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French and Indian War
The French and Indian war occured when France and England claimed some of the same territory in North America. Although the exact start date of the war is unknown, it lasted around nine years, and led the British colonists to think more independently- as Americans, rather than Brits.
I believe this is important because it marks the beginning of a new, independent way of thinking for the colonies, which- in turn- eventually led to the revolution. -
Boston Massacre
Here, several British redcoats killed five civilian men and injured eleven after feeling threatened by a mob of American colonists. This event helped spark the rebellion in some of the British American colonies, which eventually became the rebellion of the revolutionary war.
I believe this event is incredibly important in the US history, because it it opened the colonists' eyes to the reality of the grip they were being held under, causing rebellious emotions in said colonists. -
Boston Tea Party
When the American colonists had enough of the Intolerable Acts, this was their first blatant show of rebellion. They dumped boxes of overly-taxed tea into the harbor to show that they were not going to pay extra for their tea.
I believe this is important to American history because it was one of the first signs of true patriotism where the colonists stood up for what they believed was right, and literally fought the power that was controlling them. -
Passing of the Intolerable Acts
This was a series of three acts passed by the British government that basically taxed a lot of goods that were not taxed previously. This angered the colonists greatly because they were not represented in Parliament, yet they were still being taxed.
I believe this is important becuase without this outrageous taxation, colonists wouldn't have had the anger neccessary to rebel against their government. -
Meeting of the First Continential Congress
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Revolutionary War
The Revolutionary War lasted a little over a year, where America fought for their independence from Great Britain.
I believe it's extremely important to American History because without the bloodshed of our noble soldiers, we wouldn't have been able to declare our independence from England. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was literally what started the United States off as a country. It was drafted and finalized in one room by 5 men over the course of several days.
I believe it should be one of the USA's most important events in history because of the fact that without it, we wouldn't be the United States of America. We'd be the United States of England. -
Articles of Confederation
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Signing of the Constitution
The Constitution is the highest law in United States history. It creates the guidelines for the government we have today.
I believe the signing of the constitution is important, because without it, we could actually be in a worse economic situation than what we already are in- believe it, or not. Either that, or we could have drifted into a dictatorship of some sort, with a government without specific guidelines, and that's not something we want. -
Federalist Papers
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Election of George Washington
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Ratification of the Bill of Rights
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Louisana Purchase
On this day in 1803, more than 2 million square miles of land was aquired by the United States from France for about fifteen-million dollars. This amount of land had doubled the United States in size.
I believe this is important to American history in that if this exchange had not been made, the US probably wouldn't be half the world power that it is today. We probably also wouldn't be in as much debt, but that's beside the point. -
The War of 1812
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Missouri Compromise
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Declaration of the Monroe Doctrine
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Kansas-Nebraska Act
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Start of the Civil War
The Civil war lasted from 1861 to 1865, and was a war between the north and south of the US over the right to own slaves. This war just about tore the nation in two, and left the south devastated.
I believe it's important because it was the dawn of a new, accepting society of equality. It taught our nation a lesson of brotherhood and will never be forgotten in our history. -
Emancipation Proclamation
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Passing of the Thirteenth Amendment
The 13th amendment states that involuntary slavery or servitude, except as a punishment for a crime, is not allowed in the United States. This revolutionized the way the US worked.
I believe it's extremely important to US history because, although racism still exists today, we are who we claim to be: a nation of equality for all, blacks and whites alike.
