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Aug 3, 1492
Columbus discovers the New World
Christopher Columbus set sail from Spain on August 3, 1492 on the Santa Maria, accompanied by the NIna and the Pinta. Columbus and his crew sailed for about thrity six days, making only one stop. When they reached land, Columbus and a few crew members went on the land, which is the present day Bahamas. They claimed the Bahamas for Spain. -
Feb 1, 1519
Hernan Cortes conquers the Aztecs
Hernan Cortes was told by Diego Velazquez, leader of a Cuban expedition Cortes joined, to led his own expediotion to Mexico in 1518. Cortes was informed that Velazquez canceled the expedition, but Cortes went anyway and the expedition reached the Mexican coast. After becoming allies with some of the Natives and fighting Tlaxacan and Cholula, Cortes set a goal to take over the Aztec empire. Cortes went into hiding from the Spanish but came back and won the victory of deafeating the Aztecs in 1521 -
Jan 1, 1552
Bartolome de Las Casas
Bartolome was a strong believer of Native American rights. Like most people, Bartolome travled to the New World for new opportunities. After serving as a soldier, he was granted full authority over the native residents. In 1514, he gave up his encomienda because of hsi concern for the treatment of the Indians in Spanish America. Las Casas tried, but failed, to establish new settlements so the white farmers and the natives would be completely equal, from 1520-1522. -
Founding of Jamerstown
Thirteen years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth in Massachusetts, America's first English colony known as Jamestown in Virgina, was founded. In December 1606, Christopher Newport and his expedition departed from England and reached Virgina in late April 1607. After two weeks of exploring, on May 13th, the ships reached the James River. The nesxt day, they came ashore and began building the settlement. The colony had seven council members and one member as president that governed there. -
Bacon's Rebellion
In 1673, Nathaniel Bacon, who was a distant relative of Governor Berkeley, sailed from England and set up a small plantation on the James River. He quickly rose in public esteem and was soon appointed to the governer's council. Soon, the two men were polarized by the Indian issue. After being arrested by the governer for creating small forays, he created another small army again and marched on Jamestown. Bacon died in the fall of the of 1676 due to illness and the rebellion ended immediately. -
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French & Indian War
The French and Indian War is also goes by the name of the Seven Years War, which it was given to the American theater of massive conflict that involved Austria, England, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and Sweden. While the conflicts played out in India, Europe, and North America, the English and French battled for domination over North America, the Caribbean, and India's colonies. France, Europe, Austria, and Sweden were allies wanting to crush the rising power of the King of Prussia. -
Proclamation of 1763.
The Porclamation of 1763 is a royal decree made in the fall of that year in which prohibits the North American colonists from establishing or maintaining settlements west of an imaginary line running down the crest of the Appalachian Mountains. Due to this, white settlers were to be removed from the area. Although, there was an exception for licensed people with entities for fur trade in the proscribed area. Many people ignored it, and went into the prohibited area anyway. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783, by Britain and America. It was quickly ratified by Congress. The treaty provided for: the recognition of American independence, the establishment of American boundaries (everything east of the Mississippi except the Floridas and New Orleans), the recognition of American fishing rights along the Newfoundland banks, and the pledge of the Continental Congress to "earnestly recommend" to the states that they settle property issues with Loyalists. -
Treaty of Greenville
A year after Anthony Wayne's victory at the Battle of Fallen Timbers in August 1794, the former contending forces gathered at Greenville to sign a peace agreement. The natives were not happy becuase they had no choice due to the whites' advantage of numbers and arms. Scrupulously, the natives abided by the treaty's terms, while the American settlers did not. The establishment of new white settlements right outside of the treaty was almost immediate. -
Louisianna Purchase
From 1731-1762, Louisianna was a French Colony then it ceded it to Spain. In 1800, France tried to get it back with the Treaty of San Ildefonso, and in return, Spain would receive the new kingdom of Etruria in Tuscany. When Thomas Jefferson heard about this, in 1801, it caused concern. He sent Monroe to the rescue! After completeing the deal, they settled on a total of $15 million. On April 30, 1803, the treaty was signed. -
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Lewis and Clark Expedition
The expedition was requested by Thomas Jefferson to explore the trans-Mississppi west. Over 28 months and 8,000 miles traveled, only one life was lost, due to a ruptured appendix. They left from St. Louis and went up the Missouri River until it ended in the Rocky Mountains. Then they crossed the Rockies and down the Columbian River to the Pacific Ocean. This expedition forced the nation to realize that no easy route to all water to the Pacific, existed. -
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Tecumseh and the Prophet
Tecumseh was a widely admired warrior. orator, and leader. He was disappointed by his people's plight, so he refused to sign the Treaty of Greenville and began gathering discounted natives around him. His younger brother became known as The Prophet due to his experiencing a series of visions urging his people to embrace traditional ways and reject white culture. Tecumseh's aim was to unite native tribes and rid ancestral lands of white occupation, so he medled his brother's message with his. -
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Creek War
This regional sidelight to the War of 1812, located in Attalla, reached crisis proportions in August 1813. When Fort Mims was overrun, warriors ignored pleas for restraint from their leader, William Weatherford, and slaughtered more than 300 settlers and militia men. Andrew Jackson managed to raise a militia force of more than 2,000 men, plus another 1,000 Lower Creek and Cherokee warriors. In the fall of 1813, they engaged the enemy in a series of indecisive battles. Jackson only lost 49 men. -
Indian Removal Act
Native Americans suffered the most from Andrew Jackson's vision. Jackson pursued a policy of removing Indian tribes from their ancestral lands. He siad this would make room for settlers and speculators that made large profits from the purchase of sale of land. As a result of the Seminole resistance in Florida, a war begun under Cheif Osceola that lasted until the 1840s. -
Worcester V. Georgia
The Cherokees won a legal victory in the Supreme Court in 1832, the year after Cherokee Nation v. Georgia. A religious missionary, Samuel A. Worcester, was imprisoned by the state. He was imprisoned for residing on Cherokee land in violation of a state law. This required him to otain a permit and swear allegiance to the state. President Jackosn refused to enforce the decision that federal government had an obligation to enforce treaty obligations. Georgia began distributing some Cherokee land. -
Trail of Tears
Due to President Andrew Jackskon's Indian Removal Act, native Americans were forced to leave their ancestral lands. In 1835, a few Cherokee leaders agreed to accept western land and payment for relocation. This was known as the Treaty of New Echota. About 20,000 Cherokees were marched westward on the infamous Trail of Tears at gun point. This is the most sorrowful legacy of the Jacksonian Era. -
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was the only practical corridor to the entire western United States. WIthout the Oregon trail, such states as Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Idaho, and Utah would not be part of the United States today. It was the only feasible way for settlers to get across the mountains. Many people walked the whole two-thousand miles barefoot. -
Gold Discoverd in California
A man named James Marshall innocently noticed a few shiny flecks in a California stream in January of 1848 at Sutter's Mill. When the words spread, the next year, over 80,000 "forty-niners" flocked to California to share the glory. Some would become rich, while most wouldn't. The gold was free to anyone who found it in California, but most miners weren't as successful as James Marshall. -
Passage of the Homestead Act
The Homestead Act opened up settlement in the western United States. It allowed any American, including freed slaves, to put in a claim for up to 160 free acres of federal land. Eventually, 1.6 million indvidual claims were approved. Nearly 10% of all government held property for a total of 420,000 square miles of territory. The Homestead Act was signed into law in May of 1862. -
Sand Creek Massacre
Seven hundred members of the Colorado Territory militia, led by U.S. Army Col. John Chivington, embarked on an attack. Their victims were the Arapaho and Cheyenne Indian villages. John Chivington was a Methodist preacher and a freemason, After having a night of heavy drinking, he ordered the militia to massacre the Indians. Over two thirds of the victims were women and children. -
Diminished Buffalo Herds
The buffalo nation was destroyed because of greed and uncontrolled hunting. Indians would kill buffalos for food, clothing, and cover for the harsh winters. There were buffalo killing contest, with a record of 120 in 40 minutes. Tourist were also allowed to shoot buffalo from the coaches, only pausing when the guns went hot or they ran out of ammunition. "Buffalo" Bill Cody killed over 4,000 buffalo in just two years. -
Ft. Laramire Treaty
The Fort Laramire treaty was signed in 1868 and designated the Black Hills as part of the Great Sioux reservation. In 1874, General Georage A. Custer, along with an expedition of miners, enroached the Black Hills Indian Reservation. Once gold was discovered in the Black Hills, Custer and his army engaged the Indians in battle and were destoryed in 1876. The US continued to persure the land battle, and confiscated the land from the Sioux in 1877. -
Battle of Little Big Horn
Also known as "Custer's Last Stand," the Battle of Little Bighorn took place between the U.S. Cavalry and northern tribe Indians such as the Cheyenne, SIoux, and Arapaho. Before the battle, the tribal armies under the direction of SItting Bull, decided to wage war against the whites because of their refusal to stay off tribal land in the Black Hills, In 1876, the tribal army successfully battled the U.S. Cavalry twice. -
Nez Perce War
Cheif Joseph of the Nez Perce rode into the camp of U.S. Army Colonel Nelson Miles and surrenedered his rifle. He ended the war of 750 Nez Perce warriors and 2,000 soldiers, the four month battle that took place over 1,200 miles. For generations, the Wallowa country had been the Nez Perce homeland, until settlers came along. When 2 settlers rode into the Nez Perce hunting camp and killed a warrior, it led to the chain of events that started the war.