-
First Continental Congress
The First Continental Congress was established to protest the Intolerable Acts. Each colony except Georgia sent representatives to Philadelphia to attend the Continental Congress. During the First Continental Congress the representatives decided to do two major things. First, they were going to establish a boycott of all British goods and it also established that if the Intolerable Acts were not repealed by September 10th, 1775, the Colonies would stop exporting all goods to Great Briaian. -
First Continental Congress (2/2)
The second thing that the Congress decided upon was that they would have a Second Continental congress and would invite "Quebec, Saint John's Island, Nova Scotia, Georgia, East Florida, & West Florida. The First Continental Congress was important because it started the fight back against Great Britian and showed we were going to put up a fight. This event helped shape America today by showing that we stand up against those that go against us and will fight for our freedom. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first battles of the Revolutionary War. The American's had heard of the British's plans to capture and destroy military supplies stored at Concord so the American's moved their supplies and prepared for an attack and fought back against the British and won the battles. This event was important because it stated the Revolutionary War against the British. It helped shape America by contributing to our freedom and willingness to fight for our rights. -
Second Continental Congress Cont (3/3)
which without the results of the war might have been different and America might have lost the war. This event helped seperate us from Great Britian and become our own indipendent nation that we are today. -
Second Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress conviened to organize the war and for Congress to take charge in the leadership efforts of the Revolutionary War. On June 14th, 1775 Congress declared that they would establish a Continental Army and decided that George Washington would be in command of it. The Continental Congress did all the things that they would do if they were governing a county (The United States was not a country yet). They even started issuing their own paper money called Continentals. On -
Second Continental Congress Cont (2/3)
June 7th, 1776, Congress started working on the Declaration of Independence and it was signed on July 4th, 1776. Then on November 15th, 1777, Congress approved the Articles of Confederation It took until March 1st, 1781 to finally get all of the states to ratify the Articles of Confederation. The Continental Congress was then called the Confederation Congress and they would oversee the rest of the war. This event helped shape America because it provided leadership during the Revolutionary War -
Declaration of Independence
The Declatation of Independence declared that the colonies were no longer part of the British Empire and they were free states. John Adams proposed the Declaration and then later that year a committee was formed to draf the Declaration of Independence. John Adams advised Congress to select Thomas Jefferson to draf the Declaration of Independence. On July 4th, 1776, Congress approved the wording of the Declaration on July 4th. This helped shape America and was important because it established us -
Declaration of Independence
as free states. If this event never occured we could possibly still be part of Great Britian and the United States would be nothing like it is today because we would be like Great Britian and not like our own individual Country. -
Mexican-American War
This war between the Mexicans and the Americans greatly increased the territory that the United States owned but, due to the large increase in territory it caused problems and controversy among many American's about whether the new states in the new territory would become Slave states or Free states.
This event helped shape America made it what it is today due to the large amound of land that was aquiared from it. This land aquired would become large states with large populations today. -
Millard Fillmore Presidency
Millard Fillmore was elected the 13th president of the United States and served until March 4th, 1853. President Fillmore. He greatly favored the Compromise of 1850 and the stricter Fugitive Slave law. He also worked to gain control over Hawaii and Cuba and fought with the French over Hawaii and the French and the British over Cuba. His election was important because he worked to aquire Hawaii and worked to pass the Compromise of 1850. This shaped America by giving us Hawaii as a state. -
Compromise of 1850 (2/2)
Texas would give up much of it western land. This Compromise was important because without it the expansion of the United States would have been hindered and it might not have became as large of a country as it is today. This event helped shape America by starting to stop the slave trade which would enentaully result in the slave trade being completely stopped and slavery made illegal as it is today. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a set of 5 bills which would end some of the argument over the slave states vs. the free states and the control issues associated with aquiring new lands as to wether they would be slave states or free states. The Conditions were that California would be a free state, the slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia, The territory of New Makico and Utah were organized under the rule of Popular Sovereignty, a more strict Fugitive Slave Act would be passed, & -
Republican Party Founded
In a small meeting in Ripon, Wisconsin, an anti-slavery group met and the name "Republican Party" was suggested. Then on July 6, 1854 this party declared themselves against the expansion of slavery into new territories. This event was imporant because without it there wouldn't be a Republican party today. This event helped shape America by electing anti-slavery leaders and by being what it is today, electing leaders that stick behind the Constitutional principles. -
Gadsden Purchase
When the railroad industry was startingJames Gadsden was a strong proponent of getting a Southern railroad to like the cities together for trading and to increase the Southern Economy. The land that would be required to do this was owned by the Spanish so the colonies started the process of buying the land needed. This sparked much controversy over whether the land would be free or slave states. Finally it was decided the Northern half would be free and the southern half slave a slave state. -
Gadsden Purchase (2/2)
This purchase was important because it expanded the territory owned by the Colonis and included the land that was essential to the southern railroad being built. This helped shape America and helped make it what it is today by creating the land that is part of the United States today and the land is now the southern part of Arizona. -
Ostend Manifesto
The Ostend Manifesto would cause Cuba to become admitted to the United States and Cuba would then become a Slave State. This would then give the Slave states more power and would result in the North having a hard time trying to stop Slavery. This event shaped America and make it what it is today by causing anger towards Cuba and could have led to our division with Cuba and our embargo today in the United States. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
The Kansas Nebraska Act allowed the states to individually choose whether or not to allow slavery in their state. This caused sectional tensions because whichever way the majority of the states went it would cause an unbalanced power. This event shaped America by being an event where people challanged the government and tried to go against the governement just like people do today. Also, it led to people arguing about Slavery and caused the Civil War. -
Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott Decision was a very important event in the History of the United States because it resulted in Slave Owners being permitted to bring their slaves into free states and it ruled that Congress could not prevent someone from taking their property with them. This event helped shape America by being the first event where a Negro challanged the government and this would happen again by others which helped grant African Americans rights in the United States. -
First Transcontinental Railroad Opens
-
Great Railroad Strike of 1877 Cont. (2/2)
federal troops from City to city until finally the strike ended. This event was important in shaping America because it was one of the largest Strikes at that time and contributed to the way many Americans are today. Even though the strike wasn't successful, the people kept standing up for what they believed in and fought as long as they could to try to make the pay better for all of the workers. -
Great Railroad Strike of 1877
This event began in West Virginia and lasted for 45 days. It started because the Baltimore & Ohio railroad company gave all of their workers a pay cut for the second time in one year. The workers that were on strike would not allow the trains to operate until the second wage cut was revoked. The govenor sent in state troops to force them to work but the state troops wouldn't use force against the strikers so the govenor has to call in Federal Troops. It ended due to President Hayes sending... -
Compromise of 1877
The Compromise of 1877 was an informal deal that ended all of the discussion with people disputing the 1876 Presidential Election. This compromise also ended Reconstruction in the south by the federal troops being removed. This event shaped America by ending the Reconstruction period and started allowing the Southern states to work to protect themselves and become what it is today by being able to move forward with the progress after the war. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
labor from gaining admissing into the United States and greatly restricted their ability to leave America if they were already in the United States. In 1892 this act was renewed by the Geary Act and was extended for another 10 years and then in 1902 it was again renewed with no end date. This act greatly shaped America by preventing Chinease people from coming in to the United States until the mid 1900s & due to this there is still a small number of Chinese in American compared to other races. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese Exclusion Act was signed into effect by Chester A. Arthur. During the Gilded Age, many Americans did not like the Chinese and blamed them for alot of the problems that were occuring. The Chinese started immigrating during the Gold Rush and most American's got along with them then, but soon after the hype behind that started dying down the Chinese were taking jobs that American's should have and this angered many American's. This Act prevented Chinese people that specialized in manuel
