founding fathers

  • The Boston Tea Party

    The Boston Tea Party
    The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that occured in Boston, Massachusetts because American colonists were frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing taxation without representation.
  • The Battles of Lexington and Concord

    The Battles of Lexington and Concord
    The Battles of Lexington and Concord on 19 April 1775, the famous 'shot heard 'round the world', marked the start of the American War of Independence. Politically disastrous for the British, it persuaded many Americans to take up arms and support the cause of independence.
  • The Declaration of Independence is signed

    The Declaration of Independence is signed
    The Declaration summarized the colonists' motivations for seeking independence. By declaring themselves an independent nation, the American colonists were able to confirm an official alliance with the Government of France and obtain French assistance in the war against Great Britain.
  • The Winter at Valley Forge

    The Winter at Valley Forge
    The particularly severe winter of 1777-1778 proved to be a great trial for the American army, and of the 11,000 soldiers stationed at Valley Forge, hundreds died from disease. However, the suffering troops were held together by loyalty to the Patriot cause and to General Washington, who stayed with his men.
  • Article of Confederation are Ratified

    Article of Confederation are Ratified
    The colonies knew they needed some form of official government that united the thirteen colonies. They wanted to have written down rules that all the states agreed to. The Articles allowed the Congress to do things like raise an army, be able to create laws, and print money.
  • The Battle of Yorktown

    The Battle of Yorktown
    The siege of Yorktown, also known as the Battle of Yorktown, the surrender at Yorktown, or the German battle (from the presence of Germans in all three armies), ending on October 19, 1781, at Yorktown, Virginia, was a decisive victory by a combined force of the American Continental Army troops led by General George Washington. Fun fact, I was born in Williamsburg, Va.
  • The Constitution is Ratified

    The Constitution is Ratified
    The official framework began in 1788 to replace the Articles, but it was not finished until 1789.
  • Presidential Inauguration of George Washington

    Presidential Inauguration of George Washington
    In 1789, the first presidential election, George Washington was unanimously elected president of the United States. With 69 electoral votes, Washington won the support of each participating elector. No other president since has come into office with a universal mandate to lead.
  • Washingtons farewell address

    Washingtons farewell address
    In the fall of 1796, nearing the end of his term, George Washington published a farewell address, intended to serve as a guide to future statecraft for the American public and his successors in office.
  • The death of George Washington

    The death of George Washington
    George Washington became a hero because he led the colonial forces to victory over the British and became the national hero that we know today.
  • Election Day 1800

    Election Day 1800
    what is sometimes referred to as the "Revolution of 1800", Vice President Thomas Jefferson of the Democratic-Republican Party defeated incumbent President John Adams of the Federalist Party. The election was a political realignment that ushered in a generation of Democratic-Republican leadership.
  • Marbury VS Madison

    Marbury VS Madison
    Marbury v. Madison is important because it established the power of judicial review for the U.S. Supreme Court and lower federal courts with respect to the Constitution and eventually for parallel state courts with respect to state constitutions.
  • The Dead Rabbits Riot

    The Dead Rabbits Riot
    The Dead Rabbits were so named after a dead rabbit was thrown into the center of the room during a gang meeting, prompting some members to treat this as an omen, withdraw, and form an independent gang. Their battle symbol was a dead rabbit on a pike.
  • John D. Rockefeller Creates Standard Oil

    John D. Rockefeller Creates Standard Oil
    Born into modest circumstances in upstate New York, he entered the then-fledgling oil business in 1863 by investing in a Cleveland, Ohio refinery. In 1870, he established Standard Oil, which by the early 1880s controlled some 90 percent of U.S. refineries and pipelines
  • The Ku Klux Klan is Established

    The Ku Klux Klan is Established
    The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) is a historically violent American organization that has operated in three periods to promote white supremacy and white nationalism and resist immigration. Founded after the Civil War as a secret society by Confederate generals, the First Klan’s primary focus was subverting Republican Reconstruction policies and preventing emancipated African Americans from receiving the benefits of citizenship.
  • Alexander Graham Bell Patents the Telephone

    Alexander Graham Bell Patents the Telephone
    On March 7, 1876, 29-year-old Alexander Graham Bell receives a patent for his revolutionary new invention: the telephone. The Scottish-born Bell worked in London with his father, Melville Bell, who developed Visible Speech, a written system used to teach speaking to the deaf.
  • The Great Oklahoma Land Race

    The Great Oklahoma Land Race
    The land run started at high noon on April 22, 1889. ... An estimated 50,000 people were lined up at the start, seeking to gain a piece of the available two million acres (8,100 km2). The Unassigned Lands were considered some of the best unoccupied public land in the United States.
  • Ellis Island opens to process immigrants

    Ellis Island opens to process immigrants
    The first Ellis Island Immigration Station officially opens on January 1, 1892, as three large ships wait to land. Seven hundred immigrants passed through Ellis Island that day, and nearly 450,000 followed over the course of that first year.
  • The Wizard of Oz (Book) is Published

    The Wizard of Oz (Book) is Published
    Originally published in 1900, L. While The Wizard of Oz may be a cherished part of American culture, it hasn't always been celebrated. ... In fact, in 1928 the Chicago Public Library banned the book.
  • J.P. Morgan Founds U.S. Steel

    J.P. Morgan Founds U.S. Steel
    J. P. Morgan formed U.S. Steel on March 2, 1901 (incorporated on February 25), by financing the merger of Andrew Carnegie's Carnegie Steel Company with Elbert H. Gary's Federal Steel Company and William Henry "Judge" Moore's National Steel Company for $492 million ($15.31 billion today).
  • Teddy Roosevelt Becomes President of the United States

    Teddy Roosevelt Becomes President of the United States
    From the start, Roosevelt was committed to making the government work for the people, and in many respects, the people never needed government more. The post-Civil War industrial revolution had generated enormous wealth and power for the men who controlled the levers of business and capital.
  • Ida Tarbell Publishes Her Article About Standard Oil

    Ida Tarbell Publishes Her Article About Standard Oil
    Her work was a sensation and the installments became a two-volume book entitled, The History of the Standard Oil Company, published in 1904. Tarbell meticulously documented the aggressive techniques Standard Oil employed to outmaneuver and, where necessary, roll over whoever got in its way.
  • Ford motor company is founded

    Ford motor company is founded
    The important role played by Henry Ford in the industrial revolution. ver 100 years ago, in the city of Detroit, industrialists began the production of the first-ever car, the Ford Model T. ... Henry Ford, the founder of the Ford company was always talking about a real revolution on a global scale.
  • Angels Island opens to process immigrants

    Angels Island opens to process immigrants
    The new Immigration Station opened on January 21, 1910 and became the major port of entry to the U.S. for Asians and other immigrants coming from the west. The Immigration Station opened for partial operation on the northern neck of the island, later called China Cove.
  • The 16th Amendment is Passed

    The 16th Amendment is Passed
    Passed by Congress on July 2, 1909, and ratified February 3, 1913, the 16th amendment established Congress's right to impose a Federal income tax
  • The 17th Amendment is Passed

    The 17th Amendment is Passed
    Passed by Congress May 13, 1912, and ratified April 8, 1913, the 17th amendment modified Article I, section 3, of the Constitution by allowing voters to cast direct votes for U.S. Senators. Prior to its passage, Senators were chosen by state legislatures.
  • The Empire State Building Opens

    The Empire State Building Opens
    On May 1, 1931, President Herbert Hoover officially dedicates New York City's Empire State Building, pressing a button from the White House that turns on the building's lights.