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Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase was of 828,000 square miles of land from France. Many critics of the Louisiana Purchase said that the president did not have the power to purchase land because it would be unconstitutional. -
Lowell’s first cotton mill
Francis Cabot Lowell is the father of the factory system. He opened up his first cotton mill in 1814. His facotry used a bunch of machines which spun raw cotton into finished cloth. He paid many farm girls who were eager to leave their unpaid work at the farms for a salary working in his factory. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a law passed by congress which stated: every time a slave state entered a free state had to enter, and vice versa. It made Maine enter as a free state and Missouri enter as a slave state. The law drew a line where slavery could not be legal. -
Andrew Jackson elected
Jackson was elected on 1829; he threw a party at the white house when he was elected. He was known for using the spoils system, which means that he rewarded people who helped him in the campaign with government jobs. -
Indian Removal Act
As more people moved to the west, settlers and Native Americans bacame an issue. Under pressure from President Jackson, congress passed Indian Removal Act, authorizing the removal of Indians east of the Mississippi. -
Trail of Tears
Gold was discovered on Cherokee land, so the Native Americans were forced to go to reservations. The Cherokee sued the state for their land back, the Supreme Court ruled that the taking of the Cherokee land was unconstitutional, but the president forced them off their land anyways. In the spring of 1838, federal troops began to move the Cherokee. The 800 mile march became known as the trail of tears. 4,000 Cherokee died on the trail of tears. -
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Mexican-American War
Mexican–American War began on April 25, 1846. The was started because of tentions between the United States and Mexico. Texas wished to become a seperate country from Mexico, and the United States was willing to help Texas. Mexcio said that war would be declared if Texas was annexed. After 2 years of frighting, the United States won the war, Texas and New Mexico was given to the U.S. through the treaty which ened the war, and the border of Mexico offiically became the Rio Grande. -
Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay came up with the idea for the Compromise of 1850. It admitted California into the Union as a free state and it opened up New Mexico and Utah to slavery. The compromise also include a Fugitve Slave Law, the law required the return of escaped slaves to their owners. -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The book increased tention between the North and the South, because the book talks about how Tom is mistreated by his slaveowner. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
allowed the states of Kansas and Nebraska to have Popular Sovereignty. Many people were afraid that the power of Slave and Free states had in congress would not be balanced. -
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Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas is when, in 1855, pro- slavery and anti-slavery groups tried to influence the vote on whether Kansas would become a free state or a slave state. Pro-slavery agitators poured into Kansas so they could influence the vote on slavery. With two opposing groups in Kansas, tensions w -
Bessemer process patented
The Bessemer process was invented by Henry Bessmer. The Bessemer process was a more efficient way to make steel. Andrew Carnegie used the Bessemer process in his factories in the U.S. -
Oil discovered in Pennsylvania
A buisnessman named Edwin Draks discovered oil in August of 1859. Much more oil was discovered in Pennslyvania and other states/ -
John Brown’s Raid
John Brown raided Harper's Ferry, VA, during the Bleeding Kansas crisis. Brown thought that he would be able to lead an armed slave rebellion, but no slaves showed up. John Brown was captured and executed after the raid. -
Lincoln elected
Many Southern states seceded when Lincoln became president, because he was against slvery. Lincoln won the election with only 40% of the popular vote. -
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The Civil War
The Civil War began when President Lincoln was elected. 11 states secceded from the Union, while 25 states stayed in support of the Union. After 4 years of fighting, which mostly took place in the southern states, the South finally surrendered at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which stated that all slaves are to be free. This was ignored by the south, however. The Emancipation Proclamation gave the North a cause for winning the war. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The battle of Gettysburg was fought by the town Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg had the most amount of cassulites during the Civil War. The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning pint of the war. Ribert E. Lee's army was defeated in 3 days of fighting. -
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Reconstruction
The Recontruction era began when Andrew Johnson became president. Johnson had to deal with with reconstruction of the South. Johnson enacted the Freedmen's Bureau, which gave assistance to poor freed slaves. Recontrusction was hurt by many laws which were made to take away the rights of African Americans, these laws were called Black Codes. -
Sherman’s March to the Sea
Maj. Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman marched from Atlanta to North Carolina. Sherman used a method called Total War, which means doing anything neseccary to win the war. He burned Souther supplies and he conducted a phsycological war. -
Surrender at Appomattox Court House
The South was forced to surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 12, 1865. -
Lincoln Assassinated
Lincoln was assinated by John Wilkes Booth, who wanted to save the Confederacy. Andrew Johnson became president once Lincoln was dead. -
13th Amendment
The amendment prohibits slavery or involuntary servitude except if the person has committed a crime. -
Black codes
Black codes were laws which took away the rights of African Americans. -
Johnson’s Impeachment
Johnson was impeached on February 4, 1868. His impeachment was due to the fact that he fired the secretary of war, which violated the Tenure of Office Act. According to the act, Johnson could not fire any government officials without the consent of congress. Johnson was acquitted of all charges -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment gave a much bigger definition of citizenship. African Americans could have citizenship due to the amendment. It also made sure that laws would opperate on eveyone, not just a minority. -
The Gilded Age
The Gilded Age was named becuase something that is guilded is gold on the outside, but it is anything but gold on the inside. The Gilded Age is know for its vast companies which were often corrupt and greedy. Standard Oil owned 90% of the oil industry, which made it a monopoly. Many of the companies bribed government officials to get what they wanted. -
Transcontinental Railroad completed
The Transcontinental Railroad was complete in 1869. The Transcontinental Railroad was the first railroad which would span across the continent. The railroad made small towns beome very large cities due to the great amount of wealth they brought. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment makes sure that the government can not deny people's right to vote based on race,color, or previous servitude. -
Standard Oil Formed
Standard Oil was made by John D. Rockefeller. He became one of the richest men in the world due to his company. Eventually his company became a monopoly. -
Carnegie forms his Steel Company
Carnegie became one of the richest men in the world, due to his steel buisness. He owned most of the steel buisness at his time. His factory was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. -
First Telephone Call
Alexander Graham invented the telephone. Legend says that hte first conversation was between Bell and his assistant. By 1893 there were more than 250,000 telephones being used. -
Light bulb invented
Thomas Edison invented the first practical incandescent light bulb. He failed thousands of times, but he found that bamboo would burn for 12,000 hours. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act prohibits the forming of monopolies. The act was formed because many people in the government thought that monopolies would take over the economy if certain measures were not taken.
