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Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battle of Lexington and Concord was the first battle of the American Revolutionary war. The Americans also known at the time as the "minute man" won the battle and forced the British to retreat back to Boston.The Battle of Concord proved to the British that the American army was not just a band of unorganized rebels, but an army that deserved respect. -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga marked the climax of the Saratoga campaign for the Americans and marked the turning point of the Revolutionary War. The battle is known as the turning point in the war because it renewed the morale of the American public and convinced foreign partners such as France that Americans were capable of winning . Once the French provided miltary assistance, the Americans shortly after defeated the British in the war . -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown was a decisive victory by the Americans with the assissted help from the French Army troops. The combined forces of the French and Americans laid seige to the British Army and Lord Cornwallis was forced to surrender at Yorktown. The battle of Yorktown marks the end of the Revolutionary war and sparks the feeling of great nationalism for many Americans. -
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest ordinance chartered for a Government for the newly acclaimed Northwest Territory. The ordinance provided a method for admitting new states to the Union and listed a Bill of rights for any settlers moving out West. The Ordinance provided the following provisions; A division of the Northwest Territory, A three stage method for admitting a new state to the Union, A bill of rights protecting religious and other individual rights. The Ordinance promoted Education and Anti Slavery. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition acts were made by the federalist congress in a effort to prevent immigrants from gaining citizenship and voting on political elections. These acts also attempted to prevent more immigrants from entering the new colonies. The Sedition act placed a law that fines and imprisons anyone who writes or publicly protests against the government. Theses acts also violate the 1st amendment and completely insult the rights of all Americans. -
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
The Resolutions were written by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in response to the Alien and Sedition Acts. The resolutions argued that the federal government had no authority to exercise powers not delegated by the constitution.The resolutions also state that states also have the right to nullify unconstitutional federal laws. The Virginia and Kentucky resolutions are an example of Americans being able to check and balance our federal system, leaving no one an exception to overpower the gov. -
Marbury Vs. Madison
The U.S. Supreme Court case Marbury vs. Madison created the principle of judicial review, and the power to federal courts to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Marshall was the author of the courts opinion and is considered one of the foundations of US constitutional law . Marbury v Madison set a new standard for the way court procedures and decisions are handled and further reviewed.The practice of checks and balances is one of the key factors to Am gov -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase is a deal of land made by the U.S. and France for approximately 827,000 square miles of land West of the Mississippi River for $15 Million dollars purchased by the U.S. The deal is considered to be one of Thomas Jefferson's greatest achievements of his presidency and the deal doubled the size of the new growing nation with 15 new states. The purchase also strengthened the United states materially and strategically, and provided a jump start to westward expansion. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an attempt by congress to defuse the sectional and political rivalries triggered by the request of Missouri to be admitted as a slave state in hopes to balance the number of slave states and the number if free states. The compromise sparked lots of resentment between the north and south and may be responsible for starting the civil war. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine was a American policy created to prevent European colonialism in the United States, it stated that any efforts of European nations attempting to gain access or control of any independent state in North or South America would be intefering with America's right to Manifest Destiny. The document also stated that the United States would like wise not interfere or consult with any European concerns in their country. -
Nullification crisis
The nullification crisis was cuased by the implementation of protective tariffs that were deemed unconstitutional to use force to collect taxes .John C Calhoun of South Carolina adopted the ordinance to nullify the tariff acts and label them unconstitutional. The South Carolina ordinance of Nullification was suppressed with Henry Clay's revision of the tariff with a compromise bill. -
Texas Annexation
The Texas Annexation admitted Texas to the union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. Following the Annexation , relations with Mexico and the U.S. began to deteriorate because of border disputes between Texas and Mexico. It was a firm belief of many Americans that Manifest destiny was their God given right to expand from sea to sea. This spurred the start of the Mexican- American War. -
Oregon Treaty
The Oregon treaty was signed under the presidency of James K. Polk with the United Kingdom. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundry dispute by settling Americans south of the 49th parallel and The British gained sole possession of the land north and all of Vancouver Island. -
Mexican Cession (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo)
The Mexican cession is the region of land attained in the South Western United States after the victory of the Mexican-American War.After the war the two countries signed a treaty that recognized Texas as a U.S. state and ceded a large amount of land that belonged to the Mexican republic. The treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo added an additional 525,00 square miles to the United States territory, This land also makes up present day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah,and Wyoming -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a series of resolutions presented by senator Henry Clay in an attempt to resolve the high tensions between the North and the South. The compromise called for the admission of California as a free state, the strengthening of the fugitive slave law, popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico concerning the question of slavery, the abolishment of slave trade in Washington D.C . The biggest affect from the Compromise is the ew version of the fugitive slave act. -
Kansas - Nebraska Act
The Kansas - Nebraska Act was passed by congress to allow people who lived in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether they believed they should allow slavery or not within their borders. The act also repealed the Missouri compromise of 1820. The Kansas - Nebraska act used the "popular sovereignty" clause to give the settlers of the territory the decision. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was a series of violent civil confrontations within the United States during 1854- 1861, the violent acts came from the ideological debate over whether slavery was legal and justified in the state of Kansas. Kansas is the staging ground that many people believe and argue is the first battles of the civil war because us the big division between pro slavery and anti slavery. Bleeding Kansas shaped the United states in a very violent fashion. -
Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run (also known as the First Manassas) was fought on July 21, 1861. It was the first major battle of the Civil War and resulted in a Confederate victory. The battle was fought after the American civil war broke out after the battle of Fort Sumter,the experience of the Confederate soldiers proved the difference as the Confederates won the battle -
Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle Fort Sumter is historically significant because it is the place where the first battle of the American Civil War was fought.War begins when Confederates fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor in South Carolina. The fort had been the source of tension between the Union and Confederacy for several months. -
Battle of Antietam
The battle of Antietam occured on September 22, at the Antietam creek near Sharpsburg, Maryland. The battle is known for being the bloodiest single day in American military history. The Battle of Antietam marked the culmination of Confederate General Robert E. Lee's first invasion of the Northern states.Over 23,000 men died in the one day battle. This battle is known as a turning point for the South because they were able to become more offensive and take the fight to northern soil. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was issued by president Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves within the rebellious states are, and henceforward shall be free." The proclamation granted freedom to slaves in the confederate states if the states did not return to the union by January 1st. The Emancipation Proclamation did not free all slaves in the United States. Rather, it declared free only those slaves living in states not under the union. -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg address is a speech given by president Lincoln that was delivered during the American Civil War at the battle fields of the Battle of Gettysburg. The purpose of the address was to honor the allen soldiers of the war and to remind the people the purpose of a soldiers sacrifice to fight for justice and equality , and freedom.The Gettysburg Address is now recognized as one of Lincoln’s greatest speeches and as one of the most famous speeches in U.S. history. -
Battle of Vicksburg
The Battle of Vicksburg was significant because it allowed the Union Army to take control of the Mississippi River from the Confederacy.Union forces had complete control of the Mississippi River and had in effect cut the Confederacy in two. Confederate forces in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Texas were now isolated from the rest of the South. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The battle of Gettysburg considered the most important engagement of the American Civil War. Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle ever fought on American soil, with up to 10,000 Union and Confederate troops dead and another 30,000 wounded. the assault “Pickett’s Charge,” managed to pierce the Union lines but eventually failed, at the cost of thousands of rebel casualties, and Lee was forced to withdraw his battered army toward Virginia on July 4. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment stated that" Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." -
14th Amendment
The amendment grants citizenship to "all persons born or naturalized in the United States" which included former slaves who had just been freed after the Civil War.The House of Representatives passed the 14th Amendment by a vote of 120 to 32.