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Colonists Cross the Atlantic
In 1620, The Puritans emigrated from England which were later called "Pilgrims". Most everyone came to the colonies to start a new and better life. As soon as the Colonists arrived, they created The Plymouth Colonies. Then they came together to create the Mayflower Compact to organize the government. -
New Sweden is Founded
In 1638, Traders founded New Sweden. It is located on the lower part of The Delaware River. New Sweden has a dual economy of fur to trade with Native Americans and grain farming by the colonists. People that expanded their lands usually ran into the Dutch people. In 1655, the Swedish commander had to surrender to The Dutch. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Virginia Governor, William Berkley, raised taxes and restrictions which favored the wealthy class. The Declaration of the People of Virginia was created. Then war broke out in 1675 for land between the natives and the colonists. Bacon's death due to disease and ended the rebellion. -
The Tide of The French and Indian War Shifts
In 1758-1759 the British cut off French shipping to the Americas. Some of the Natives left them for the British because they were better supplied. Then the British captures Fort Duquesne and French fortress of Louisberg. -
French capture Montreal
In 1760, the French captured Montreal. That forced the governor of France to surrender and give up all of Canada. The British had finally succeeded in their North American goal that they had. -
The Treaty of Paris
The British won the war in 1763 when both sides agreed to the Treaty of Paris. Therefore, the Mississippi River had become the border between British territory and Spanish territory. The British had successfully driven out the French from North America. -
The Stamp Act
In March 1765, Parliament passed a bill to raise money from the colonies. The Stamp Act required colonists to pay a tax on almost all printed materials, including newspapers, books, court documents, contracts, and land deeds. This became the first act that was directly imposed in the colonies. -
The Boston Tea Party
Boston Patriots boarded three British ships that were filled with tea from Europe. They threw all of the tea into the Boston Harbor. Over a million dollars of tea was thrown into the harbor. As a result of the Boston Tea Party, Britain closed the harbor. -
The First Continental Congress
Delegates from every colony except Georgia gathered together in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The delegates tried to unify to rebel against Britain. Patrick Henry said this, “The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, and New Englanders are no more. I am not a Virginian, but an American.” -
First Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin while he was working in Georgia. This machine reduced the amount of time and the cost of separating the cotton seeds from the fiber. Cotton productions dramactically increased because of the invention of the cotton gin. -
First water-powered textile mill
Samuel Slater, a British born industrialist, used his knowledge of cotton manufactoring and textile machinery to build his oown mill. In 1793, Slater built the first water-powered textile mill. The machine used the river to produce the cotton thread. -
XYZ affair
The French started to capture American ships. John Adams sent envoys to Paris, France to negotiate peace. Three French officials wanted around 250,000 dollars. Adams then decided to break off negotiations with France. The affair roused public sentiment against France. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien Acts made it llegal for the President to arrest or deport anyone who isn't a citizen who talked bad about the government. The Sedition Acts made it a crime to criticize the federal government. Adams believed that the criticism undermined trust in the government. -
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
In Virginia and Kentucky, they felt like the Alien and Sedition Acts were unconstitutional. Jefferson and Madison decided to create the Virginia and Kentucky resolutions that declared the Alien and Sedition Acts unconstitutional. The resloutions also hinted that the states should be able to nullify laws that were unconstitutional. -
Marbury v. Madison
John Adams had appointed William Marbury as a justice for the District of Columbia. James Madison, who was the incoming Secretary of State, didn't want to deliver the official papers of appointment to Marbury. Marbury then complained to the Supreme Court. Marshal ruled in favor of Madison by declaring it unconstitutional. This was the first time judicial review was used in the Supreme Court. -
Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson wanted to avoid war by offering to buy New Orleans from the French. Napoleon needed more money, so he decided to sell all of the Louisiana Territory. The territory was from the Mississipi River to the Rocky Mountains. It was such a good deal, that Jefferson couldn't pass up the chance. -
The Embargo of 1807
Jefferson decided to declare on embargo with Britain. He ordered the American ships to stay in port instead of trade with the British. Jefferson expected the British to starve and be upset with the embargo. Instead, Britain traded with South America, and America was the only country not happy. Many American merchants became bankrupt, and wanted to end the embargo. -
Lowell Factories
Francis Cabot Lowell deveoped the Lowell factories in 1813 in Massachusetts. He recently had toures England and was inspired to build mills. Years later, they started to build more factories in Lowell. The mills were hiring unmarried young women to work, and they payed them very low amounts of money. -
The first electric telegraph
Samuel F.B. Morse invented the electric telegraph, which allowed electrical pulses to travel long distances along metal wires as coded signals. It used dots and dashes, which was later called Morse code. Messages could now almsot be delivered insantly. -
Tariff of 1816
Congress imposed the Tariff of 1816, a tariff on imports designed to protect American industry. This tariff increased the price of imported manufactured goods by an average of 20 to 25%. It encouraged Americans to buy products made in the United States. -
Monroe Doctrine
Adams also formulated the famous foreign policy doctrine named for President Monroe called the Monroe Doctrine. This policy responded to threats by European powers, to help Spain recover Latin American colonies that had declared their independence.
