-
Proclamation of 1763
Because violence was often sparked between the Indians and the whites, the act fixed a border between them. However, the colonists rebelled against this law because they did not want to be controlled and wanted their freedom back. -
Sugar Act (Revenue Act) of 1764
Since the Molasses Act taxed colonists on sugar imports, colonists have been smuggling sugar in, so the Sugar Act was passed to tax sugar, coffee, wine, and other luxury items. The colonists resented the act and complained because they did not want to spend more money than they already did. -
Currency Act of 1764
The English King wanted to be able to have control over the colonial currency system, so he prohibited the use of paper bills and only allowed coins. However, the colonists barely had any mines to get the metal for the coins, so they protested against that law. -
Stamp Act of 1765
The Stamp Act taxed colonists on all their papers and documents, but it did not tax the people in England. The king blamed the colonists needed to compensate the money necessary for their maintenance. The colonists refused to pay tax because it seemed unreasonable and unfair that England did not have to pay tax. -
The Quartering Act
There was a problem with finding places for British soldiers stationed in the American colonies to live, and the British king attempted to solve this problem by forcing colonists to bring the soldiers into their homes. The colonists refused to follow this act because of widespread evasion, and they didn't want to lose their land due to people taking it. -
Declaratory Act (1766)
This act was to make it clear that England had power over the colonies. It showed that the colonies depended on Britain. The colonists were infuriated because they wanted to be able to have power over themselves. -
Townshend Revenue Act of 1767
This act put taxes on glass, lead, tea, paper, and paint in order to help pay expenses involved in governing the American colonies. The colonists stopped buying those materials in order to discourage the purchase of those imports. -
The Boston Massacre
The Boston (Bloody) Massacre occurred because the colonists could no longer handle the amount of control that the British king suddenly had over them. They attacked the soldiers that were meant to watch over them in the Americas. This started the Boston Massacre. The soldiers had guns and 5 colonists died. -
The Tea Act of 1773
The British king knew that the colonists were buying smuggled tea and wanted to discourage them from doing so by granting the British East India Company a monopoly on importing tea. On December 16, 1773, a group of men disguised as the Mohawk Indians boarded ships to destroy 342 chests of tea in order to protest and demonstrate that the tea imports during the boycott were not tolerated (The Boston Tea Party). -
The Boston Tea Party
A group of colonists dressed as Native Americans destroyed 342 chests of tea on the Boston Harbor in order to show that they did not want to be taxed on imports any longer. They dressed as Natives because they wanted to show that they were loyal to North America and not England because they did not want to be controlled by them anymore. -
The Intolerable (Coercive) Acts of 1774
In order to punish the colony of Massachusetts Bay for the Boston Tea Party, the king authorized the Royal Navy to blockade the Boston Harbor and forbade exports to foreign parts. The colonists protested and gathered, for they could not handle the control any longer.
*George Washington turned to the colony's side because he knew that the Intolerable Acts threatened American liberty -
Lexington and Concord Battle
The British were going to the colonists to take their gunpowder away from them. The colonists found out about the British's plan and they wanted to stop them from taking their gunpowder. The British did not plan on killing any colonists, but since the British felt threatened by the colonists, a battle started. The Americans won the fight and they felt confident about beating the soldiers. -
Bunker (Breed's) Hill Battle
After losing the first battle, the soldiers wanted to make sure that the colonists knew that they still had control over them. So, they planned to attack the colonists on Bunker hill, but the colonists found out about the planned attack, and they went to Breed's hill, and the battle broke out there. The British soldiers ended up winning because the colonists ran out of ammo and were forced to recede. -
The Declaration of Independence
The colonists in the Americas were tired of the British King ruling over them unfairly. Through the declaration, they told him that they were going to be independent and united with the other colonies and create a new and better government. In the declaration, they stated the ways that they have been unreasonably treated by the King called "Crimes of the King" to show that they were not being unreasonable. -
The Battle of Trenton
George Washington led the Continentals and Johann Rall led the Germans. The battle was in Trenton, New Jersey and America won, capturing 900 Germans. 22 Germans died while no Americans died. The win made the Americans want to continue the Revolutionary war. They feel they have greatly improved as a united army. -
The Battle of Saratoga
The Germans and the British were led by General John Burgoyne and America was led by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold. The British and Germans wanted control over the Hudson River, but America won, so they gained control of the river instead. America easily outnumbered the British and Germans by 20,000 to 5,000. America lost 600 men, but the British and Germans lost several hundred more. The war gained their confidence in the Revolutionary war and led to the alliance with France and America. -
The Battle of Valley Forge
Commander in Chief, George Washington, led the American troops (Continentals). They went against General William Howe's troops (the British). The battle was during the winter, so the Americans struggled to survive due to weeks without meat and the shortage of fuel. Valley Forge was where the Continentals trained and gained confidence for the war. Baron Friedrich trained the American army. The British backed out after four days in the battle. America won. -
The Battle of Yorktown
The battle was between the Franco-Americans and the British. It was the last battle in the Revolutionary War because General George Washington beat Lieutenant General Cornwallis and the British. In the battle, the Continentals allied with France. The location was chosen by Lieutenant General Cornwallis because of Yorktown's good harbor. America beat the British. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was created to end hostilities between America and Great Britain. This is also to officially end the Revolutionary War. Since America won, the British had to give up their land in the west and the colonists gained freedom and became an independent country. The treaty was signed by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and John Lay, who were all American representatives. -
Period: to
Westward Expansion
Westward expansion connects to manifest destiny because manifest destiny is the belief that the U.S. had the right to expand westward by God. So, the Americans expanded. The Louisiana Purchase occurred as well as the Mexican-American War were major events that connect to the westward expansion of the U.S. because they led to the creation of many states. However, westward expansion led to sectionalism because the issue of slavery between the North and the South was created. -
3/5 Compromise
The southern states wanted to increase the number of representatives they had in the House of Representatives, but in order to do that, they had to include their enslaved population, which could add 10 representatives. However, the northern states did not want to add the enslaved population because they would not gain any power. They made a compromise where 3/5 of the enslaved population would be counted towards the representatives. -
The Great Compromise
The Great Compromise was created because the small states felt they had less power than the large states because the large states had a larger population and, therefore, more of an opinion. So, the Great Compromise stated that, for the House of Representatives, there will be one representative per state out of every 30,000 people and the Senate will take two representatives for every state, no matter the population size. This way, both the small states and the large states won and lost. -
States Rights (Amendment 10)
Amendment 10 is part of the Bill of Rights that states that any power not listed for the federal government belongs to the state governments. This is sectionalism because it limited the federal government's right to force slave states (the south) to end slavery. That is what separated the north and south states: the south held many slaves and did not plan on ending slavery. -
Whiskey Rebellion
In order to pay off the debt from the Revolutionary War, the national government created a tax for the colonists to pay for whiskey. The colonists despised the law that was passed out and started to rebel by attacking tax collectors' properties. When George Washington was informed of this, he decided to first lower the amount of tax that the people had to pay, but that wasn't enough. So, he decided to use military force to stop them from rebelling, and it stopped the people. -
McCulloch vs. Maryland
In 1791, Congress created a national bank. Maryland argued that Congress should not have the right to create a bank, and McCulloch argued that they should have the right. The Supreme Court unanimously agreed with McCulloch. They decided that the creation of a national bank is needed in order for Congress to make taxes, borrow money, and spend money and that Maryland could not tax the national bank because the Constitution is supreme. -
XYZ Affair
France was attacking the American ships and the Americans wanted them to stop. So, President Adams sent three American men to negotiate peace with them. The minister would not meet with them, so he sent three men to meet them instead: X, Y, and Z. The french men offered a bribe with a lot of money, but the Americans felt offended and did not take the offer because they felt that the french did not respect them. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The government was worried that the french people that lived in America might be spies for France, so they made acts. The Alien Act said that anyone that seemed dangerous would be deported or imprisoned. The Sedition Act stated that it was a crime to speak back against the government. -
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
Many people did not agree with the acts, especially anti-federalists (Democratic-Republicans). They thought those laws were an abuse of power and that the government should not be able to make laws like those because they were a tyranny. So, Virginia and Kentucky decided to pass an act stating the opposite of the acts the government passed. However, the acts were not established for long after President Adams' term, but this showed that states could challenge the national government. -
Embargo Act
The Embargo Act did not allow any U.S. ships to leave the ports except the military ships. Goods were not allowed to be traded with any other country. If a ship did leave a port to transport goods to another state in the U.S., it had to create a bond that guaranteed that it would bring goods to another United States port. -
Period: to
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad referred to the efforts that the slaves took to escape their plantations. There were many ways to go to the North from the South, and it changed because of the Fugitive Slave Act. More than 100,000 people escaped the South with the help of the conductors of the Underground Railroad. This was a result of sectionalism because the slaves from the South wanted to be free, and they could gain freedom in the North, which greatly separates the North from the South. -
War of 1812
The French kept attacking U.S. ships, and they would not negotiate with the U.S., so they kept attacking (XYZ Affair). Even after the Embargo Act that did not allow ships to leave to trade with other countries, the French continued to attack. Finally, President James Madison was between the decision to either start a war with the British and French or not. He wants to keep U.S. neutrality, but also its honor and respect. -
The Missouri Compromise (1820)
When Missouri was going to become a state in the U.S., it was a slave state, but if it was added, the amount of slave (south) states would overpower the number of free (north) states. So, the Missouri Compromise was created where Maine, a free state, was added to help balance. Also, to solve the issue of the rest of the Louisiana territory, a compromise line was created across the nation, officially splitting the country in half: free (north) states and slave (south) states. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine did not allow European colonization to colonize their land or else it would be viewed as an attempt by European powers to interfere with the United States and will be a hostile act against them. It also stated that the U.S. would not interfere in any internal affairs with European countries. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner, a slave, led a rebellion of enslaved people on August 21, 1831. First, he and six others killed his owner and the family. Seventy-five more enslaved people came together with him and murdered about fifty-five people. After being in hiding for six weeks, Turner and sixteen of the men were found and hung in Virginia. This is sectionalism because Turner was revolting for the freedom of his people that he could not obtain in the South because the states were slave states. -
Harriet Tubman
On September 17, 1849, Harriet Tubman and her brothers escaped the Maryland plantation they worked as slaves at. Harriet became a conductor for the Underground Railroad, but when the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act was passed, it made Harriet's job harder. Despite the act, she still helped more than 70 slaves escape. Slaves escaping was a result of sectionalism because slaves from the South wanted freedom, so they went to Pennsylvania (the first state to abolish slavery) to be free. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was five bills that were meant to resolve fights about slavery in new states. The compromise allowed California to be a free state, let Utah and New Mexico have sovereignty, and made a Texas-New Mexico boundary. This is an example of sectionalism because the compromise separated the states into either slave or free. That decision is one of the first things to think of because it might "ruin the balance" but it is really just creating a bigger divide between the states. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act nullified the Missouri Compromise because it allowed a slave state to be north of the compromise line. The act also allowed Kansas and Nebraska to choose if they wanted to be slave or free states, also known as sovereignty. They chose to be slave states. However, after the bill was passed, pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas created violence. This was sectionalism because the states were so focused on being slave or free states that violence broke out. -
Harpers Ferry
A group of abolitionists led by John Brown raided a federal armory in Virginia to start an armed revolt against slavery. The abolitionists killed five people in a raid. However, by the end of the raid, soldiers killed ten of the abolitionists, and, after Brown was found guilty, was sent to the gallows on December 2, 1859. This was a result of sectionalism because abolitionists were killing pro-slavery settlers to revolt for the abolishment of slavery. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln and declared that all slaves in states not under Union control will be freed. The proclamation redefined the Civil War from preserving the Union to focusing on ending slavery. Although the proclamation was not effective in freeing slaves, it was very symbolic because it showed the North's intentions. Lincoln expected the proclamation to combine the states, so he meant for it to be nationalism, but it ended up not affecting sectionalism.