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1492
Christopher Columbus
An Italian explorer sailing for Spain who believed that Asia (India) could be reached by sailing west from Europe. His first voyage was in 1492, wherein he discovered North America (Caribbean islands) and named it the West Indies. He will make four voyages to the new world without fully realizing what he had discovered. -
Jamestown
first English settlement in the north american region in what is now modern day Virginia. the colony gave England its first foothold in the European competition for the new world. which had been previously dominated by the Spanish since Christopher Columbus. -
Plymouth
in September of 1620 over 100 English men and women, many member of the separatist church, later known as pilgrims, set foot on north american soil. after crossing the ocean in the mayflower, they arrived 2 months later on what is now cape cod. -
Massachusetts Bay Colony
one of the original English settlements in present day america in today Massachusetts, it was founded by a group of over 1,000 puritan refugees from England who were trying to escape the differing religious beliefs in England at that time. -
New England Colonies
the new England colonies were the first colonies to be established by the puritans and the pilgrims starting in the 1620's. -
Middle Colonies
the middle colonies were the first colonies established by the British in the american region, they were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New jersey, and new York. -
Southern Colonies
the original 13 colonies that were still owned by England and made up of the land known as Massachusetts, new Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode island, new York, new jersey, Pennsylvanian, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, north and south Carolina, and Georgia. -
Middle passage
the middle passage was the forced voyage of enslaves African Americans across the Atlantic ocean to be sold as slaves in the 13 colonies and other countries. -
Great Awakening
the great awakening was a religious revival that was part of the religious ferment that swept western Europe in the latter 17th century. -
French and Indian war
The french and Indian war, also known as the 7 years war, was fought when the french planned to expand their territory to the Ohio river, but brought conflict to the native Americans. -
Stamp acts
the stamp act was the first British government attempt to raise revenue through taxation on the colonial commercial and legal papers. -
Boston massacre
A skirmish between the British military and the colonial citizens in Boston Massachusetts, where the colonials were fired upon by the British military ans was widely published in the news outlets and eventually led to a reason for the revolutionary war. -
Boston tea party
event in which colonists dressed as native Americans boarded British ships and tossed over 327 crates filled with tea being imported to the colonies overboard. -
Battles of Lexington/Concord
first initial battles of the revolutionary war between the colonists and the British. -
Declaration of independence
Document that was approved by the continental congress on July 4th 1776 that announced the separation of the 13 colonies from England. -
Valley forge
the valley forge was a group of encampment ground formed by general George Washington that was used by the colonists during the american revolution in Pennsylvanian. -
Battle of Yorktown
the battle of Yorktown was the last major battle of the american revolution, when British general Cornwallis and his army surrendered on October 19th 1781. -
American revolutionary war
the war between the colonists and England that lasted from 1776 to 1783, after England placed many unfair taxes on the colonies to pay for debts from the french and Indian war. -
abolitionists
abolitionism, also called abolition was the western american movement to ending the transatlantic slave trade and chattel slavery. -
Article of confederation
the articles of confederation were a group of articles that formed and initial bridge between continental congress of the revolutionary period. -
Constitutional convention
the constitutional convention was the convention that drew up the constitution for the united states and officially made america a country. -
bill of rights
the bill of rights were the first amendments to be added to the constitution, they were admitted on December 15th 1791. -
Louisiana purchase
the Louisiana purchase was the land bought by america by France in 1803 for 15 cents am acre. the land bought by america was made up mostly by what is now the Midwestern states of america. -
Lewis and Clark expedition
directly after the Louisiana purchase was made, Thomas Jefferson sent out an expedition that would document and map the newly purchased land. the two leaders he hired were meriwether lewis and william clark. -
war of 1812
the war of 1812 was fought by the united states and great Britain over British violations of the u.s marine time rights. this war was the reason the national anthem was written. -
the Missouri compromise
the Missouri compromise was a measure that worked out between the north and south that allowed for Missouri to become the 24th state of america. -
election of 1824
the election of 1824, john Quincy Adams was elected by the house of representatives, and Andrew Jackson won the electoral vote, but failed to receive the majority. -
industrial revolution
the industrial revolution started in the 1790's and through the 1830's, it was the age of invention, and progression. the economy not only grew stronger, but people were able to make new livings for themselves. -
Indian removal act
the Indian removal act began on may 28th 1830, was the beginning america wanting to push forward, and therefore had to remove the natives Americans from their land. -
battle of the alamo
the battle of the Alamo was what sparked the war between Texas and mexico, Texas wanting to become part of the united states. out of the Alamo 200 defenders, Davy Crocket is the most famous. all of the Alamo's defender including crocket were killed during the battle. -
California gold rush
the California gold rush was a massive influx of people rushing to the new California land for the mass number of gold that the state allegedly had. some 300,000 people came to the new territory to lay claim to the gold the state had. -
Mexican american war
the Mexican american war was the war between mexico and the united states after the annexation of texas. after the war the Americas aquired more than 500,000 square miles of land. -
compromise of 1850
the compromise of 1850 was an effort between the north and south on the issue of slavery. -
uncle toms cabin
uncle toms cabin was a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 depicting how slaves were treated in the south. it was widely popular in the north. -
dred scott decision
In 1857 Dred Scott, who resided in a free northern state brought a case to the supreme court that was about how he was not given the same rights as others because he was African american. the case ruled that African Americans would not be allowed citizenship. -
lincoln douglas debates
the Lincoln Douglas debates were a series of presidential debates that stared august 21st 1858, and ended October 15th 1858, with Abraham Lincoln winning the presidential seat. -
bleeding kansas
bleeding Kansas was the beginnings of the coming civil war, in which there were small skirmished between people in Kansas on if they would be a slave state or not. -
underground railroad/Harriet Tubman
the underground railroad was a escape route led by "conductors," they would go back to the southern plantation sand steal slaves from them to lead them back to the free north so that they could become free. this is also where Harriet Tubman becomes a conductor on the underground railroad and leads over 70 people to the north. -
confederate states of america
the confederate states of america were the southern states that still wasted slavery to be apart of american culture, and succeeded from the north when Lincoln became president, starting the civil war. -
fort Sumter
fort Sumter was a fort located in south Carolina that was owned by the confederate states of america and was also were the first battle of the civil war began. -
manifest destiny
manifest destiny was the belief that the land was given to them by god and it was their destiny to expand and live on the land they believed was given to them. -
emaciation proclamation
the emaciation proclamation was made by president Abraham Lincoln and freed slaves in the south from slavery. -
battle of gettysburg
the battle of Gettysburg was a turning point in the civil war ans was also the bloodiest battle during the war. it was made known by Abraham Lincoln when he delivered a presidential address on the battlefield. -
gettysburg address
the Gettysburg address was a presidential address given by Abraham Lincoln on 1863 after the battle had ended. it was made on the battlefield and still remains as one of the most famous speeches ever given by a president. -
civil war
the american civil war was a war though was fought between the northern states of america and southern states of america over the issue of slavery. it lasted from 1861 to 1865 with the north winning the war. -
apottomax
the Appomattox was the last battle of the civil war and was were general lee surrendered to Ulysses s grant ending the civil war that lasted from 1861 to 1865.