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Christopher Columbus, sailing on the Santa Maria, discovers the Bahamas archipelago and the island now known as Hispaniola. He later visited points further south but never actually touched land on the continent of North America.
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104 men and boys choose Jamestown, Virginia for the location of what will be the first permanent English settlement in America. This location is chosen because it is easily defendable from potential Spanish attacks.
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The French and Indian War begins in 1754, over whether the upper Ohio River Valley is part of the British empire or the French Empire.
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One night in late 1773, a group of 60 men organized and led by Samuel Adams destroy 92,000 pounds of British tea from East India by dumping it into the Boston Harbor. The men do this as a means of retaliation for the British tax on tea.
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British Lt. Colonel Francis Smith and 700 British regulars depart Boston and march toward Concord. The objective: to capture and destroy military stores hidden there by the Massachusetts Militia. However, their plans are foiled when anti-British intelligence inform the colonists of their intentions. The militia is assembled and upon the arrival of the British troops, someone fires a shot, marking the beginning of the War for Independence.
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Congress unanimously votes that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be Free and Independent States.” However, the declaration is adopted and read to the people on July 4th, causing this day to be recognized instead.
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The British surrender forecasts the end of British rule in the colonies and the birth of a new nation.
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The goal of this event is to decide how America is going to be governed.
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Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin, a machine that will revolutionize the production of cotton.
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The Alien and Sedition Acts are four acts passed because the US stood on the brink of war with France, and the Federalists fear that aliens living in the US would sympathize with the French during a war.
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828,000 square miles of land is purchased from France at less than 3 cents an acre, doubling the size of the United States.
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Between the United States and Britain over British violations of US maritime rights.
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The law is passed in an attempt to address growing sectional tensions over the issue of slavery. By passing the law, the U.S. admits Missouri to the Union as a state that allows slavery, and Maine as a free state. It also bans slavery from the remaining Louisiana Purchase lands located north of the 36º 30’ parallel.
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This election marks the beginning of the development of a two-party system similar to our modern system, presidential elections more closely resembling modern political campaigning, and the strengthening of the executive branch.
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American Indian tribes from the South and Southeast are forced to migrate westward.
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A financial crisis in the United States that will cause an economic depression that will last until 1843.
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The first message by telegraph, "What hath God wrought?" is sent.
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A border dispute that resulted in the addition of what is now Texas and part of California to the Union.
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Also known as the Fugitive Slave Law, it compelled free states to assist in the capture of runaway slaves and admitted California to the Union.
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Confederate forces attack the military garrison at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, starting the United States Civil War.
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President Lincoln declares that all slaves "are, and henceforward shall be free."
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The Standard Oil Trust is formed by John D. Rockefeller. From 1870 to 1911 it will control almost all oil production, processing, marketing, and transportation in the US.
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The 13th Amendment abolishes slavery. The 14th Amendment awards citizenship to anyone born in the United States. The 15th Amendment allows Black Americans to vote.
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President Lincoln is shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending the play Our American Cousin with his wife. 12 days later, Booth is killed.
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General Robert E. Lee surrenders his army to General Ulysses S. Grant, ending the bloodiest conflict in US history.
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The primary charge against Johnson is his violation of the Tenure of Office Act. His trial lasts two months and results in acquittal on three of eleven charges and adjoining without a verdict.
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Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for the first telephone.
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Thomas Edison builds the first electric light.
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Two examples of workers' attempts to push back against what they perceive to be unfair management.
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Chiefly caused by Cuba's struggle for independence and the sinking of the USS Maine.
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Wilbur and Orville Wright make four brief flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. They have built the first successful airplane.
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He became president on September 14, 1901, when President McKinley was assassinated, but is not elected until 1904.