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Battle of Lexington and Concord
This was the first battle of the American Revolution. This was also the place where the famous "shot heard around the world" happened at. We might have lost the battle at Lexington but, we won Concord. The British wanted Concord because they had supplies stored there but, when they arrived the colonist were prepared and staved the off. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is an important document, that would declare our independence from Britain. But, it did more then just that it also stated all of the grievances. The grievances of the King towards the colonies. It stated that we had the right to secede from Britain because we did not have representation and the government was abusing its power. The document itself was written by Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Roger Sherman, and Robert R. Livingston, -
Battle of Saratoga
The turning point in the American Revolutionary War. It also added a morale booster to the soldiers. They also allied with France to win the battle. -
Articles of Confederation
This is the first from of government for the new united states. It didn't last very long though because it was too weak. It gave almost no strength to the central government. The central government was unable to tax, couldn't raise a standing army, it needed 9 out of 13 states approval to pass a law, and they had no way to enforce their laws over the states. The only good thing it did was establish the Northwest Ordinance. It was replaced after it was unable to put down the shay's rebellion. -
Constitution
Written to replace the Articles of Confederation. It strengthened the central government and united the states under one power. There was a lot of controversy between the federalist and the anti-federalist over how much power the central government should be given. The constitution was only able to be ratified after the Bill of Rights was included. The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments in the constitution and protect citizens rights. The constitution has changed a lot over the years. -
Battle of Yorktown
The colonist won the final battle between Great Britain and the colonist. This allowed them to gain independence from Great Britain. Which then they gained the thirteen colonies to become their own country. -
Northwest Ordinance
The only helpful thing the AoC did for the nation. It set up how new states would join the nation. The ordinance made it to where new states could join when they had enough people. Once they had enough people the territory they would be able to right their own constitution and write a petition to join the union. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the first ten amendments of the constitution. It was put in the constitution because of the anti-federalist. The anti-federalist were afraid that the central government would become to strong and take away citizens basic rights. So the Bill of Rights is the written out protection of basic human rights that the government can not take away.The constitution could not be ratified until after the Bill of Rights was included. -
Alien and Sedition acts
John Adams passed the Alien and Sedition acts. The acts did three things they made it harder for immigrants to vote by saying that you had to reside in the U.S for 14 years. It allowed the government to deport immigrants. Finally it made it illegal to speak out against the government in any way. Meaning you were unable to publish something in the newspaper about the government, or even really say anything about it. The Virginia and Kentucky act tried to nullify it and ultimately succeeded. -
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
The Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions was the states response to the Alien and Sedition acts. It was led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. The resolution was the two states saying that they would not abide by the law in their states. It also stated that the states should and do have the power to nullify unconstitutional laws. While the Alien and Sedition acts were declared unconstitutional and taken away the Resolutions failed because the states can not nullify laws. -
Marbury v. Madison
This was a court cases between William Marbury against James Madison. The head judge at the time was federalist John Marshall. Marshall sided with Madison, saying that he was unable to make the executive branch give Marbury the mandate. The importance of this case is that it gave the federal government more power. Specifically it gave the judicial branch the power of judicial review. -
Louisiana Purchase
America purchased the Louisiana Purchase from France. This purchase gave 828,000,000 more square miles. This area included the present day states of Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. It also included land in Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Minnesota. The purchase itself was made by Jefferson, who struggled with it because it was not directly stated in the constitution. -
War of 1812 Begins
This war happened because of transgressions from the British. The British were taking american sailors who were trying to trade with France this was called impressment. -
Battle of New Orleans
This was an attack by the British on America during the War of 1812. The American forces was led by Andrew Jackson and were undermanned. But, the American forces were able to inflict heavy causalities upon the British and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. This made Andrew Jackson a war hero and would later help him become president. -
Missouri Compromise
This is a compromise between the North and the South. The compromise stated that any state below the Missouri line Would join the nation as a slave state while above the line would join as a free state. This was later declared unconstitutional and didn't really matter once popular sovereignty started. It also caused many problems because many states south of the line wished to join as a free state mostly because of free soilers. -
Monroe Doctrine
Written by James Monroe. Which America warned European powers not to colonize the western hemisphere or South America. But had little impact because we had noway to enforce it and the European powers had no interest. But Britain offered naval power so they could keep their trade relations with south America. -
Nullification Crisis
The Nullification Crisis is a problem between South Carolina and the federal government. It was led by John C Calhoun who was inspired by Thomas Jefferson who was the president at the time. Using the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions as a basis for the fact that the state should be able to nullify a federal law they felt unconstitutional. This happened because the government passed a tariff South Carolina didn't like. -
Texas Annextation
Americans moved into Texas under Mexico's permission. But, then they declared independence from Mexico. They wanted to join the U.S but, that would upset the balance of free and slave states. So they weren't able to join for around ten years. But, then American blood was split on the land and so our new president Polk started a war for Texas with Mexico. After we won the war we annexed Texas and allowed them to join as a slave state. -
Oregon Treaty
This is a treaty between America and Britain. This treaty was necessary because they didn't know where American ended and British territory started. This created lots of boundary conflicts. President Polk is the one who negotiated this deal with Britain who agreed because they didn't want to fight another with America at that point. This treaty setup the northern boundary line between America and Canada and gained us quite a few more territory. -
Mexican Cession
The Mexican cession is the territory that we gained from the Mexican-American war. We wanted this territory because it would complete Manifest Destiny. The present day states that we gained from this are California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. We also gained parts of New Mexico, Wyoming, and Colorado. -
Declaration of Sentiments
The Declaration of Sentiments is many women coming together to declare that they deserve the same rights as men. This was influenced by the declaration of Independence. It was written mostly by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Who was a leading women rights advocate. While it did not have any immediate affect it did make a statement and rally more to the cause of women's rights. -
Compromise of 1850
This compromise is mostly between the west and the north. It was proposed by Henry Clay sometimes known as the "great compromiser". He was known as this because of American situation and his many compromises between the west and the north. The compromise itself did five main things. The admission of California as a free state, the strengthening of the fugitive slave law, popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico, the abolition of the slave trade in D.C, and federal assumption of Texas's debt. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
This a fictional novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel itself was about a slave and the slaves life. Even though it was a fictional story it had many real things in it and brought many more people to the abolitionist cause. -
Bleeding Kansas
This happened when Kansas was given popular sovereignty. Riots and fights between two main groups started breaking out. The slave holders and the free soilers were fighting over whether slaves were allowed in Kansas. This fight waged on for a long while and became known as bleeding Kansas because of how much blood was spilled over the debate. -
Kansas-Nebraska act
This act allowed for popular sovereignty in Kansas and Nebraska. Popular sovereignty was the ability for Kansas and Nebraska to vote whether or not they were a slave or free state. This made the Missouri compromise useless and led to things like bleeding Kansas. -
John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown is a abolitionist that believed that slavery was wrong and took it into his own hands. He raided a federal armory and hoped that slaves from nearby plantations would join. He was eventually caught and sentenced to death. This is important because it encouraged other abolition and it made the south scared that more abolition would do this. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
The first battle of the Civil which happened at Fort Sumter. Which the Confederate had won. This started the civil war. Confederate soldiers had told the union soldiers to leave repeatedly but, the union soldiers would not leave. Eventually the Confedarate -
Battle of Bull Run
The first major land battle of the American Civil War. It was a large battle that lasted several days ending with a Confederacy victory. This gave the Confederates a huge boost in confidence. It also shocked many northerners who began to realize that it would not be an easy war. -
Battle of Antietam
This battle was a strategic tie between the union and the confederacy. It was the single bloodiest battle of the civil war. This battle is what led Abraham Lincoln to pass the Emancipation Proclamation as a necessary war measure. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Written by Abraham Lincoln, it freed all slaves in rebelling states. Lincoln described it as a necessary war measure. He didn't want to do it because he was concerned that the border states would also leave the union if he freed all slaves. -
Presidential reconstruction
This is often referred to as the 10% plan. The plan itself was made by Abraham Lincoln and was focused on making the union whole again as soon as possible. When Johnson took over he also believed in the 10% percent plan and tried his best to institute it but failed. The plan itself was simply to have 10% of each rebel state take an oath and agree to the 13th amendment. This didn't punish the south as congress wanted it to and did not pass. -
Battle of Vicksburg
This battle is a major turning point in the civil war. The Union took the Mississippi river after they won this battle. This is important because it effectively cut the south in half. It also made it to where they were unable to use it to transport goods. The battle itself was led by major general Ulysses S. Grant. -
Battle of Gettysburg
This was our first tactical victory against the confederacy. This battle was important because the Potomac army had just lost to general Robert E. Lee. After Lee won the last battle he went on the offensive and invaded Virginia. This battle lasted several days with it ending with Pickett's charge and Lee having to retreat back to the south. -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address was given by Abraham Lincoln. The address was right after the battle of Gettysburg that we won. This famous speech would rally the soldiers and the entire union to continue fighting the war. It is said that the Gettysburg address spurred on many to win the war. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
This is an example of total war. Total war is the belief that you do not simply destroy a nations military you take any measure necessary and kill civilians too. Sherman's March to the sea was when general William T. Sherman marched down to the coast with his soldiers and killed and destroyed everything in their path. This both destroyed the south normally but also morally and made the war less worth fighting. -
Freedmen's bureau
This organization was created during reconstruction. Its main goal was to help newly freed slaves get an education and job. It provided them with many basic needs. But, many of its efforts were for nothing because once reconstruction began to come to an end the states started to pass laws that made it difficult for African Americans to do anything. -
13th Amendment
This Amendment ended slavery and gave more rights to African Americans. Abraham Lincoln passed the amendment. Congress passed this amendment after the civil war. This later would lead to segregation in America. -
Congressional Reconstruction
Plan by the radical congress members who wanted to punish the south and protect African American rights. Andrew Johnson tried to veto many of the laws congress passed but, the radicals had enough people to get a majority vote and overcome the presidents vetoes. This plan divided the south into 5 military districts. They also tried to impeach Johnson but they failed by 1 point. -
14th Amendment
Gave any person born in America is a citizen. It also stated that all citizens have equal rights that the government must protect. This was made specifically for the newly freed African Americans who before were not considered citizens. This legally made them citizens and gave them the same rights as all the other citizens. -
15th Amendment
This amendment was made to even further protect the newly freed African Americans. This made it illegal to stop them from voting because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. This did little to help though because the states then passed laws that made it near impossible for African Americans to vote. If they were able to get passed all of the laws many members of white supremacist groups stopped them from voting forcefully. -
Plessy V. Ferguson
This is the supreme court decision that decided separate but equal. This started when African American Homer Plessy refused to sit in a black car. This allowed the Jim Crow laws and other laws very similar to them to be passed and instituted.