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The Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, declaring freedom from Great Britain and proclaiming their unalienable rights to the natural laws of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
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Following ratification by the state of Virginia, the first ten amendments to the U.S. constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, become the supreme law of the land.
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Although controversial, President Thomas Jefferson purchases France’s claim to the territory of Louisiana for a total sum of 15 million dollars for 828,000 square miles.
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Pro-slavery politics seeking to expand its territory successfully maneuvered the presidential election of 1844, which led to the approval of the Tyler treaty, allowing the annexation of the Lone Star Republic.
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The United States and Great Britain sign the Oregon treaty to settle boundary disputes and allow the U.S. to expand its territory yet again.
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After about three months of war, Mexico concedes defeat and signs the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo with the United States; agreeing to sell 525,000 square miles of land.
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Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott hold the first woman's rights convention at Seneca Falls, New York; where they wrote the Declaration of Sentiments.
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Slavery and involuntary servitude was abolished forever. With a vote of 119 to 56, the House of Representatives reached the two-thirds majority necessary to fulfill the campaign promise of the most beloved man in the country, President Lincoln.
