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In April 1607, englishmen settled in present day Virginia and settled on Jamestown, which was 40 miles up the James River. This river gave protection from Spanish patrols, and provided easy defense. It was also very close to other Native American villages. However, the location proved to be horrible for the settlers, because of terrible soil and brackish tidal water. Despite these setbacks, the englishmen still decided to permanently settle at Jamestown. (The American Yawp). -
In the evening of March 5, 1770, a crowd gathered outside of the Custom House and began to throw insults and snowballs. When soldiers came to help, the crowd became even more hostile and aggressive until the soldiers fired gunshots. Once the smoke cleared, 5 Bostonians were dead, including Crispus Attucks. News of the massacre spread quickly by an engraving, which was produced by Paul Revere. This helped generate anger with Britain and pity for Boston (The American Yawp). -
In the early morning of April 19, 1775, the British set out to seize militia's arms and powder stores in Lexington and Concord. They met at Lexington Green. The battle continued into Concord. Militia members responded by inflicting conflict on the British and driving them back to Boston. Around 20,000 militiamen surrounded Boston, which led to the entrapping of the British (The American Yawp). -
After voting for Independence on July 2, Congress decided to produce a document to declare the decision to the public. After the document was read to the public, many members of the Continental Congress signed a version of it on August 2, 1776. Many delegates signed by the order of state delegation (northernmost to southernmost). Also, some delegates that signed were not necessarily the same as the delegates in July. The signers' names were not released until 1777 (National Constitution Center). -
As a result of the uprising in Massachusetts, the leaders around the country decided to take action and address the state of the government. Delegates from twelve of thirteen states met at the Pennsylvania state house in the summer of 1787. Rhode Island was the only state to decline to send a representative. The delegates arrived with the intention of revising The Articles of Confederation. This led to the drafting of the U.S Constitution (The American Yawp). -
During the summer of 1787, the delegates met in Philadelphia to discuss the state of the government. They initially had plans to redesign the Articles of Confederation, but that changed. They debated for many months in secret and even made many last minute changes. For example, they decided to change the number of people House members could represent from 40,000 to 30,000. On September 17, they signed the Constitution and submitted it to Congress for the state's ratification (National Archives). -
In the Election of 1800, the Republicans defeated John Adams in a presidential race. A newspaper stated that a Republican victory would fill America with "murder, robbery, rape, adultery, and incest." Both sides targeted each other and predicted war if the other side won. At the end of the election, there was a tie between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr. They voted again but still could not break the tie. On the thirty-sixth ballot, Thomas Jefferson earned more votes (The American Yawp). -
In 1803, the United States decided to purchase the Louisiana Purchase from the French. Napoleon decided to sell the Louisiana Territory which was sold for $15 million dollars. This territory doubled the size of the United States, which questioned slavery expansion. Jefferson believed that extending the slave trade would disperse the slave population and lead to the disappearance of slavery. He said that he should "throw himself on the justice of his country" and serve his people (American Yawp). -
Francis Scott Key was one of the many Americans who did not feel favorably about the decision to go to war with Great Britain. This decision began the War of 1812. In August of 1814, British forces burned the White House, which greatly affected American morale. However, it motivated many, including Francis Scott Key to continue the fight. After the sun rose and the smoke cleared, the American flag still waved in Fort McHenry, Baltimore (The Kennedy Center). -
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was made up of three main parts. First, Congress would admit Missouri as a slave state. Second, Congress would admit Maine as a free state. Third, the remaining parts of the Louisiana Purchase would be divided across the 36'30 line. This line made slavery prohibited north of the line, but permitted south of the line. This caused the Missouri Crisis to end (The American Yawp). -
The Nullification Crisis resulted from a tax policy dispute that divided America during Andrew Jackson's presidency. Many people thought that Jackson would throw out the Tariff of 1828, which protected northern manufacturing. Southerners blamed the tariff as a source of wealth. South Carolina was worried that legislation would limit slavery. Therefore, John C. Calhoun said they could declare the laws unconstitutional and therefore “null, void, and no law” within South Carolina (American Yawp). -
On April 12, 1861, The Battle of Fort Sumter had begun and ended the following day. Since the fort was in need of supplies, Lincoln decided to resupply it. South Carolina called for soldiers to evacuate. However, Robert Anderson refused. On the 12th, Confederate Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard fired on the fort. Anderson later surrendered the next day and the Union troops left the fort. After the fact, Lincoln sent 75,000 volunteers to serve to suppress the rebellion (The American Yawp). -
The Battle of Gettysburg lasted 3 days, but still remains the bloodiest battle in American History. Confederate Robert E. Lee invaded Pennsylvania in 1863. During the Battle, many massive casualties dropped. However, Pickett's charge caused Lee to retreat from Pennsylvania. This battle was Lee's final incursion with 51,000 casualties (The American Yawp). -
On November 19th, 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address which declared the Union's victory at Gettysburg. He dedicated the speech to the new national cemetery that was near the battlefield. He spoke about the Declaration of Independence, and a "new birth of freedom." He used words to call people to action, and used ideas of justice and liberty to convey his thoughts. He also capitalized on the proposition "all men are created equal" during the speech (Constitution Center.org). -
On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln was watching a performance of Our American Cousin at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC. During the performance, an actor named John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the back of the head. They rushed him to the Peterson House, across the street for help. However, he had died from his wounds the next morning, which left the North in deep mourning. After the fact, officials learned that these attacks were planned for more than just Lincoln. (The American Yawp).