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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta Signed
MAGNA CARTA Powerful Barons forced King John to sign the Magna Carta which limited the powers he had and gave more power to parliament. Also, it protected his subjects rightful privileges and proved to be important later because it showed that the king's power could be restrained by the people. -
Mayflower Compact Signed
MAYFLOWER COMPACT The Mayflower Compact was written by the settlers arriving at Plymouth on the Mayflower. Previous settlers had failed because they lacked a strong government so they wrote the Compact to keep their colony running. -
Formation of the New England Confederation
FORMATION OF NEW ENGLAND CONFEDERATION The New England Confederation was an alliance formed between Massachusetts, Conneticut, Plymouth, and New Haven to protect them from enemies like the French, the Dutch, or Indians. The alliance was weak though, and ignored by Massachusetts. -
Albany Plan of Union Announced
ALBANY PLANThe exact date that the Albany Plan was announced is unknown, but it was proposed by Benjamin Franklin in an attempt to form a union of the colonies and to aviod tension between them. -
French and Indian War Begins
FRENCH + INDIANThe fighting of the French and Indian War really began in 1754, but Britain and France did not officially declare war against each other until May of 1756. The fighting was over the land east of the Missippi and west of the Appalachians. -
Treaty of Paris 1763
TREATY OF PARIS
The Treaty of Paris concluded the French and Indian war and gave Britain Canada and all North American territory east of the Mississippi. -
Royal Proclamation
ROYAL PROCLAMATIONAt the end of the French and Indian War, the British prohibitted colonial settlement west of the Appalachians, so as not to disturb or anger the Native Americans that lived there. This proclamtaion made the colonists feel dispespected and unappreciated for their efforts in the war. -
Sugar Act
SUGAR ACT
The Sugar Act taxed sugar, coffee, molasses, and other important goods. Britain did this because they needed money to keep and army to protect the colonies and they hoped it would make the colonists trade only with Britain and not other countries. -
Stamp Act
STAMP ACT
The Stamp Act put a tax on all paper goods.. Playing cards, legal papers, newspapers, and licenses were all taxed. The colonists thought that if they let this taxation go unresisted, it would lead to even more taxing in the future. So, they boycotted all British goods and tar and feathered all Americans that didn't until eventually the tax was removed. -
Stam Act Congress
STAMP ACT CONGRESSNine colonies sent representatives to the Congress in New York, where they discussed the problems the new taxes had caused. It was decided to ask people to boycott all stamped goods. When parliament heard about the Stamp Act Congress and how upset the tax had made the colonsts, they repealed it. -
Townshend Acts
TOWNSHEND ACTS
Charles Townshend passed the Townshend Acts after the Stamp Act was repealled. Glass, paint, oil,lead,glass, paint, oil, lead, paper, and tea were all taxed. The result of these acts were more boycotting by the colonists and the repealling of the acts. -
Boston Massacre
BOSTON MASSACRE
One night, there was a group of colonists throwing snowballs and things at British soldiers. One hit a soldier in the gun and the soldier reactively fired, causing the other soldiers to start firing. 5 colonists were killed and 6 were wounded. -
Boston Tea Party
BOSTON TEA PARTYColonists were enraged by the Tea Act and boycotted it. In Boston, there were three tea ships that wouldn't leave even when the asked to. In response, 150 Bostonians dressed up as Indians and threw all 15,000 pounds of tea on the boats into Boston Harbor while a crowd cheered fromt he land. -
First Continental Congress
FIRST CONTINENTAL CONGRESSThe First Continental Congress was considered to be like therapy for the colonists. The Americans talked about the Intolerable Acts and a list of other complaints and resentments regarding the British. They also decided to continue boycotting British goods. -
Patrick Henry "Give Me Liberty"
GIVE ME LIBERTY
During the Second Virginia Convention, Patrick Henry gave his famous speech ending with "Give me liberty or give me death!" He gave this speech to prompt Virginia troops into the revolution. -
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
PAUL'S RIDE
On the night of April 18, Paul Revere and several other men were sent out to warn the sleeping countryside from Medford to Lexington of the coming British army. A few miles outside of Lexington, Revere was captured by the British and was later released and had to walk back to Lexington. -
Battles of Lexington and Concord
LEXINGTON + CONCORD
The British were on there way to Concord to capture Sam Adams and John Hancock and to steal the colonits' ammuntion. On the way, they ran into the colonists at Lexington and no one knows who fired the "shot heard 'round the world", but it began the war. -
Fort Ticonderoga
TICONDEROGA
On the night of May 9, 100 colonists crossed Lake Champlain and at dawn on May 10, snuck into Ticonderoga. Most of the British officeres were still sleeping and when they entered the commander's quarters, he quickly surrendered the fort. -
Second Continental Congress
SECOND CONTINENTAL CONGRESS
The Second Continenental Congress met at the State House in Philadelphia again. They decided to create the Continental Army, run by George Washington. Most of them did not want to break away from Britain yet. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
BUNKER HILL
The colonists were supposed to go to Bunker Hill but accidentally went to Breed's Hill instead, so that is where the battle actually took place. Having the advantage of height, the colonists were able to hold off three British charges but had to retreat from the third. -
"Common Sense" Published
COMMON SENSE
Thomas Paine wrote "Common Snese" to challenge the monarchy and British rule. It spoke in plain language that everyone could understand and it was the first work to openly request American independence. -
British Evacuate Boston
EVACUATION DAY
The colonists placed cannons at Dorchester Heights, forcing the British to evacutate Boston and go north to Nova Scotia. -
Declaration of Independence Announced
DECLARATION ANNOUNCED
After it had been secretly voted on to approve the Declaration of Independence, it was announced to the public and read outloud to a crowd behind Independence Hall. -
"The Crisis" Published
The goal of "The Crisis", written by Thomas Paine, was to motivate tories tojoin the revolutionary cause and support in any way they could. -
Washington Captures Trenton
TRENTON
On Christmas night, George Washington and his troops crossed the frozen Delaware River and in the morning surprised the Hessian mercenaries hired by the British and defeated them. -
British Defeated at Saratoga
SARATOGA
The victory at Saratoga is considered the turning point in the war for the colonists. The Continental Army surrounded the British and forced them to surrender. -
Articles of Confederation Signed
ARTICLES SIGNED The Articles of Confederation was written to establish the national government of the U.S. after they declared independence from Great Britain. It created a weak central government and mostly prevented the states from interacting with foriegn countries. -
Winter at Valley Forge, PA
VALLEY FORGE
George Washington and his army spent the winter freezing in Valley Forge, PA. Many of them didn't even have shoes and they were recieving irregular supplies of meat and bread. Many soldiers also became very sick or were otherwise made unfit for duty. -
John Paul Jones Deafeats the Serapis
DEFEAT SERAPIS
John Paul Jones commanded the Bonhomme Richard and in August 1779, fought against the much more powerful British Serapis and defeated them. -
Benedict Arnold Plans Found Out
BENEDICT ARNOLD
Benedict Arnold was sort of resentful towards the revoltuionaries, because he was critzied by the Continental Congress and didn't feel appreciated. He asked for command of West Point, a crucial spot for both sides, and he systematically weakened it by sending soldiers out on different missions. He then sent a spy to the British carrying plans of West Point. The spy was captured and Benedict ran to the British. -
Cornwallis Surrenders
CORNWALLIS SURRENDERS
The French fleet blocked the bay and the Americans were attacking the British by land at Yorktown, Viginia. They bombarded the British and gave them no choice but to surrender. -
Newburgh Conspiracy
NEWBURGH CONSPIRACY While fighting the British, George Washington was having problems with his own troops. They were ready to go home and thought they deserved to be paid more. They threatened to take over and turn the new country into a monarchy or tyranny. -
Treaty of Paris (1783) Signed
TREATY OF PARIS SIGNED The United States and Great Britain signed the Treaty of Paris to give The U.S. independence and end their war. Benjamin Frankiln had to bargain with Great Britain for two months to get them to sign the treaty. Once it was signed, Britain left the thirteen colonies alone. -
Spain Closes Mississippi River
SPAIN CLOSES MISSISSIPPI RIVERAfter the American Revolution, Spain was interested in taking over the American southwest. They closed the Mississippi river to make American farmers on the west of the river, who used the river to transport goods, join Spanish North America. The U.S. was weak from the war and it was a while before they could do anything about it. (only the year for this event is known) -
Land Ordinance of 1785
LAND ORDINANCE 1785The Land Ordinance of 1785 was a law passed to allow land to be sold in the Northwest. It set the standards for future land selling. -
Ordinance of Religious Freedom
ORDINANCE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOMThomas Jefferson wrote the Ordinance of Religious Freedom to separate church and state and give people freedom of religion. It was passed by the Virginia legislature and was the basis for the first amendment to the Constitution. -
Shays' Rebellion
SHAY'S REBELLION Shays' Rebellion was lead by farmer Daniel Shays. He and many other farmers in Massachusetts were upset because of a new law that said that farmers had to pay taxes in silver and gold. Since they didn't have enough gold and silver, their farms were taken away. So, Shays' group stormed the armory in Springfield and threatened the state courts. They finally had to retreat when the Massachusetts militia was called in. -
Annapolis Convention
ANNAPOLIS CONVENTION The Annapolis Convention was held in Annapolis, Maryland with 12 delegates from New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Virginia, to help fix the federal government. Unfortunately, there weren't enough states represented so no decisions were reached. -
Constitutional Convention Opens
Constitutional ConventionThe Constitutional Convention, in Philadelphia, was held to address the problems the U.S. was having under the Articles of Confederation. After three months of meeting, the Constitution was finally created. -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
NORTHWEST ORDINANCEAfter signing the Constitution, the representatives wondered how the could add new states to the country. The ordinance authorized a temporary government to be set up in the western territory owned by the U,S, it also provided a way to make new governments in that territory and guaranteed a bill of rights to those governments. Also, it created a survey that created maps of the land. -
The Great Compromise Agreed To
GREAT COMPROMISEThe Great Compromise, or Conneticut Compromise, was an idea for representation that in the Senate each state would have two representatives and in the House of Representatives, the number of representatives for each stat would be proportional to the state's population. -
Constitution Sent to the States for Ratification
CONSTITUTION SENT FOR RATIFICATIONAfter the Constitution was written at the Philedalphia Convention, it was sent out to the thirteen states for ratification. Only 9 of the 13 had to approve for it to be put to use. -
Federalist Papers Appear
FEDERALIST PAPERSThe Federalist Papers were written in support of the Constitution by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay. -
Anti-Federalist Articles Appear
ANTI-FEDERALIST ARTICLESAnti-Federalist papers were written to show their dissatidfaction with the Constitution. The Anit-Federalists were concerned about unequal distribution of power amongst the three branches of government. They believed that the Federalists supported aristocratic society and wrote their papers in response to Federalist papers. -
Delaware Ratifies
DELAWARE RATIFIESDelaware was the first state to ratify the Constitution and therefore became the very first state. -
Massachusetts Ratifies Constitution
MASS RATIFIESMassachusetts was the sixth state to ratify and with their ratification, they suggested several changes to be made to the Constitution. Massachusetts wanted to protect the states and the individual. -
New Hampshire Ratifies Constitution
NEW HAMPSHIRE RATIFIESNew Hampshire was the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, and with that the Constitution was put into effect. -
Congress Meets for the First Time
FIRST MEETING OF CONGRESS The Congress, established by the amendments made to the Constitution, held their first meeting d in New York. The Congress was made up of the U.S Senate and House of Representatives. -
George Washington Elected President
GEORGE WASHINGTON ELECTEDAfter winning American independence and helping form the government George Washington was ready to retire, but the American people wanted him to lead. This was the first election and it was held mostly to convince George Washington to become president. He won the election and the runner-up John Adams became vice president. -
Bill of Rights Sent to the States for Ratification
BILL OF RIGHTS In September, the Congress approved 12 amendments to the Constitution and sent them out to the states for approval. The ammendments were meant to protect basic rights for U.S. citiznes. -
Bill of Rights Ratified
BILL OF RIGHTS Virginia was the tenth state to approve the amendments and gave the Bill of Rights the ratification it needed to be made legal. Only two of the amendments were not ratified. -
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions Written
VIRGINIA AND KENTUCKY
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions were written by James Maddison and Thomas Jefferson to argue that the Congress had no power to do acts not authorized by the Constitution. They argued for states rights and lead to a great deal of controversy. -
Hartford Convention Meets During War of 1812
HARTFORD CONVENTION
The Hartford Convention met during the War of 1812 to discuss the war and the rising power of the federal government. The delegates also talked about the problems in New England pertaining to the war. -
Missouri Compromise
MISSOURI COMPROMISE
The Missouri Compromise brought Missouri into the union as a slave state and Maine in as a free state. It also set the boundary for slavery in the Louisiana Territory as the 36° 30´ line. All states above the line were free and all below were slave. -
Tariff of Abominations Passed
TARIFF OF ABOMINATIONSThe Tariff of Abominations was passed by Congress to protect industry in the North from having to compete with European goods by raising the price of imported goods. The South now had to pay more fo rproducts that they did not produce and with less people buying from Britain it was harder for them to pay for the cotton they imported from the South. -
South Carolina Tries to Nullify
SOUTH CAROLINA
The South was not making as many manufactured goods as the North and so the recent tariff hurt them instead of helping them. They needed to import those goods and the taxes set on imported goods made it harder to afford them. South Carolina created the Ordinance of Nullification which siad that the tariffs did not apply to them and they were null and void. -
Abolition of Slavery Act
ABOLITION OF SLAVERY ACT
Parliament passed the Abolition of Slavery Act in the United Kingdom, abolishing slavery thoughout almost all of the British empire. -
Texas Declares Independence From Mexico
TEXAS
U.S citizens were allowed to settle in Texas when Mexico outlawed slavery, including in Texas. American slave owners living there revolted and started to organize a new government. -
James Polk Elected
JAMES POLK
James Polk was the 11th president of the United States and served during the Mexican War. He handled the addition of Texas to the U.S and the land won during the Mexican War. -
Mexican War
MEXICAN WAR
The Mexican War was a result of Texas becoming a part of the U.S. American was eventually victorious and won Texas, California and everything inbetween. -
Wilmot Proviso
WILMOT PROVISO
The Wilmot Proviso was made to restore peace with Mexico after the Mexican War. It prohibitted slavery in the land gained by the war. It was never passed though. -
California Enters the Union
CALIFORNIA
California desired statehood and after a heated debate in Congress was allowed to enter as a free state. -
Fugitive Slave Law Enacted
FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT
The Fugitive Slave Law was passed as a part of the compromise of 1850. It stated that all fugitive slaves must be returned to their owners. Anyone caught helping hte slaves, whether they knew they were doing it or not, faced imprisonment and fines. -
Publication Of Uncle Tom's Cabin
UNCLE TOM
Uncle Tom's Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, showed people how cruel and brutal slavery was. The South was enraged because it did a lot to help the abolitionist cause. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act Passed
KANSAS-NEBRASKAStephen Douglas wanted to make Chicago the New York of the west and to do this had to organize the Unorganized Territory. He opened the areas to popular sovereignty in the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Violence errupted in Kansas due to the act as pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers tried to gain control. -
Formation of the Republican Party
REPUBLICAN PARTYThe Republican Party was formed in 1854 as a result of the kansas-nebraska act. It was committed to keeping slavery from spreading westward. -
"Border Ruffians" Attack Lawrence
BORDER RUFFIANS
Lawrence was an anti-slavery stronghold in Kentucky. On May 21, 1856, 800 pro-slavery Border Ruffians rode into Lawrence to arrest the men there. They also destroyed two newspaper offices and and burned and looted homes and shops. Then, they shot cannons at the Free State Hotel. -
Charles Sumner Attacked
CHARLES SUMNER
Charles Sumner gave a speech about the violence in Kansas and verbally attacked senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina. In reponse to the speech, Butler's nephew South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks beat Sumner with a metal topped cane for several minutes without being stopped by onlookers. Sumner was not able to do his duties for three years after the attack. -
Pottawatomie Creek
POTTAWATOMIE
In retaliation to the raid of Lawrence, a group of abolitionists led by John Brown attacked and killed five pro-slavery men in Pottawatomie Creek.This led to even more violence and killings in Kansas. -
Dred Scott Decision Announced
DRED SCOTT
Dred Scott was a slave who went to court to free himself and his family. He had lived in free land with his masters and therefore thought he should be free. Other slaves had gone to court with similar cases and won, but unfortunately Dred and his family were not granted freedom after appealing to the state court or the supreme court. -
Lecompton Constitution Passed
LECOMPTON
The Lecompton Constitution allowed slave owners to mantain ownership of slaves currently living in Kansas but prevented the importation of more slaves into the area. Many heated debates took place over the Lecompton Constitution and southerners threatened to secede if Kansas was not made a slave state. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
LINCOLN-DOUGLAS
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas ran for Illinois Senate. They went to seven different debates where they disagreed on almost every isue pertaining to slavery. Lincoln wanted to stop its expansion and Douglas thought that popular sovereignty was best. Lincoln thought that the country could not last divided on the issue, but Douglas believed that it could remain strong with both free and slave states. -
Raid at Harper's Ferry
HARPER'S FERRY
The raid at Harper's Ferry was led by John Brown.The group seized the federal armory and killed 5 people. 10 people on John's side were killed. The goal of the raid was to spark an uprising of the slaves in the area and free them. He was thwarted by the U.S Marines though and hanged for murder, conspiracy, and treason against Virginia. -
Democrats Split in 1860
DEOMCRATIC SPLITThe Deomcrats split in 1860, becuase in the north Democrats were against slavery and in the south they supported it. During the election, they were hard pressed to find a candidate that the majority could agree with. Therefore, the Northern Democrats ran Stephen Douglass and the Southern Democrats ran John Breckenridge. -
Formation of the Constitutional Union Party
CONSTITUTIONAL UNION
The Constitutional Union Party was formed to avoid the issue of slavery and prevent conflict. -
Election of 1860
ELECTION 1860
In the North, the leading political party was the Republican party which was against slavery. In the South the leading party was Democratic and supported slavery. Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglass, and John Breckinridge all ran. Lincoln won the election with 40% of the votes.
