-
Jun 15, 1215
The Magna Carta is written to limit the power of English rulers
-
Aug 1, 1492
Columbus sets sail to find a route to the East Indies
-
Nov 8, 1519
Hernando Cortes captures Tenochtitlan, beginning the fall of the Aztec empire
-
Virginia founded
-
Massachusetts founded
-
The Mayflower Compact, the first document of self-government in North America, is written by Pilgrim leaders in Plymouth
-
New Hampshire founded
-
New York founded
-
Maryland founded
-
Connecticut founded
-
Rhode Island founded
-
Deleware founded
-
The Carolinas founded
-
New Jersey founded
-
Pennsylvania founded
-
The English Bill of rights is written to limit the monarchy and protect the rights of citizens
-
John Locke publishes "Two Treatises on Government"
-
The Carolinas split into North and South Carolina
-
Georgia founded
-
Baron de Montesquieu publishes "The Spirit of the Laws," urging that the government power be divided into three branches
-
French and Indian war begins at Battle of Fort Necessity
-
Quebec surrenders to the British
-
British troops take Montreal, ending the French and Indian War fighting in North America
-
Treaty of Paris is signed between Britain and France, ending the French and Indian war
-
Sugar Act
-
Stamp Act
-
Townshened Acts
-
Father Junipero Serra builds first mission at San Diego
-
Boston Massacre
-
Tea Act
-
Boston Tea Party
-
Intolerable Acts
-
First Continental Congress convenes in Philadelphia
-
French troops defeat General Braddock
-
"The shot heard round the world" is fired in Lexington
-
Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia
-
Battle of Bunker Hill
-
American troops seize Montreal
-
American troops fail to take Quebec
-
Thomas Paine writes Common Sense
-
Continental Congress accepts the Declaration of Independence
-
Articles of Confederation written
-
British troops surrender at Saratoga
-
Benedict Arnold turns traitor to the American cause
-
American's troops capture King's Mountains
-
Articles of Confederation go into effect
-
British troops surrender at Yorktown
-
Treaty of Paris is ratified by Congress, ending the Revolutionary War
-
The "Empress of China" becomes the first American ship to trade with China
-
Land Ordinance of 1785
-
Shay's Rebellion
-
Northwest Ordinance
-
Consitutional Convention opens in Philedelphia
-
Consitution approved by Constitutional Convention
-
Delaware becomes first state to ratify the US consitution
-
New Hampshire becomes the ninth state to ratify the US Constitution, allowing it to go into effect
-
Congress creates the first five executive departments
-
Congress passes the Judiciary Act to organize the federal court system
-
George Washington is inaugurated as our 1st President in New York City
-
The French Revolution begins when an angry mob storms the Bastille
-
Congress creates the first Bank of the United States
-
French King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette are beheaded
-
Britain seizes American ships trading in the French West Indies
-
Washington issues the Neutrality Proclamation
-
The Whiskey Rebellion
-
11th Amendment - Suits against States
-
George Washington publishes his Farewell Address
-
John Adams is inaugurated as our 2nd President
-
France seizes American ships trading in the French West Indies
-
XYZ Affair
-
Alien and Sedition Acts passed
-
George Washington dies in his Virginia home, Mount Vernon
-
Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr receive the same number of electoral votes for President, causing Congress to eventually pass the 12th amendment
-
-Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated the third President of the United States
-
-Marbury v. Madison tried before the Supreme Court, establishing judicial review
-
Thomas Jefferson approves the purchase of Louisiana purchase
-
Federalist leader, Alexander Hamilton, killed in a duel with Republican, Aaron Burr
-
Lewis and Clark set out from St. Louis to explore the American west
-
12th Amendment - Election of President and Vice President
-
Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific Ocean
-
Lewis and Clark return to St. Louis
-
Zebulon Pike views a mountain peak rising above the Colorado plains, which becomes known as "Pikes Peak"
-
Thomas Jefferson persuades Congress to pass the Embargo Act
-
James Madison wins the election and becomes our fourth President
-
Congress passes the Nonintercourse Act to replace the Embargo Act
-
President Madison asks Congress to declare war on Britain
-
The American ship, the Constitution, battles the British ship, Guerriere, in the north Atlantic near the beginning of the War of 1812
-
Battle of Lake Erie
-
Battle of Horseshoe Bend
-
Britain defeats France in the war in Europe
-
Battle of New Orleans
-
British troops capture Washington, DC
-
Treaty of Ghent signed
-
US and Britain reach agreement to jointly occupy Oregon
-
William Becknell leads group of traders from Missouri to New Mexico
-
Stephen Austin is given a land grant and leads settlers into Texas
-
Joseph Smith founds the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
-
Nat Turner's Rebellion
-
General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna comes to power in Mexico
-
Mexican troops begin a siege of the Alamo
-
Texans declare independence from Mexico
-
Battle of San Jacinto is won by Sam Houston
-
Manifest Destiny plays important role in election of James K Polk as President
-
Joseph Smith is killed, Mormons choose Brigham Young as their leader
-
Congress passes resolution to admit Texas to the Union
-
US and Britain avoid war over Oregon Country by splitting it with Britain at latitude 49N
-
Fighting at Rio Grande sparks beginning of Mexican War
-
President Polk orders troops into disputed area along Rio Grande
-
Brigham Young moves the Mormons from Illinois to Utah for safety
-
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo signed, ending the Mexican War, and forcing Mexico to cede California and New Mexico to the United States
-
John Sutter strikes gold at his sawmill on the American River in California
-
Missouri Compromise
-
The "forty-niners" make the long journey to California in search of gold
-
California is admitted to the Union as a free state
-
Compromise of 1850
-
Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes "Uncle Tom's Cabin"
-
The Gadsden Purchase is made, with the US paying Mexico $10 million for a strip of land to finish building a railroad
-
Kansas-Nebraska Act
-
Bleeding Kansas
-
Dred Scott Decision
-
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
-
John Brown's Raid of Harpers Ferry, Virginia
-
Lincoln is elected 16th President of the United States
-
Secession of South Carolina
-
Virginia joins the Confederacy
-
Firing on Fort Sumter
-
Battle of Bull Run of First Manassas
-
Battles at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson
-
Jackson's Valley Campaign
-
Battle of Shiloh
-
Second Manassas
-
Battle of Antietam
-
Emancipation Proclamation
-
Battle of Chaplin Hills
-
Battle of Fredericksburg
-
Battle of Murfreesboro
-
Battle of Chancellorsville
-
Siege of Vicksburg
-
General Order 143
-
Battle of Gettysburg
-
Gettysburg Address
-
Atlanta Campaign
-
Overland Campaign
-
Siege of Petersburg
-
March to the Sea
-
Reelection of Lincoln
-
Lee's Army surrenders at Appomattox Courthouse
-
Lincoln is assassinated
-
Joseph Johnston's Army surrenders
-
13th Amendment - Abolition of Slavery
-
14th Amendment - Rights of Citizens
-
15th Amendment - Voting Rights
-
16th Amendment - The Income Tax
-
17th Amendment - Direct Election of Senators
-
18th Amendment - Prohibition of Alcoholic Beverages
-
19th Amendment - Women's Suffrage
-
20th Amendment - Presidential Terms; Sessions of Congress
-
21st Amendment - Repeal of 18th Amendment (Prohibition)
-
22nd Amendment - Limit on number of President's Terms
-
23rd Amendment - Presidential Electors for District of Columbia
-
24th Amendment - Abolition of Poll Tax in National Elections
-
25th Amendment - Presidential Succession and Disability
-
26th Amendment - Voting Age
-
27th Amendment - Congressional Pay Increase
