-
Period: to
From 13 Colonies to World Super Powers
-
Treaty of Paris
Date: 1783
President: None
Other nations involved: Great Britain, France
Event description: The Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolution and formally recognized America as an independent nation. The U.S. gained the territory through the treaty, which was signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, John Jay, and David Hartley (Britain). The U.S. wanted control over the territory to recognize American independence and used the territory as a base to start America. -
Jay's Treaty
Date: 1794
President: George Washington
Other nations involved: Great Britain
Event description: Jay's Treaty, which was signed by American statesman John Jay, eliminated British control of western ports and provided America a limited right to trade in the West Indies. The U.S. gained back rights that were taken by the British and used the land to trade with different countries around the world. -
Louisiana Purchase
Date: 1803
President: Thomas Jefferson
Other nations involved: France
Event description: The Louisiana Purchase was the transfer of land from French posession to American posession. The territory extended from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and cost around $15 million. Napoleon Bonaparte sold the land to the U.S. via Thomas Jefferson after realizing that he did not have enough troops to defend it from Britain. Jefferson wanted to obtain the land in order to explore the territory. -
Lewis, Clark, Sagajawea Expedition begins
Date: 1804
President: Thomas Jefferson
Event description: The Lewis, Clark, and Sacajawea Expedition was planned to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean while also charting the unknown lands of the west. The U.S. gained the territory by buying the lands from France in the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were appointed by the government to lead the expedition, and later Sacajawea, a Shoshone Indian, helped the crew on their journey. -
Lewis, Clark, Sacajawea Expedition ends
-
National Road
Date: 1811
President: James Madison
Event description: National Road was built to unify the United States and was the first federally funded road in U.S. history. It connects Cumberland, Maryland to the Ohio RIver and is nicknamed "The Main Street of America". It was built between 1811 and 1834. The act that authorized the building of National Road was signed by Thomas Jefferson. -
Anglo-American Convention of 1818
Date: 1818
President: James Monroe
Other Nations Involved: Great Britain, Ireland, Canada
Event description: The Anglo-American Convention of 1818 set the boundary between the U.S. and the territory later to be Canada at the forty-ninth parallel up to the Rocky Mountains. Britain sent representative Charles Bagot to the U.S. to meet with Secretary of State James Monroe. The two later came to an agreement and ratified it on April 28. 1818. -
Adams-Onis Treaty
Date: 1819
President: James Monroe
Other nations involved: Spain
Event description: Spain sells Florida to the United States for $5 million while also renouncing American claim to Texas. The treaty was named after John Quincy Adams and Luis de Onis of Spain. It was signed on February 22, 1819 in Washington D.C. and ratified by Spain on October 24, 1820. -
Santa Fe Trail
Date: 1821
President: James Monroe
Even description: The Santa Fe Trail, which connects New Mexico to Missouri, is opened by William Becknell. The trail allows trade between the various states of the U.S. and is also a mode of transportation for civilians. -
Indian Removal Act
Date: 1830
President: Andrew Jackson
Event description: Signed by president Andrew Jackson, the Indian Removal Act forced Native Americans to move from their native lands to lands in the west. Jackson viewed the Indians as children in need of guidance and was patronizing to them. Although many Americans protested against the removal of the Indians, Jackson still went through with the act. By 1837, the Jackson administration had removed 46,000 Native American people from their lands. -
Black Hawk War
Date: 1832
President: Andrew Jackson
Event description: Led by Sauk Indian Black Hawk, a thousand Indians followed the chief to their native lands in northern Illinois, after being relocated with the Indian Removal Act. The Indians wanted to plant some seeds and came in peace, but when Black Hawk was attacked by inexperienced militia men, hostilities grew. Fighting ensued and did not end until Black Hawk and his son surrendered and were imprisoned until August 1833. -
Black Hawk War ends
-
Oregon Trail
Date: 1836
President: Andrew Jackson
Event description: The Oregon Trail, or rather the land that it resides on, was discovered in 1824 by Jedediah Smith and Thomas Fitzpatrick. Travel on the Oregon Trail began in Missouri of 1841 with Jean Pierre DeSmet and Nicholas Point. At first, the trail was meant for wagons but was soon used by many different modes of transportation. -
Annexation of Texas
Date: 1845
President: John Tyler
Event description: U.S. gains Texas from Britain in 1845. Britain was not keen on the idea of U.S. growth but did not want to add Texas to the British Empire. Britain influenced Mexico's decisions and the government of Mexico agreed to acknowledge the independence of Texas on condition that she not annex herself to any country. U.S. Congress voted for annexation and a state constitution, drawn up by the convention, was ratified in October 1845. -
Mormon Trek begins
Date: 1846
President: James Polk
Event description: Also known as the 1846 Trek, the Mormon Trek was led by Brigham Young and his 3,000 followers. The Mormons wanted to reach Utah before winter, but they were challenged with harsh weather and bitter cold. By June of 1846, the first group of Mormons reached the Missouri River. Young decided that it would be impossible to reach Utah by the goal time and that it would be easier to stay in Missouri until the following spring. -
Mexican-American War begins
Date: 1846
President: James Polk
Other nations involved: Mexico
Event description: The Mexican-American War was the first major conflict driven by the idea of "Manifest Destiny" (belief that America had a God-given right to expand the country's borders). Americans migrated westward in ever increasing numbers, often into lands not belonging to the United States. U.S. won and acquired the northern half of Mexico (California, Nevada, Arizona). -
Oregon Treaty
Date: 1846
President: James Polk
Other nations involved: Great Britain, Ireland, Canada
Event description: The Oregon Treaty ended 28 years of joint occupancy of the Pacific Northwest between Great Britain and the U.S. The treaty established the 49th parallel as the border between the two countries. On August 14, 1848, Congress formally established the Oregon Territory, which embraced the present-day states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. -
Mormon Trek ends
Date: 1847
President: James Polk
Event description: After more than a year of traveling, Mormons led by Brigham Young arrive at their new home in Great Salt Lake Valley, Utah. More than 400 Mormons lost their lives to various causes on the journey towards the west. -
California Gold Rush begins
Date: 1848
President: James Polk
People involved: James Marshall and John Sutter
Event description: James Marshall and his crew were building a saw mill for John Sutter when Marshall discovered a few gold nuggets in the dirt. The first printed notice of the discovery was in the March 15 issue of "The Californian" in San Francisco. In 1849, quartz mining began at the Mariposa mine in Mariposa County because gold deposits were often found inside quartz veins. -
Mexican-American War ends
-
Gadsden Purchase
Date: 1853
President: Franklin Pierce
Other nations involved: Mexico
Event description: James Gadsden was grandson to Christopher Gadsden, a South Carolina Revolutionary soldier. The Gadsden Purchase has an area of 45,535 square miles and is almost as large as Pennsylvania. The land was nearly 30,000,000 acres and only cost Uncle Sam about thirty-three cents an acre. The U.S. wanted to buy enough territory from Mexico to build a railroad to the Gulf of California. -
Ports of Entry Act
Date: 1865
President: Abraham Lincoln
Other nations involved:
Event description: The Port of Entry Act was created to prevent outside countries from depleting the fish supply of the Marshall Islands. It also regulated the amount of cargo that a ship could transport. NEEDS MORE INFO. -
Russian Treaty of 1867
Date: 1867
President: Andrew Johnson
Other nations involved: Russia
Event description: On March 30, 1867, the U.S. made an agreement with Russia to purchase Alaska for $7.2 million. The treaty was negotiated and signed by Secretary of State William Seward and Russian Minister to the U.S. Edouard de Stoeckl. The U.S. gained the territory known as Alaska, most likely to use for the military. The land is still in U.S. possession. -
Treaty of Fort Laramie
Date: 1868
President: Andrew Johnson
Event description: This treaty recognized the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux Reservation. The U.S. did not gain territory and rather showed that certain lands belonged to the Sioux Indians. In 1874, George Custer led an expedition into the Black Hills in an attempt to find gold. Once gold was found, miners were soon moving onto Sioux lands and demanding protection from the U.S. army. To this day, ownership of the Black Hills remains unknown. -
Overthrow of Queen Liliuokalani and the Kingdom of Hawaii
Date: 1893
President: Benjamin Harrison
Event description: In Hawaii, a group of American sugar planters under Sanford Dole overthrow Queen Liliuokalani, and created a new government with Dole as president. The U.S. gained the Hawaiian islands and used them for their sugar and sandalwood, and built naval bases on the islands. The territory is still in U.S. possession. -
Spanish-American War begins
Date: 1898
President: William McKinley
Other nations involved: Spain
Event description: The U.S. declared war on Spain following the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor in Feb. 1898. The war ended with the Treaty of Paris and the U.S. gained control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines Islands, Guam, and other islands. The U.S. wanted control over the territory to add more military bases throughout the neighboring oceans. The Philippines are not under U.S. control anymore. -
Berlin Treaty
Date: 1899
President: William McKinley
Other nations involved: Germany, Great Britain
Event description: Germany and Great Britain sign a treaty with the U.S. that states the islands of Samoa will be advised by Germany and Britain. The U.S. is granted access to America Samoa. The U.S. uses the land for military bases and the territory is still under American influence. -
Philippine-American War begins
Date: 1901
President: William McKinley
Other nations involved: Philippines
Event description: The U.S. purchased the Philippines, Puerto Rico and several other islands from the Spanish in 1899. However, the Filipinos had no intention of becoming a colony of another imperialist power. The U.S. wanted an overseas empire and the Filipino people wanted freedom. The U.S. won and kept the territory. The Philippines became an independent nation on July 4, 1946. -
Philippine-American War ends
-
Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty
Date: 1903
President: Theodore Roosevelt
Other nations involved:
Event description: The treaty is an agreement between the United States and Panama exchanging access to the Panama Canal for money and protection. The U.S. was given a ten-mile strip across the Panama Canal and Panama received $10,000,000 outright plus an annuity of $250,000. The U.S. used the strip as means of cutting travel times by ocean. The territory is still in U.S. possession. -
Purchase of St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas
Date: 1917
President: Woodrow Wilson
Other nations involved: Denmark
Event description: The U.S. purchased the Virgin Islands from the Danish for $25 million in gold in an effort to improve military positioning during critical times of World War I. The USVI is a U.S. territory, run by an elected governor. The territory is under the jurisdiction of the president of the United States of America and residents are American citizens. -
Trust of the Pacific Islands Mandate
Date: 1947
President: Harry Truman
Other nations involved:
Event description: The trust territory covered the region known as Micronesia and made up the Marianas, the Carolines, and the Marshalls. The U.S. gained the territory after Japan lost in WWII and were forced to relinquish the islands. The U.S. most likely wanted the land to use for military bases. The territory is still under U.S. possession, but each island is separate in power and control. -
Treaty of San Francisco
Date: 1952
President: Harry Truman
Event description: Per the Treaty of San Francisco, Japan renounced all rights and claims on various countries and islands including Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Antarctica. The U.S. did not gain any territory from the treaty, but liberated all countries that were under Japanese ruling. -
Antarctic Treaty
Date: 1959
President: Dwight Eisenhower
Other nations involved: Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, United Kingdom
Event description: The Treaty is signed by Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the U.K. claiming sovereignty over areas of Antarctica. The U.S. gained parts of Antarctica to use for scientific research and still uses it in present day to discover more about Antarctica. -
Boundary Treaty of 1970
Date: 1970
President: Richard Nixon
Other nations involved: Mexico
Event description: Treaty is written by the U.S. to conduct investigations regarding the preservation of rivers between the U.S. and Mexico, water sanitation, and to reimburse Mexico for any damage done to the land by the U.S. America gained power of the border between Mexico and the U.S. and used it to monitor the condition of water and any possible damage done due to the U.S.
