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Jamestown
The Virginia Company is issued a charter from King James I to look for gold and a passage to the Indies in the new land of America -
Period: to
Colonial America
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John Rolfe perfects tobacco culture
John Rolfe, husband of Pocahontas, perfected the raising and curing of tobacco. Turned Virginia into an agricultural colony, Europe became reliant on them for tobacco -
First Anglo-Powhatan War ends
Tensions had run high between Indians and English, especially when the English started stealing food. Lord De La Warr came from England in 1610 to declare war on the Indians. Peace was reached with the marriage of John Rolfe to Pocahontas -
First Africans arrive in Jamestown
A Dutch warship sells twenty Africans to the farmers of the Virginia colony, establishing the roots of the North American slave system. -
Pilgrims arrive on the Mayflower
After a 12 year journey, 102 Separatists land at Plymouth Rock. They establish a government run by the majority and elect William Bedford as governor 30 times. -
Puritans found Massachusetts Bay Colony
In 1629 a group of Puritans obtained a charter to create the Massachusetts Bay Company, with Boston as its capital. They feared persecution from the Church of England. -
Roger Williams founds Rhode Island
After being banished from Massachusetts for heresy, Williams founds Rhode Island as a place of religious and political refuge. -
First Navigation Laws
Britain passes the first Navigation Act to ensure that they got the most out of American trade. -
Period: to
Lead Up to American Revolution
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Bacon's Rebellion
Nathanial Bacon led an armed revolt against governor William Berkeley after he refused to retaliate to several Indian attacks. He was also accused of unfair taxation and appointing his friends to government jobs. Bacon's men killed entire Indian villages. Eventually burned Jamestown to the ground. -
Parliamentary Act
Ordered locally funded, church-run schools to be established in every parish. -
John Edwards begins Great Awakening
Led to changes in America's understanding of God, themselves, religion, and the world. They even accepted blacks into their churches. -
Zenger free-press trial
John Peter Zenger is arrested for libel. His lawyer, Alexander Hamilton, argues that truth is a defense against charges of libel. -
Washington battles the French on the frontier
The governor of Virginia sent 21 year old George Washington to Ohio as a lieutenant colonel. He encountered a small group of French in the forst and fired the first shot of the French and Indian War -
Period: to
French and Indian War
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Braddock's defeat
General Braddock was sent to capture Forst Duquesne. He encountered a small French and Indian army. The British forces lost and the Indians, excited by their victory, attacked the troops that Braddock had left unattended from Pennsylvania to North Carolina. -
Treaty of Paris
End of the French and Indian War. France lost all claims to Candada, Spain got Louisiana. Britain recieved Spanish Florida and Upper Canada -
Sugar Act
Reduced and enforced the tax on molasses. More foreign goods were taxed. -
Stamp Act
Required many printed materials to be produced on stamped paper made in England.Taxation without consent -
Townshend Acts
Used to raise revenue in the colonies to pay the salaries of judges and governors so they would remain loyal to the British. Resisted by the colonists, led to British occupation of Boston. -
Boston Massacre
British troops had been stationed in Boston to force support of unpopular taxes. A fight broke out between a man and an officer. A crowd formed around them. The officer shot into the mob, instantly killing three men. Both sides came up with propoganda pamphlets to support their claims. Served as one of the events that turned the colonists against King George II. -
Tea Act
The British East India Company had a surplus of tea. The act allowed the company to send tea directly to the colonies. Colonists opposed it because it validated the Townshend Act's tax. -
Boston Tea Party
Disguised as Indians, a group of protestors destroyed a shipment of teain defiance of the Tea Act. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
Marked the beginning of the American Revolution. -
"Intolerable Acts"
Meant to punish the colonists after the Boston Tea Party. Took away Massachusetts self-government. Viewed as a violation of constitutional and natural rights. -
First Continental Congress
Called in response to the Intolerable Acts. Representatives from the twelve colonies aired their grievances about King George III -
Period: to
American Revolution
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Thomas Paine's Common Sense
Inspired people in the colonies to fight for independence: an island should not rule a continent, America was not just British but made up of lots of different cultures, the distance was a problem, etc. -
Declaration of Independence
Announced the thirteen colonies as independent sovereigns. No longer a part of Britian, now the United States of America. -
Battle of Quebec
First major defeat for the Americans. Benedict Arnold is wounded -
Period: to
Early America
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Treaty of Paris
Ended the American war for Independence. -
Shay's Rebellion
Causes: financial difficulties because of post-war depression, lack of hard currency, harsh government policy. Formed a militia. -
Constitutional Convention
Addressed probelms in governing the United States. The United States Constitution was created. -
George Washington elected president
69 members of Congress elect George Washington as the first president of the United States of America -
Bill of Rights
The Anti-Federalists opposed the Constitution, were worried it limited personal liberties. To appease them, the Bill of Rights was added to gurantee personal freedom and limit the power of the federal government. -
Cotton gin
Eli Whitney invented a machine that easily separated cotton from the seed. Cotton became "king" in the South, the slave trade increases. -
Slave trade outlawed
International slave trade is prohibited, no more slaves can be brought into the country. -
Battle of Tippecanoe
Battle between the United States and the Shawnee, led by Tecumseh. Americans suspected the British were behind the attack, led to a declaration of war. -
War of 1812
Britain and France were intruding in American trade. Britain was providing guns to the Native Americans. -
Period: to
Antebellum America
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Treaty with Britain
resolved standing boundary issues between the two nations, and allowed for joint occupation and settlement of the Oregon Country -
Panic of 1819
First major financial crisis in the United States. Led to a depression that lasted until 1821 -
Missouri Compromise
Prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36, 30 parallel. -
Monroe Doctrine
Written by James Monroe. The European powers would not try to colonize the Western Hempisphere. If they did, it would be considered an act of aggression. -
Tariff of 1828
Also known as the Tariff of Abominations. Designed to protect the industry in the North, hurt Southern economy. -
Indian Removal Act
Authorized Andrew Jackson to negotiate with Indian tribes in the South for their removal to land west of the Mississippi River -
Nullification Crisis
South Carolina declared the Tariff of Abominations unconstitutional. The Force Bill was passed in response-president could use military force against South Carolina. The Compromise Tariff of 1833 lowered the tariff. -
Compromise of 1850
- Texas surrendered its claim to New Mexico
- California was admitted as a free state
- New Mexico and Utah could decide through popular sovereignty if they wanted to be slave states
- Stronger Fugitive Slave Act
- Slave trade was banned in Washington D.C.
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Kansas-Nebraksa Act
Kansas and Nebraksa were created, repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 by allowing settlers to go through popular sovereignty. -
Bleeding Kansas
Because Kansas would be decided by pop. sov., people from neighboring areas crowded the state to try and sway the vote either in favor of or opposed to slavery. John Brown and his sons killed five men. -
Dred Scott decision
African Americans were not citizens and could therefore not sue in federal courts. The federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States -
Lincoln elected
Lincoln wins a four way race on the platform of stopping the expansion of slavery. In elected, seven Southern states had threatened to secede. -
Confederate States of America formed
After Lincoln was elected president, seven Southern states seceded and created the Confederate States of America, effectively beginning the Civil War.
