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Oct 12, 1492
The Discovery of America by Columbus
On August 3rd, in 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain with three ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. On the 12th of October, they arrived on one of the Bahamian islands, not the East Indies as they had hoped. -
The Settlement of Jamestown
On the 13th of May, 104 English males choose Jamestown, Virginia for their new settlement, and named it after their current king. -
The French and Indian War
The war began in 1754 and ended with the Treaty of Paris in 1763. The war ended up with Great Britain seeing huge territory growth. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest commenced by the Sons of Liberty on the 16th of December in 1773. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
The Battle of Lexington and Concord that was fought on April 19th, 1775, is what started the Revolutionary War. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is the document that announced America's separation from England, published on July 4th, in 1776. -
The Battle of Yorktwon
The Battle of Yorktown, which lasted three weeks, was the final battle of the American Revolution. The battle began on September 28th, and ended on October 19th in 1781. -
The Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional Convention was an event to decide how America was going to be governed. It took place from May 14th to September 17th in 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. -
The invention of the cotton gin
The invention of the cotton gin, meaning "cotton engine," is simply a machine that would remove seeds from cotton fiber. -
The Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were four laws that gave restrictions to speech and immigration, in anticipation for a war with France. -
The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase, also known as the "Sale of Louisiana," was the event when the French First Republic sold the territory of Louisiana to the United States for 15 million dollars. -
The War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a fight against the British and their allies, commenced by America (also with their own allies) because the British violated the maritime rights. -
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a law that addressed the growing tension over slavery. The law tried to balance the wishes of the northern states and the southern states, who had different ideas on slavery. -
Andrew Jackson’s Election
Andrew Jackson’s Election in 1828 was an important event that kicked off the development of presidential electioneering, making it similar to modern political campaigning. The election also strengthened the power of the executive branch. -
The invention of the telegraph
The telegraph was developed in the 1830s and 1840s, completely revolutionizing long-distance communication. The first message sent on the telegraph was in 1844, and said, "What hath God wrought?" -
The Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis caused a time of depression. Prices, wages, and profits all felt the effect and went down while unemployment went up. -
The Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was a route the Native Americans used when they were forced to leave their lands. It was part of the Indian removal, which occurred over a period of about two decades. -
The Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War was caused by Mexico refusing to recognize Texas independence. This kicked off the 2 year battle between Mexico and America. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 introduced five new laws that dealt with the issue of slavery and territorial expansion. -
The Firing on Fort Sumter
The Firing on Fort Sumter was caused when General P.G.T. Beauregard commenced fire on Fort Sumter. After 34 hours of fighting, the fort surrendered. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation announced "that all persons held as slaves," within the rebellious states, "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, the 14th Amendment gave citizenship to all people born in the US, and the 15th Amendment gave Black Americans the right to vote. Together, these three Amendments abolished slavery. -
Surrender at Appomattox Court House
The Surrender at Appomattox Court House was caused by General Robert E. Lee surrendering his army to the Union general, due to Lee wanting to prevent unnecessary destruction to the south. -
Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by an actor called John Wilkes Booth, who killed him because he thought Lincoln was trying to destroy the South. -
Andrew Johnson’s Impeachment
Andrew Johnson was the 17th president, but ended up being impeached in 1868 for "high crimes and misdemeanors." -
The Organization of Standard Oil Trust
The Standard Oil Trust was founded in 1870 by John D. Rockefeller. He built it up to eventually become the largest oil refinery in the world. -
The invention of the telephone
From 1876-1877, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone revolutionized communication. -
The invention of the electric light
In 1802, Humphry Davy invented the first electric light. However, Thomas Edison improved the design and made the first high resistance, incandescent electric light in 1879. -
The Pullman and Homestead Strikes
The Pullman and Homestead Strikes were two major labor strikes. They were caused by workers protesting their low wages. -
The Spanish-American War
On August 13, 1898, the Spanish-American War begun. It commenced after the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor. -
The invention of the airplane
In 1903, the Wright brothers invented the first successful airplane and made four brief flights at Kitty Hawk. -
Theodore Roosevelt becomes president
After the assassination of President William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt became president. He had only been the vice president for 194 days before gaining the title of president.