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Jamestown
In 1607, 104 English men and boys arrived in North America to start a settlement. On May 13 they picked Jamestown, Virginia for their settlement -
First Tobacco Crop Planted
Tobacco saved the Jamestown colony and opened the door to future British settlement. The struggling colony had been unable to find a means of wealth by which to support themselves. Tobacco was planted by John Rolfe in the colony, and soon became a large-scale export to European countries. The wealth of tobacco also brought more colonists to the area and replenished the population. -
Founding of the Virginia house
The House of Burgesses was the first democratically-elected legislative body in the British American colonies. -
First Slaves Brought to America
As a result of the continued labor shortage in Jamestown, specifically regarding tobacco farming, Dutch traders offered slaves to the colonists. The colonists accepted the sale and paid the Dutch for 20 slaves. This was the introduction of slavery to the British colonies and the root of later American slavery. -
Massachusetts Bay
The Massachusetts Bay Colony, more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America -
Land for Maryland Allocated
The second British colony in America, called Maryland for the British queen, was founded by King Charles I. The original colony consisted of about 12 million acres of land. Originally intended as a haven for Catholics, the formation of a new colony paved the way for other colonies to be formed in America. -
First Navigation Act Passed
The Navigation Acts were a series of laws designed to restrict England’s carrying trade to English ships in the 17th and 18th centuries. Their efforts were to put the theory of mercantilism (the economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances) into actual practice. In 1651 the First Navigation Act was passed. -
Virginia Law
In Virginia, the first law was passed to help define the nature of slavery in the colonies. The law stated that the children of a slave mother inherited her 'condition.' In other words, children of a slave mother were now slaves for life, regardless of their father's condition. This law was the beginning of the American legal system which defended slavery by legalizing the growing slave population. -
King Phillip's War
Another Native conflict arose in new England when Wampanoags, led by a native called Metacom, attacked British colonists in Swansea. What began as a singular act of retaliation escalated into a war involving the military forces of several colonies and originally neutral Natives. The war resulted in the deaths of thousands of natives and opened the door to future colonies in the area. Furthermore, both groups maintained a standing hatred of each other by the war's conclusion. -
Bacon's Rebellion
When a group of Doeg Natives became involved in a disagreement with a Virginia settler, misguided violence escalated the event to a full-scale conflict. A group of colonists led by Nathaniel Bacon began openly attacking all Natives in the area through their claim of self defense. Ironically, the colony's government largely saw Bacon as the trouble-causing enemy. The result of the rebellion was an angered native population and open hatred between natives and the colonists. -
Stono Rebellion
A Catholic governor in Florida promised freedom to fugitive slaves that came to fight for him. -
French and Indian War
Iroquois Indians had a lot of land along the Ohio river. The Ohio company wanted to build forts along the Ohio river. British got involved. French and British go to war. British win, and french surrender. -
The beginning of the Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution began when agricultural societies became more industrialized and urban. The railroad, the cotton gin, electricity and other inventions permanently changed society. -
Treaty of Paris
Kicked French out of the new world. England has been through a lot of wars. Begins to tax people to pay off war debt. -
Currency Act
English colonies can no longer use their own currency. They must instead use British money. -
Proclamation Line
Create to uphold a "promise" between the Iroquois and Delaware, that is to have a colony with no English Settlers. Colonists just finish fighting for that land, and now they were being kicked out of it. -
Sugar Act
Established Vice admiralty courts to enforce the navigation acts. Also replaced the Mollases Act of 1733, except now it encompassed more than just Mollases -
James Watt invents the Steam Engine
James Watt was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved the steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776. This made a huge impact to the changes brought by the Industrial Revolution in both Great Britain and the rest of the world. -
Quartering Act
Colonists had to provide for English soldiers -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a riot that occurred on March 5, 1770. It took place on King Street in Boston. It began as a street brawl between American colonists and a British soldier. It quickly escalated to a bloody slaughter. The conflict energized anti-Britain sentiment and paved the way for the American Revolution. -
Thomas Jefferson is Elected President
Thomas Jefferson was the author of the declaration of independence and the third U.S. president. Jefferson ran against John Adams in 1796 and came in second place, making him vice president by law. Then he ran again in 1800, with the election ending in a tie between Jefferson and Aaron Burr. The vote then went to the House of Representatives where Jefferson was then declared the victor and, furthermore, the third president of the U.S. -
Congress Declares War on England
The beginning of the War of 1812 was caused due to the British Royal Navy restricting trade routes to the U.S., impressing U.S. sailors, and the U.S.'s desire to expand its borders. -
English Forces Burn the White House
British forces storm into the Chesapeake Bay and burn multiple government buildings including the Capitol building, the White House. The British forces pulled their forces only because they had achieved their war goals and were moving down to New Orleans to capture it as well. -
Florida is Purchase from Spain
Spanish minister Do Luis de Onis and U.S. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams came together to sign the document that would transfer control of Florida to the U.S. The Florida Peace Treaty was created to hand over the last Spanish American colony to the U.S. because of numerous boundary disputes. The U.S. gave Spain $5 million to cede Florida into the newly formed nation. -
Monroe Doctorine
President James Monroe gave his annual presidential speech warning European powers not to interfere in the western hemisphere or else the U.S. would step in and stop them. This speech stood against what George Washington wanted for the country. He wanted the country to stay out of foreign affairs and keep to themselves, however, the Monroe doctrine declared the U.S. as the policing force of the western hemisphere. -
U.S.-Mexican War
The U.S.-Mexican War lasted from 1846-1848 and was the first U.S. conflict fought on foreign soil. It was a war that was disputing the independence of Texas and the border of the Rio Grande. At the end of the war, Mexico lost about a third of its territory to the expansion-minded U.S., who claimed nearly all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. -
Abraham Lincoln is Elected President
Abraham Lincoln is elected as the 16th president of the U.S. When entering office Abraham Lincoln was tasked with dealing with an incredibly divided nation dealing with the issue of states' rights about slavery. Lincoln received only 40 percent of the popular vote, however, he still handily defeated the three other candidates. Lincoln was formally a Whig representative to Congress and gained his popularity after his series of public speeches that address many political issues of the time. -
Civil War Begins
The tension between the Northern and Southern states over states' rights and slavery finally got to the point where war broke out. The election of Abraham Lincoln caused 7 southern states to leave the Union and create the Confederate States of America. 4 more states soon joined these rebel states. -
Gettysburg Address
Lincoln's Speech at Gettysburg was done in order to address the war that was occurring. He wanted to dedicate the field to the fallen soldiers on both sides, and he wanted the soldiers to know what they were fighting for. He claimed that they were fighting to see if the new nation, and nations that had declared their freedoms from the European countries, could in fact survive without the aid of their previous owners. -
First Transcontinental Railroad is Completed
On the day of completion, the presidents of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads meet in Promontory, Utah. The last spike of the railroad was ceremoniously placed to connect the two railroad lines together. This railroad made it possible to travel from the eastern side of the continent to the western side by utilizing nearly 2000 miles of railroad track. The work began in 1866 after many plans had been made and the Pacific Railroad Act(1862) was passed.