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1492
Christopher Columbus
An Italian explorer sailing for Spain who believed that Asia (India) could be reached by sailing west from Europe. His first voyage was in 1492, wherein he discovered North America (Caribbean islands) and named it the West Indies. He will make four voyages to the new world without fully realizing what he had discovered. -
Period: 1492 to
US History Recap
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1518
Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was a voyage of enslaved African Americans also known as the slave trade. The voyage was from Europe to Africa and took about 21 to 90 days. It not only carried slaves, but other goods like guns and ammunition. It also carried raw material like: rice, sugar, tobacco, and much more. -
Jamestown
First permanent English settlement established on May 14, 1607. King James I gave a charter to investors, so they could find a place for an establishment for their company. Jamestown was chosen as the settlement because the ships could pull in close for easy loading and unloading of supplies, not occupied, and was connected to the mainland, but my only a small piece of land, which made it easy to defend. Tobacco was successful in Jamestown. -
Southern Colonies
The Southern Colonies consisted of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. These colonies had the largest population of slaves. The slaves worked on plantations that produced tobacco, cotton, and indigo. -
Plymouth
During September 1620 the Pilgrims (members of the English Separatists Church) set sail on the Mayflower. They ended up anchoring in Plymouth Rock, more than half the original settlers died in the first winter. Survivors made treaties with neighboring Natives and within 5 years had a self-sufficient economy. -
Middle Colonies
Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York, and New Jersey were all part of the Middle Colonies. The soil was very fertile in this area, making it ideal for farming wheat and other grain.s The shipbuilding and lumbering were also very successful. -
Massachusetts Bay Colony
A group of Puritan refuges form England, around 1,000 of them, are the people who started one of the original English settlements known as the Massachusetts Bay Colony. They did this so they could create a place that follows God's wishes. They were able to trade and colonize in England, by getting a charter from King Charles I. By 1640 they had grown to have more than 20,000 inhabitants. -
New England Colonies
New England Colonies were known for fishing, whaling, and shipbuilding. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island are all part of the New England Colonies. -
Great Awakening
Lead by Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, and others, the Great Awakening was meant to revitalize religion in the region. George Whitefield was a Calvinist and he preached up and down the colonies to many people. Jonathan Edwards was a congregational pastor in Massachusetts who quit successfully preached justification by faith alone. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War also known as the Seven Years' War which started because the French were wanting to expand into the Ohio River; however, this brought conflict with the British Colonies. This war lasted from 1756 - 1763. -
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution brought about a lot of change. People had to move from small rural areas to huge cities, and this was because manufacturing of goods were being moved from shops/small homes to large factories. -
Stamp Act
The first British parliamentary was wanting to tax things like newspapers, pamphlets, and cards. They wanted to do this because they were in debt from the Pontiac War and the French and Indian War, so by taxing things like that they could cover about half of the debt they had created. The other half would come from the Sugar Act. -
Boston Massacre
Colonists were upset about the tax on lead, tea, paper, and other goods, also other acts put into place weren't very popular among the colonist either. On the 5th of March a group of colonists confronted some soldiers, and were threatening them. So the British soldiers fired away, and killed 5 people. -
Boston Tea Party
Leaders of other major city colonies cancelled orders for tea, so they could protest the Tea Act; however, the Massachusetts Bay Colony didn't do this, and let the tea be delivered to them. Upset that the colony didn't follow the others, several colonists went onto the ship that was carrying tea, and tossed it overboard. -
Battles of Lexington & Concord
General Thomas Gage ordered his men to seize colonists' military stores at Concord. On the way there they were met by minute men and some others, they were warned about the raid, however soon after the minute men and others didn't succeed in stopping them, and the British moved onward. The British were confronted by 400 Americans and forced to withdraw. British lost lots of men because on the way back to Boston they had many shots fired at them from behind. British lost 273, Americans lost 95. -
American Revolution
The 13 of Great Britain's North American colonies were able to win independence from Great Britain and go to the United States of America. The war was between 1775 and 1783. That's why this war was not only called the American Revolution, but the U.S. War of Independence. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence showed the separation between the 13 North American British colonies from Great Britain. July 2nd was the official day that they separated but July 4, 1776 is the day the Declaration of Independence was adopted. -
Valley Forge
General George Washington lead 11,000 men up to Valley Forge during the winter. Valley Forge was strategically placed near trade routes and near farming supplies. Washington kept his men together threw a harsh, unbearable winter. -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown marked the last major battle of the American Revolution. Charles Cornwallis surrendered to George Washington's force and French allies on October 19, 1781 at Yorktown. This also is what cemented Washington's spot for president later on. -
Articles of Confederation
First U.S. constitution that served as a document that established the rules of the national government of the Untied States after declaring their independence from Great Britain. Adopted on November 15, 1777, but wasn't ratified by the states until March 1, 1781. -
Abolitionism
A movement to end slavery. The movement was lead by Fredrick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, John Brown and more people like him. -
Constitutional Convention
These are the people who drew up the Constitution of the United States. They met up at the Pennsylvania State House in Philadelphia to make the Articles of Confederation ( May 25 - September 17, 1787). -
Bill of Rights
10 amendments that explain the rights of the people, in the United States, in relation to the government. George Mason didn't sign because their was no bill of rights in the U.S. Constitution; however, several other states signed knowing that a Bill of Rights would be added quickly after. -
Louisianan Purchase
The western half of the Mississippi River was purchased from France for 27 million dollars, which was called the Louisiana Purchase. This purchased ultimately doubled the size of the United States, and strengthened the state materially. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark were sent to explore the Louisiana Purchase and the Pacific Northwest. The trip lasted from May 14, 1804 to September 2, 1806, they traveled 8,000 miles, and about 10 to 20 miles a day. -
War of 1812
This was a war between the United States and Great Britain, which started with tension caused buy two other wars (French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars). This caused the U.S. to be blocked from trading to either place. -
Missouri Compromise
This compromise was made to help keep the balance between free and slave states, so this compromise made it where Missouri was deemed as a slave state and Maine was a free state. -
Election of 1824
Andrew Jackson won most popular and electoral votes during the election of 1824, but John Quincy Adams was elected because he won majority. -
Indian Removal Act
This act told the Indians that if they give up their desirable territories they could move to unsettled western prairie land; however, some Indian's didn't want to do this, mostly southeast tribes. -
Underground Railroad/ Harriet Tubman
Northerners helped escaped slaves get from the South to get to safety in the North or in Canada. This system was not underground or even a railroad, it was only named this because it all had to be done very secretively. Harriet Tubman was an escaped slave that went on 13 missions to help other slaves escaped using the Underground Railroad. -
Battle of the Alamo
This battle lasted 13 days, and was between Texan volunteer soldiers who occupied Alamo and General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ann who led thousands of Mexican soldiers to seize the fort. Even though the Alamo were greatly outnumbered they held the soldiers off for 13 days before being defeat. They became a symbol for many. -
Manifest Destiny
People believed it was their destiny to move to land West and make something of themselves. -
Mexican-American War
War between the U.S. and Mexico. The U.S. won the war and gained 500,000 square miles westward from the Rio Grande to the Pacific Ocean. -
California Gold Rush
Gold was found in Sutter's Mill, which caused more than 300,000 people came during the Gold Rush. John Sutter and James W. Marshall found gold flakes in a streambed. They tried to keep it a secret, but word soon got out. -
Compromise of 1850
The compromise of 1850 consisted of 5 laws.The laws dealt with territorial expansion and slavery issues. The Fugitive Slave Act was part of the compromise and so was end of the slave trade in Washington D.C. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Breecher Stowe was a novel that talked about the injustices of slavery. Northern people really got an idea from this book on what really happened to slaves. -
Bleeding Kansas
Kansas got to vote is they wanted to be a free or slave state. Missouri didn't want another free state next to them, so people from Missouri came into Kansas and tried to get them to become a slave state. Even went as far as shooting people, hence the name bleeding Kansas. However, despite their efforts Kansas became a free state. -
Dred Scott decision
Dred Scott was an African American that lived in a free state, however he didn't have any rights. Scott decided to sue, but the Supreme Court said that he would never be able to be a citizen of the United States, thereby saying he would never have rights like everyone else, because he was African American. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Multiple debates between Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, to see who would become senator of Illinois. Stephen A. Douglas ended up beating Abraham Lincoln; however 4 years later they ran against each other for presidency and Lincoln won. These debates are what made Lincoln known. -
Confederate States of America
Once Abraham Lincoln became president the southern states (slave states) decided to leave the U.S. and become what was later called the Confederate States of America. This led to the American Civil War, and in the end the North one. The slaves in the south were deemed free. -
Fort Summer
This is the place where the American Civil War started and didn't end until 4 years later. 620,000 people died and in the end 3.9 million slaves were freed. -
American Civil War
This war lasted 4 years, and was fought because the South (slave states) tried leaving the U.S. because they knew Abraham Lincoln didn't like slavery. For most of the war the South was winning, but in the end the North won. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Abraham Lincoln, without consulting the congress, decided to release all the slaves of the Confederate states that were trying to leave the U.S. This was called the Emancipation Proclamation. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Known as the turning point of the war. Was the bloodiest war that was won by the North. -
Gettysburg Address
Abraham Lincoln gave a very very short speech at the battle ground of the Battle of Gettysburg. -
Appomattox
One of the final battles of the American Civil War. Ulysses S. Grant surrendered at the Appomattox Court House.