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Thomas Jefferson is Elected President
As the first Republican President, Jefferson represents a victory for non-elite to take direct control over the government. -
Washington D.C becomes the capital
U.S capital is transferred from Philadelphia to Washinton D.C -
Louisiana Purchase
In his crowning achievement as president, Jefferson purchases Louisiana from France. The United States nearly doubles in size. -
New Jersey Adopts Gradual Emancipation of Slaves
New Jersey was the last northern state to adopt gradual emancipation of slaves. -
First Steamboat
Robert Fulton establishes the first commercial steamboat along the Hudson River -
Jefferson's Embargo Act
Although the act closed the American ports to all foreign trade to maintain American neutrality during the European conflict, it sent the nation into a deep depression instead. -
James Madison is President
James Madison, America’s fourth President (1809-1817), made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing The Federalist Papers, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. -
War of 1812
War of 1812 sought to prevent alleged British efforts to keep America subjugated and, therefore, foments and strengthens patriotism. -
Battle of New Orleans
Jackson’s victory in the Battle of New Orleans boosts morale, although the battle is carried out after the war had ended. -
James Monroe is Elected President
Monroe's election marks the death of Federalists. -
The American System
Calhoun and Henry Clay promote the American System, that aimed to make America economically independent from Europe and called for a network of roads and canals that connected the nation. -
Missouri Crisis
The crisis over admitting Missouri into the union as a slave state increases tensions between the North and the South. -
Missouri Compromise
Compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and determined slavery for the rest of the Louisiana Territory. -
Lowell's Mill
Lowell's Mill becomes the first modern American factory as it centralized the process of textile manufacturing under one roof. -
John Quincy Adams is Elected President
After a corrupt bargain with Henry Clay that circumvented popular sovereignty, John Quincy Adams is elected president. -
Creation of the Erie Canal
The Erie Canal secures New York City’s position as the nation’s largest and most economically important city -
First Long-Distance Rail Line
Maryland launches the first long-distance rail line, the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. -
Andrew Jackson is Elected President
Jackson's election represented the victory of the interest of ordinary Americans (democracy) against the powerful elite. -
Nullification Crisis
Calhoun argues the doctrine of nullification: states have the right to nullify an act from the federal government. The crisis united the ideas of secession and states’ rights. -
Indian Removal Act
Congress relocated Indians that lived in the east to the west of the Mississippi River, therefore opening a widespread availability of cheap land for the cultivation of cotton. -
Turner's rebellion
As a consequence of the bloody revolt, the South institutes much stricter slave laws to prevent another slave rebellion. -
Second Great Awakening
Religious revival sparks changes in religious affiliations as Methodism becomes the most popular denomination, inspires social reform as it creates the benevolent empire, and diffuses the idea of spiritual egalitarianism. -
Martin Van Buren is President
Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States (1837-1841), after serving as the eighth Vice President and the tenth Secretary of State, both under President Andrew Jackson. -
Trail of Tears
Cherokee Indians were forced to travel from Georgia to present-day Oklahoma, with many dying along the way. -
John Tyler is President
John Tyler became the tenth President of the United States (1841-1845) when President William Henry Harrison died in April 1841. He was the first Vice President to succeed to the Presidency after the death of his predecessor. -
William Henry Harrison is President
William Henry Harrison, an American military officer and politician, was the ninth President of the United States (1841), the oldest President to be elected at the time. On his 32nd day, he became the first to die in office, serving the shortest tenure in U.S. Presidential history. -
Communication Revolution
Samuel Morse created the first telegraph line, thus revolutionizing communication. -
James K. Polk is President
Often referred to as the first “dark horse” President, James K. Polk was the last of the Jacksonians to sit in the White House, and the last strong President until the Civil War. -
Mexican American War
As a result of the war, the United States gained lands that would become the modern-day California, Utah, and Nevada and parts of New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming. Also, the Rio Grande became the southern boundary with Mexico. -
Gold Rush
The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in California foments western expansion as settlers desire to make themselves rich. -
Zachary Taylor is President
Zachary Taylor, a general and national hero in the United States Army from the time of the Mexican-American War and the War of 1812, was elected the 12th U.S. President, serving from March 1849 until his death in July 1850. -
Compromise of 1850
The compromise admits California as a free state, determines that popular sovereignty will determine slavery in Utah and New Mexico, and establishes a stricter fugitive slave law. -
Millard Fillmore is President
Millard Fillmore, a member of the Whig party, was the 13th President of the United States (1850-1853) and the last President not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties. -
Franklin Pierce is President
Franklin Pierce became 14th President of the United States at a time of apparent tranquility (1853-1857). By pursuing the recommendations of southern advisers, Pierce — a New Englander — hoped to ease the divisions that led eventually to Civil War. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The act establishes the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, determines that popular sovereignty will decide whether slavery would be allowed, and repeals the Missouri Compromise. As a result, it led to a period of violence known as Bleeding Kansas. -
James Buchanan is President
James Buchanan, the 15th President of the United States (1857-1861), served immediately prior to the American Civil War. He remains the only President to be elected from Pennsylvania and to remain a lifelong bachelor. -
Abraham Lincoln is President
Abraham Lincoln became the United States’ 16th President in 1861, issuing the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy in 1863. -
Civil War
As a result of tensions that sprouted from the secession of the southern states, the Union and the Confederacy fight. -
Jefferson Davis is Elected President of the Confederacy
On November 6, 1861, Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederate States of America. He ran without opposition, and the election simply confirmed the decision that had been made by the Confederate Congress earlier in the year. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln issues a proclamation that freed all slaves in the Confederacy, transforming the character of the war from a struggle for unity to a crusade for freedom. -
Homestead Act
The act allows settlers to claim the land from the west after they have lived on it for five years, thus fomenting western expansion. -
Homestead
The act allows settlers to claim the land from the west after they have lived on it for five years, thus fomenting western expansion. -
Start of the Battle of Gettysburg
Lee's charge to invade the north again ultimately failed as he lost a third of his army, therefore changing the tide of the war to the Union's favor. -
Andrew Johnson is President
With the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Andrew Johnson became the 17th President of the United States (1865-1869), an old-fashioned southern Jacksonian Democrat of pronounced states’ rights views. -
13th Amendment
The 13th amendment is ratified, thus prohibiting slavery in the United States. -
14th Amendment
The 14th amendment is ratified, granting citizenship to all persons born or in the United States, including former slaves. Furthermore, it guaranteed equal protection under the law for all citizens. -
Ulysses S. Grant is President
In 1865, as commanding general, Ulysses S. Grant led the Union Armies to victory over the Confederacy in the American Civil War. As an American hero, Grant was later elected the 18th President of the United States (1869–1877), working to implement Congressional Reconstruction and to remove the vestiges of slavery. -
15th Amendment
The 15th amendment is ratified, giving blacks the right to suffrage.