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Second Great Awakening Began
The Second Great Awakening was a movement that started in the 1790's and gained popularity in the early 19th century. It was a Protestant revivalist movement, rejected the Deism and humanism of the Enlightenment and stressed the supernatural -
Eli Whitney Patented the Cotton Gin
Increased the efficiency of cotton production by speeding up the process of removing the seeds from cotton. The cotton gin was used by the south as an excuse to push and expand slavery in order to further increase cotton production. -
Gabriel Prosser Slave Revolt
A failed slave revolt lead by Gabriel "Prosser", whose last name is not actually quite agreed on. He intended to lead a slave revolt consisting of over 1,000 slaves, the poor white folk, and other parties friendly to the equal treatment of all men. However, the failure of this revolt lead to increased restrictions to slaves and many privileges, such as literacy and the ability to be fired out, were made illegal. -
Thomas Jefferson Elected President
Signaled the end between a bid of power between the democratic-Republicans, who were for a more limited government and more states rights, and the Federalists, who wanted a more English style government, which many feared would turn into a monarchy. Jefferson was a Democratic-Republican, and his election led to a victory over the Federalists. -
Louisiana Purchase
The U.S. purchased 826 million square miles of land from the French for 11.25 million dollars and cleared the debt the French owed them. With this land, the newly formed republic doubled in size and gave enough territories to establish 15 more states. -
Marbury vs. Madison
The first case that the Supreme Court used the act of judicial review, allowing it to void acts of congress if they were deemed unconstitutional. Marbury was to be commissioned a a justice to the supreme court, yet the commission was never delivered. Jefferson ordered Madison to not deliver, sparking a controversy over wheter or not the court has the power to force the issue. The court ruled in favor of Madison, and Marbury was denied the commission. -
Beginning of Lewis and Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark attempt to create a map of the western portion of the U.S., especially the new Louisiana Purchase. -
Embargo Act
Passed by the U.S. government, prohibited all american vessels from trading with foreign ports. The British and French were seizing American ships, and the British impressing them into the service of the Royal Navy. This act was an attempt to damage the French and British efforts by refusing them a valuable trade partner. -
Chesapeake-Leopard Affair
Naval engagement between the HMS Leopard and the USS Chesapeake. Resulted in the defeat of the Americans and the impressment of the crew of the Chesapeake. As a result, many citizens cried for war with Great Britain, yet the government tried to politically threaten the British to solve the matter. When the British ignored these requests for justice, the US government opted for economic warfare; the Embargo Act. -
James Madison elected President
He was often blamed for the War of 1812, yet eventually was hailed for the Triumphs the U.S. experienced. -
Non-Intercourse Act
Relpaced the Embargo Act. All bans on shipping were lifted except for ships headed to France and Great Britain, which were to still have an embargo. This act was almost unenforceable -
Francis Cabot Lowell Smuggled Memorized Textile Mill Plans From Manchester, England
Francis Cabot Lowell smuggled memorized plans for milling machines in order to start a viable textile industry in the Untied States. He felt that in order to be truly independent, a county must be able to support itself through internal production of goods, and not be reliant on imported items. -
Beginning of Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the belief that Americans had the right to control the as much territory as they wanted. This caused the forced migrations of the Native Americans, and the settling of the western territories for the U.S. -
Death of Tecumseh
Tecumseh was the leader of an native american alliance that was created to resist the influence of the whites. Allied with the British during the Revolutionary war, Tecumseh rose to prominence as a great warrior. However, he became known as one of the greatest orators of his time, considered equal to Henry Clay by the Americans. His death marked the end of Indian resistance in Ohio and most territory east of the Mississipi -
The British Burn Washington D.C.
The British Invaded during the war of 1812 and briefly occupy Washington D.C., burning down various buildings including the White House. -
Hartford Convention
The Federalist party met to discuss their grievances with current U.S. internal policy and their frustrations with the War of 1812. However, with news of a decisive American victory, the convention was rendered useless, the Federalists disgraced, which resulted in the slow dissolution ff the Federalist party. -
End of the War of 1812
The end of a conflict between the U.S. and Great Britain, ended with the treaty of Ghent. No borders were changed, yet it took some time for news of the treaty to reach North america, leading to several more battles after the formal end of the war. -
Battle of New Orleans
The last major battle of the War of 1812, fought after the Treaty of Ghent was signed but before the news had reached North America, was a very bloody and decisive conflict. This battle placed future president Andrew Jackson into the limelight. -
Treaty of Ghent Ratified
Ended the War of 1812 and began peace negotiations between the Americans and British in Ghent -
Era of Good Feelings Began
A time of relative peace and harmony in the U.S. With the end of the Napoleonic Wars, U.S. citizens no longer need to be concerned with European affairs. A central bank was established, the economy was stable, the government was effectively a one party system, and there was a general sense of gentle nationalism and what would later be known as isolationism. This era is typically associated with the Monroe presidency. -
James Monroe Elected President
5th president of the U.S., ushered n an era of near political harmony between the feuding parties and was influential in a swell of nationalism in the U.S. Also pushed the Monroe Doctrine, limiting European influence in the Americas. -
Rush-Bagot Treaty
Called for a disarmament between the U.S. and Great Britain in the Great Lakes, limiting military vessels to one or two vessels for each country. -
Anglo-American Convention
Addressed boundary issues between the U.S. for territory and fisheries, Great Britain ceded a large sum f land to the U.S., their last permanent cession. -
Adams-Onis Treaty
A treaty between the U.S. and Spain that ceded Florida to the U.S. and defined the border between the young United States and New Spain. -
McCulloch vs. Maryland
This case resulted in the Supreme Court ruling that the congress had the implied power to create a second national bank for the country, and that the state of Maryland did not have the right to tax the bank. -
Panic of 1819
The Panic of 1819 was the first major peacetime economic crisis the U.S. faced. Banks failed, mortgages were foreclosed, and unemployment rates increased. All this was likely caused by the Second Bank of the Untied States changing it's credit policies and calling in all it's loans. Merchants, land developers, business, and other banks all had loans to this bank, most of which were unable to pay. -
Dartmouth College vs. Woodward
Dartmouth was founded with charter from the British King George III. The courts ruled in favor of the college, allowing them to continue with their board of trustees and saying that the state had o right to interfere with a contract, which the charter was viewed as a contract. -
Missouri Compromise
This act attempted to diffuse tensions created by the slave states and anti-slave states. It resulted in Missouri being accepted into the union as a slave state, but at the cost of Maine being accepted as a state where slavery would be illegal. A border between future slave states and non slave states was established across the former Louisiana Territory. -
Charles B. Finney Lead Religious Revivals in Western New York.
Finney's efforts lead to a large revival of the Presbyterian faith across the nation, and earned him is own place of worship in Oberlin. -
Denmark Vesey Slave Revolt
A potential slave revolt was planned, with one of the ringleaders being named as Denmark Vesey, The planned revolt would include possibly thousands of slaves from areas surrounding Charleston, they would kill or escape form their masters, and flee to Haiti. Vesey and 5 other supposed leaders were rapidly tried and found guilty and then arrested. -
Monroe Doctrine
President James Monroe declared that the Old and New Worlds were separate entities, and that colonization would no longer take place. Europe would not interfere with anything occurring in the western Hemisphere, and the US would not interfere in any European affairs. Any attempts to colonize or disrupt any country in the Western Hemisphere would be viewed as an act of hostility against the United States. -
John Quincy Adams is Elected (Corrupt Bargain)
In this election, no one actually received a majority vote from the electoral collage As a result, the House of Representative had to take a vote. John Quincy Adam met with Clay and possibly reached a deal. With Clay's vote, Adams gained enough votes to become the President, and promptly made Henry Clay his Secretary of State. This position was seen as the pathway to the presidency. Andrew Jackson actually resigned over this, what he called "the corrupt bargain." -
Gibbons vs. Ogden
Ogden and Gibbons were originally partners in steamboat navigation, but had a falling out. Ogden was part of a monopoly that New York legally granted to Robert Livingston and Robert Fulton. Gibbons argued that the monopoly was violating federal law and that only congress has the power to control interstate commerce, not individual states. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Gibbons and declared the monopoly unlawful. -
Erie Canal Completed
First major canal in the United States. It established a clear shipping route between Canada and the U.S., and established New York as a major commercial center. -
Robert Owen Founded the New Harmony Community
Robert Owen attempted to create a religious Utopian society, named New Harmony. This was one of the first experiments to try to prove that communitarianism and Utopian socialism were viable forms of society. This community turned into an economic failure after a few years. -
Lyman Beecher Delivered his "Six Sermons On Intemperance"
Beecher was a revivalist preacher. He was very anti-Catholic, a staunch Calvinist. He, like other preachers, believed that America was the place where God's Perfect Kingdom would come to be after extensive social reform. -
Tariff of Abominations
This tariff placed an extra tax foreign goods and was meant to help protect New England industries and Southern agriculture. However, it ended up raising the cost of living in the South and dropping profits in the North. South Carolina declared it and its succesing tariff, the Tariff of 1832, null and void, the only state to do so. This caused a constitutional crisis, which was temporarily averted with the Tariff of 1833, which called for gradually lessening taxes. -
Andrew Jackson Elected President
Andrew Jackson dismantled the Second bank of the U.S., as he thought it was a corrupt organization. Also, he diffused the issue of nullification and the possible succession of South Carolina. SO far, he is also the only president to pay off all the national debt. -
Catherine Beecher Published "Essays on the Education of Female Teachers"
Catherine Beecher's publication pushed for allowing women to learn how to teach, and pushed for educational and social reform to give women more equal rights. -
Indian Removal Act
This act was passed and signed by the current president Andrew Jackson. It allowed he United States to "negotiate" and move Native Americans to federal lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for their lands east of the river. Many natives were forced off their lands and sent to hellish reservations. One example of this was the Cherokee migration that became known as the Trail of Tears. -
Joseph Smith Founded The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints was only tolerated in small numbers. As soon as the congregations grew, they were forced into exile or threatened with extermination. This lead to armed conflicts, inciting further prejudice against the Mormon faith. -
Worcester vs. Georgia
This case resulted in the nullification of a law in Georgia stating that it was illegal for a Non-Native American to be on Native American Land. The Tribes and their lands were considered separate sovereign domains and that the states did not have any power over them. -
Andrew Jackson Vetoed the Re-Charter of the Second Bank of the United States
Jackson vetoed the re-charter due to his opinion that the bank was a corrupt organization that hindered the freedom of the land. This, along with other issues, is what lead to the formation for the Whig party and others. He felt that it was also a source of corruption in the government and influenced policy making since many politicians that opposed Jackson had loans from the bank or were on it's payroll. -
Nullification Crisis Began
South Carolina claimed that the tariffs of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional, and therefore unenforceable in the state. They felt that tariffs should only be used to generate revenue, not to increase the government's profits. South Carolina threatened to secede should the tariffs not be removed. -
Creation of the Whig Party in the U.S.
The Whigs were created in opposition to Andrew Jackson's policies. They espoused that the Constitution was a higher authority than the President. They pushed for a strong central banking system, and appealed to merchants and other working class citizens. -
Treaty of New Echota
This treaty provided the legal basis for the removal of the Cherokee form their land. Gold had been found on their land and prospectors swarmed it. The Cherokee leader did not consent to this, and tried stopping it. The U.S. government then ratified a treaty where the Cherokee would be compensated 5 million dollars for their land, but they rejected it. This lead to the forced removal of the Cherokee and the Trail of Tears. -
Battle of the Alamo
This was a pivotal battle in the Texan Revolution. While it resulted in the Texan defenders being wiped out and a Mexican victory, it bolstered the morale of the revolutionaries and help aided the call to arms for freedom in Texas. -
Transcendental Club's First Meeting
The Transcendental Club met to discuss issues and philosophy concerning the inherent nature of people. This spawned a philosophy of Transcendentalism, which people were considered inherently good and tat their flaws were the product of societies failings and misgivings. -
First McGuffey Reader Published
The McGuffey Readers were a series of primer books for education, and were used as textbooks. With the publication of these, literacy rates increased, and public education was expanded. -
Texas Declared Independence from Mexico
With this document, Texas proclaimed their indpendence as a separate republic. Shortly after though, the U.S. would annex Texas and accept it into the union, which many viewed as a push for the cause of slavery. -
Andrew Jackson Issued Specie Circular
This was an executive act that required that all land bought from the government must be paid for in gold or silver. This was in response to the immense amount of land speculation, which people were taking out massive loans for, then becoming unable to pay the debt. -
Panic of 1837
This was an economic crisis that created a recession up until the mid to late 1840's. Wages, profits, and the overall economy fell while unemployment rose. The origins for this were found both abroad and domestically. Restrictive lending from Great Britain, cotton prices unexpectedly and suddenly plummeting, and poor lending practices in the western United States were all causes. -
Horace Mann Elected Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education
Mann was one of the first people to push for public education. He claimed that everyone had a right to education and it was only natural for them to want to learn. He brought education reforms to Massachusetts, improving schools. -
Martin Van Buren Elected President
Van Buren founded the Democratic party. He endorsed the Webster-Ashburton Treaty. Van Buren was for slavery, and inclined to allow the states more autonomy. -
Trail of Tears Began
The Trail of Tears was a migration of Cherokee Indians being forced off their land by Andrew Jackson's new policies. Over 4,000 of the migrants were killed by disease, exposure, starvation, or predators. -
Ralph Waldo Emerson Gave the "Divinity School Adress"
Emerson injected Transcendental ideas into his Unitarian beliefs, and eventually broke from the Unitarian church. However, he was still a well respected theologian, and was invited to speak at the graduating class of Divinity school in 1838. His speech was very negatively received and sparked controversy, and caused people to reaffirm that God was a single being instead of a set of divine laws, which was Emerson's opinion. -
Webster-Ashburton Treaty
This treaty resolved several border issues between the U.S. and the British North American colonies, what would later become Canada. Also, it defined several crimes where extradition would be allowed, and gave both parties access to the Great Lakes. -
Treaty of Wanghia with China
This treaty set specific tariffs, allowed american citizens to be tried by Americans and Chinese to be tried by the Chinese, lifted the ban on foreigners learning Chinese, and gave the United States the status of Most Favored Nation. -
James Polk Elected President
This election was a close race between Polk and Clay. The issues that were the prime influences on this election were the issues of slavery and the annexation of Texas. -
U.S. Annexation of Texas
The U.S. annexed Taxes in 1845, which many viewed as a way to strengthen the slave states and increase their power. However, this also caused a war with Mexico due to the fact that they never recognized the Sovereignty of the Republic of Texas. -
Start of the Mexican War
This conflict was partly caused by the U.S' annexation of Texas. This conflict, in which the Untied States was consistency victorious, resulted in the U.S. acquiring vast amounts of land stretching from Texas to California. -
Bear Flag Revolt
A small group of American settlers defied the Mexican government and proclaimed California as an independent republic. This revolt ended when the U.S. military began occupying California, which was later accepted into the union. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This treaty marked the formal end of the Mexican-American War. The U.S. had to pay 1 million in reparations to Mexico, but set the Rio Grande as the boundary fro Texas, and gave the U.S. territories compromising modern California, and most of what would become Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado -
Gold Rush Began in California
The Gold Rush resulted in the genocide of the Californian natives, and the territory being accepted in the Union as a state. Settlements rapidly grew into towns and cities, and extensive ranches were established to meet the needs of the massive amount of prospectors. -
John Humphrey Noyes Founded the Oneida Community
The Oneida Community was an attempt to create a perfectionist religious utopia by John Humphrey Noyes. The inhabitants believed that Jesus had already returned in 70 AD, allowing them to bring about Jesus' millennial kingdom, allowing them to be perfect and free of sin. -
Commodore Matthew Perry Entered Tokyo arbor Opening Japan to the US
Perry attempted to reopen Japan to trade with the western world for the first time in 200 years. The same beliefs of Manifest Destiny that drove settlers across the North American continent lead them to Japan in hopes of establishing permanent colonies. -
Gadsden Purchase
This transaction gave the U.S. what is currently known as Arizona and New Mexico. Residents of these areas would receive the same protections that the residents of areas ceded by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo received. -
Henry David Thoreau Published "Civil Disobedience"
Thoreau's publication called for individuals to take action against the government for their unjust actions, such as slavery and invading Mexico, which he viewed as simply a land grab by Southern plantation owners. -
Kanagawa Treaty
This treaty opened Japan up to trade with the United States, the first time this has occurred besides certain Dutch and Chinese vessels since they declared Japan closed to outsiders in the mid 17th century. -
Black Hawk War
A brief conflict between the U.S. and a group of tribes lead by Black Hawk. While they did not mean to start a military conflict and only wanted to resettle lands they had ceded to the U.s., the government deemed them hostile. This conflict gave more impetus to the Indian Removal Act.
