Timeline 1492-1818

  • Aug 3, 1492

    Christopher Columbus

    Columbus sets sail on his first voyage with his 3 ships Santa maria, Pinta and Niña from Palos de la Frontera, Spain for the "Indies"
  • Jamestown, VA

    English found Jamestown, Virginia
  • House of Burgesses

    VA; designed to attract colonists and keep order; only property owners could vote.
  • Mayflower Compact

    Puritans believed ppl. formed gov't; male church members could vote; est. General Court
  • English Bill of Rights

    monarch can't suspend Parliament, collect taxes w/o permission; protected freedom of speech
  • The Great Awakening

    Religious revival movement
  • French and Indian War

    called Seven Years War in Europe
  • 1st Continental Congress

    vowed forceif Britain attacked; agreed to reconvene May 1775
  • Lexington & Concord

    British trying to take our ammunition; 1st battle of Revolution.
  • 2nd Continental Congress

    organized continental army and named G. Washington commander
  • Common Sense - Thomas Paine

  • The Declaration of Independence

    written primarily by Thomas Jefferson; explains why we seek independence; trying to sway Loyalists and neutral colonists
  • Battle of Yorktown

    in VA; end of war; inspired revolutions worldwide
  • Shays' Rebellion

    1,200 farmers protested foreclosures; tried to keep courts closed to keep farmers; militia called out
  • Marbury vs. Madison

    Supreme Court said it couldn't force the delivery; est, judicial review; strengthened federal judiciary
  • Battle of New Orleans

    after the war ended; made a hero of Andrew Jackson
  • Convention of 1818

    set Canada/US border @ 49th Parallel and set up joint occupation of Oregon Territory