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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. -
Period: 1492 to
US History 1 Review
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Jamestown Colony
Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America, located in Virginia. It was organized by King James 1. -
Plymouth Colony
During the rule of King James 1, a group of roughly 100 men and women crossed the sea to New England. They were one of the first settlements. During the first winter more than 50% of them died. Today they are known as the Pilgrims. -
New England Colonies
Here is where we typically are referencing when we talk about Colonial America. This is where the Pilgrims settled. This includes Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. -
Massachusetts Bay Colony
One of the original colonies, it was settled by roughly 1000 colonists led by John Winthrop. In 1629 they obtained a charted to begin trade. -
The Middle Colonies
in 1664, King Charles II gave the land between New England and Virginia to his brother, the Duke of York, who named the land New York. He then gifted the land below and to the west to William Penn. This land became known as Pennsylvania. -
The Southern Colonies
At the time of the founding, it was known as the Carolina Colony, and stretched from Virginia to Florida. Unlike its northern counterparts, the Carolina Colony was based around farming, and relied heavily on slavery. -
Middle Passage
Middle Passage was the mass forced transportation of Africans to the Americas to serve as slaves as part of the massive trade taking place involving materials such as rum, knives, and various raw materials. -
Great Awakening
A massive religious awakening led by Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield. Towards the end of the 1600's, the religious fervor of the American Colonies was fading, but these two religious leaders helped revive it. -
French and Indian War
France began claiming land closer and closer to British colonies, sometimes overlapping. Eventually Britain declared war, and suffered a series of defeats. However with help from Prussia, they eventually won. -
Stamp Act
This was the first attempt by Great Britain to raise taxes in order to clear their debts. They charged on the shipment on all documents and papers, postcards, pamphlets, stamps, and dice. However the American Colonials protested, burning stamps and refusing to pay the taxes. -
Boston Massacre
A group of American colonists were marching through the streets, harassing and hurling abuse towards British soldiers. It wasn't long before a soldier accidentally fired his musket, causing the others to shoot, killing 4 of the protesters. -
Boston Tea Party
Event in which American colonists attacked British trade ships, throwing almost 350 chests of tea into the sea in retaliation to high taxes. -
Battle of Lexington and Concord
An order was issued to British General Thomas Gage to sieze American arms at Concord. However they were intercepted by 70 militia men. It's not known who fired first, but the militia was forced to withdraw. -
American Revolutionary War
The 8 year war between America and Britain in which the US attained freedom from the British led by George Washington. -
Declaration of Independence
A document signed by colonist officials announcing the seperation of the 13 colonies from Great Britain. -
Valley Forge
A place in Pennsylvania in which George Washington encamped the American forces over the winter. Despite many struggles, the army emerged the next summer a well oiled fighting machine. -
Battle of Yorktown
The last major battle in the American revolution, in which the British general Lord Charles Cornwallis surrendered to Washington. It was this event that marked Washington as an exemplary leader. -
Articles of Confederation
The first American constitution that established sovereign states. This was the bridge to our modern day government. -
Constitutional Convention
Spurned on by economical struggles and the call for a stronger central government, delegates from each state met and wrote up the modern Constitution. -
Industrial Revolution
A shift from manual and agricultural production to the use of Machines for efficiency. -
Bill of Rights
The first 10 amendments accepted to the modern constitution, including freedom from unreasonable search and seizure, freedom of speech, and freedom to bear arms. -
Abolitionism
The main push throughout the western world to put an end to slavery and to move to other means of production. By 1888, slavery was abolished all throughout the world. -
Louisiana Purchase
The purchase of the Western half of the Mississippi Basin from France for less than 3 cents an acre. This is the single greatest land bargain in US history. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
A military journey issued by President Jefferson to explore the west. He sent his personal secretary Meriwether Lewis to take a group of soldiers to find a hypothetical river connecting the East coast to the West. -
Underground Railroad
A system created by sympathetic northerners to help Slaves from the south to escape to the North and to safe places lead by people like Harriet Tubman. -
War of 1812
A war fought between the US and Great Britain over violations of Maritime rights. This stemmed between the war between France and Britain as each tried to prevent the other from trading with the US. -
Missouri Compromise
A deal worked out between the South and North that allowed Missouri to become the 24th state. This marked the blossom of conflict which lead to the Civil War. -
Election of 1824
US presidential election in which John Adams was elected president after Andrew Jackson won the most popular and electoral votes but failed to win Majority vote. -
Indian Removal Act
First legislature that acknowledged the rights of the Natives. This act allowed the President to offer natives unsettled land in return for their land. -
Battle of the Alamo
The battle of the Alamo was a 13 day battle fought in the Texas War of Independence from Mexico. Eventually the Texans gave out to the mass of Mexican Soldiers. -
Manifest Destiny
The idea that the west and other unexplored land was given to white settlers by god and that they were doing his will by colonizing it. -
Mexican-American War
A war fought over the annexation of Texas and where exactly the Texas Border ended. The US was primarily the victor, and ended up gaining over 500,000 square miles. -
California Gold Rush
A rush of people to California after the discovery of gold. Its estimated that more than 300,000 people migrated. -
Compromise of 1850
A compromise to resolve growing tensions between the South and North concerning slavery created by Henry Clay -
Bleeding Kansas
A small civil war fought between pro-slavery advocates and Abolitionists over the new territory of Kansas and whether it should be a slave state. Eventually it was decided to be a free state, but not after many deaths -
Dred Scott Decision
A decision that decided that a former slave who lived in a free state was not entitled to his rights by the Supreme Court. They also decided that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and that African Americans would never be citizens. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
A series of debates between the Pro-Slave Stephen Douglas and Anti-slavery Abraham Lincoln. Douglas repeatedly attempted to brand Lincoln a dangerous radical in response to Lincolns deconstruction of the ethics of slavery. -
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter was a fort on an island off the coast of South Carolina. When South Carolina withdrew from the Union, they believed that the fort should become confederate property. However the US government laid claim to it. Tensions grew, until April 12, 1861 when confederate soldiers attacked the fort. -
Confederate States Of America
Under the belief that president Abraham Lincoln threatened their way of life, 11 southern states seceded from the Union, creating their own government with their own currency and laws. -
Civil War
War was declared after the confederate attack on Fort Sumter in an effort to regain control of the southern states and to end slavery in them. It lasted for four years and was the bloodiest war in American History. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Edict issued by Pres. Abraham Lincoln that freed the slaves in the southern states. He threatened the southern states to return to the Union in the following year or the slaves would be free, but no state rejoined. -
Battle of Gettysburg
A battle fought 35 miles south of Pennsylvania that was a crushing southern defeat. This battle is often regarded as the turning point in the war. -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg address is a world famous speech delivered at the commemoration and dedication of the National Cemetery at Gettysburg by President Lincoln. -
Battle of Appomattox Courthouse
One of the final battles in the Civil war, Union general Ulysses S. Grant Pursued General Robert E. Lee until his eventual surrender at the Appomattox Courthouse, which was considered the beginning of the end of the Civil War. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
An Abolitionist book published to dramatize and draw attention to the struggles of slaves. It revolves around a slave who is brought to the US and eventually killed.
