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First Settlers Land in Jamestown
A group of investors sponsored by the Virginia Company in London landed in Jamestown and created a colony. This was the first permanent British colony in America. -
Pilgrims Arrive at Plymouth
Roughly a hundred pilgrims seeking religious independence set sail on a cargo ship named the Mayflower and created a colony in Plymouth harbor. This was the first permanent settlement in New England. -
Formation of Dominion of New England
King James II sought to combine all the New England colonies into one large colony, essentially taking away the colonists' rights. This led to the Glorious Revolution and the restoration of the rights and independence of the colonies. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first shots fired of the Revolutionary War. Many more battles and the colonists' independence followed afterwards. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is fairly self-explanatory: it declared America's independence from Britain. It was primarily drafted by Thomas Jefferson and signed by many other patriots like John Hancock and Benjamin Franklin. This would prompt Britain to declare full-out war against America. -
Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was written to regulate the government and the colonies. It gave each state one vote regardless of their size or population and provided for no executive or judicial branch. The articles created obvious problems with national unity and debt, which led to the Consitiution being drafted instead. -
Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom
The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom was written by Jefferson, who believed that there needed to be separation between church and state. This would set the foundation for some of the principles of government in the Constitution -
Battle of Yorktown
Also called the Siege of Yorktown, this was one of the most decisive American victories in the Revolutionary War, and one that led to Britain's surrender. -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 was a set of guidelines for northwest territiories being admitted as a new states. The territories couldn't be split into any less than 3 or any more than 5 states, a three stage governing process and a bill of rights for each state. -
Three-fifths Compromise
Three-fifths Compromise stated that each slave counted as onle 3/5 of a person, or vote, as the north was against slaves counting as a full citizen to boost the southern states' power in Congress. -
Federalist Papers
The federalist papers were a collection of 85 articles written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Hay promoting the ratification of the Constitution. -
Constitution
The Constitution is document stating the supreme law of the US Government. Of the seven original articles, the first three were on separation of powers and the next three were on federalism and the rights and responsibilities of the state governement. The seventh states the number of state ratifications that are needed for the Constitution to take effect. -
Samuel Slater Builds First Cotton Mill
Samuel Slater helped build and design the first cotton mill in Rhode Island. Many more would spread across New England and by the mid-1800's the textile industry was the most important in America. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights are the first ten ammendments to the Constitution. They were written by James Madison and influenced by George Mason's Virginia Declaration of Rights. -
Eli Whitney Invents Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, which revolutionized the way cotton was produced and led to it being the leading export by the middle of the 19th century. It also led to a severe increase in slavery to maximize cotton output, and escalated tension in the south. -
Louisiana Purchase
Under President Thomas Jefferson, 828 million square miles of land were bought from the French for 3 cents an acre, the overall cost being about 1.5 million. At least part of what would be 15 future states were included in this deal, and was the initial spark for what would soon become the Westward Expansion. -
Embargo Act
The Embargo Act of 1807 declared that all exports from the US illegal, and was enacted by Thomas Jefferson. The goal was to gain respect from Britain and France, but instead the Embargo would lead to American sailor impressment by the British. Tensions resulted in the War of 1812. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was almost a direct result of the unresolved tenions of the American Revolution, and was escalated by the Embargo Act and the impressment of American sailors five years prior. Despite numerous defeats, the Americans held off a few key British invasions in New York and New Orleans that established renewed confidence and patriotism. -
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812, restoring all land to where it originally was and basically stated there was no clear winner. However, Americans interpreted this as more of a victory, calling it a 'second war of independence'. -
Tariff of 1816
The Tariff of 1816 was a protectionist measure of industries in New England from cheap foreign imports. The tariff raised the rate to 20 percent, and most manufacturers wanted it higher. However, this burdened the south that was based more on an agricultural economy. Contributed to the Panic of 1819. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an effort by Congress to decrease tension between the North and the South about Missouri being a slave state despite being located north of the 36 parallel. Congress solved the issue by allowing slavery in Missouri while adding Maine as a free state. However, north/south tension still remained and would only continue to escalate. -
Erie Canal is Completed
The Erie Canal took 8 years to build, and connects New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. The canal would be a big economic success and resulted in the creation of many of the New England metropolis's. -
Nullification Crisis
Passed by South Carolina threatening to leave secede from the union if the federal government collected the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 that South Carolina considered unconstitutional. This reflected the south's backlash of the tariffs as they believed they promoted manufacturing over agriculture. -
Seneca Falls Convention
This was the first women's rights convention. The women attending promoted social and civil equality and rights. The movement would grow from there and women would eventually be granted suffrage and more equal opportunities and rights.
