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Jamestown Founded
- First successful English colony in America
- John Rolfe cultivates tobacco into a profitable product
- leads to more colonies, importation of slaves
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Period: to
The First Colonies
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Plymouth Colony Founded
- English Puritan pilgrims land at Plymouth
- signed Mayflower Compact, which set up a "rule by majority" government
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First of the Navigation Acts
- England begins taking more control of the colonies
- Enacts taxes and limited trade to mostly with England
- Harbored resentment among the colonists
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Bacon's Rebellion
- wants the frontier protected by the government of Virginia
- denied, so he starts a revolt
- first revolt against the British
- set the groundwork for the later American Revolution
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French and Indian War
- English go to war against French over the Ohio River Valley
- Georgre Washington leads the English troops
- Eventually leads to French losing all of their territory in America
- Washington's success leads to him leading Revolution troops
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The Sugar Act
- first of the "taxation without representation" acts
- used to raise revenue for England following F&I War
- huge resistance to this and the following Acts
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Period: to
The American Revolution
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Stamp Act
- tax on printed materials in order to fund the standing army in the colonies
- problem: colonies didn't want the standing army
- Sons of Liberty organize to protest the act, along with the Stamp Act Congress
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Boston Massacre
- Protestors in Massachusetts fired upon by British soldiers
- Were protesting unfair taxes and laws, including Quartering Act (must house troops)
- Propoganda created by Paul Revere sparked more impassioned revolutionary idealogies and goals
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The Intolerable Acts
- Enacted to punish Boston for its protestations, such as the Boston Tea Party
- closed ports, shut down government, no trial by jury
- leads to the convening of the first Continental Congress, and the colonies start coming together against England
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The Declaration of Independence
- Colonies assert their desire for independence following the battles of Lexington and Concord the year before
- want to become a soverign nation
- combined with the battles, leads to the all out Revolutionary War
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Battle of Saratoga
- Decisive Colonial victory over the British
- turning point of the Revolution
- not only was it a victory, but also garnered support from France and Spain, who then also declared war on Britain and sent supplies and support to the colonies
- was the last thing they needed for victory
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Period: to
The "Critical Period"
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End of the War
- British surrender at Yorktown in 1781
- the Treaty of Peace is signed in 1783, officially ending the war
- The new United States becomes indpenedent and follows the Articles of Confederation
- the British are supposed to leave thier forts, but don't
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Shay's Rebellion
- Farmers in Massachusetts feeling the pressure of a new, and poor, economy
- There was no real market for goods, and no base currency yet
- Wanted Massachusetts to print more money, eventually satiated by donations
- Would have been controlled with an army, but the A of C forbids one, or a president
- Eventually leads to the end of the A of C
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The Constitutional Convention
- Articles of Confederation revised, eventually just scraped
- "Great Compromise": two houses of Congress
- Senate: equal representation
- House: based on population
- 3/5 Compromise: slaves count as 3/5 a person towards population
- Slave importation stops after 1808
- James Madison draws up the Constitution
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George Washington Becomes the First President
- Washington accepts being named the first President
- still elected, US further distancing themselves from monarchy
- having a strong figure at the head helps give legitimacy to the federal government, and helps stabilze the young country
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Period: to
Federalist Era
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Bill of Rights Created
- laid out the basic rights to be accorded to US citizens
- appeased the Anti-federalists who had been blocking the passage of the Constitution, allows for its ratification
- the basis of American life
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First National Bank
- Alexander Hamilton creates the first bank
- wanted to create an elastic base of money for business
- opposed by many in the South, who saw it as pandering towards North
- wanted taxes on vices (mainly alcohol) to raise tax revenue
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Whiskey Rebellion
- poor farmers rebel against the excise tax
- felt it targeted them
- unlike in Shay's Rebellion, now have troops to put them down
- Washington orders troops against them, shows the power of the federal government and president
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XYZ Affair
- France starts attacking American merchant ships unprovoked amd holding them for ransom
- Adams sends delegates who ask for bribes, making him and the US look bad
- both able to avoid war and solve problems diplomatically without money changing hands
- Federalists used this as a reason to build up the military
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Alien and Sedition Acts
- very controversial, as they limited free speech
- Alien: government allowed to detain "dangerous" aliens
- Sedition: made it illegal to publish any kind of opposition to the government or president
- real reason was to cut down on people voting against Federalist party (mostly Irish and French immigrants
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Period: to
A Growing Nation
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Louisiana Purchase
- Purchased huge piece of land from the French
- wanted to get the French out of the US, also secure free passage on the Mississippi River
- contested as it seemed unconstitutional, as there was nothing about buying lands in the Constitution at all
- led to a large increase in people moving west, and more immigrants
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Marbury v. Madison
- Landmark Supreme Court case
- Ruling led to the Supreme Court claiming the power to declare laws unconstitutional (declared parts of the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional)
- Jefferson disagreed with the precedent being set, but it remained in place and is a main part of what the Supreme Court does today
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Embargo Act
- Response to American merchant ships being captured by British and the soldiers being impressed into their navy
- stopped all exportation
- Was done in response to the sinking of US ship Leopard by the British
- opposed by Federalists, who didn't want to see any harm come to the merchant industry
- placed huge burdens on American people and the economy
- eventually the passage of the Non-Intercourse Act reopened trade with all other countries except for the British and French
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War of 1812 Begins
- British-US tensions over ships being attacked and impressment reach a head and the US declares war
- two sides in the US: War Hawks and Federalists
- ends with the Treaty of Ghent in 1814, which sets a new status quo
- Begins the "Era of Good Feelings"
- Britain and US begin to repair their relationship
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Transcontinental Treaty
- US buys Florida from Spain
- Andrew Jackson sent in to violently push out the Native Americans living there
- further expansion of the country leads to further destruction of Native American life
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Missouri Compromise
- "solution" to whether new states will be free or slave states
- Maine admitted as a free state and Missouri as a slave state
- Every other new state formed above the 36th parallel would be free, all below slave
- tabled the slavery talks for a time
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Monroe Doctrine
- Declared by James Monroe in order to keep any superpowers from coming close to the United States
- said US would intervene in the case of any country making an attempt to colonize in the Western Hemisphere (essentially North America)
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Gibbons v. Ogden
- landmark Supreme Court decision regarding interstate trading
- ruling made that interstate trade would be regulated by federal powers
- opposed by many who thought that it was the governmnet over stepping its bounds
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Period: to
Jacksonian Period
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Tariff of Abominations
- protective tariff that drasitcally hiked up prices of imports
- protected North, which was losing a lot of money to cheaper foreign goods
- decimated the South, who had very little trade with the North but a lot internationally
- John C Calhoun, governor of South Carolina, asserted a state's right to nullify a law, which later escalated
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Tariff of 1832 and the Nullification Crisis
- raises all of the tariffs
- Force Bill also passed, which gives the President the power to do anything to enforce the tariff
- S. Carolina nullifies the tariff, but Henry Clay crafts a compromise to lower the tariff and ease tension
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Lone Star Republic
- Americans in Texas begin a revolt against the Mexican government in place
- Had orginally been brought it by Stephen F. Austin, more poured in, defying Mexican laws
- Americans eventually win, and is recognized as independent in 1837
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Panic of 1837
- Jackson withdraws large amounts of money from the National Bank
- led to a recession that lasted deep into the 40s
- also to blame were falling cotton prices, lending in western states, and the British being finnicky with lending money
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Period: to
Rampant Expansion
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Oregon Trail
- thousands travel to the far west to settle in new lands, mainly fur trappers and such
- one group of up to a thousand people go through the trail in 1843, creating a wagon trail that led to further moves of people looking to permanently settle
- Oregon Territory divided between the US and Britain
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Period: to
Antebellum Period
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Texas and Florida Annexed
- two Southern states admitted, so two slaves states
- Mexico had warned US that Texas annexation would lead to war, and it did
- In Florida, there were numerous clashes with Seminoles, which slowed the growth of the state
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Mexican-American War
- Gen. Zachary Taylor moves US forces into the Rio Grande area, provoking the Mexican military
- originally a plan to take over all of Mexico, but it is rejected
- the South pushed for the war, as the potential territory would result in slave states
- however, many were enticed by the possibilty of land, though this issue served as part of the basis for the Civil War
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The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
- ended the Mex-Am war
- US pays Mexico $15 million plus other sums of money
- in return, US recieves California, Rio Grande border, and huge tract of land between Cali and Texas
- again made a huge addition to the United States
- opposed by the Whigs
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Clay's Compromise
- never passed as one bill, but most of it eventually passed
- California admitted as a free state
- every other new state admitted follows popular sovereignty
- strengthens the Fugitive Slave Laws
- end of slave trade in Washington
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Period: to
The Changing United States
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Gadsden Purchase
- another plot of land purchased from Mexico for $10 million
- this land to be used to create a transcontinental railroad
- railroads becoming increasingly important for the economy and linking the country's far reaching states
- railroad building halted before its started when the Civil War breaks out
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Kansas-Nebraska Act
- created two new states so a propsed transcontinental railroad could pass through them
- catch: despite being below 36th parallel, slavery would be decided by popular sovereignty
- the North opposes this, because they believed this could lead to the Missouri Compromise being overturned and a further spread of slavery
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Bleeding Kansas
- bloody battles fought between pro and anti slavery groups jockeying for supremacy in Kansas before the slavery vote
- Topeka (Free Soilers)
- LeCompton (Slavery)
- radical John Brown leads a deadly raid on pro-slavery people
- soldiers were sent in, but violence only escalated up to the Civil War
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Period: to
Road to Secession
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Dred Scott Decision
- Supreme Court decision that dramtically changed the slavery policy of the United States
- Missouri Compromise declared unconstitutional, so slaves can be brought anywhere
- ruled that African Americans could not even be citizens if they were free
- ruling was in hopes to end the slavery question, but sparked vehement protestations from Republicans and other anti-slavery groups
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Lincoln Elected President
- Lincoln (Rep) defeats Douglas (Dem)
- while he was not abolitionists, the South viewed him as such
- thought his election meant there was no chance slavery could continue
- whispers of secession begin to filter around
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South Carolina Secedes
- S. Carolina declares that they are seceding from the Union
- want to protect their "right" of slavery
- sets off chain reaction of other states seceding
- secession not recognized by Lincoln, who doesn't believe it to be legally possible
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The Civil War Begins
- first shots of the war fired at Fort Sumter, S. Carolina
- the largest loss of life of American soldiers in a war then ensued
- not a war against slavery, at least at not initially - was to reestablish Union
- led to the end of slavery
