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SECOND CENSUS: U.S. population totals 5.3 million, including one million
African Americans, of whom 900,000 are enslaved. -
Federal capital moves from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C.
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Virginia bans gathering of slaves at sunset for religious worship.
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Historical Events in the Romanticism period.
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr (Demo-cratic-Republican) defeat John Adams and Charles Pinckney (Federalist).
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Tripoli declares war on U.S.; Jefferson sends naval ships to Mediterranean Sea.
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Jefferson-Burr tie forces election into House of Representatives (since candidates were not nominated separately for president and vice-president); Jefferson is elected in 36 ballots.
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Alien and Sedition Acts are allowed to expire by Congress.
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Louis and Clark expedition begins in St. Louis, Missouri.
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LOUISIANA TERRITORY is purchased from France for $15 million.
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Supreme Court declares its right to review constitutionality of acts of Congress
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Ohio enters Union as 17th state.
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Jefferson is re-elected
president and George Clinton elected vice president. -
Twelfth Amendment is ratified, providing for separate
election of president and vice president. -
Barbary War with Tripoli ends after U.S. troops capture Darna.
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Lewis and Clark expedition ends with successful return to St. Louis.
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Zebulon Pike discovers mountain later known as Pike’s Peak (CO).
N. Webster publishes Compendious Dictionary of the English Language. -
Congress passes Embargo Act in response to British and French
interference with U.S. trade. -
Importation of African slaves is banned by Congress.
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: James Madison and George Clinton
are elected president and vice president (Democratic-Republican). -
THIRD CENSUS: U.S. population totals 7.2 million, including 1.4 million African Americans, of whom 1.2 million are enslaved.
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WAR OF 1812 begins as U.S. declares war on Great Britain over issues of borders, trade, freedom of the seas, and the rights of neutrals. Indians under Tecumseh fight on British side.
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: James Madison and Elbridge Gerry are elected president and vice president (Democratic-Republican).
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Louisiana enters Union as 18th state.
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U.S. defeats British at the Battle of the Thames (in which
Tecumseh is killed). British burn Buffalo, New York. -
British burn Washington, DC, including the White House.
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WAR ENDS with signing of Treaty of Ghent.
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British are defeated at the Battle of New Orleans (two weeks after Treaty of Ghent is signed).
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: James Monroe and Daniel Tompkins are elected president and vice-president (Democratic-Republican).
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Congress passes the first tariff that is intended to protect U.S. industry rather than raise revenue.
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Indiana enters Union as 19th state.
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Mississippi enters Union as 20th state.
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Illinois enters Union as 21st state.
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Alabama enters union as 22nd state.
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Supreme Court upholds right of federal government to charter a national bank, thus affirming that
it holds “implied powers” beyond those stated in the Constitution -
U.S. acquires Florida from Spain by treaty
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FOURTH CENSUS: U.S. population totals 10 million, including 1.7 million African Americans, of whom 1.5 million are enslaved.
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MISSOURI COMPROMISE is passed by Congress. Maine is admitted as a free state (23rd) and
Missouri as a slave state (24th). Slavery is banned in Louisiana Territory north of 36°30′. -
First American settlers (300 families) arrive in Texas.
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First public high school opens in Boston.
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Cotton mills with women workers begin production in Lowell, Mass.
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MONROE DOCTRINE announced: U.S. warns Europe not to interfere in Western Hemisphere
affairs and proclaims intention to remain uninvolved in European wars. -
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: None of the four candidates receives majority of electoral
votes; John Calhoun is elected vice president (Democratic-Republican). -
John Quincy Adams (Natl. Rep.) is elected president by House of Rep.
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John Adams & Thomas Jefferson die on July 4, the 50th anniversary of the
Declaration of Independence. -
California becomes a Mexican province.
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Democratic Party is established; Andrew Jackson is elected as
first Democratic president; John Calhoun is re-elected vice president (Democratic-Republican). -
“Tariff of Abominations” is passed by Congress to intense hostility from Southern states.
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Slavery is abolished in Mexico.
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Andrew Jackson introduces spoils system into national politics
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FIFTH CENSUS: U.S. population totals 13 million, including 2.3 million
African Americans, of whom 2 million are enslaved. -
INDIAN REMOVAL BILL is passed by Congress to forcibly resettle
southeastern Indian tribes to territory west of the Mississippi River. -
NAT TURNER’S REBELLION (Virginia): about 60 white people killed. Turner is executed.
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South Carolina passes Ordinance of Nullification to void the tariff acts of 1828 and 1832.
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Jackson is re-elected president
and Martin Van Buren elected vice president (Democratic). -
Jackson’s “Bank War” begins when he orders funds withdrawn from the
National Bank and deposited into “pet” state banks. -
Force Bill is passed by Congress, giving Jackson power to use the military
to enforce tariff laws. -
Slavery is abolished in the British Empire.
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TEXAS REVOLUTION begins when Mexico rejects Texans’ petition for statehood;
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Gag rule is passed by Congress to prevent abolitionist petitions from being considered.
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Texas declares independence from Mexico; siege of the Alamo.
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Arkansas enters Union as 25th state.
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Martin Van Buren (Dem.) is elected president. Richard Johnson
(Dem.) is elected vice president by the Senate since no candidate received an electoral majority. -
Michigan enters Union as 26th state.
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“TRAIL OF TEARS”: Cherokees are forcibly removed from Georgia to Indian
Territory in present-day Oklahoma. -
Routes later known as Underground Railroad begin to be established
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First “normal” school opens with a teacher training program (Mass.).
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SIXTH CENSUS: U.S. population totals 17 million, including
3 million African Americans, of whom 2.5 million are enslaved. -
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: William Henry Harrison and
John Tyler are elected president and vice president (Whig Party). -
Harrison dies after one month in office; John Tyler becomes president.
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Supreme Court rules that state laws prohibiting the capture and return of
fugitive slaves are unconstitutional -
Massachusetts enacts ten-hour work day for children under 12.
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Morse sends first telegraph message (from Baltimore to Washington, DC):
“What hath God wrought!” -
Florida enters Union as 27th state
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Texas enters Union as 28th state
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Irish potato famine begins; 1.5 million Irish emigrate to U.S. in the next decade.
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MEXICAN WAR begins; Congress declares war after Mexican troops
attack U.S. troops in disputed territory north of the Rio Grande. -
Iowa enters Union as 29th state.
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U.S. forces defeat Mexican army at Veracruz and Mexico City
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MEXICAN WAR ends officially by treaty.
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California Gold Rush begins
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Wisconsin enters Union as 30th state.
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Zachary Taylor and Millard Filmore elected president and
vice president (Whig Party). -
SEVENTH CENSUS: U.S. population totals 23.2 million, including 3.5 million
African Americans, of whom 3 million are enslaved. -
COMPROMISE OF 1850 allows residents of New Mexico and Utah territories
to permit or ban slavery -
admits California as a free state (31st)
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President Taylor dies; Millard Fillmore becomes president
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Franklin Pierce and William King are elected
president and vice president (Democratic Party). -
KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT passed by Congress, repealing the Missouri
Compromise and allowing Kansas and Nebraska settlers to decide status of
slavery in the territories. -
“BLEEDING KANSAS”: Intense local warfare erupts between pro- and anti-slavery settlers.
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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: James Buchanan and John Breckenridge are elected president
and vice president (Democratic Party). -
DRED SCOTT DECISION: Supreme Court holds that Congress has no power
to regulate slavery in the territories, that African Americans are not citizens, and
that residence in free territory does not confer freedom on enslaved persons. -
Minnesota enters Union as 32nd state.
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Oregon enters Union as 33rd state.
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SIXTH CENSUS: U.S. population totals 31
million, African Americans, of whom 4 million are enslaved. -
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin are elected president
and vice president (Republican). -
South Carolina secedes from the Union, the first state to do so.