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Proclamation of 1763
This act prohibited settlement beyond the Appalachian Mountains. It was made to prevent conflict between the Natives and the British Colonists. This act irritated the colonists, but they ignored it and moved west anyway. -
Sugar Act (Revenue Act) (1764)
This act was made to raise taxes on coffee, wine, and distilled rum (luxury goods) while it lowered duties on molasses and sugar. During the war there was an increased amount of smuggling, especially French-Caribbean molasses. The colonists had great resentment towards this act, the Sugar Act was a major turning point that let to the American Revolution. This act gave birth to the saying "no taxation without representation". -
Currency Act (1774)
This act prohibited the making of any new colonial bills - the British abolished the bills. The bills did not work with the currency the British used so they stopped the production of them. The colonists claimed this new act messed up trade between the colonies and England. -
Stamp Act (1765)
This act placed a tax on newspaper, playing cards, stamps, wills, and other paper products. The British government places this act because they needed more money because they were in great debt. They colonists were very angry - they damaged the officials' property and wrote petitions. -
The Quartering Act (1765)
England left a large amount of soldiers they sent to fight the war in the colonies; England said they left them for defense but the colonies had to pay for the housing and everything the soldiers needed. The colonists did not like this act, some colonies refused this act all together. -
Declaratory Act (1766)
This act declared that Parliament was supreme to all the colonies in every way. This act was made so people could not question the Parliament's right to enforce tax, etc. The colonists did not like this act and there were many complaint letters sent and articles written informing the colonists on how terrible this act was. -
Townshend Revenue Act (1767)
This act regulated the taxation of glass, lead, paint, paper, and tea. England enforced this act to help pay for expenses. The colonists are very angry that they have to pay even more money in taxes to a government that was not treating them well. There were many protests and boycotts including two boycott documents. -
Boston Massacre
The colonists and the British soldiers got into a fight which resulted in the death of five colonists. The fight started as few colonists were teasing and harassing a British soldier, and it grew into a mob of angry colonists and frustrated soldiers. The colonists threw snowballs and other things at they soldiers as they verbally harassed them. Eventually the soldiers lost their patience and started firing. -
The Tea Act (1773)
This act reduced the tax on imported British tea which gave the British merchants an unfair advantage to sell tea. The colonists boycotted tea and one day snuck onto a ship that help the tea and knocked it all overboard. This was called the Boston Tea Party. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was when the Sons of Liberty snuck onto ships containing British tea in the Boston harbor. They dressed as Indians and overthrew every case of tea on the ships as a boycott towards the taxation of British tea. The Townshend Act placed a tax on tea, which many of the colonists resented. Instead, the colonists bought tea from Dutch smugglers. The colonists boycotted British tea and many other British products. -
The Intolerable Acts (1774)
This act closed the port of Boston, altered the government in the Massachusetts bay colony to tailor the to English government, allowed British officials who lived in the colonies who were accused of breaking the law to be tried in another colony or England, and allowed British troops to live in homes and unoccupied buildings. As an effect, the colonists stopped trade with Britain and formed a congress. -
The Battles of Lexington and Concord
The colonists wanted to protect their weapons that were for the local militia or "minute men". They wanted to prove they were not weak. In the battles of Lexington and Concord the colonists destroyed the British. After the battles, 20,00 more colonists joined the army. This formed the Continental Army. -
The Battle of Bunker Hill (Breed's Hill)
The colonists wanted to prevent British soldiers from conducting attacks after the battles of Lexington and Concord. There was a hill, Bunker Hill, which was advantageous for whichever side got it. The British grabbed the wrong hill, Breed's Hill, leaving the colonists with the advantage. Even though the colonists had the advantage, they lost. The British kept the hill. -
The Declaration of Independence
The Continental Congress wrote a declaration for the world, declaring that the colonies wanted independence from the King. The Declaration of Independence was signed by each member of the Continental Congress. -
Battle of Trenton
Generals George Washington and General Colonel Johan let the battle. America won the battle. The Battle of Trenton make America want to continue the war - they felt stronger. -
Battle of Saratoga
The British leader was John Burgoyne, and the American leaders were Benedict Arnold and Itoratio Gates. America won the battle. This battle was fought over who would gain control of the Hudson River Valley. This battle led to the intervention of France. -
The Battle of Valley Forge
The battle was led by George Washington, Baron Friedrich von Stuben, and William Howe. The British retreated and America won. This was a crucial leading point to the war. -
Battle of Yorktown
The American leaders were George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and William Phillips. This was the last battle of the war and the Americans won. The British surrendered. -
Treaty of Paris (1783)
The Treaty of Paris was signed by John Adams, Ben Franklin, and John Lay (American representatives), and representatives from England. This treaty was the official ending to the Revolutionary War and it ended hostilities between Britain and America. The Treaty of Paris established trade rules and boundaries. -
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Westward Expansion
The idea of Manifest Destiny pushed many Americans to head west for better lives. Expansion improved the lives of many Americans and led to the California Gold Rush, the Mexican-American War, and many other important events. Westward Expansion connects to nationalism because the whole country moved to the west in order to make the U.S. bigger, and not just the north or south. -
The 3/5 Compromise
The Southern states wanted their slaves to count as votes so that they could have more representatives and more votes for the Presidential election. The Northern states did not want them to count because they didn't want the south having more power. It was decided that 3/5 of the slaves would count as people for taxes and votes. The 3/5 Compromise divided the nation, because people were only thinking about North or South. -
The Great Compromise
The Great Compromise was decided at the 1787 Constitutional Convention. The smaller states felt like they did not have any power compared to the bigger states. It was decided that a Senate would created, and would have two representatives from each state. The House of Representatives would be created, and the amount of representatives would vary based on population. -
The Whiskey Rebellion
The government needed to get out of the debt they had from the Revolutionary War. Alexander Hamilton suggested that the government should put a tax on items such as spirits. Many Americans did not believe that the government had the right to enforce a federal tax. There were many violent protests, and eventually George Washington used military force to quiet the riots. -
States Rights (Amendment 10)
The 10th Amendment gave the states the right to make their own laws on anything the Constitution did not cover. There was no law in the Constitution about slavery, so they could make their own. Giving the states their own rights allowed them to focus on their section instead of the whole country. This caused division because different states had different ideas, and often they fought over them. -
XYZ Affair
France was attacking American ships and President John Adams wanted the attacks to stop. The president sent three ambassadors to France to negotiate a deal with the French minister. The minister instead sent three representatives. The representatives were very rude and wanted a bribe. In history the representatives are referred to as X, Y, and Z. -
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
Democratic-Republicans believed that the Alien and Sedition Acts were against the Constitution. The states believed that they could abolish the acts. While the states did not end up repealing the laws (Congress let the laws expire), it showed the federal government that the states were a force to be reckoned with. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were acts made to prevent anyone from hurting the U.S. government. The Alien Act gave the President the right to imprison anyone he thinks is dangerous. The Sedition Act said it was a crime to speak badly of the government. Both of these acts were unconstitutional and expired after John Adams' term as president. -
Embargo Act
The Embargo Act placed an embargo on all ships that were heading to foreign countries. The U.S. wanted to stop all trade with France and England to get France to stop messing with the U.S. No trade was made with any other countries during the embargo. -
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The Underground Railroad
A group of people called abolitionists hated slavery and wanted to end it. Many slaves tried to escape their plantations in hope of freedom. The abolitionists formed the Underground Railroad to help slaves get to the North. The Underground Railroad helped unite society and form alliances in the north. It relates to nationalism because the Underground Railroad was made to help the country end slavery. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought between the British and the Americans over the capturing of American ships and sailors. The British were attacking American ships and kidnapping the soldiers. The British were also interfering with American trade. The British won the War of 1812. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
In 1791 Congress created the First Bank of America. In the Constitution there was no expressed right for Congress to be able to create a bank. Some people were very upset that Congress had assumed that they had an implied right to make the bank. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of McCulloch, and Congress had the power to create banks. -
The Compromise of 1820 (Missouri Compromise)
The Missouri Compromise was a plan to divide the Louisiana Territory into slave and free states. Missouri would be a slave state and Maine would be a free state. The coordinates 30, 36 N. divided the nation into north and south. Everything north of the line was free, and the land south of the line would vote on it. The Missouri Compromise connected the U.S. back together after there was so much division. It soothed arguments over boundaries in order to unite the nation. -
Monroe Doctrine
A statement made by President James Monroe which declared that the U.S. would not tolerate the colonization of European countries in the Western Hemisphere. The Monroe Doctrine also said that the U.S. would not colonize in Europe. Any colonization in the Western Hemisphere would be interpreted as an act of war. -
The Compromise of 1850
After the U.S. gained land from the Mexican Cession and Oregon Territory, they didn't know what to do with it. So, they decided to come up with a new compromise. They made California a free state, and let the people vote on slavery in New Mexico and Utah. The D.C. slave trade was banned. The government also gave Texas $10 million to end border arguments with Mexico, and the Fugitive Slave Law was passed. This compromise patched the U.S. back together after there was a lot of division. -
The Fugitive Slave Law
The Fugitive Slave Law was passed because slave owners in the South were losing their slaves. Many slaves tried to run away and escape and slave owners wanted them back. This law required anyone who found runaway slaves to return them back to their owners. People in the South wanted their half of the country to remain in power, and by losing slaves, their population and economy decreased. They did not care about what the North thought of slavery. -
Secession
Many southern states wanted to keep slavery because their economy depended on it. When Abraham Lincoln was elected President, eleven states left the U.S. They formed their own union, and this caused the Civil War. The states who left the United States only cared about their section, and they didn't care about anyone else. Them leaving caused the nation to be divided into two halves, North and South. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation stating that all slaves are now free people. This took place during the Civil War. President Lincoln wanted slaves to be freed for the good of the country and not just for the North. Even though there would be outrage in the south, the Emancipation Proclamation was focused on the country as a whole. -
Frederick Douglas
Fredrick Douglas died on this date. He was a slave in Maryland before he escaped. He was the national leader of the Abolitionist movement. He worked on abolitionism in New York and Massachusetts. He was an activist who spoke out about slavery. He cared about the future of the nation, and not just making people in the south suffer. His work united African-Americans and White people to unite for a common cause. This relates to nationalism because he brought the country together. -
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman died on this date. She was a member of the Underground Railroad. She helped 70 slaves escape slavery, and helped them get to the North. She was an enslaved person before she escaped, and she dedicated her life to helping others. What she did was for the good of the country, and not just for the North.