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French and Indian War
The final conlonial war was the French and Indian War. It began in 1754 and ended in 1763 with the Treaty of Paris. -
Period: to
Early American History
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Stamp Act of 1765
The Stamp Act was a new tax on all American colonists that required them to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper they used. This placed a burden on all colonists which made them angry towards the king. -
Boston Massacre
About 60 angry townspeople went to the Customs House. When reinforcements were called, the crowd grew more out of control and began throwing rocks and snowballs at the guards and reinforcements. In the heat of the confusing fight, the British fired without command. The battle took the lives of 5 men, including Crispus Attucks, a former slave. Others were only injured. This was an important event in American history because this was another major event that united American people against the king -
Boston Tea Party
The outrages taxing on tea led to the Boston Tea Party. The Boston Tea Party took place when a group of Patriots protested the taxing on American tea importation. They did this by seizing 342 chests of tea on 3 tea ships and threw them into the harbor. This event is important to American history because it was one of several events that led up to the American Revolutionary War. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
28 barges of British soldiers crossed the Charles River and over the hills. The Americans waited until the British were with 15 feet and then opened fire. British troops were killed or wounded and the rest retreated downhill. The British did this a second and third time. By the third time they managed to take the hill, but out of the 2,300 british soldiers that had gone, 1,054 were either wounded or killed. Though we lost, this battle provided them with a confidence boost. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson. This was a list of grievances against the king. The Declaration was signed by 56 delegates from the 13 colonies of America. The importance of this event was that it joined each of the 13 colonies as one to fight for independence from England. -
US Constitution
The US Constitution was established in 1787. The Constitution created our new form of government. We are still using this exact same form of government today. -
George Washington Inauguration
His inauguration happened in Philidelphia. He was the first president of the United States and it united the country under on leader. He was admired by all. -
Underground Railroad
During the 1800's it is estimated that more than 100,000 enslaved people looked for freedom through the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad is a term given to the routes African Americans took to gain their freedom. Free Blacks, Whites, and other slaves acted as conductors by helping slaves to their freedom. This movement challenged the way Americans viewed slavery and freedom. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was a land deal between the US and France. The US aquired about 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million dollars. This doubled the size of the United States. -
Louis and Clark Expedition
President Thomas Jefferson initiated an exploration of the newly purchased land and the territory after the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was made. Jefferson chose his personal secretary Lewis and Lewis turned to Clark for help. The importance of this event is that we got maps of the new territory as well as plants and creatures of the west. -
War of 1812
The war of 1812was when the United States took on Great Britain. A main cause of this war was Britain's attempts to restrict the US' trade. The Treaty of Ghent ended the war in 1815. Many in the US celebrated the War of 1812 as a "second war of independence" beginning an era of national pride. -
Burning of the White House
In 1814, during the war of 1812, British troops entered Washington D.C. and burned the White House. When the British arrived they found that president Madison and his first lady had already fled to safety in Maryland. The First Lady gathered important documents and state papers before fleeing the White House. -
Star Spangled Banner
Us Soldiers raised a huge American flag to celebrate their victory over British forces during the War of 1812. When Francis Scott Key saw the "broad stripes and bright stars" it inspired him to write a song. This eventually became the United States National Anthem. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine laid out by president Monroe in 1823 was a four point plan for the US. It declared that we would not get involved in european affairs, we would not interfere with existing European colonies in the Western Hemisphere, no other nation could form a new colony in the western hemisphere, and if a European nation tried to control a nation, we would consider it an act of War. This made us a more independent nation in the world. -
Trail of Tears
In 1836 the government drove the Native Americans from their land. This was the journey known as the Trail of Tears. 3,500 of the 15,000 Creeks who went on this journey did not survive the trip. By 1838 they marched the Indians more that 1,200 miles to Indian territory. There were epidemics along the way and its estimated that more than 5,000 Cherokee died as a result. By 1907 Oklahoma became a state and Indian territory was gone for good. -
Attack by John Brown
He led a small group on a raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in attempt to start an armed slave revolt and get rid of slavery. On October 16 Brown and his men overran the arsenal, but by morning they were surrounded. 10 men were killed, including 2 of his sons. Brown was tried for treason and murder and was found guilty on November 2nd. John Brown's raid helped make any further accomodation between the North and South nearly impossible and became an important spark of the Civil War. -
Fort Sumter
US Maj. Robert Anderson feared for the safety of his men and moved his command to Fort Sumter on December 26th. On April 11th of 1861 Confederate Brig. Gen demanded that Anderson's fort's surrender. Anderson refused leading to the Confederates to open fire on Fort Sumter the next morning and this continued for 34 hours. This was the start of the Civil War. On April 13th, Anderson surrendered the fort. No soldiers were killed in battle. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation declaring that as of January 1st, 1863 all slaves in the confederate states "shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." This event was an important turning point in the American Civil War. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Robert E. Lee concentrated his army around Gettysburg. The two armies collided west and north of the town on July 1st. This battle lasted until the 3rd and about 51,000 soldiers from each army were killed or wounded. 4 months after this battle, President Lincoln used the dedication cerimony for the Gettysburg soldiers to honor the fallen in his Gettysburg Address. -
Gettysburg Address
This speech was given at the cemetery for the fallen soldiers from the Battle of Gettysburg. The main speaker, Edward Everett, gave a speech for about 2 hours. Lincolns speech was about 2 minutes. His speech was about the readon to maintain the union. This continued to reshape the aims of the war for American people. -
Sherman's March
General William T. Sherman led about 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from November 15 to December 21st. The purpose of this march was to frighten the people of Georgia into abandoning the Confederate's. They stole food and burned down houses of people who tried to fight back. This event devestated the Confederacy. -
Battle of Appomatux Court House
This is where Robert E. Lee decided to surrender, rather than destroy his army and sacrifice the lives of his soldiers for no reason. The importance of this event is that though it didn't end the war, it set the stage for its conclusion. -
Lincolns Assasination
On April 14th President Lincoln was fatally shot by John Wilkes Booth during a play at Ford's Theatre in Washington D.C. This changed the course of events for African Americans. -
Reconstruction
The Unions victory had given the freedom to about 4 million slaves, but the Reconstruction period set a new set of challenges. New southern state legislatures passed restrictive "black codes" to control the behavior of former slaves and other African Americans.
