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Articles of Confederation adopted
Shortly after declaring independence, Congress drafted the Articles of Confederation so that it could be a symbol of a new and genuine government. It loosely united the states and was led by a crippled Congress. However, it was a good first step towards the Constitution, which is its significance. -
Land Ordinance of 1785
The Land Ordinance of 1785 divided up the land into townships so that it could be sold and divided evenly and simply. Every township would be divided into sections which are divided, etc. This avoided land disagreements in the Northwest. States that did not adopt this policy did experience more land disputes. -
Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention established the writing of the Constitution, but originally it was just to amend the Articles of Confederation, which were seen to have flaws. However, because there were so many flaws in the Articles, it led to the drafting of the Constitution. The Constitution established the policies of government in the new United States. -
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance established the territory rules for becoming a state. First it goes through two territorial stages, then it would become equal to every other state. It also outlawed slavery in the Old Northwest. This was very significant as it set the stage for every other territory and lands to become states in the new United States. -
Washington elected President
Washington was unanimously elected President by the Electoral College in 1789. He was the only President to be unanimously elected. He established many things which later remained and still remain, such as the Cabinet. Washington was elected because he was a strong leader in the American Revolution and stood tall and proud. -
The XYZ Affair
The XYZ Affair was a very controversial event during the presidency of John Adams. It happened when 3 French go-betweens demanded loans and a bribe from the Americans in order to let them talk to French officials. This infuriated the American public and turned most of the country, which had previously been for the French, against them. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was, in a sense, a gift from Napoleon. Napoleon, who needed funds for his many wars, sold the Americans the entire Louisiana Territory, when originally they just wanted New Orleans. For $15 million, America acquired 828,000 of land west of the Mississippi. Each acre was purchased for roughly less than 3 cents. -
Battle of Tippecanoe
The Battle of Tippecanoe, was what I think the last of the Native American rebellion. The two Shawnee brothers, Tecumseh and the Prophet, had united several native tribes together and aligned themselves with the British against the American colonists to protect their land. In the Battle of Tippecanoe, General William Henry Harrison defeated the British and killed Tecumseh, crushing the rebellion -
British Burn Washington D.C.
The British had been succeeding in the War of 1812, including taking the capital, Washington D.C. The British ran through the capital, burning everything they saw. This is why the White House is called the White House. Because the British burned everything, the President's House, as it was called, had such bad scorch marks that the only way to cover it up was to paint the entire house white, which they did. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was one step towards the Civil War in the 1860s. Years before, the Northwest Territories had banned slavery, but as time progressed, states like Missouri were south of that line and wanted to have slavery, which had been banned. This caused and uproar, and the Missouri Compromise put a firm line on where slavery was allowed, and where it was outlawed. North of the line, slavery was banned, but south of line slaveholders could still own their slaves. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine was a policy of the United States. It established the fact that any attempt or effort by European countries to colonize land or interfere with the United States or later, any of the Western Hemisphere, would be viewed as an act of aggression on the United States. It also stated that these acts of aggression required US intervention, which later caused problems, pulling the United States into wars in which they didn't belong.