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Founding of Jamestown
The Virginia Company of England established the first permanent British settlement in North America as Jamestown. This small colony was the British foothold in the new world. It was plagued by an incredibly high mortality rate caused by a combination of disease and malnutrition. -
Seven Years' War
Also known as the French and Indian war in America, the Seven Years' War was a conflict sparked by Great Britain and Prussia's increasing expansion and gains in power. France created an alliance with Austria, Russia, Saxony, Sweden, and Spain to put pressure to stop this expansion. By the end of the war, every major European power had been a part of the war except for the Ottoman empire. -
Signing of the Declaration of Independence
After years of relationship deterioration and more than a year of war, the Thirteen Colonies separated from Great Britian. The vote to separate from Great Britain occured on July 2nd during the Second Continental Congress and afterwards Thomas Jefferson was assigned the task of drafting a written formal explanation to the colonies reasons for separating from Great Britain. After review, 56 delegates signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4th, 1776. -
John Quincy Adams goes to France
At the age of 10, John Quincy accompanied his father on a journey across the Atlantic ocean to France. John Adams felt that he and his son needed to spend time more time together since John Quincy was entering his formative years. John Adams decided to take John Quincy with him to France due to the long time they would spend apart otherwise. Additionally, John Adams wanted to expose John Quincy European culture and language. -
John Quincy attends Harvard University
After returning home from Europe, John Quincy applied to Harvard to advanced his education in respect to the wishes of his father. Initially John Quincy was turned away from Harvard by its then current president, Reverend Joseph Willard. After a semester of studying with his uncle, he returned to Harvard and was accepted. -
Shay's Rebellion
Due to debts caused by a combination of forced usage of physical money instead of barter or lines of credit and extreme amounts of taxes, an armed group of mostly farmers rose up in Massachusetts to prevent the courts from continuing to work. This uprising was led by Daniel Shays, a captain in the continental army during the revolutionary war. The idea behind the uprising was that if the courts could not operate, then debts could not be collected and people would stop losing land. -
The Constitution is signed
Shay's rebellion underscored the extreme weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and showed that if America was to survive a new form of government was required. After a brief postponement due to delegates from only 2 states being present on the scheduled date, delegates began drafting a new document to replace the Articles of Confederation. There were 2 plans put forward: the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey plan. A combination of the concerns raised by these 2 plans formed the constitution -
The French Revolution
Believed by Thomas Jefferson to be an extension of the American Revolution in Europe, the French Revolution was at first seen positively in America. Many Americans still had strong ties with France due to them assisting in American's Revolutionary war. However, that support would fade as the French Revolution continued, especially as it became much more bloody and grotesque. The French Revolution also opened the door to the Napoleonic wars that gripped much of Europe. -
George Washington becomes the first President
George Washington, leader of the Continental Army during the revolutionary war and most respected man in the colonies is unanimously voted into the position of the first President of the newly restructured United States of America, a feat which no other president afterward has achieved. Washington served as a best-case example of what a president should be and also acted as the glue between the newly forming political factions during his 8 years in office. -
Execution of King Louis XVI of France
King Louis XVI was executed using the guillotine after being accused and convicted of high treason for conspiring with foreign powers. After a near-unanimous vote, in which the only dissenting opinions were those who withheld from voting, Louis XVI was found guilty. Louis XVI's death marked the beginning of the Reign of Terror in France. -
John Quincy Adams elected to US Senate
After serving on the Massachusetts State Senate for a year he was chosen to serve as the senator for Massachusetts in the US Senate. Unfortunately, John Quincy didn't care for party politics and often voted against his own party, instead favoring to stay true to his ideals. This earned him much hatred by his own party. John Quincy resigned from the Senate early when Massachusetts had decided on his replacement 6 months in advanced. -
Louisiana Purchase
Due to uprisings in Saint-Domingue and possible renewed war with the United Kingdom, France decided to sell all of Louisiana to the United states when James Monroe and Robert Livingston arrived in Paris to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans. France originally reacquired the rights to Louisiana from Spain with the intentions of possibly attempting to use the territory themselves, but due to conflicts decided to sell it. -
John Quincy Adams begins teaching at Harvard
After leaving the US Senate, John Quincy begins teaching at Harvard as Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory, the first teacher of the position. His lecture on the subject matter were so impressive that they were later republished in 1810 as Lectures on Rhetoric and Oratory. -
John Quincy Adams appointed Minister to Russia
President Madison appoints John Quincy as minister plenipotentiary to the Russian court of Czar Alexander I. Shortly after arriving in St. Petersburg, a harsh winter rolled in, thoroughly freezing the entire harbor. During this winter John Quincy and his wife became good friends with Czar Alexander and his wife and quickly rose in the socio-political scene surrounding the Czar. While in Russia, John Quincy provided excessive amounts of information on Europe, especially on the Napoleonic wars. -
War of 1812
The United States went to war with Great Britain due to a multitude of reasons including British impressment of American merchant sailors into the British navy, British support of Native Americans agitating settlers, and impeding trade between America and France due to the British war with France. The war was fought on the sea between merchant ships, the great lakes between America and Canada, and in the southern regions of the United States around the Gulf Coast. -
French invasion of Russia
Beginning during mid summer and ending during bitter winter, the invasion of Russia by Napoleon and his French forces was an attempt to stop Czar Alexander I from trading with British merchants as a way to put pressure on Great Britain during their continued war. Napoleon pushed quite far into Russia, eventually even capturing Moscow, but never winning a decisive victory over the Russian forces. As winter came, the French forces had to retreat due to lack of supplies and the Russian winter. -
John Quincy Adams signs Treaty of Ghent
John Quincy signs the Treaty of Ghent, thus ending the War of 1812 with Great Britain. However, even though officially the war has ended due to the treaty, both American and British soldiers in North America do not yet know this and continue fighting while information travels over the Atlantic. The Treaty of Ghent restored relations between America and Great Britain to their pre-war status quo. -
John Quincy appointed Secretary of State
John Quincy was appointed to Secretary of State which was a position considered to be the stepping stone to the presidency. As Secretary of State, John Quincy fulfilled the tasks given to him from Monroe to his best effort even if he didn't agree with them. He chose to do this due to the problems he saw with the constant conflicts of Washington's cabinet. He also wrote speeches for the president and was the key developer of Monroe Doctrine. -
The Land Act of 1820
The goal of the Land Act was to making it easier to purchase land but also requiring full payment at the time of purchase. The minimum cost of an acres was lowed to $1.25 and the minimum tract size was also reduced, both in an attempt to alleviate the fact that the Land Act also removed the ability to buy using federal credit. This caused a shift of citizens being much more reliant on state and local banks to acquire loans and credit to purchase land from the federal government. -
John Quincy Adams becomes President of USA
John Quincy was chosen as president by the House of Representatives after no presidential candidate achieved a majority of votes. Andrew Jackson achieved more votes than John Quincy, however John Quincy had more support in the House of Representatives due to Henry Clay's backing. As president, John Quincy found it difficult to accomplish anything due to Jackson supporters going against all of his propositions. -
The Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was a piece of legislature that allowed the president to negotiate with Indian tribes for their lands in return for western federal territory beyond the Mississippi river. This law was quite bais in favor of non-Indian southerners and was pushed through congress by southerners eager to have the fertile lands inhabited by Indian tribes. This act eventually led to the tragedy known as the trail of tears.
