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1401
The Slave Trade
The slave trade was a system of ships that brought sales from Africa to America. The route went across the Atlantic from continent to continent. This passage was called the "Middle Passage". The people on these ships endured horrible conditions like being in extremely close quarters, and barely any food or water provided. -
1492
Spanish Exploration
The Spanish exploration brought many Spanish people to America. Christopher Colombus lead these groups to America in 1492. They came in search of riches in gold, and freedom of religion. They settled in places like St. Augustine, Santa Fe, Central, and South America. -
French-Indian War (7 Years War)
The British and French ran into trouble in North America. Trouble with religion, territory, and access to water caused this war. It lasted 7 years from 1754 to 1763. George Washington commanded fire on the French soldiers near present day Uniontown Pennsylvania. It ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. -
Boston Massacre
After the 7 years war, debts of the war lead to lots of conflict between the colonists and the British whether or not it was their responsibility to pay for the debts. The colonists were upset about being required to quarter troops into their homes so, the British soldiers fired at the colonists in Boston and this lead to many colonists grouping together in the desire to gain independence. -
Boston Tea Party
The British came up with many ways to tax the colonists to pay off debts such as the stamp act and tea act. The tea act was a way for Britain to control the colonists heavily on something they needed to purchase. They chose where the colonists would purchase their tea and made it less expensive. The colonists did not like the control over them and in result they threw 342 chests of tea overboard from ships into the Boston Harbor. -
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Continental Congress
Delegates from every colony except for Georgia met in Philadelphia to discuss responses on intolerable acts. They disagreed at first but then came to a conclusion. They established a colonial association to help enforce the boycott of taxed goods by the British. -
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Revolutionary War
Many issues with debt, taxes, and the desire for independence, lead to the Revolutionary war. The Americans were longing for freedom and independence from the British. Many important battles came from this war such as Lexington and Concord, Bunker Hill, Yorktown, etc. -
Declaration of Independence
Written by Thomas Jefferson, our founding fathers came together to create this document that declared America's new independence from Britain. This document states: "God made all men equal and gave them the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." This declaration gave us our freedom and our independence day, The fourth of July. -
Shay's Rebellion
Daniel Shays lead a rebellion because after returning from war, he returned to his home with lots of debt. He gathered other farmers and they fought against the faults of the Articles of Confederation. This revealed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation. Many violent attacks occurred. -
Bill of Rights
In 1789 James Madison approved of the Bill of Rights. The bill of rights consist of the first ten amendments of the constitution. We still use these today because they outlined many of our personal rights for us as citizens. -
Cotton Gin Invention
The cotton gin was created by Eli Whitney. He invented this cotton gin to hopefully slow down slavery. The cotton gin separates cotton fibers from seeds which made the process of cotton picking much faster. This invention was revolutionary but unfortunately only prolonged slavery and raised expectations of slaveowners to their slaves. -
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Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of people including slaves and people wanting to free slaves. Free white people opened their homes and land to slaves as shelter for them to make their way up north. Some slaves even worked their way up to Canada for freedom. They followed the North Star for guidance to bring them in the right direction. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana purchase was made during Thomas Jefferson's presidency. This massive purchase of land lead to many issues of whether the land will become a free or slave territory. This purchase of land nearly doubled the size of America's territory. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 consisted of the colonists and natives, versus the British. One of the main reasons that caused this war was the division of land after the Revolutionary War that left people dissatisfied. The British did not come to the colonies to fight until nearly a year after war began. This war is monumental and gave us what we know today as our National Anthem, the Star Spangled Banner. -
the Missouri crisis and compromise
the Missouri crisis was a question of whether Missouri would be admitted as a free or slave state. the Talmadge amendment proposed the idea that Missouri would be a free state and all people born into slavery would be freed by age 25. The compromise being made would be a line that was drawn below Missouri that declared that no stated admitted below that line would be free, and none admitted above would be enslaved states. -
Dred Scott decision
This case was extremely important because it stated that africans living in America and born from Americans are not American citizens. And therefore, do not have the right to sue somebody in court. This case showed that even if a slave is in a free state, they are still not free and are owned by the slaveholder. -
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Lincoln Douglas Debate
These debates were held in Illinois. Douglas and Lincoln each focused on slavery issues greatly. They mainly focused on Kansas' statehood and why or why not it should be entered as a free state. The house was divided. Many learned how well spoken and intelligent Lincoln was during these debates. -
Civil War
The civil war began when the south split into the confederacy and technically became its' own country. The war began at Fort Sumpter where the confederate soldiers resided. The union soldiers came to attack. In 1863 the war changed immensely due to mass mobilization. The war ended when Lee surrendered to Grant. More than 600,000 people were dead and this war only lead to more broken family and property damage. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln declared the emancipation proclamation which stated that all slaves being held in slave states would be freed. Although Lincoln did this, it was not the complete end to slavery because it only mentioned the slave states and not each and every state. -
Shermans March to Sea
William T. Sherman lead a campaign across the state of Georgia which deteriorated land and cities like Atlanta. This deprived the southerners of supplies, land, and resources. This helped lead to the fall of slavery.