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Period: to
U.S. History 1800-1900
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Louisiana Purchase
President Thomas Jefferson purchased 828,000 square miles of land for $15,000,000. This was an incredible purchase price at approximately $18 per square mile, and it nearly doubled the size of the country. Though the transaction was technically unconstitutional, its legality is often forgotten and overlooked. -
Lewis & Clark Expedition
Meriweather Lewis and William Clark set out to explore the unknown territories of the recently completed Louisiana Purchase. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a conflict between Great Britain and the United States caused by British interference and restrictions on U.S. maritime rights. -
The Monroe Doctorine
President James Monroe declared that he would consider any attempt by European monarchies "to extend their system to any portion of this hemisphere as dangerous to our peace and safety." -
Indian Removal Act
President Andrew Jackson signed the Indian Removal Act that would lead to the devastating, forceful relocation of thousands Native Americans, that would later be known as the "Trail of Tears." -
The Mexican War
After the annexation of Texas on December 29, 1845, and Mexico ended diplomatic relation with the U.S. government, Congress approved President James K. Polk's request for declaration of war on Mexico. -
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began after James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill. Approximately 300,000 flocked to California, eager to strike gold themselves. -
Start of the Civil War
After decades of strain among the slave states of the South and the non-slave states of the North, tensions boiled over and the bloodiest conflict in North American history began. -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln declares "that all persons held as slaves" within the Confederate states "are, and henceforward...free." -
End of the Civil War
Prior to the end of the Civil War, on January 31, 1865, slavery was abolished in the United States by the 13th amendment. Then, in April, Confederate General Lee surrendered to the Union's General Grant at the Battle of the Appomattox court house. President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated less than a week later on April 15, 1865. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
Formerly known as the "Battle of Wounded Knee," in December 1890, troops from the U.S. Army decimated 150-300 Lakota Indians in the area of Wounded Knee Creek. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
The Supreme Court ruled that segregation was legal as long as the separate facilities provided for each designated race were equal, this was the establishment of the misguided and inherently inequitable "separate but equal" ideology.
