US History and American Literature By O Stanley 1453 Ottoman Turks conquer Constantinople 1488 Dias rounds Cape of Good Hope 1492 Columbus Discovers America Period: 1492 to 1985 US History and American Literature 1493 Columbus reports to Ferdinand and Isabella May 4, 1493 Pope Alexander VI divides world between Spain and Portugal 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas 1497 Cabot lands in North America 1509 Henry VIII succeeds Henry VII throne 1513 Ponce de Leon names Florida 1519 Magellan heads for the Spice Islands 1521 Hernan Cortes vs. Aztecs in Mexico 1535 Fransisco Pizzaro vs. Incas in Peru 1541 Pizzaro murdered 1547 Henry VIII dies 1553 Queen Mary I takes throne 1558 Queen Mary I dies 1558 Queen Elizabeth takes throne 1558 English defeat the Armada 1588 King Philip II of Spain assembles the Armada 1603 Queen Elizabeth dies 1607 Jamestown settlers begin building May 13, 1607 The Settlement of Jamestown 1608 Captain John Smith saved by Pocahontas 1612 John Rolfe introduces tobacco to the New World 1616 A Description of New England (book) by John Smith 1617 Pocahontas dies 1619 Pilgrims set sail for America on Mayflower 1621 Pilgrims sign treaty with Massasoit 1630 The Great Migration 1636 Harvard University is founded 1647 Deluder Law 1649 England becomes a Commonwealth 1660 England becomes a Monarchy again 1675 King Philip's War (1675-76) 1682 Sieur de La Salle sails down Mississippi and names Louisiana 1689 King William's War (1689-97) 1692 Tituba accused of witchcraft in Salem 1707 Great Britain comes to existence with Acts of Union passed by the English and Scottish Parliaments (Mr. Jones) 1729 Ben Franklin's, The Pennsylvania Gazette, begins 1733 Ben Franklin's, Poor Richard's Almanac, begins Jul 8, 1741 Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathan Edwards 1743 Ben Franklin founds, The Philosophical Society 1749 Franklin flies kite with key 1754 The French and Indian War Jul 10, 1754 The Albany Plan of Union 1761 James Otis on Writs of Assistance 1763 Peace of Paris signed Dec 16, 1773 The Boston Tea Party Apr 19, 1775 The Battle of Lexington and Concord Jul 4, 1776 The Declaration of Independence Sep 28, 1781 The Battle of Yorktown Aug 17, 1786 Davy Crockett born 1787 The Contrast Excerpt by Royall Tyler May 27, 1787 The Constitutional Convention Sep 9, 1787 George Washington's Farewell Address Oct 27, 1787 Federalist Papers #1 Dec 18, 1787 Federalist Papers #23 1793 Invention of the Cotton Gin by Eli Whitney 1798 The Alien and Sedition Acts 1801 The Louisiana Purchase Jun 18, 1812 The War of 1812 1826 The Last of the Mohicans 1829 Andrew Jackson's Elected 1831 Sketch of a Blue Stocking by Catharine Maria Sedgwick 1831 The Trail of Tears 1832 The Ministers Black Veil by Hawthorne 1837 Invention of the Telegraph Mar 27, 1841 The Big Bear of Arkansas 1842 The Oval Portrait by Edgar Allen Poe 1846 The Patchwork Quilt by Catharine Maria Sedgwick Apr 25, 1846 The Mexican - American War 1849 Civil Disobedience by Thoreau 1850 The Scarlet Letter Jan 29, 1850 The Compromise of 1850 1854 The Missouri Compromise 1855 Benito Cereno by Herman Melville 1857 Dred Scott vs. Sandford Apr 12, 1861 The Firing on Fort Sumter Jan 1, 1863 The Emancipation Proclamation 1863 My Contraband by Louisa May Alcott Jan 1, 1863 End of Reconstruction 1863 Standard Oil Trust - Formed Apr 8, 1864 13th Amendment - Senate Jan 31, 1865 13th Amendment - House Apr 1, 1865 Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse Apr 14, 1865 Abraham Lincoln's Assassination Feb 24, 1868 Andrew Johnson's Impeachment Jul 9, 1868 14th Amendment - Feb 26, 1869 15th Amendment - Congress 1870 Standard Oil Company - Renamed Feb 3, 1870 15th Amendment - Ratified Mar 10, 1876 Invention of the Telephone - Bell 1879 Invention of the Electric Light - Edison Dec 10, 1884 Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain 1889 The Pullman and Homestead Strikes 1891 Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving Apr 12, 1891 The Boarded Window by Ambrose Bierce Jan 14, 1893 Desiree's Baby by Kate Chopin Apr 21, 1898 The Spanish and American War 1901 The Dark Brown Dog by Stephen Crane Sep 14, 1901 Theodore Roosevelt Becomes President May 29, 1902 To Build a Fire by Jack London Dec 12, 1903 Invention of the Airplane - Wright Brothers Dec 10, 1905 The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry 1914 Penrod by Booth Tarkington 1984 Sumer is Icumen In 2006 America: The Best Last Hope