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The Great Awakening was led by new-generation ministers. These ministers led religious revivals and gave sermons focusing on living a "Godly life." The Great Awakening created conflicts between the Old light and new Lights (also known has the old and younger generations). This created a new birth of deep religion, encouraged equality, and was the birth of charity. -
The Proclamation of 1763 was the establishment of a new boundary marked in the Appalachian Mountains. This prohibited Native Americans from settling on lands that were acquired by the French. The Proclamation of 1763 was the cause of the French and Indian War. -
The Sugar Act of 1764 was led by an English politician, George Greenville. He placed a strong tax on sugar, molasses, and other products that would be imported into the American colonies. The British thought this would raise a lot of money after the French and Indian War. This act was the start of the Intolerable Acts. -
The Quartering Act was Parliament's second law in the Intolerable Acts. This Act forced American colonies to house British soldiers. This led tons of colonists to comply with the law and refuse to house any soldiers that would come. People were extremely upset about the fact that they would have to pay taxes for someone living with them, that is against their political thoughts. -
The Stamp Act was passed to help pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the Seven Year's War. The act forced colonists to pay a tax on any form of paper products. The British represented this act with a stamp. Once again, Colonists boycotted, this time until the Act was repealed. -
The Boston Massacre was a deadly riot that took place on March 5. It started as a street brawl but quickly turned chaotic. Colonists were extremely angry with British soldiers coming into their cities and the Britsh enforcing tax laws. Colonists started to rebel against the laws, which was the cause of the Boston Massacre. -
After intense fighting in and around Boston, Thomas Paine, an American Founding Father, decided to write Common Sense. This is largely thought of as a brilliant propaganda piece that lays out a passionate case for independence. Common Sense directly attacked the political, economic, and ideological drawbacks that are keeping colonists from Independence from the British. -
The Boston Tea Party was a political and mercantile protest led by the Sons of Liberty. When the British put a tax on tea, they automatically rebelled, by doing this, the Sons of Liberty and colonists boarded a ship and threw over an estimated 342 chests of tea in the Boston Harbor. This made the British extremely angry and led to Intolerable acts. -
The First Continental Congress was a meeting between a group of leaders from twelve of the thirteen colonies that took place at Carpenter's Hall Philadelphia. The Congress declared that all colonists should have the same rights as the English. They also agreed to suspend trade with the British. Due to these propositions, Parliament passed more strict tax laws. -
Also known as the "Shot Heard Around the World," the Battle of Lexington and Concord was the first battle of the American Revolution. No one knows who was the first side to shoot a shot. The Militiamen were extremely outnumbered against the British Red Coats and were forced to surrender multiple times. It was not until the militia outsmarted the British that all weapons and gunpowder were removed from Concord. -
Delegates apart of the Second Continental Congress including Thomas Jefferson and others wrote the Declaration of Independence. The declaration states the principles on which our government, and identity as Americans, are based. Even if imperfect in their application, the thought that all men were equal and that government existed to serve the people, was revolutionary in a world dominated by monarchy and aristocracy. Jefferson's words have changed the nature of government throughout the world. -
The Articles of Confederation served as the United State's first constitution. This was a written document that explained the functions of the national government. The Articles of Confederation established a weak central government and placed most power in the hands of the states. This led to the economy decreasing drastically. -
After a grueling campaign through the southern colonies, General Cornwallis retreated to the coast of Yorktown, Virginia for the winter and the protection of the Royal Navy. The French navy defeated the British navy, and the British were surrounded by the French and United States. This was the last battle of the American Revolution. -
The Treaty of Paris of 1783 officially ends the Revolutionary War. The United States was granted all British lands between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River and North to British Canada. The Treaty was signed and now the United States was its free nation. -
The farmers who fought in the Revolutionary War had received little to no money and they were struggling to make anything. Daniel Shays a former soldier led a group of 600 men to shut down the court in Springfield. This led to a series of violent attacks on courthouses and other government properties in Massachusetts. -
George Washington was the First-ever P of the United States. He was selected not elected because no one ran against him. One reason why he was selected is because he was not a part of the constitutional convention. On April 30, 1789, Washington was inaugurated with John Adams by his side as Vice President. He established many governmental precedents. -
Invented by Eli Whitney, the cotton gin removes seeds from cotton fiber. This invention made cotton profitable and changed the course of the South. Although making incredible profit, the cotton gin led to slavery once again. Before the Cotton gin slavery was dwindling to not being as popular, but with this new invention slaves were needed, and the numbers increased drastically once -
Pickney's Treaty was signed just one year after the Whiskey Rebellion occurred. Pickney's Treaty is a twenty-year agreement from Spain allowing the Americans the right to freely travel on the Mississippi River and use the port of New Orleans. -
John Adams was the second president of the United States. Before his presidency, he was a founding father and a leader of the American Revolution. John Adams created the U.S. Navy to protect trade routes, and merchant ships, and defend the coast. -
In anticipation of war starting with France, John Adams passed the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien Acts allowed the president to deport any non-citizens considered dangerous, and the Sedition Acts made it illegal for newspapers to print any material critical of the president or Congress. This led to another act called the Naturalization Act, which increased the amount of time immigrants had to live in the U.S. before they could become citizens. -
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the United States, serving from 1801 to 1809. During his presidency, he wanted to focus on respecting the authority of individual states. Before his presidency, he was a Founding Father and the primary author of the Declaration of Independence. -
Signed on April 30, 1803, the United States purchased 828,000 square miles of land West of the Mississippi River and Port Orleans for 15 million dollars. The Louisiana Purchase led to a significant increase in natural resources and the start of the most important mode of transportation, the railroad. -
The Embargo Act was originally planned to be a nonviolent resistance to the British and the French. Created by Thomas Jefferson, the Embargo Act stopped all exports from American ports, meaning nothing could come in or out of the Union. The hope was to force European powers to respect American neutrality. In the end, this hurt the American economy far more than the Europeans and resulted in a significant increase in smuggling. -
On October 5, 1813, American forces led by William H. Harrison defeated the British and Native Americans that were led by Tecumseh. Taking place in Ontario, Canada the Americans at this battle led to the United States taking over the Northwest. The Native American tribe leader Tecumseh died leading to broke alliances between the different tribes, and ended Indian resistance in the Ohio River Valley. -
Signed on December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812. The war is considered "status quo ante bellum." Great Britain agreed to hand over claims to the Northwest Territory. Due to this treaty being signed America was able to restore pre-owned boundaries, and return prisoners. In the end, it strengthened the Nation. -
During the War of 1812, the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the British Navy led. This led to witness Francis Scott Key writing a poem about the things he heard and saw. The poem that was written then was created into a song now known as our Star-Spangled Banner. -
The Missouri Compromise allowed Missouri to become a state, but only if another territory also became a state. At the time, Missouri was in the North but was going to be a slave state, so to make the Union and Confederates happy, they made Maine a nonslave state to cancel out the electoral votes. Thirty years later the Missouri Compromise broke down because this compromise only dealt with that area around the Louisiana Purchase, so when other territories became states slavery arose once again. -
The Monroe Doctrine was a policy set by President James Monroe indicating that further colonization by Europe in the West would be considered a hostile act. This provided a precedent and gave support for U.S. expansion. It was created because the U.S. government was worried that European powers would take over U.S. territory. -
Also known as the Tariff of Abominations, the Tariff of 1828 raised taxes on imported manufactured goods to reduce foreign competition. The blockade of Europe led British manufacturers to offer goods in America at low prices. The plan was to make foreign products more expensive so Americans bought American products giving them the advantage over their domestic counterparts. -
Andrew Jackson became the seventh president of the United States. Jackson wanted to recreate the old Jeffersonian coalition of farmers, and slave owners. He created a national committee that oversaw local and state party units and became the first political party. Jackson was also a part of the first modern political campaign that led to mass meetings, parades, and picnics. -
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson. On May 28, 1830, this authorized the president to grand lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands. Many Native American tribes were extremely upset and this created major conflict. The Indian Removal Act forced the removal and migration of most western Indian nations. -
The Force Bill allowed the president of the United States to use military force against states that refused to comply with federal tax or tariff laws. As a result, states started to rebel. For example, the South Carolina court voted to nullify the force bill. This also extended the powers of the president. -
Samuel Morse was an American inventor who developed the Telegraph. This was the first form of communication of its kind. Now people were able to get messages sent faster and to longer distances. The telegraph facilitated the growth of the railroads and reduced information costs between firms. Overall, the development of the telegraph was a significant innovation. -
James K. Polk was the eleventh President of the United States. Polk was an advocate of the Jacksonian democracy and had a lot of the same plans as Andrew Jackson did. He oversaw the largest territorial expansion in American history. The Polk administration also achieved a major economic issue, which was lowering tariffs and establishing an independent Federal Treasury. -
The Treaty of Guadalupe is extremely important because it ended the Mexican-American war, giving the U.S. a massive amount of territory. This treaty also granted federal citizenship to thousands of Mexicans who gained citizenship through the admission of the states. This was a major success for the United States, but for Mexico, it led to nearly half its territory and natural resources being lost. -
Under the Compromise of 1850, Texas surrendered its claims to present-day New Mexico and other states in return for federal assumption of Texas's public debt. California was admitted as a free state. This compromise was a series of bills passed that also addressed slavery-related issues. -
Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American abolitionist who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin. This controversial book describes the life of a slave and what he experiences. After the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act, Harriet Beecher Stowe was inspired to write a novel to persuade Americans against slavery. This book was extremely hated in the South. Many people think this book is a major cause of the civil war. -
The Lacomption Constitution contained clauses protecting slaveholding, and stating that the Bill of Rights should exclude free blacks. This created a ton of anger and eventually violence, leading to a series of repeated outbreaks of violence called Bleeding Kansas. John Brown, an American abolitionist, marched through Pottawatomie Valley in Kansas. Along with seven men, determined to confront pro-slavery settlers, the group murdered multiple Indians along Pottawatomie Creek. -
The Homestead Act, created by Abraham Lincoln was formed due to the excessive overcrowding in urban areas. The Homestead Act granted 160 acres of land to citizens who moved to the West and made living conditions in the West even better. To get the 160 acres citizens had to live in the west for five years and improve the land by building homes, barns, fences, etc. This offer was often taken by newly freed people, so they could start fresh. -
Occurring on September 17, 1862, the Battle of Antietam was the deadliest one-day battle in American history. This battle pitted the Confederates against the Union, and this was General Robert E Lee's attempt to invade the North. This war is known as a tie due to the Confederates losing so many soldiers, and the Union Retreating back to Virginia. The Battle of Antietam took place right before the Emancipation Proclamation. -
The Emancipation Proclamation, issued in 1863, was a proclamation by Abraham Lincoln stating that anybody who rejoined the Union could keep their slaves. If you do not rejoin, the Union will conquer the states and liberate the slaves. The Emancipation Proclamation led to African Americans being able to join the military. -
The Battle of Gettysburg was a pivotal event in the Civil War. Occurring in Gettysburg Pennsylvania there were around 80,000 troops for both the Union and the Confederates. The Union's victory ended General Lee's invasion of the North and gave the Union hope. This was a massive turning point In the war. Later on, President Abraham Lincoln commemorated the battle with the Gettysburg Address, underscoring the war's purpose and preserving a nation that was built for liberty. -
The Freedmen's Bureau, created by President Abraham Lincoln was created to help newly freed blacks transition to a life of freedom. After slaves were liberated they were left with nothing and no knowledge. It helped freed people establish schools, purchase land, and secure loans. -
The 13th Amendment was a major step forward in the fight for civil rights in the United States. It was passed right after the civil war ended. This amendment states that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except punishment for crime, should exist within America. This was a big deal because it not only freed millions of enslaved people but it also set the stage for future civil rights advancements. -
While living on American lands, Native Americans started to adapt to the "white way." This led to some getting sent to reservation or prosecution. The Ghost Dance was a prayer/dance that was incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. American Armies saw this movement happening and thought they saw the Natives in a frenzy, and it was thought the Natives getting ready for battle. The government believed it was a precursor to renewed Native Americans and violent rebellion. -
The 15th Amendment recognized from the election of 1868 that African Americans needed the right to vote. Republicans quickly pushed this amendment through Congress, and was passed on February 26, 1869. It prohibited any state from denying any citizen the right to vote, regardless of race color, or previous condition of servitude. -
After the United States expanded out west, there was not a great way of transportation to get there. President Abraham decided to create a train route that led across the United States. He gave incentives to the two companies for every square mile of track they laid. In the end, this railroad was extremely important because it brought products of eastern industry to the growing beyond the Mississipi. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1875 guaranteed universal access to public transportation, theaters, and "other places of amusement" regardless of race. Congress granted the United States district courts exclusive jurisdiction over cases regarding alleged violations. In the end, the United States Supreme court declared the Act unconstitutional and ended the Civil Rights Act. -
The Dawes Act is extremely similar to the Homestead Act, but it's for Native Americans. This law tended to transform Native American reservations by dividing the land into smaller allotments for Native American families to live on. This tried to get Native Americans to be like Americans. The American Army wanted to weaken the tribe, severing the cultural tie that is between them and the different tribes. -
Plessy v. Ferguson was an important U.S. Supreme Court case concerning whether racial segregation laws were constitutional. In 18696, the United States Supreme Court ruled, in a 7:1 vote, that "separates but equal" accommodation on railroad oars conformed to the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection. That decision was used to justify segregating all public facilities, including schools, most school districts ignored the Plessy "equal" requirement and neglected black schools.