US History A Timeline By Lance D. Oct 12, 1492 Columbus discovers America Period: Oct 12, 1492 to Dec 17, 1903 US History A Timeline May 14, 1607 Jamestown is founded Period: 1754 to 1763 French and Indian War Dec 16, 1773 Boston Tea Party Apr 19, 1775 Battle of Lexington and Concord Jul 4, 1776 Declaration of Independence signed Oct 19, 1781 Battle of Yorktown ended Sep 17, 1787 Constitutional Convention finished 1793 Invention of the cotton gin Jul 14, 1794 Alien and Sedition Acts passed May 2, 1803 Louisiana Purchase signed Jun 18, 1812 War of 1812 begins Feb 18, 1815 War of 1812 ends Mar 3, 1820 Missouri Compromise Dec 2, 1828 Andrew Jackson wins presidential election Period: 1831 to 1850 Trail of Tears 1837 Telegraph invented 1837 The Panic of 1837 Apr 25, 1846 Beginning of the Mexican-American War Feb 2, 1848 End of the Mexican-American War Jan 29, 1850 Compromise of 1850 Apr 12, 1861 Firing on Fort Sumter Sep 22, 1862 The Emancipation Proclamation issued Apr 8, 1865 13th Amendment passed Apr 9, 1865 Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse Apr 14, 1865 Assassination of Abraham Lincoln Feb 24, 1868 Andrew Johnson's Impeachment Jul 9, 1868 14th Amendment radified 1870 Standard Oil Trust organized Feb 3, 1870 15th Amendment passed 1876 Invention of the telephone 1879 Invention of the electric light bulb 1892 Homestead Strike 1894 Pullman Strike Apr 21, 1898 Spanish-American War begins Aug 13, 1898 Spanish-American War ends Sep 14, 1901 Theodore Roosevelt takes office Dec 17, 1903 First successful airplane test