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16,500 BCE
Bering Land Bridge
The Bering Land Bridge was known as part of Beringia and is thought to be 600 miles wide. This bridge was an important connection between Asia and North America. The earlier people followed the becahes in the first wave of migration while the Clovis people came later. -
Period: 16,500 BCE to
Beginnings to Exploration
Within several decades of the earliest coastal explorations of North America, European adventurers headed into the interior. "Adventurers" is the fitting word here, for more cautious men would have no hesitation in heading such wide expansion of the unknowns. -
1345
Mayans
Tenochtitlan is an island that is located near Lake Texcoco in central Mexico and was the capital city of a religious center in the Aztec civilization. The city still remains the most important center until its destruction was in hands to a Spanish leader name Hernan Cortes, which made him the reason for the final collapse if the Aztec Empire. -
1347
The Black Death
The Black Death impacted and transformed the society and remained one of the most tragic events in history. The effect to this made the plague increase in the wages of peasants. Because of many people dying, it became hard to find people to grow crops and produce other good and services. As a result, this led to peasants having greater freedom and a higher standard of living. -
1377
The Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance architects based their practices on the classical Roman examples. The revival of the classical Rome was important in architecture as it was in literature. Architectural elements such as columns, arches, and domes form the main part of Renaissance buildings. Vitruvius writings also influenced the Renaissance definition of grace and beauty in his architecture. -
1440
Triangular Trade
The Triangular Trade involved three journeys each with a large profit and a full cargo. But in reality, the journey was more complicated with the ships traveling from all over Europe carrying goods to different ports along the African coast to trade for slaves. Then the ships from Africa sailed across the Atlantic to the Caribbean and the Americas to trade the slaves for raw materials. And finally, the America ships then brought back raw materials such as sugar and tobacco to Europe. -
1485
Conquest of the New World
The Aztec empire nation was highly successful in spreading and gaining fabulous wealth, but too quickly came the Spaniards from another world. Led by Hernan Cortez, the Spaniard's firearm and hungry for gold and treasure would bring terrible destruction and diseases into the new world. The conquistadores immediately found local allies to help the brutal Aztec and free themselves from the tribute, within 3 years fell the largest empire in North and Central America. -
1492
Colombian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange is a cultural and biological exchange between the New and Old Worlds. Exchanginganimals, plants, and diseases transformed the European and Native American ways in life. After Columbus discovered the new worlds in 1492, the Columbian exchange lasted for years of expansion and discovering new ideas. Not only had it impacted both worlds but increased agriculture production and evolutio of warfare. -
1500
New Spain
In the 1500s, Spain conquered parts of North, Central, South America and the Carribean. With the native governments efficient in the Inca Empire, the conquistadors needed to find a way to rule their new people. The encomienda system was put in several areas. Under the system, Spaniards were entrusted with the natives. In exchange the native labor, the Spanish men would provide them education and protection. But in reality, the system led to conflict issues of the colonial era. -
1518
Slavery (The Middle Passage)
The Middle Passage was a voyage of enslaved Africans from the Atlantic ocean to the New World. It was a triangular trade route that took goods and resources (such as knives, guns, cotton, etc.) from Europe to Africa, Africans also worked as slaves in the Americas, and items like raw materials and plantations (sugar, rice, and tobacco) back to Europe. -
Chesapeake Colonies
The Virginia colonists made their fortunes through growing tobacco, setting a pattern that followed in Maryland and Carolinas.The Church of England was built in Virgina, and Virginia colonial government resembled England's courts and their government of Massachusetts Bay. The royal governor set tax rates and saw the buildings and public works, such as roads and bridges. -
Period: to
English Colonial Societies
Colonial society in the North America colonies in the 18th century was represented by a small wealthy social group having a cultural and economic organization. The members of Colonial society had similar social status, language, and standard form of behavior. -
New England Colonies (Plymouth Colony)
The Plymouth Colony holds a place of great prominence in the American history and culture. The colony was founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims, passengers of the famous Mayflower boat. The Mayflower sailed a group pilgrims to the New World to seek a settlement for their new colony. The Pilgrims then explored the area of the Massachusetts Bay for about a month before choosing to settle what is now Cape Cod bay, Massachusetts. -
Navigation Acts
The purpose of the Navigation Acts was to encourage the British shipping and allowing Great Britain to retain the British colonial trade for the benefit of British merchants. The 1600 Navigation Act make sure that the importation and exportation of the goods from the British Colonies were restricted to Britsh ships which were under the control of British Mariners. The following ensured that highly profits were to be made from natural resources and industries in the Colonies. -
Colonial Economies
The economic activities and trading were dependant on their environment in which its referred to the Triangular Trade. The climate and geography have mostly impacted the trade and the economic activities in the Sothern colonies. They concentrated on agriculture and develop plantations exports on tobacco, cotton, vegetables, etc. The Sothern colonies had a large number of slaves who worked on the Slave Planationsand grew tobacco, indigo, and other crops. -
The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment was based on a metaphor bringing light to the Dark age, shifting alliances away from the absolute authority, whether religious or political, to a more optimistic attitude toward the human nature, religion, and politics. Thinkers like Benjamin Franklin invented revolutionary ideas about religious toleration and political organization ideas that would reach effects of the nation. -
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution was referred to the events that led to overthrow of the Catholic James II in England and his replacement by Protestant William III and Mary II. Some see the Glorious Revolution as a victory that established limited monarchy in England, but others have seen it as a little more than foreign invasion. Not only was there some blood been thrown, but the overthrow of James II produce a bloody war in Scotland and Ireland, which left a bitter legacy. -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem Witch Trials occurred in Massachusetts between 1692 and 1693. More than 200 people were accused of practicing witchcraft (Devil's Magic) and at least 20 people were executed. It all started with a group of young girls from the colonial Salem Village claimed to be possessed by the devil and several local women were accused of this. The hysteria gean to debate and public opinion turned against the trials. -
Caribbean Colonies
Sugarcane was the most grown crop in the Caribbean area. Sugar was also exported in return for other goods, such as slaves. Entire islands were dependent on sugar as their major crop source of economy. As Europeans found out that fruit can be preserved with sugar and also be using it with coffee and tea, the sugar increased along with the production in the Caribbeans. Barbados became one of the leaders in the Caribbean suagr production. -
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Colonial America To 1763
From the first European explorations of the Americas to the coming of age of American cities in the 18th century, this portrays the realities of daily life for those who came to the New World in search of a better life and settled a expanded continent. -
Problems with the British
In 1712, the European invasion of North America was underway. In the Southeast and west, the Spanish were organizing land grants to create feudal system and bringing Christianity to the natives; in the Northeast, the English were forming plantations and colonization on "vacant" land that they discovered; land what is now Canada, the French were seeking trading partners with the Indians; and on the Northwest the Russians seeking Indian slaves and furs. -
The Great Awakening
The first Great Awakening was a religious revival that took out the Europe and Britsh America Protestants in the 1730s and 1740s. George Whitefield was a minister from Britain that toured the American colonies. Since he was an actor, he'd shout the word God and weep and sorrow, shake in passion as he spoke his sermons. Thousands of colonists came to hear him speak. He even converted slave snad a few of Native Americans. -
Millennialism
The Shakers, or the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearance, represent one of the most successful communities in American history. Although their last remaining community currently numbers less than ten members, the Shakers have maintained a utopian presence in the United States for over two hundred years. -
Seven-Years War / French and Indian War
French and Indian War was a worldwide nine years war (1754-63) between France and Great Britain. (European phase was the Seven Years War [1756-63].) The French and Indian War began over the issue of whether the upper part of the Ohio River Valley is part of the British Empire and open trading and settlement by the people from Virginia and Pennsylvania, or part of the French Empire. Both Empires wanted to extend their colonies into the land of west which brought tension between them. -
Britain's financial situation after the French and Indian War
As a result of the peace treaty, France then surrenders to Canada and part of India, but kept their "sugar islands." Now England claimed all of America, north of Florida, and East of the Mississippi, as well as the West Indies. The colonies have rejoiced from the victory and the peace treaty seemed to promise that the Eastern lands of the Mississippi were now available to them. However, the British were facing major problems, leading them into huge debt and widespread smuggling. -
Development of Colonial Differences by Region
The Colonial America had differences among culture or historical reason for establishing as a colony. The Southern Colonies were established as economic risks and were seeking natural resources to provide wealth for themselves and their mother country. The New England colonists were primarily religious and separatists. And the Middle Colonies welcomed many diverse people from around the world with diverse lifestyles. -
Virtual representation
A theory of Virtual representation was explained that Parliament had an interest in all King's subjects, no matter where they inhabit. Therefore, the colonists had a virtual political representation. It was critical because the regions in England itself were not directly to speak on behalf of the Parliament, as the British command explained. -
Boston Tea Party
This act of the American colonial served as a protest against taxation. Seeking boost troubled the Esat India Company, British Parliament import duties the passage of the Tea Act in 1773. As other colonials rejected tea exports, the Boston refused to continue Patriot pressure. And so one night, the Sons of Liberty boarded ships in the Boston harbor and threw boxes of tea overboard. The result led to the Coercive Acts in 1774 and drew both sides attention closer to war. -
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The Revolutionary War
The Revolutionary War was a war unlike any other—one of ideas and ideals, that shaped “the course of human events.” With 165 principal engagements from 1775-1783, the Revolutionary War was the spark for American independence. -
Militias
Minutemen were colonists who organized a form well-prepared militia companies and self-trained in weaponry and military strategies from the American colonial militia during the Revolutionary War. They were trained and known for being ready at call and hnece the name. -
Battles (Battle of Lexington & Concord)
The Battles of Lexington and Concord kicked off the American Revolutionary War. Many tensions between the 13 American colonies grew, particularly in Massachusetts. One night on April 18, 1775, hundreds of British troops marched to Concord in order to seize arms cache. Lexington town confronted off fighting, soon enough the British were retreating under fire. Many battles followed, and the colonists won their independence in 1783. -
Common Sense
In 1776, writer Thomas Paine wrote his pamphlet "Common Sense", setting his arguments for the American independence. Pamphlets were important for the spread of ideas during the 16th and 19th centuries. "Common Sense" supported the American colonies independence and is known most influential pamphlets in history. "Common Sense" also played a striking role in transforming disagreeing colonials into A the American Revolution. -
Articles of Confederation
The unbalanced powers in the government and the federal government didn't have enough power to collect taxes from other states. Since the county didn't have the money to run properly, the only way to get money was to collect taxes. The Articles of Confederation gave the national government little power to ask for money, but since it was an option, they declined. Which made the country go into debt. -
Changes in Transportation (Canal)
The first Canal was invented by James Brindley. James Brindley had been employed to build a canal in the coal mines, Worsley, Lancashire by the Duke of Bridgewater. James Brindley's work led to a network of canals (Thames, Severn, Mersey and the Trent Canal). Without James Brindley's work canals transportation in Britain would not function as efficiently and effectively as what it does to this day. -
The Declaration of Independence
By the following summer, with the Revolutionary war still going on, the movement for independence had grown, and the Continental Congress were faced to vote on the issue. During mid-June, a committee including Thomas Jefferson, John Admas, and Benjamin Franklin were the ones in charge of writing a formal statement of the colonials intentions. The Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence-written by Jefferson in Philadelphia on July 4, 1776, as we now celebrate our independence. -
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New Republic
This is a period from 1763 to 1789, the formative years of the American Republic. This is a new contribution it makes to our knowledge of the Revolutionary era. ct, -
Slavery (Compromise of 1850)
Calhoun served as a congressman, senator, secretary of war, secretary of state, and vice president of the United States.
Calhoun is remembered for his determined defense of the institution of slavery. During the course of his career, he reversed his stand as a nationalist and advocated states' rights as a means of preserving slavery in the South. As a South Carolina senator, Calhoun used the argument of states' rights to protect slavery in what is known as the Nullification Crisis. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was a negotiation between the U.S and Great Britain that ended the revolutionary war and the American independence was made. The Congress named members to negotiate a treaty, but one of the members, however, was captured from the British and held hostage in the Tower of London until the war ended, and one other member didn't leave the U.S in time to take in part of the negotation. -
Shays' Rebellion
Shay's Rebellion is a series of protests by American Farmers who were against states and local enforcement on tax collections and debts. Though farmers took up states from New Hampshire to South Carolina, it took place in Massachusetts where bad harvests and high taxes threatened farmers into losing their farms. The rebellion took the name of a leader, Daniel Shays, former captain of the Continental army. -
Massachusetts Constitution
The Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is one of the world's oldest well function written constitution. The United States Constitution has served as a model for the constitution to many nations from all over the world including Japan, Germany, and South Africa. One President stated that " If I were called upon to select a single fact or enterprise.. that embraced the significance of the Revolution... I choose the Massachusetts Constitutionof 1780." -
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance proposed three to five new states be created from the Northwest Territory. Instead of adopting legal establishment of the state, each territory would have a governor and council. The ordinance provided civil liberties and public education for the new territories, but not allowing slavery. They believed that though Southerners wouldn't own any slaves, they would not join the abolition movement of the North. -
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention was known for the most momentous occurrences in the U.S Constitutional History, an event that will take place at the Pennsylvania State House. The point of the event was to decide on how America was going to be governed. Although the Convention been called to revise the existing Article of Confederation, many had bigger ideas. Men like James Madison wanted a new government created rather than fixing the existing one. -
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The Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the foundation of our American Government. It lays out the system of Government and the rights of the American people. The Constitution, originally comprising seven articles, delineates the national frame of government. -
Election of 1788
George Washington became the first President of The United States of America on this date. While in office, he would make many decisions that are still in use today, such as havig a Cabinent. -
Labor Changes
The Industrial Revolution, originating in Britain and carried to the United States, marked a major turning point in the American economy as goods could now easily mass produced and created faster. With no major corporations yet, many worked in small companies with no protective legislation. -
Free-Black Communities
Free communities, with their own churches, schools, and leaders, came into existence. By the era of the Revolution, free blacks enjoyed some legal rights, such as the right to vote.The large majority of blacks however were still slaves. -
Second Great Awakening
Mainly a Protestant movement, the Second Great Awakening was a religious movement with its backbone rooted in the acceptance of individual will and grace. -
Capital Site (Territory of Columbia)
In January 1791, President George Washington announced his choice for the federal district: land cede by Mayland and Virginia. In September of 1791, the commissioners named the city in honor of Washington and district in which its located the Territory of Columbia. The name Columbia was used in the American Revolution as a reference for the U.S (the Territory of Columbia was renamed District of Columbia.) -
Slavery (Cotton Gin)
The cotton gin was patented by Eli Whitney in 1794. Before the invention of this machine, slavery was slowly starting to decline. However, this made the process of separating cotton and seeds easier and faster. More people would be needed to pick the cotton since more would be able to be produced. Even though this machine was successful, it didn't make Whitney much money. -
Whiskey Rebellion
After years of unrest and violence about the Whiskey Tax, George Washington was given the permission from a Supreme Court Justice to send in armed troops to take care of them. This is the day that proclamation was made. -
International Conflicts
The United States and Great Britain signed the Jay's Treaty, but tensions between the U.S. and Britain remained high after the result of some issues. British exports increase in U.S. markets, while American exports been blocked by the British trade restrictions. British impressed with American sailors and naval and military supplies led to enemies on neutral ships that brought both nations together to extreme war by the late 1700s. -
Adam's Presidency
The XYZ affair was a political event in which three French operatives (nicknamed X, Y, and Z) wanted a bribe from the Americans in order to stop the French Siezing of American ships. America refused, which sparked the Quasi-War, in which many French and American ships were seized by both sides. -
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The Age of Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both played important roles in the era of the American Revolution. Jefferson was the lead author of the Declaration of Independence that launched the American experiment in republican government. -
Western Frontier
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson purchased the territory of Louisiana from the French government for $15 million. To Jefferson, westward expansion was the key to the nation’s health: He believed that a republic depended on an independent, virtuous citizenry for its survival, and that independence and virtue went hand in hand with land ownership, especially the ownership of small farms. -
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Westward Expansion
Westward expansion was greatly in the early 19th century by the Louisiana Purchase (1803), which followed by the Corps of Discovery Expedition that is generally called the Lewis and Clark Expedition; the War of 1812, which secured existing U.S. boundaries and defeated native tribes of the Old Northwest. -
Jefferson Administration
In the Louisiana purchase, America bought the Louisiana territory for 11.25 million dollars. This was overwhelmingly approved by Congress, as it gave America full control of the Mississippi River and increased its land holdings dramatically. -
Changes in Communication
Developed in the 1830s and 1840s by Samuel Morse and other inventors, the telegraph revolutionized long-distance communication. It worked by transmitting electrical signals over a wire laid between stations. In addition to helping invent the telegraph, Samuel Morse developed a code that assigned a set of dots and dashes to each letter of the English alphabet and allowed for the simple transmission of complex messages across telegraph lines. -
Enlightenment Ideals on America in the late 18th Century
Enlightenment thinkers in Britain, France and throughout Europe questioned traditional authority and embraced the humanity that could be improved through logical change. The Enlightenment produced books, inventions, scientific discoveries, wars, and resolutions. Both Amerian and French Revolutions were most inspired by Enlightenment ideals and marked the peak of the influence and the beginning of its decline. It eventually went straight into the 19th century Romanticism. -
War of 1812
This marks the last battle of The War of 1812. This was a militar conflict between America and Britain, and was hailed by many Americans as a second war of independenance, ushering in the Era of Good Feeling. -
Battle of New Orleans
In the bloody Battle of New Orleans, future president Andrew Jackson and his militia fighters, slaves, Indians, and pirates were a frontal assault by the British force, suffering devastating victims along the way. The victory of Jackson helped plan for a British invasion on the American frontier. Which led the winning to Jackson's victory placing a high national pride for his ovwewhleming achievment. -
Panic of 1819
The Panic of 1819 was the first major financial crisis in the United States, and had occurred during the political calm of the Era of Good. The new nation already had faced a depression following the war for independence in late 1780 and led directly to the making of the dollar and, perhaps indirectly, to the calls for a Constitutional Convention. -
Florida
Southernerds were upset with the Seminole Indians because they were raiding their land. President Monroe sent troopsn under the command of General Andrew Jackson to secure the border. In April 1818 Jackson's troops invaded Florida to capture Seminole raiders, thus beginning the First Seminole War. It was unconstitutional because Jackson was not given permission by President Monroe to invade. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
1816 Congress passed an act for the Second Bank of the United States. 1817 a branch opened in Baltimore, and Maryland passed a law a year later imposing taxes on all banks not chartered by the legislature. McCulloch refused. - Court said Maryland was interferring with the powers of the Congress. -
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The American Industrial Revolution
The rise of wage labor at the heart of the Industrial Revolution also exploited working people in new ways. The first strike among textile workers protesting wage and factory conditions occurred in 1824 and even the model mills of Lowell faced large strikes in the 1830s. -
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Cultural Changes
Culture change is used in public policy making that he influence of cultural capital on individual and community behavior. It has been sometimes called repositioning of culture, which means the reconstruction of the cultural concept of a society. -
Clara Barton
Clara Barton was an American nurse who is remembered for organizing the American Red Cross. Following the outbreak of the Civil War, she independently organized relief for the wounded, often bringing her own supplies to front lines. As the war ended, she helped locate thousands of missing soldiers, including identifying the dead at Andersonville prison in Georgia. -
Monroe Doctrine
On December 2, 1823, Monroe delivered his very famous, Monroe Doctrine. In his speech, President James Monroe tried to limit the Europeans from coming into the Western Hemisphere, interfering with the independence of South America. -
Election of 1824
New England voters admired Adams' patriotism and political skills and it was mainly due to their support that he entered the race.His opponents included John C. Calhoun, William H. Crawford, Henry Clay, and the hero of New Orleans, Andrew Jackson. -
Age of the Common Man
The candidates included Andrew Jackson, John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay, and William Crawford. Jackson won the popular vote, but no one won the electoral vote. The Age of Jackon, or Era of the Common Man, began. -
Presidency of John Q. Adams
During his term as President of the US he reduced the national debt from $16 million to $5 million, worked on turning America into a world power. In his first annual message to Congress, he presented an ambitious program for modernization that included roads, canals, a national university, an astronomical observatory, and other initiatives. He got into some trouble because he had a rather generous policy towards natives. He achieved little of long-term consequence in foreign affairs. -
Temperance Movement
First national temperance organization in America, The Society ruled that it was mandatory for all of its members must abstain from drinking alcohol. In addition to temperance, the Society also promoted the abolition of slavery, the expansion of women's rights, and the improvement of society. -
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Age of Jackson
If his election in 1828 launched the Age of Jackson, and terminated the so-called Era of Good Feelings, then his death in 1845 and the Mexican War that immediately followed it (1846–1848) might be considered the era's close. -
Election of 1828
The election of 1828 was one of the dirtiest elections in history. Jackson's followers made up rumors about Adams, and Adams' followers did the same to Jackson. Some of these accusations were believed. In th end, when the electoral votes were counted, Andrew Jackson received 178. President Adams received 83. -
Jackson Administration (Nullification Crisis)
The Nullification Crisis was a sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson created by South Carolina's 1832 Ordinance of Nullification. This ordinance declared by the power of the State that the federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and therefore null and void within the sovereign boundaries of South Carolina. The controversial and highly protective Tariff of 1828 was enacted into law during the presidency of -
Election of 1832
In 1833, Andrew Jackson tried to dissolve the Second Bank of the U.S, because he thought it had too much power, and wanted to give it to the state banks to have the power in the common man. -
Slavery (Abolitionist)
American Anti-Slavery Society is a party formed by William Lloyd Garrison, Arthur Tappan, and Frederick Douglass. Could never get much support and efforts were met with violent opposition. Worked to have slavery abolished, but due to the radical view of Garrison, disagreements occurred and not much progress was made. -
Bank of the United States
The Bank of the United States had a term of 20 years and required a renewal in 1836. The role of depository of the federal governments made a political target of banks recorded by individual states who objected the Bank of the United States relation with the central governmnet. -
Sam Houston
Sam Houston (1793-1863) became a lawyer, congressman and senator in Tennessee. After moving to Texas in 1832, he joined the growing conflict between U.S. settlers and the Mexican government and became commander of the local army. On April 21, 1836, Houston and his men defeated Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna at San Jacinto to secure Texan independence. He was voted president in 1836 and again in 1841, then served as a senator after Texas became a state in 1845. -
Battle of San Jacinto
On April 21, 1836, during Texas’ war for independence from Mexico, the Texas militia under Sam Houston (1793-1863) launched a surprise attack against the forces of Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna (1794-1876) at the Battle of San Jacinto, near present-day Houston, Texas. The Mexicans were thoroughly routed, and hundreds were taken prisoner, including Santa Anna. In exchange for his freedom, Santa Anna signed a treaty recognizing Texas’ independence. -
Election of 1836
The United States presidential election of 1836 was the 13th presidential election. This election was held from Thursday, November 3, to Wednesday, December 7, 1836. As the third consecutive election victory for the Democratic Party, made previous Vice-President Martin Van Buren the new president and got him into the White House with 170 electoral votes to the 122 electoral votes for William Henry Harrison and other Whigs. -
Changes in Agriculture (Steel Plow)
In 1837 John Deere invented and tested the very first Steel plow. This was made becasue iron plows couldnt plow the soil of Illinois. The plow was a metal blade that he attached to wood. He used it to plow the soil of the Midwest. This invention allowed farmers to plow their fields faster and easier. The metal blade could be used easily to plow the fields. It also allowed the farmers to speed up the process. -
Transcendentalism (Fredrick Douglas)
Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave who became a leader of the abolitionist movement, an accomplished speaker and a public servant, is sometimes said to be the embodiment of Transcendentalist ideals. -
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny is a term for the attitude prevalent during the 19th century period of American expansion that the United States not only could, but was destined to, stretch from coast to coast. This attitude helped fuel western settlement, Native American removal and war with Mexico. -
Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War (1846-1848) marked the first U.S. armed conflict chiefly fought on foreign soil. It pitted a politically divided and militarily unprepared Mexico against the expansionist-minded administration of U.S. President James K. Polk, who believed the United States had a “manifest destiny” to spread across the continent to the Pacific Ocean. A border skirmish along the Rio Grande started off the fighting and was followed by a series of U.S. victories. -
California Gold Rush
In January 1848, James Wilson Marshall discovered gold while constructing a sawmill along the American River northeast of present-day Sacramento. The discovery was reported in the San Francisco newspapers in March but caused little stir as most did not believe the account.
The spark that ignited the gold rush occurred in May 1848 when Sam Brannan, brandished a bottle filled with gold dust around San Francisco shouting 'Gold! Gold! Gold from American River!' -
Nature
The first model is The Pleasure Ground. Roughly speaking, that era covers the period from 1850 to 1900. The pleasure ground is typically a large park, located on the edge of a city, following the ideal of the pastoral landscape with buildings subordinate to the overall landscape. -
Architecture
The Late Victorian Period covers the latter half of the 19th century, for a portion of the true reign of Britain's Queen Victoria (1837-1901) for which this era is named. This was the time period in American architecture known for intricate and highly decorative styles such as the Second Empire, Romanesque Revival, Victorian Gothic, Queen Anne, Stick/Eastlake, Shingle, Renaissance Revival and Chateauesque. All of these styles are often described as "Victorian". -
Slavery (Popular Sovereignty)
Popular sovereignty was the political doctrine that the people who lived in a region should determine for themselves the nature of their government. In U.S. history, it was applied particularly to the idea that settlers of federal territorial lands should decide the terms under which they would join the Union, primarily applied to the status as free or slave. -
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Sectionalism
Sectionalism was a big lead to the Civil War in the United States. Political sectionalism occurred because of certain events happening throughout the government. Different ideas and perspectives lead to sectionalism between the North and South. -
Election of 1852
The issue on Slavey was avoided by both sides. None was able to secure the necessary two-thirds vote at the convention and the nomination eventually (on the 49th ballot) went to Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire. His support of the Compromise of 1850, and of the Fugitive Slave Act, in particular, widened his appeal in the South, but not in his native New England. -
Republican Party
The Civil War firmly identified the Republican Party as the party of the victorious North, and after the war the Republican-dominated Congress forced a “Radical Reconstruction” policy on the South, which saw the passage of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution and the granting of equal rights to all Southern citizens. -
South (Robert E. Lee)
Confederate General Robert E. Lee is the most iconic and most widely respected of all Civil War commanders. Though he opposed secession, he resigned from the U.S. Army to join the forces of his native state, rose to command the largest Confederate army and ultimately was named general-in-chief of all Confederate land forces. He repeatedly defeated larger Federal armies in Virginia, but his two invasions of Northern soil were unsuccessful. -
Industrialization vs. Agriculture
By 1860, 90 percent of the nation's manufacturing output came from northern states. The North produced 17 times more cotton and woolen textiles than the South. The industrialization of the northern states had an impact on urbanization and immigration. By 1860, 26 percent of the Northern population lived in urban areas, led by the remarkable growth of cities such as Chicago,and Detroit, with their farm-machinery, food-processing, machine-tool, and railroad equipment factories. -
Growing Cities
American cities expanded tremendously. By 1860, 1/6 of the American lived in an Urban area. An urban area classifies as a population of 8000+ people in the area. -
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee (1807-70) served as a military officer in the U.S. Army, a West Point commandant and the legendary general of the Confederate Army during the American Civil War (1861-65). In June 1861, Lee assumed command of the Army of Northern Virginia, which he would lead for the rest of the war. Lee and his army achieved great success during the Peninsula Campaign and at Second Bull Run (Mansassas), with his greatest victory coming in the bloody Battle of Chancellorsville. -
Leader (Ulysses S. Grant)
Ulysses Grant (1822-1885) commanded the victorious Union army during the American Civil War (1861-1865) and served as the 18th U.S. president from 1869 to 1877. During the Civil War, Grant, an aggressive and determined leader, was given command of all the U.S. armies. A primary focus of Grant’s administration was Reconstruction, and he worked to reconcile the North and South while also attempting to protect the civil rights of newly freed black slaves. -
Freedman's Bureau
The U.S. Bureau of Refugees, known as the Freedmen’s Bureau, was established in 1865 by Congress to help former black slaves and poor whites in the South in the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War (1861-65). Some 4 million slaves gained their freedom as a result of the Union victory in the war, which left many communities in ruins and destroyed the South’s plantation-based economy. -
Army of the Potomac
During the American Civil War, the Army of the Potomac was the Union's primary army operating in the East. Organized in July 1861, this force confronted the Confederacy's Army of Northern Virginia throughout the conflict. The Army of the Potomac did succeed in stopping the Army of Northern Virginia's invasions of the Union at the Battle of Antietam in 1862 and the Battle of Gettysburg in 1863, but victories during the conflict's first three years were few for the Army of the Potomac. -
Confederate States of America
February 1861, the Confederate States of America was a republic of eleven Southern states that seceded from the Union in order to preserve slavery, states’ rights, and political liberty for whites. Its government, with Mississippian Jefferson Davis as president, was seeking a peaceful separation, but the United States refused to accept in the secession. The war that ensued started at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861, and lasted four years. -
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The Civil War
The Civil War, also known as “The War Between the States,” was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, a group of protest of eleven southern states that left the Union in 1860 and 1861 and formed their own country in order to protect the institution of slavery. -
1st Bull Run (1st Manassas)
Known as the First Battle of Bull Run (or Manassas), the engagement began when about 35,000 Union troops marched from the federal capital in Washington, D.C. to strike a Confederate force of 20,000 along a small river known as Bull Run. After fighting on the defensive for most of the day, the rebels rallied and were able to break the Union right flank, sending the Federals into a chaotic retreat towards Washington. -
International (Trent Affair)
November 8, 1861, Charles Wilkes, a U.S. Navy Officer, captured two Confederate aboard the British mail ship, the Trent. Great Britain accused the United States of violating British neutrality, and the incident created a diplomatic crisis between the United States and Great Britain during the Civil War. -
Emancipation Proclamation
On September 22, soon after the Union victory at Antietam, Predisnet Lincoln issued a preliminary Emancipation Proclamation, declaring that as of January 1, 1863, all slaves in the rebellious states “shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.” While the Emancipation Proclamation did not free a single slave, it was an important turning point in the war, transforming the fight to preserve the nation into a battle for human freedom. -
Lincoln's 10% Plan
The Ten Percent Plan was conceived by President Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War in order to reunify the North and South after the war’s end. On December 8, 1863, he issued a Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction offering Confederates who would swear to support the Constitution and the Union. The Ten percent Plan first required 10% of seceded state voters take oath of loyalty to Union and lastly to adopt a new constitution to abolish slavery. -
Life for Whites Reconstruction (Carpetbaggers)
Carpetbaggers–whom many in the South viewed as opportunists looking to profit from the region’s misfortunes–supported the Republican Party. In addition to carpetbaggers and freed African Americans, the majority of Republican support in the South came from white southerners who for various reasons saw more of an advantage in backing the policies of Reconstruction than in opposing them. -
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Reconstruction
The Union victory in the Civil War in 1865 had given some 4 million slaves their freedom, but the process of rebuilding the South during the Reconstruction period (1865-1877) introduced a new set of significant challenges. -
Assassination on Abraham Lincoln
On the evening of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C. The attack came only five days after Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his massive army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia, effectively ending the American Civil War. -
The New South (The Lost Cause)
The Lost Cause is the name given to an intellectual movement that searched to settle the traditional Southern white society to the defeat of the Confederate States of America in the Civil War. White Southerners seek consolation in attributing their loss factors beyond their control and betrayals of their heroes and cause. -
Freedom Amendments
In 1868, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States granted citizenship and equal civil and legal rights to African Americans and slaves who had been emancipated after the American Civil War, including them under the umbrella phrase “all persons born or naturalized in the United States.” -
Grant Administration (Election of 1868)
By 1868, Johnson had isolated many of his constituents and had been impeached by Congress. Although Johnson kept his office, his presidency was crippled. After numerous ballots, the Democrats nominated former New York Governor Horatio Seymour to take on the Republican candidate, Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant. -
Andrew Johnson Administration (Impeachment Proceedings)
For the first time in U.S. history, the impeachment trial of an American president gets underway in the U.S. Senate. President Andrew Johnson, criticize by the Republican-dominated Congress for his views on Reconstruction, stood accused of having violated the controversial Tenure of Office Act, passed by Congress over his veto in 1867. -
Election of 1876
Both major political parties were influenced by the Grant-era corruption and sought to nominate candidates who could win the public trust.The United States presidential election of 1876 was one of the most disputed presidential elections in American history. Samuel J. Tilden of New York outpolled Ohio's Rutherford B. Hayes in the popular vote, and had 184 electoral votes to Hayes' 165, with 20 votes uncounted. -
Nativism
Nativism, in general, refers to a policy or belief that protects or favors the interest of the native population of a country over the interests of immigrants. In the United States, greatest nativist sentiment coincided with the great waves of 19th-century European immigration on the East Coast and, to a lesser extent, with the arrival of Chinese immigrants on the West Coast.
