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Jamestown
Three ships left London bound for Virginia with 144 men. They landed in May 1607 on Virginia Beach, but moved on and then established the first permanent English settlement in the New World. They called the new settlement Jamestown, in honor of the King. The Jamestown Settlement created the first permanent settlement. It was also the birth of America. -
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French and Indian War
The French and Indian War was a war that lasted for seven years between England and the American colonies. They were fighting the French and some of the Indians in North America beacuse of territory conflict at first. It was the bloodiest and expensive war, but the colonists and England won. The English tried to control colonists to prevent it from happening again(Proclamation of 1773) and to try and make them repay for the expenses of the war (stamp and tea acts) but the colonists retaliated -
French and Indian War (continued)
(boston tea party) and the English did too (Intolerable Acts). The French and Indian War led to the revolutiionary thought because colonists didn't like being controlled by a tiny island across the ocean! It's a main factor that led to the American Revolution. -
Lexington and Concord
The British were sent to take over an armory and they also wanted to arrest Sam Adams and John Hancock. It was the first military enaggemnet of the the Revolutionary War. The towns of Lexington, Concord, Menotomy, Lincoln, and Cambridge were involved and the battle marked the onset of conflict and battle between the Kingdom of Great Britain and the thirteen colonies of North America. The colonists considered the war a moral vicrory, but the British had more casualities. This event helped shaped -
Lexington and Concord (continued)
America because it was the start of the thirteen colonies becoming independent. It started the American Revolution. It really drove Boston to the revolutionary cause! -
The Declaration Of Independece
The Declaration of Independence was a document adopted by the Continental Congress and declared that the thirteen American colonies were now independent states and no longer part of the British's control. Thomas Jefferson composed the original draft of the document. The document opens with the Preamble- describing why the colonies overthrew their ruler and why they want to take their place as a seperate nation in the world. It also discusses rights that every government should have- -
The Declaration of Independece (continued)
-such as the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. They charged King George III with twenty-seven abuses and said they tried to reach peace, but they were ignored. After many attempts, they had no choice but to declare independence from Great Britain. They called the new nation the United States of America and will have no connections with Britain. The Declaration shaped America because it obviously gained our independence from Britain. It stated that our governemnt was to be run -
The Declaration Of Independence (continued)
by the people, for the people. We were finally our own nation with our own governent. It gave us the ideo of freedom and prosperity. The Declaration formed us into one government, the Continental Congress, and let everyone know that this was the new government of the US. It also established the framework for which the rest of the Constitution was built upon. -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
The Cotton Gin was an invention created by Eli Whitney. The invention was a quicker alternative to picking out seeds from cotton by hand. It was a very simple machine. First, you put cotton balls into the top of the machine and turn the handle so wire teeth combs out the seeds. Because of this invention, farmers were able to plant more cotton and cotton production increased- making it a cash crop. The cotton gin had a major effect on slavery in this country. It led to more slaves and -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
slave- holders in the US. It was a major factor in the spread of slavery in the US. -
Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson was president and decided to double the size of the Union, by buying land from France to support their war and to protect US trade access. The US paid $60 million for 828,000 square miles of land, west of the Mississippi River. The Louisiana Purchase not only doubled the size of the USA, but also created tension with the economy and Britain. -
The Hartford Convention
New England Federalists met in CT during the War of 1812 and expressed why they hated the war and why they were against it. They were bad that they had been out of power since 1801 .They claimed that the war ruined their economy. They wanted to succeed from the Union and create their own nation. This event organized national opposition to the war of 1812. It brought up the idea of succession and ended the Federalist party and highlighted sectional differences. -
Monroe Doctrine
The USA feared that European nations would try to claim new nations as colonies. The speech James Monroe made to Congress in 1823 was called the Monroe Doctrine. It basically said that America is off limits to any future European colonization and that we would not be involved in any European affairs. This event is important because it expelled all European powers from the American Hemisphere. -
The Compromise of 1850
This was a set of five bills to deal with the spread of slavery and help keep the northern and southern parts of the country in balance. California was entered as a free state, New Mexico and Utah were allowed to use popular sovereignty, the slave trade was abolished in the District of Columbia, the republic of TX gave up lands, and the Fugitive SLave Act made anyone who did not arrest a slave pay a fine. It made divisions between the North and South distinct.It temporarily fixed the US. -
Dred Scott Decison
Dred Scott was a slave and was taken by his master from the slave state of Missouri to the free state of Illinois and then Wisconsin. He went to court to fight for his freedom because he had been living on free soil for some time. It went all the way to the Supreme Court and he lost because he was considered a non-citizen and had no rights to sue in court and he had to remain a slave. It declared the Missouri COmpromise unconstitutional and increased abolitionist movement and sectional conflict. -
Attack on Fort Sumter
General Beauregard sent Major Anderson a message threatening that he would fire in one hour if they didn't surrender. He didn't surrender and the firing began. The South bombarded Sumter from all sides. It got so bad that eventually Anderson surrendered. This sparked the beginning of the Civil War. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Was issued by Abraham Lincoln as the US entered the third year of the Civil War. It declared freedom of all slaves in the Confederate States. Abe took the first step to abolition of slavery in the USA. It is still a symbol of freedom and equality in America today. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
CEA banned all Chinese laboers from entering the US for 10 years. They required that any Chinese person who left the USA temporarily to obtain certification in order to re-enter. We banned all the laborers because they were taking all our jobs. The act was enacted for another 10 years in 1892. This was the first time that the US outlawed immigration based on ethnicity. -
Haymarket Affair
This was a labor riot where workers demanded an eight hour workday and started a mob violence. It led to the end of the Knights of Labor. It took an importance around the world in the labor movement struggle of an eight hour workday and a better pay- which is used today ! -
Ocala Demands
Farmers made Ocala Demands that allowed them to store crops in government silos when prices were bad, wnated free coinage of silver, a federal income tax, and no national bank. They wanted a direct election of US senators and a tighter regulation of railroads. This established poltical and econonic reforms for the Farmer's Alliance. It gave rights to the farmers! -
Pullman Strike
Employees of the Pullman Palace Car company factory workers walked out after neogotiations over decreasing wages failed. They appealed for support to the ARU, who gave notice that they would no longer work trains that included Pullman Cars. It emphasized a labor problem in the USA and encouraged us to improve as a country.
