Republican president. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (1803) was a land deal between the United States and France. The U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. -
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Lewis and Clark
A journey made by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson. They explored the American Northwest, newly purchased from France, and some territories beyond. -
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James Madison
James Madison was the fIfth Secretary of State before taking office as President of the United States. -
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War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict, lasting for two and a half years. It was fought by the United States of America against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, its North American colonies and its Native American allies. -
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James Monroe
Because of his prominent support for the colonization of Liberia, the country decided to name their capital city, Monrovia, after James Monroe. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an effort by congress to defuse the sectional and political rivalries triggered by the request of Missouri late in 1819for Admission as a state in which slavery would be permitted. At the time, the US contained 22 states, evenly divided between slave and free. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine was a document issued by james Monroe. He said the European powers could not come across a certain line, and that the powers need to respect the western hemisphere's areas of interest. -
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John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams was known for his early morning dips in D.C.'s main waterway, always in the nude. -
Jacksonian Democrats
Jacksonian democracy is the political movement during the Second Party System toward greater democracy. American politician Andrew Jackson and his supporters symbolized greater democracy for the common man. -
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Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson had a pet parrot, and taught it to curse. The parrot had to be removed from President Jackson's funeral because it wouldn't stop swearing. -
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Martin Van Buren
Supposedly, President Van Buren popularized one of the most commonly used phrases to date: "OK", or "Okay". Van Buren was from Kinderhook, NY which was also called "Old Kinderhook". His support groups came to be known as "O.K. Clubs" and the term OK came to mean "all right". -
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William Henry Harris
William Henry Harris was the first president that died while in the Office. -
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John Tyler
John Tylerwas a whig and had no Vice President. -
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James K Polk
James K Polk was a democrat, and nominated for a second term, but never accepted the nomination. -
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Mexican-American War
A war between the U.S. and Mexico spanned the period from spring 1846 to fall 1847. The war was initiated by the United States and resulted in Mexico's defeat and the loss of approximately half of its national territory in the north. -
Goldrush (forty-niners)
Prospectors flocked to California in 1849 in search of gold. World got out after James W. Marshall found a huge nugget at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. -
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Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor was a whig, he also served for 40 decades in the US army. -
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Millard Filmore
Millard Fillmore was whig and only served 3 years, the rest of Zachary Taylor's term. -
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Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was a northern Democrat who saw the abolitionist movement as a fundamental threat to the unity of the nation. -
KN Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 (10 Stat. 277) created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement, and had the effect of repealing the Missouri Compromise. It did this by allowing white male settlers in those territories to determine through popular sovereignty whether they would allow slavery, or create another free state. -
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James Buchanan
James Buchanan was a Democrat who was morally opposed to slavery but believed it was protected by the U.S. Constitution. -
Plantation System
It was charaterized by large expansions in agriculture while manufacturing growth remained relatively slow. The southern economy was characterized by a low level of capital accumulation. -
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Abraham Lincoln
Abe lincoln was a Republican that did not believe in slavery, and was only president for 3 days without the Civil War going on. -
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American Civil War
American Civil war fought North vs South. It was fought over the right to have slavery during Lincoln's ppresdiency. -
tenant farming
Tenant farming is an agricultural production system in which landowners contribute their land and often a measure of operating capital and management. While tenant farmers contribute their labor along with at times varying amounts of capital and management. -
sharecropping
Sharecropping is a system of agriculture. A landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on their portion of land. -
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Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was a Democrat that served the rest of Lincoln's term. -
KKK
The KKK is a secret organization in the southern U.S., active for several years after the Civil War. It aimed to suppress the newly acquired powers of blacks and to oppose carpetbaggers from the North, and which was responsible for many lawless and violent proceedings. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution addressed citizenship rights and equal protection of laws for male citizens of every race. It was created as a result of the civil war. -
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Ulysses S Grant
Ulysses S Grant was a Republican, and he graduated 2nd from the bottom of his class at West Point in 1843. -
Naturaliztion Act of 1870
The Naturalization Act of 1870 was a United States federal law that created a system of controls for the naturalization process and penalties for fraudulent practices. It is also noted for extending the naturalization process to "aliens of African nativity and to persons of African descent." -
Compromise of 1876
It was a perported informal, unwritten deal that settled the intensly disputed 1876 US presidential election. It also oulled federal troops out of state politics in the south and ended the Reconstruction era. -
Commitees of Correspondence
The Committees of Correspondence were formed throughout the colonies as a means of coordinating action against Great Britain. Many were formed by the legislatures of the respective colonies, others by extra-governmental associations such as the Sons of Liberty in the various colonies. -
Peculiar Institution
The peculiar institution is a euphamism for slavery in the south. Kenneth M. Stampp also wrote a book on "peculiar institution."
