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The Virginia Company establishes the Jamestown Settlement
104 men decided to settle in Jamestown, Va. It was named after King James I. It was also the first permanent English settlement in North America. -
Beginning of the 30 Years War.
During a revolt of protestant bohemians, they threw 2 Catholic councillors out of the window of the palace. They survived but these event sparked a conflict that spread throughout Europe between Protestants and Catholics. During the almost 30 years of war, over 8 million casualties were the result. -
End of the Ming Dynasty
A peasant revolt lead by a former Ming official caused the last emperor of the dynasty hang himself near the Forbidden City. The Ming dynasty was not keeping the common people fed which led to revolts all over the dynasty. They marched into Beijing and conquered it but had a tougher time going through rest of the Ming strongholds. The fall of the Ming Dynasty marks the beginning of Qing Empire. -
John Quincy Adams was Born
John Quincy Adams is born to future president John Adams and Abigail Adams. He is their first born son and second child behind Abigail "Nabby" Adams. -
Boston Tea Party
"About 50 men, their faces darkenedand their bodies draped in Indian blankets, boarded tea bearing ships and dumped 340 chests of tea into Boston Harbor" (Oakes 186). This was in retaliation for the British government passing the Tea Act, allowing the British East India Company to have a monopoly on tea. -
Beginning of the Revolutionary War
The night after Paul Revere and William Dawes rode through to warn colonist that the British troops were moving out. Also know as "the shot heard 'round the world" the British soldiers opened fire on a militia after they were ordered to surrender. When the British had reached Concord the militia had retreated to just outside of town when the British set fire to the courthouse. The fighting broke out when the militia marched on the British in order to protect their town. -
Declaration of Independence is signed.
"On July 2, the delegates voted unanimously to declare independence" (Oakes 197). Then, 2 days later, the delegates of the 2nd Continental Congress signed the Declaration of Independence, creating the new nation of the United States of America. -
John Quincy Adams graduates from Harvard University.
Adams had little trouble getting his bachelor's degree at Harvard. He had trouble listening to his professors who were teaching him things that already knew.
"He graduated second in his class in July 1787, often skipping lectures to go fishing and occasionally dancing so late with Cambridge girls that he overslept and missed classes the next morning" (Unger 67). -
US Constitution Ratified
After the Federalist and Anti-Federalist made their compromises and the same between the Northern and Southern states the Constitution was ready to got to the states to be ratified. Amendments had to be added during the ratification process in order to have personal freedoms and rights protected. When New Hampshire ratified, it had been the 9th state to do so establishing the US Constitution. -
Beginning of the French Revolution
Influenced by Enlightenment and the American Revolution, the French citizens razed and redesigned the government from an absolute monarchy. The unrest came from a combination of poor harvests and extravagant spending by King Louis XVI leaving the country on the brink of bankruptcy. King Louis and his wife Marie Antoinette were both beheaded by guillotine for treason by the newly established National Convention. -
John Quincy Adams becomes Minister to Holland.
On October 31, 1797 he arrived in The Hague to get ready to take his place as the minister. This was his first position as a diplomat in his long career. He served here for 3 years before being appointed as Minister to Prussia. -
John Quincy Adams marries Louisa Catherine Johnson.
While in London, John Quincy Adams visited the American Consul, Joshua Johnson. During this time there John was courting his 3 oldest daughters. After a month John surprised everyone by not picking the oldest daughter and asking for Louisa's hand in marriage. A year and a half later they would get married when John Quincy Adams had his financials in order. -
The Louisiana Purchase
After Napolean had lost 30,000 troops at St. Domingue, he "was ready to unload his American territory" (Oakes 267). The US struck a deal to purchase Louisiana for $15 million. The purchase added 820,000 sq. miles to the US. -
Lord Nelson wins The Battle of Trafalgar
Arguably the greatest naval Admiral ever, Lord Horatio Nelson, defeats the Spanish and French fleets at Trafalgar. The victory ended the French attempt to invade England. -
John Quincy Adams becomes Secretary of State.
The Secretary of State had been selected as President in 3 straight election due to the authority that they had. "President Monroe named John Quincy Adams of MA to be secretary of state-the first sign of a break in the Virginia dynasty that had provided four of the first five President" (Unger 190). With urging from his father he accepted the appointment and began his service as secretary of state. -
John Quincy Adams becomes 8th President of United States.
After a controversial election where John Quincy Adams lost in electoral votes to Andrew Jackson and Henry Clay went against his states wishes to rally vote for Adams in the House of Representatives, Adams was elected as President of the United States. Based on the way he was elected he was never able to set a direction for his presidency. He became the first 1 term president since his father because of this perception. -
John Quincy Adams elected at Congressman to House of Representatives.
With urging from Alexander and Edward Everett, friends of his from law training, John Quincy Adams ran for a seat in the House of Representatives. After being elected by overwhelming margins he became the only former President ever to serve in the House of Representatives after his presidency. He went on to serve 9 consecutive terms as a Representative. -
Beginning of the First Opium War
The Chinese seized 20,000 chests of opium belonging to British merchants after the Chinese government banned the sale and use of the drug when the number of addicts in China grew at an alarming rate to the them. The British would not turn over 2 sailors that killed a Chinese citizen raising tensions between the 2 countries. After 3 years of war the British won signing a peace treaty where China ceded Hong Kong to England. -
John Quincy Adams dies at the age of 80
While voting on a resolution in the House of Representatives John Quincy Adams tried to stand and he slumped over into another congressman's arms. As he lay in the Speakers office, "'This is the end of earth, but I am composed,' John Quincy whispered, then lapsed into a coma" (Unger 310). 2 days later he died in the Capitol. -
South Carolina secedes from the Union.
When South Carolina heard the election results that Abraham Lincoln had won, the state legislature called a succession convention. South Carolina "withdrew from the union on the grounds that northerners had elected a resident who denied the existance of a right of property in slaves" (Oakes 443). -
Beginning of the Civil War
The first shots of the Civil War were fired at Union held Fort Sumter. "For 33 hours Confederates bombarded the fort, to block its resupply by the US government" (Oakes 444). "The incident turned the small fort into a place of enduring symbolic significance to both sides" (Cooke 91).
