-
Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battle of Lexington and Concord was the battle that initially kicked off the American Revolutionary War. On the night of April 18th in 1775, British troops marched from Boston to nearby Concord. Paul Revere alarmed our troops and we set up in Lexington. After the battle started the British troops started to retreat under heavy fire. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was known as the turning point in The Revolutionary War. The battle lasted eighteen days during the fall. There was two fights, the first fight was won by the British General John Burgoyne. It was a small but costly win for the British. Days later John Burgoyne attacked american troops at Bemis Heights once more but was forced to retreat. Ten days later John surrendered and eventually that victory led to the French Government allying with the Colonists. -
The Battle of Yorktown
This battle is known as one of the most important battles in the Revolutionary War. George Washington was in lead of 17,000 French and continental troops into battle as Charles Cornwallis with a group of 9,000 British troops set up in Yorktown, Virginia. George Washington completely circled Cornwallis and his troops and forced them to surrender after three weeks of non-stop fighting. -
Northwest Ordinances
We acquired the Northwest Ordinances from Great Britain in 1787. We signed a treaty with Great Britain to finalize that the territory was ours. In total it added six states into the country. however we got a lot more land it caused a bunch of sectionalism because there was huge debates to whether the ordinances should be slave states or free states. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Act was passed by the federalist congress in 1798 and signed into law by president Adams. The act cause many foreigners to get deported and harder for new immigrants to come into the states. It also made it were immigrants had to live in the states for than fourteen years to be eligible to vote instead of five years. -
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were written by James Madison and Thomas Jefferson. The reason they wrote these resolutions was to contradict the effect of the Alien and Sedition Acts. It stated that the states had to right to decide when their powers had been infringed and to determine what they wanted to do about it. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was one of the greatest land bargains in history. When the United States of America purchased the territory from France in 1803 it nearly doubled the size of the United States of America. This purchase of land was a major start for the westward expansion. Also it strengthened the country materially and strategically. -
Marbury v. Madison
In this court case, William Marbury was going to become one of the new sixteen circuit judges according to Adams. When Jefferson took over office he told the secretary of state James Madison to hold off his commission. Then Marbury got the Supreme Court involved and the for the very first time the Supreme Court declared an act of Congress unconstitutional, then making the Judicial Review. Stating that the Supreme Court could state if something was constitutional or not. -
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise is an effort by Congress to calm down the sectional and political rivalries. Missouri wanted to join the Union as a slave state but this would upset the balance between free states and slave states. So they compromised by adding Maine into the Union as a free state to balance it back out. -
Monroe Doctrine
In 1823, James Monroe exclaimed to the press in his annual message to the congress. Saying that the old world and the new world had different systems. The Monroe Doctrine states that the United States of America will not interfere with any internal affairs of the wars of European powers. It also claims that we wont mess with any colonies in the western hemisphere. Lastly it states that if Europe would attempt tho claim any western land, we would see it as hostility. -
Texas Annexation
For a long time we had people in Texas but had not yet added it as a state because of border disputes and whether it should be a free state or a slave state. After some Mexican soldiers crossed the border and shedding the blood of Americans on American soil started a war between us and Mexico. After winning the war Texas was annexed into the country as a state. -
Oregon Treaty
We acquired the Oregon territory by signing a treaty with Great Britain. One of the main reasons we wanted to have this land is so we could regulate fur trades. Gaining this land added a total of five states into the Country. -
Mexican Cession
All the territory known as the Mexican Cession was acquired by the states after the Mexican War ended and the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. One of the main reasons we wanted this land was to finally complete the American dream of manifest destiny. Acquiring this territory added a total of seven states into the Country. -
Compromise of 1850
After gaining all the territory from the Mexican-American War, there were many disputes on which states should be slave states or free states. The compromise consisted of laws stating that California was a free state and they let Utah and New Mexico territory's to decide on popular sovereignty. It also settled the boundary dispute between New Mexico and Texas. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act is a bill that was passed in 1854. This document mandates 'Popular Sovereignty" which states that each states has the right on whether it wants to be a slave state or a free state. -
Bleeding Kansas
When Kansas became a state, they made a compromise stating that each new state can decide on whether they wanna be a slave state or a free state. This caused disputes between pro slavery and free-state settlers and they all flooded into to Kansas to try to settle this and it turned into violence sooner or later and both sides would fight for control thus gaining the name of Bleeding Kansas. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was famous for the first shots of the Civil War was shot off there. It was originally owned by the Union and it was located in South Carolina until South Carolina succeeded and raided the fort forcing the Union to surrender and the south took control of the fort and the Union led many attacks on the fort until the south abandoned it. -
The Battle of Bull Run
The Battle of Bull Run is known as the first major land battle of the Civil War. The Union led about 35,000 troops from Washington to attack 20,000 Confederate troops next the river known as Bull Run. After fighting defensively for most of the fight the Confederates broke the Union right flank, forcing them to retreat back to Washington. The victory of this battle gave the Confederate forces high confidence and hit the Union hard making them realize its not gonna be easy winning this war. -
Battle of Vicksburg
Also known as The Siege of Vicksburg, this battle is when that Union made it their goal to take over a Confederates stronghold in Vicksburg. The leader of the Union going into this battle is Union General Ulysses S. Grant. This battle is one of the most successful fights for the Union and proving Ulysses S. Grants military power. -
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam is one of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War. It took place at Antietam creek by Sharpsburg, Maryland. General Robert E. Lee and his army moved to northern Virginia to face off against George McClellan's army of the Potomac. They fought many times within this battle until neither army could no longer push forward leaving the battle in a draw. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
This Battle is also one of the most important events of the Civil War. Robert E. Lee Marches his troops into Pennsylvania clashing into the Unions troops of Potomac. The next day of the Battle saw even more fighting than the day before as the Confederates attacked the Unions troops from the left and right. On the last day of this battle Lee pushed less than 15,000 troops right into the Unions troops. This push failed and resulted in Confederates retreating. -
Emancipation Proclamation
During President Lincoln was in office. He gave a speech after the win of the battle at Antietam known as the Emancipation Proclamation stating that after January first, 1863 that all slaves from that point on were "free". However it didn't free a single slave. It changed the meaning of the war from preserving the union to fighting for human freedom -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address was in dedication to all of our lost soldiers. President Abraham Lincoln gave a speech for a short time, but it is still one of the most famous speeches ever given. He was able to describe more than just the situation in his speech and managed to touch many people at the ceremony. -
13th Amendment Passed
In the aftermath of the war. The 13th amendment was ratified abolishing slavery. the amendment says "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment of crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”. -
14th Amendment Passed
The 14th amendment in the constitution was ratified in 1868. This amendment grants citizenship to all people that was born in the united states including former slaves. It also guarantees equal protection under the law for all citizens in the United States of America. -
15th Amendment Passed
The 15th Amendment was adopted by the U.S. Constitution in the 1870's. This amendment clarifies that all African American men have the right to vote. Some people had discriminatory practices to where they couldn't vote especially in more in the south. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
It was a land mark in the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the constitutionality of segregation. It was known as the "separate but equal" doctrine. As long as the segregated facilities are equal in conditions, it will remain to uphold its constitutionality.