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Treaty of Paris
This Paris Peace Treaty concluded the American War for Independence. The 1783 Peace Treaty of Paris was one of several treaties concluding the American Revolutionary War and signed by representatives of Great Britain on one side and the United States, France, and Spain on the other. The 1783 Peace Treaty of Paris was signed on September 3, 1783 during the reign of King George III. -
Turnpikes
Turnpikes were well established in Europe and the early colonists and settles of America were familiar with the concept of being charged to travel along certain roads. Turnpikes were originally toll gates that prevented passage along a road unless a toll was first paid. Over time in America the word 'Turnpikes came to mean a toll road rather than a toll gate. Turnpikes were extremely important to transportation in the 1800s. -
Steamboats of the 1800s
The idea of using steam power to propel boats occurred to inventors soon after James Watt patented an improved version of the steam engine in 1769. John Fitch (1743-1798) was granted a United States patent for a steamboat on August 26, 1791. His first steamboats demonstrated the viability of using steam for water locomotion and made way for the Steamboats of the 1800s. -
Louisiana Purchase
The 1803 Louisiana Purchase was a massive western region of North America, consisting of 828,000 square miles, that was sold by France (Napoleon) to the US for 15 million dollars, about 4 cents per acre. The lands extended from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains between the Gulf of Mexico and the Canadian border. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition consisted of a select group of military men called the Corps of Discovery and civilians led by Captain Meriwether Lewis and Second Lieutenant William Clark to explore the US lands obtained in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase and the Pacific Northwest. The purpose of the expedition was both scientific and commercial .The Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled along the Missouri River from St. Louis to the mouth of the
Columbia River. This started on May 21. -
The Cumberland Road History
The Cumberland Road, also called National Road, stretched along 600 miles and was the first federal highway in the United States of America and originally served as the main route to the Northwest Territory. The Cumberland Road was built between 1811-1837 and served as a gateway to the West for thousands of settlers. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (1812-1814) between the United States and Great Britain was declared by President Madison on June 18, 1812 and lasted for 2 years and 8 months and resulted in a stalemate. The Treaty of Ghent ended the War of 1812 and was signed on December 24, 1814. -
The American system
The American System was a three-pronged economic plan, based on the financial ideas of Alexander Hamilton, that was supported by Henry Clay. The American System emphasized the need for a strong role for federal government in the economy. The three parts of the plan mutually reinforced each other. The three parts of the American System were based on a new national bank, taxing foreign goods and creating a subsidized transportation infrastructure of new roads and canals. -
Erie Canal
The Erie Canal was the nation's first Important transportation system connecting the Atlantic Ocean, via the Hudson River in Albany, eastern New York, with Lake Erie. The Erie Canal stretched for 363 miles providing the first waterway connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. Construction began on July 4, 1817, it was first used on May 17, 1821 and finally completed on October 26, 1825. -
Adams Onis Treaty
The Adams Onis Treaty (aka the Florida Treaty and the Transcontinental Treaty) was an agreement signed on February 22, 1819 between the United States and Spain that gave Florida to the U.S. and set out a boundary between the United States and New Spain (now Mexico). -
Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was one of America's great trade routes, used as a commercial, military and emigrant trail from 1821 until 1880, when it was replaced by the railroad. It ran 900 miles from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe (now New Mexico). -
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was the name the Cherokee used to describe to the 1000 mile route, or trail, that they were forced to travel, from their homelands in the Southeastern United States to reservations in present day Oklahoma, as a result of the 1830 Indian Removal Act. -
Texas Annexation
On March 1, 1845 the United States Congress passed a "Joint Resolution for Annexing Texas to the United States" and Texas was subsequently admitted it to the Union as the 28th state. The Texas border dispute with Mexico quickly led to the Mexican-American War during the presidency of James Polk. -
California gold rush
The California Gold Rush started on January 24, 1848 and attracted 300,000 prospectors when gold was discovered by James W. Marshall. The prospectors and gold seekers were called "forty-miners" or the "49 years" as the majority of them reached the location of the goldfields in 1849 in search of instant wealth and riches beyond their wildest dreams. In one year alone (1852) the take was $80 million, equivalent to nearly $2 billion in modern dollar currency. -
Treaty of kanagawa
The Treaty of Kanagawa was the first treaty between Japan and the United States that was signed by Commodore Matthew Perry and Shogunate representatives of the Japanese government on March 31, 1854. The Treaty of Kanagawa was agreed at the Convention of Kanagawa and was the basis of the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, aka the Harris Treaty, that was signed on on July 29, 1858 by Townsend Harris, the first Consul General to the Empire of Japan. -
Pony Express
The Pony Express was a mail service operating from St. Joseph in Missouri all the way west to Sacramento. Riders rode in relay delivering mail across 2000 miles in 10 days. The Pony Express started in April 3, 1860 and ended in October 24, 1861 with the completion of the Transcontinental Telegraph. Although the Pony Express was only in operation for 18 months the exploits of its brave riders, including William F. Cody, "Buffalo Bill", have become an important event in the legends. -
Annexation of Hawaii
Lydia Kamakaeha was born into the Hawaiian royal family on September 2, 1838. Liliuokalani married an American, John Owen Dominis, on September 16, 1862. She became Queen Liliuokalani of Hawaii on January 29, 1891 and was the only Hawaiian Queen to rule in her own right. Queen Liliʻuokalani was deposed on January 17, 1893, temporarily relinquishing her throne to "the superior military forces of the United States", in the hope that her position would be restored.
