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Massacre at Mystic
The Puritans, with their Native allies, made their way into the Pequot village in hopes to sneak attack the Pequot's while they were sleeping. The Puritans did not hold back as they slaughtered men, women, and even children and set fire to the Pequot village. -
The Scalp Act
Governor Robert Morris passed the Scalp Act to get rid of the Natives in Delaware. The scalping was to show proof that the Indians were dead. Morris stated that for every male Indian scalp above 12 years old, the person would be rewarded 130 pieces of eight, and for every female Indian scalp above 12 years old, they would be rewarded 50 pieces of eight. -
The Boston Tea Party
American colonists dumped chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company, into a harbor because Britain imposed "taxation without representation". -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
The battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War on this date. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
Many of the British came from Boston to Concord to take weapons from the opposing side. Paul Revere caught sight of this and sounded an alarm. After a confrontation from Lexington, the British were quickly retreating. After many more battles, the colonists finally won. -
The Declaration of Independence is Signed
Congress members signed the United States Declaration of Independence. -
The Winter at Valley Forge
The severe winter of 1777-1778 was 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
On March 1, 1781, Maryland delegates signed the ratification of the Articles of Confederation. The Articles were finally ratified by all thirteen states. Then on February 21, 1787, Congress approved a plan to hold a convention in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. -
The Battle of Yorktown
It joint Franco-American land and sea campaign that entrapped a major British army on a peninsula at Yorktown, Virginia, and forced its surrender. The siege virtually ended military operations in the American Revolution. -
The 3/5ths Compromise
This compromise stated that any person who was not free would only be counted as three-fifths of an individual. -
The Constitution is Ratified
New Hampshire became the ninth of 13 states to ratify the Constitution. -
Presidential Inauguration of George Washington
The first inauguration of George Washington as the first president of the United States happened on this date. -
Washington’s Farewell Address
Washington's Farewell Address is a letter written by American President George Washington as a valedictory to "friends and the fellow-citizens" after 20 years of public service to the United States. -
The Death of George Washington
On this date, George Washington passed away from a throat infection. -
Election Day, 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
This was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case that established the principle of judicial review in the United States, meaning that American courts have the power to strike down laws and statutes that they find to violate the Constitution of the United States -
Slave Trade Ends in the United States
Both house of Congress passed the 13th Amendment, which soon marked the official end of the slave trade in the United States. -
Battle of Tippecanoe
The Shawnee leader Tecumseh and his brother Tenskwatawa aspired to create a First Nations confederacy. They established a village in Indian territory, hoping to be the center of the confederacy. Trying to spread their vision around brought them conflicts with William Henry Harrison, eventually leading to the Battle of Tippecanoe. -
The Missouri Compromise Bill is Passed
On this date, Congress passed the Missouri Compromise Bill that gave Missouri statehood as a slave state. Only if slavery was prohibited in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase; in states above the southern border of Missouri. -
The Indian Removal Act is Passed
On this date, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act beginning the relocation of thousands of Native Americans. This was also known as the Trail of Tears. -
Trail of Tears
This was the outcome of the Indian Removal Act as around 60,000 Native Americans were forced to leave their homelands. -
Nat Turner Rebellion
Nat Turner, an enslaved man, led a rebellion of slaves that led to a massacre of up to 200 Black people. Though also, a new era of oppressive legislation prohibiting the education and movement of slaves. -
The Fugitive Slave Act is Passed
On this date, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which was part of the Compromise of 1850. The act had slaves return to their "owners" even if they were in a free state. It also had the federal government responsible for finding, returning, and trying escaped slaves. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott, after being taken to a free state by his "owner" stated that he should be free. The federal court ruled against him saying that he had no rights in the court, therefore, keeping him and his family enslaved. Though it took some years, Scott's owner's son freed him and his family of slavery allowing him to live the last year of his life a free man. -
The Dead Rabbits Riot
The Dead Rabbits riot was a two-day civil inconvenience in New York City unfolding from what was a small street fight between members of the Dead Rabbits and the Bowery Boys into a citywide gang war. -
The Emancipation Proclamation is Issued
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation stating that "all persons held as slaves' within the rebellious states 'are, and henceforward shall be free.'" -
The 13th Amendment is Passed
The 13th Amendment was passed on January 31, 1865 and ratified on December 6, 1865. This Amendment abolished slavery in the United States. -
The Ku Klux Klan is Established
The infamous Ku Klux Klan was established in Pulaski, Tennessee by a group of Confederate veterans on this date. -
The 14th Amendment is Passed
The 14th Amendment was passed on June 8, 1866 and ratified on July 9, 1868. This Amendment allowed citizenship to all people born in the United States, but also formerly enslaved people. This gave them all equal protection under the laws. -
The 15th Amendment is Passed
The 15th Amendment was passed on February 26, 1869 and ratified on February 3, 1870. This Amendment prohibited the government from denying someone the right to vote based on their race, color, or previous condition of servitude (being a slave). -
John D. Rockefeller Creates Standard Oil
In 1870, John D. Rockefeller created Standard Oil, which by the early 1880's, controlled about 90 percent of U.S. refineries and pipelines. -
Alexander Graham Bell Patents the Telephone
On this date, Alexander Graham Bell receives a patent for his new invention: the telephone. -
Battle of Little Bighorn
The Second Treaty of Fort Laramie was broken. The treaty was that the US Government guaranteed the Lakota, Dakota, and Arapaho possession to the Dakota Territory west of the Missouri River. Gold had been discovered in the Native American territory and the settlers wanted the land all for themselves. The Natives resisting this led to the Battle of Little Bighorn. -
The Great Oklahoma Land Race
During the Oklahoma Land Rush of 1889, thousands of would-be settlers ran into the Unassigned Lands of former Indian Territory. -
Battle of Wounded Knee
This was a massacre between the Sioux and member's of the U.S. Government. The United Stated Army wiped out about 300 Lakota (Sioux) people who were a part of the American Indian Movement. -
Ellis Island Opens to Process Immigrants
The first Ellis Island Immigration Station officially opened on this date. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
This was a Supreme Court decision that confirmed the lawfulness of racial isolation of the "separate but equal" doctrine. This ruled that it did not violate the 14th Amendment and that racial separation was legal. -
The Wizard of Oz Book is Published
The well-known book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, was published on this date. -
Teddy Roosevelt Becomes President of the United States
Theodore Roosevelt became president after the assassination of McKinley in 1901. -
J.P. Morgan Founded U.S. Steel
J. P. Morgan founded U.S. Steel on this date. He financed the merger of Andrew Carnegie's Carnegie Steel Company with Elbert H. -
Ford Motor Company is Founded
The popular Ford Motor Company was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on this date. -
Ida Tarbell Publishes Her Article About Standard Oil
Ida Tarbell's book 'The History of the Standard Oil Company' was published in 1904. She carefully documented the aggressive techniques Standard Oil employed to outmaneuver and, where necessary, roll over whoever got in its way. -
The 16th Amendment is Passed
The 16th Amendment was 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. -
Angel Island Opens to Process Immigrants
In January of 1910, this immigration station was opened on the northeastern edge of Angel Island. -
The 17th Amendment is Passed
The 17th Amendment (allowing voters to cast direct votes for U.S. Senators) was passed by Congress on May 13, 1912 and ratified April 8, 1913. -
KDKA goes on the air from Pittsburgh
The first commercial radio station, KDKA, went on air on this date. They broadcasted their very first sporting event. -
1st Miss American Pageant
In the winter of 1921, Margaret Gorman won the first “Inter-City Beauty” contest and the first Miss American Pageant. -
Sacco and Vanzetti arrested for armed robbery and murder
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti had both been accused of theft and murder at the Slater and Morrill shoe factory. Though it is still undetermined whether they were truly guilty or not, they were found guilty and executed in the end. -
Teapot Dome Scandal
This scandal involved the administration of United States President Warren G. Harding and Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall, which greatly shocked America. Fall leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming to private oil companies at low rates without having competitive bidding. Fall was convicted of accepting bribes from the oil companies and became the first presidential cabinet member to go to prison; though, no one was convicted of paying the bribes. -
1st Winter Olympics Held
On this date, the first Winter Olympics were held at Chamonix in the French Alps. -
Scopes Monkey Trial
John Scopes, a high school science teacher, was accused of teaching evolution, which violated a Tennessee state law. The law was passed in March and stated that it was punishable by fine to “teach any theory that denies the story of the Divine Creation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead that man has descended from a lower order of animals". Even after organizing a defense, Scopes was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine of $100. -
The Great Gatsby published by F. Scott Fitzgerald
On this date, F. Scott Fitzgerald's 'The Great Gatsby' was officially published. The novel is set in the Jazz era on Long Island, NY. The novel is about Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby and his obsession to reunite with his former lover, Daisy Buchanan. -
Charles Lindbergh completes solo flight across the Atlantic
On this date, Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo flight, non-stop, all the way from New York to France (across the Atlantic Ocean). -
The Jazz Singer debuts (1st movie with sound)
On this date, The Jazz Singer, the first commercially successful film with sound was played at the Blue Mouse Theater in Seattle. -
St. Valentine's Day Massacre
The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was the murder of seven members and associates of Chicago's North Side Gang. Four men dressed as police officers had seven of gangster Bugs Moran’s henchmen lined up against a wall and shot them to death. -
Black Tuesday (Stock Market Crash)
After millions of people invested their money to buy stocks, stock prices began decreasing rapidly. On October 29, 1929, stock prices collapsed completely and billions of dollars were lost. This wiped out thousands of investors and stock tickers ended up being hours behind because the machinery couldn't handle that much trading. -
The Empire State Building Opens
The well-known, 102-story, Empire State Building was opened on May 1, 1931.
