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The Mayflower set sail from England in July of 1620 to begin its journey to the New World; however, due to leaks on the ship Speedwell, which it was traveling with, the Mayflower was required to make two detours along the way. The Mayflower made its maiden voyage to the New World on September 6, 1620, when it initially set sail towards the continent. -
The Navigation Acts (1651 and 1660) were pieces of legislation passed by Parliament. They limited colonial trade to England and made the British Empire less reliant on goods from other countries. -
Between the beginning of 1692 and the middle of 1693, the Salem witch trials took place in the colony of Massachusetts. Over 200 people were accused of witchcraft, and 20 were put to death. In 1711, some of the people who had been accused were forgiven, and their families were given money. -
In the 1730s and 1740s, people all over the colonies became very religious again. This was called the "Great Awakening." It downplayed the importance of church doctrine and emphasized the person and his or her spiritual experience instead. -
The Seven Years' War was a global conflict fought predominantly in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific, involving most European great powers. The French and Indian War, the Carnatic Wars, and the Anglo-Spanish War were contemporary conflicts. The Seven Years' War was the most bloody American conflict of the 18th century. -
The Boston Massacre happened on March 5, 1770, as a street brawl between a "patriot" crowd throwing snowballs, stones, and sticks and a squad of British soldiers. Several colonists were killed, sparking a campaign by speechwriters to incite public outrage. -
Colonists boarded ships, smashed tea chests, and dumped the contents into the water. As a result of the Boston Tea Party, Parliament decided to pass four acts in 1774, including closing the port of Boston, drastically reducing the powers of self-government in Massachusetts, allowing royal officers in America to be tried in other colonies or England when accused of crimes, and allowing colonists to quarter troops. -
Beginning of complete separation from England. The Declaration of Independence, which offered official grounds for this resolution, was passed by Congress. Following the approval, each colony began referring to itself as a state. The majority of the Declaration was written by Thomas Jefferson, with assistance from John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. -
The Constitution takes precedence over all other laws in the United States of America. The legislative branch, the bipartisan Congress, the executive branch, led by the President, and the judicial branch, led by the Supreme Court, are all defined and given distinct responsibilities in the first three articles of the Constitution. -
Congress authorized twelve amendments, and by the end of 1791, 10 of those amendments had been ratified by the states. The name "Bill of Rights" refers to the first ten amendments of the Constitution, which are included in this document. -
The United Kingdom did not enter the conflict until a year after it began. The Indians initiated the conflict. When the United States attempted to conquer Canada, conflict broke out there. The war altered America's position in the world and demonstrated to the world that America was independent. The United States won the conflict, preserving its independence. Soon after the conclusion of the conflict, the American Indian was sent west, and his assistance was forgotten. -
According to the Monroe Doctrine, European countries should have no part in the affairs of states located to the south of the United States. John Quincy Adams was the one who actually penned the Monroe Doctrine, which declared itself to be the definitive statement of American foreign policy. -
A Georgia legislation that sought to restrict travel to and inside Cherokee territory was struck down by the Supreme Court in Worcester v. Georgia. -
The Mexican-American War, which lasted from 1846 to 1848, was the first major American military engagement outside of North America on American Soil. -
During the Civil War in 1862, the Homestead Act stated that any adult or intending citizen who had never carried weapons against the United States government could claim 160 acres of surveyed federal land. Claimants were supposed to live on their plot and "improve" it by farming it. -
The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution unequivocally terminated slavery. -
On September 14, 1901, President William McKinley (1843-1901) died of complications from bullet wounds inflicted by Leon Czolgosz. Anarchist Czolgosz shot the President during a public visit to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Through his death, Vice President Roosevelt became the 26th President. -
The 19th Amendment, passed by Congress on June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, gave women the right to vote. The right to vote for American women is constitutionally guaranteed under the 19th Amendment. -
Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Dream" speech demanded equality. It recognized America's flaws and proposed solutions to make it a better place. The idea of treating everyone equally was a prominent theme throughout the speech. -
John F. Kennedy, the 35th President of the United States, was shot while traveling in a presidential motorcade past Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, about 12:30 p.m. Bullets injured the president's neck and head, and he slumped over toward his wife, First Lady Jackie Kennedy. Lee Harvey Oswald was a former US Marine who assassinated John F. Kennedy.