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Oct 12, 1492
Columbus discovers America
On October 12, 1492 Columbus discovered land; an island which is now known as Hispaniola. -
Period: Oct 12, 1492 to
US History A Timeline
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The Settlement of Jamestown
On May 14, 1607 a group of English settlers founded the first permanent settlement in America named Jamestown. -
The French and Indian War begins
Around 1754, as the English colonists moved west and the French colonists moved south they met up, and weren't happy. Since England and France both said they owned the area, hostilities began. The French started telling the Indians that the English were bad, and that they should kill them. England found out and declared war. -
The French and Indian War ends
After taking many French forts and settlements, the English won the war. -
The Boston Tea Party
The Boston tea party occurred after the tea act was part of the backlash. during the Boston tea party, a group of colonists dressed as Indians and sneaked aboard a British vessel carrying tea and dumped the tea into the sea. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
After Paul revere and other men warned the minutemen that the redcoats were moving on Lexington, the minutemen gathered in Lexington to intercept the British troops; and stop them. after retreating, the minutemen gathered in concord to defend it, and after winning the redcoats start to burn the weapons which got a little out of control. the minutemen thought the redcoats were burning the town, and ran to fight a group of redcoats defending a bridge at which the minutemen won. -
The Declaration of Independence
The declaration was declared on July 2nd, approved by congress on July 4th, and signed on August 2nd of the same year. It was a document that the colonists hoped would make the British lessen their grip on the colonies while still being ruled by them. -
The Battle of Yorktown
After losing Yorktown's defenses to the Americans, the British general lord Cornwallis surrenders. The battle of Yorktown was also the battle that ended the revolutionary war. -
The Constitutional Convention
The constitutional convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and was used to discuss and fix the problems in the articles of confederation. They later came up with the constitution of the United States. -
The Invention of the Cotton Gin
The cotton gin was made to increase the speed of removing seeds in cotton. Eli Whitney applied for a patent for the cotton gin on October 28, 1793. The patent was given to Eli on March 14, 1794, but was approved in 1807. -
The Alien Act
The alien act of 1798, allowed the president to deport immigrants; and that the time it takes to become a US citizen had increased to 14 years. -
The Sedition Act
The sedition act allowed congress to jail anyone who voiced their opinions on the US or the war effort in a negative way. -
The Invention of the Electric Light
Technically the electric light was made by Humphry Davy in 1802, when he connected a piece of carbon to two electrodes. -
The Louisiana Purchase
The French made the treaty selling the area on April 30, 1803. The treaty was signed on may 2, 1803; but wasn't given over until December of the same year. -
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri compromise was made in 1820, and was made to balance the number of slave and free states. it said that every state above the 36,30 line was a free state while the states made under the line were slave states. -
Andrew Jackson's Election
Andrew Jackson became a president in 1829, and was the leader of the democratic party at the time. -
The Trail of Tears
The trail of tears started in 1831, and went until 1832. It was the relocation of the Cherokee and many other Indian tribes. -
The Invention of the telegraph
Developed by Samuel Morse, the telegraph was used to transfer messages over long distances using pulses of electricity. He also developed a code in order to understand the messages sent. -
The Panic of 1837
The panic of 1837 was started when president jackson decided to move all the funds from the national bank to tiny state banks. This was a bad idea, and once Martin Van Buren had become president he didn't try to fix it, and just transferred the new funds into one independent bank. This resulted in the worst economical depression the young United states had faced. -
The Mexican-American War begins
After Texas became a state, the US wanted to buy California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. the Mexican government refused the offer and while the US were trying to instigate war, the Mexicans attacked a US Calvary unit. this made the US declare war while mexico did not. after General Santa Anna said he would give the US a good deal with the terms of surrender, he instead took control of the Mexican army and attacked the US. -
The Mexican-American War ends
After losing to America, Santa Anna seized the title of president, and hid in mexico city. While Santa Anna was in mexico city, General Weinfield Scott marched into mexico city and won. the US made mexico accept the deal of $15 million dollars for the southwestern states, as well as acknowledge that Texas was a state and the Rio grande was its border. -
The Compromise of 1850
The compromise of 1850 was split into a series of bills that were as follows: that California would be admitted into the union with it being a free state, that the territories of Utah and new mexico were formed, settling the border problems with Texas and new mexico, that the slave trade be banned in DC, and that its easier for southern slave owners to get their slaves back. -
The Firing on Fort Sumter begins
After the southern states secede, Lincoln decides to send provisions to Fort Sumter. The confederates see this as an act of war, and send General Beauregard to take the fort. After asking Major Anderson to surrender, to which he refuses, General Beauregard fires on the fort. -
The Firing on Fort Sumter ends
After 36 hours of continuous artillery fire, Major Anderson surrenders the fort to General Beauregard. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
This was in licolns mind even before the war but after the battle of Antietam he finally changed it into a war cause. Although It was to go into effect on January 1, 1863, no slaves were freed by this. -
The 13th Amendment is added
The 13th amendment is the amendment that abolished slavery, and freed all the slaves. -
The Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse
The surrender at Appomattox Courthouse would mark the end of the civil war. It was General Robert E. Lee surrendering to General Ulysses S. Grant. -
Abraham Lincoln's Assassination
This was the day Abraham Lincoln would be assassinated while watching a show at Fords theater in Washington DC. -
The 14th Amendment is added
This Amendment states that people born in the US are citizens of the US, and that every male 21 or older has the right to vote. -
The Organization of Standard Oil Trust
This was the oil company formed by John D. Rockefeller, they later owned almost all of the oil companies in america. -
Andrew Johnson's Impeachment
President Johnson was impeached because he had broken the Tenure of office act, which was only made to impeach Johnson. he then replaced his secretary of war with General Grant, and later General Lorenzo Thomas. President Johnson was almost removed from office since the impeachment failed to get the two thirds vote to remove him from office. -
The 15th Amendment is added
The 15th Amendment says that any man despite his race or skin color cannot be denied to vote. -
The Invention of the Telephone
The telephone was invented by Alexander graham Bell in 1876. After making a patent for his new device, another company tried to hire Thomas Edison to recreate the device. Bell sued them and won. -
The Homestead Strike
The Homestead strike was in homestead Pennsylvania, and was the response from workers to wage cuts. -
The Pullman Strike
The Pullman strike was a strike that was hoping to raise the wages after a 25% cut to them. It was a peaceful boycott and later spiraled out of control due to the government stepping in. -
The Spanish-American War begins
The Spanish-American war was started when rebels in Cuba were sympathized and america told Spain it should be free. America sent a battleship to protect Americas stuff in Cuba, but it was blown up soon after. America immediately sent out a declaration for war and Spain did too. -
The Spanish-American War ends
After attempting to escape the US naval blockade, the Spanish Caribbean squadron was defeated ans a ceasefire was made on august 12 1898. -
Theodore Roosevelt becomes President
He became president in September of 1901, and got re-elected in 1904. He left in 1909 for a tour of Africa, and returned in 1912 to run for the Bull Moose party. -
The Invention of the Airplane
The airplane was invented by two brothers named Orville and Wilbur Wright. Their first plane they flew at kitty hawk North Carolina.
