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Mayflower Compact
When the Pilgrims left England, they obtained permission from the King of England to settle on land further to the south near the mouth of the Hudson River (in present-day New York). Because they chose to remain where they landed in New England, they needed a new permission (called a patent) to settle there. On November 11, 1620, needing to maintain order and establish a civil society while they waited for this new patent, the male passengers signed the Mayflower Compact. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest by the Sons of Liberty in Boston against the tax policy of the British government and the East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies. On December 16, 1773, after officials in Boston refused to return three shiploads of taxed tea to Britain, a group of colonists boarded the ships and destroyed the tea by throwing it into Boston Harbor. -
Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Thirteen Colonies, but gradually grew into a world war between Britain on one side and the newly formed United States, France, Netherlands and Spain on the other. The war lasted from April 19, 1775 to September 3, 1783. The result was an American victory and European recognition of the independence of the United States. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. Instead they now formed a new nation, the United States of America. -
Formation and Fall of the State of Franklin
(I could not find exact day it was formed, only the year) In response to the State of North Carolina ignoring the frontiersmen's calls for help against Cherokee attacks and raids the frontiersmen seceded from North Carolina and attempted to be annexed by the U.S. but were denied by the very country they loved. Led by Col. John Sevier, they attempted to survive on their own fighting off the attacks but soon North Carolina sent in their troops to take back their territory and Franklin lost in 1789 -
Lewis and Clark Expedition Begins
National Geographic • President Jefferson sends two explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the newly purchased Louisiana Territory. The trip took nearly two years. The explorers eventually went all the way to the Pacific Ocean. On the trip they made contact with many Native American tribes and brought back descriptions of the land they travelled. -
Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglass, an American Slave
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a memoir and exposition on abolition written by famous speaker and former slave, Frederick Douglass. In accurate detail, the text describes the events of his life and is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature to fuel the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century in the United States. (I only know the year.) -
California Gold Rush
January 24, 1848 - 1855 The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the Gold Rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii), and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to the state in late 1848. The news of gold brought some 300,000 people to California from the rest of the United States and abroad. -
Battle Of Sabine Pass
Two schooners crossed the bar, took position, and began firing on the Confederate shore battery. The shots from both land and shore fell far short of the targets. The ships then moved nearer until their projectiles began to fall amongst the Confederate guns. The Confederate cannons, however, still could not hit the ships. After dark, the Confederates evacuated, taking as much property as possible with them and spiking the four guns left behind. This had become a Union victory. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was an order issued to all segments of the Executive branch of the United States by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. It was based on the president's constitutional authority as commander in chief; it was not a law passed by Congress. It proclaimed all those enslaved in Confederate territory to be forever free, and ordered the Army to treat as free all those enslaved in ten states that were still in rebellion. -
Battle Of Athens
Confederate cavalry, numbering about 600 men, attacked Athens, held by about 100 Union troops, around 4:00 am on the morning of January 26, 1864. After a two-hour battle, the Confederates retreated. Union forces, although greatly outnumbered and without fortifications, repulsed the attackers. This resulted in a Union victory. -
Battle Of Tom's Brook
On October 6, Sheridan began withdrawing, as his cavalry burned everything that could be deemed of military significance, including barns and mills. Reinforced by Kershaw’s division, Early followed. Maj. Gen. Thomas Rosser arrived from Petersburg to take command of Fitz Lee’s cavalry division and harassed the retreating Federals. On October 9, Torbert’s troopers turned on their pursuers, routing the divisions of Rosser and Lomax at Tom’s Brook. This was a Union victory. -
Jefferson Davis Captured
Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), president of the Confederate states (the South) during the Civil War, was captured when the Union Army caught up to him on May 10, 1865, in Irwinville, Georgia. His best general, Robert E. Lee, had surrendered on April 9 at Appomattox in Virginia to General Ulysses S. Grant, which effectively ended the Civil War. When Lee surrendered to the North, Davis and his Cabinet moved south, hoping to continue the struggle until better terms could be secured from the North. -
Panic of 1873
1873 – 1879 The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis which triggered a severe international economic depression in both Europe and the United States that lasted until 1879. The panic was caused by the fall in demand for silver internationally, which followed Germany's decision to abandon the silver standard in the wake of the Franco-Prussian war. -
Invention of the Phonograph
The phonograph was invented in 1877 by Thomas Edison. While other inventors had produced devices that could record sounds, Edison's phonograph was the first to be able to reproduce the recorded sound. (I only know the year.) -
Panic of 1893
1893 - 1897 The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. It was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing, resulting in a series of bank failures. The Panic of 1893 was the worst economic depression that the United States had ever experienced at the time. -
Sinking of the U.S.S. Maine
The Maine is best known for her catastrophic loss in Havana Harbor on the evening of 15 February 1898. She exploded suddenly without warning and sank quickly, killing nearly three quarters of her crew. The popular opinion in the U.S., fanned by Yellow Journalism articles, blamed Spain for the explosion of the Maine. While the sinking of the Maine was not a direct cause for action, it served as a facilitator, accelerating the approach to a diplomatic standoff between the U.S. and Spain. -
Assassination of President McKinley
William McKinley was the 25th President of the United States, serving from March 4, 1897 until his assassination in September 1901. Leon Czolgosz hoped to assassinate McKinley. Czolgosz waited at the Temple of Music on the Exposition grounds, where the President was to meet the public after his return from Niagara Falls. The anarchist concealed his gun in a handkerchief, and, when he reached the head of the line, shot McKinley twice in the abdomen. -
Panama Canal Construction
1904 – 1914 Work on the canal, which began in 1881 with the U.S. taking over construction in 1904, was completed in 1914. Ships no longer had to sail the lengthy Cape Horn route or navigate the dangerous waters of the Strait of Magellan. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, the shorter, faster, safer route to the U.S. West Coast and to nations in and along the Pacific Ocean allowed those places to become more integrated with the world economy. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
On May 1, 1915, the ship departed New York City bound for Liverpool. Unknown to her passengers but probably no secret to the Germans, almost all her hidden cargo consisted of munitions and contraband destined for the British war effort. Nonetheless, the menace of submarine attack reduced her passenger list to only half her capacity.On May 7, the ship neared the coast of Ireland. The Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat that same day, 1,924 died including 114 americans. -
19th Amendment
Women are giving the right to vote when the 19th Amendment to the U.S. constitution grants universal womens suffrage -
A Congressional Resolution
Both houses signed by President Warren G Harding, declaring peace in WWI, hostilities wity Germany, Australia, and Hungray. The treaties would be executed one month later. -
Lincoln Memorial
The Lincoln memorial located on the opposite end of the National Mall from the capitol building is dedicated ih Washington D.C. -
The 12th Century
The 12th century Aztec Indian ruin in New Mexico are proclaiming as a National monument by President Warrent G. Harding following in the footsteps of all presidents since Theodore Roosevelt. Known as Aztec Ruins National monument. -
Indians become Citizens
All Indians are designated citizens by legaslation passed in the U.S. congress and signed by Presient Calvin Coolidge. The Indian Citizenship Act granted the right to all Native American that had been born within the territory of the U.S. -
1st woman governor
Nellie Tayloe Ross in inagurated as the first woman governor of the U.S. in Wyoning, Mirian Ferguson was installed fifteen days later as the second during the ceremoney in Texas. -
1st non-stop transatlanic fight
Charles Lindbergh leaves Roosevelt field, New York on the first non-stop tranatlanticx fight in history. He would reachh Paris 33 in a half hours later in the spirit of St. Louis, his air craft. A ticker tape parade would be held in New York City after his return on June 13. -
Tet Offensive
North Vietnamese surprised both the U.S. forces and the South Vietnamese by orchestrating a coordinated assault with the Viet Cong to attack about a hundred South Vietnamese cities and towns. Although the U.S. forces and the South Vietnamese army were able to repel the assault known as the Tet Offensive, this attack proved to Americans that the enemy was stronger and better organized than they had been led to believe. -
Ambush Near Khe Sahn
On Feb 25, 1968, a 41-man platoon from the 26th Marines was sent on a short patrol "outside the wire" to test the strength of NVA units near Khe Sahn village. They pursed three VC scouts who led them into an ambush. The platoon was wiped out during a three-hour battle that left 31 Marines KIA, one taken prisoner, while nine Marines escaped back to their base. -
Battle Near Hill 689
On April 16, 1968 a Marine Corps company began a patrol near its Khe Sahn base. It wandered into tall vegetation and was decimated by concealed NVA soldiers in bunkers. Two more companies from 1st Battalion, 9th Marines were dispatched to save them, but they became ensnarled in this confusing battle in which dead and wounded Marines were left behind as the battalion retreated back to Khe Sahn in disarray. This resulted in 41 KIA, 32 wounded, with 2 of 15 MIAs later rescued by helicopters.
