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Founding of Jamestown
The colonists created the town of Jamestown which is now known as the first permanent English settlement in the New World. The colonists came in search of money, land, and new opportunities. Colonists struggled because they not only had to survive but they had to find opportunity and natural resources to build a new civilization. They faced a five year period involving high levels of starvation and disease known as the "starvation time." -
Creation of the House of Burgesses
The House of Burgesses was the first democratically elected legislative body in the British American colonies. They could make laws as well as levy taxes. The governor and council in England could veto the Acts of the house. The House of Burgesses allowed colonists to have a say in the laws and policies that affected their daily lives. -
Founding of Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was founded by John Winthrop and was build based on Catholicism. The colony began in 1628 and was the Massachusetts Bay Company's second attempt at colonization. It was very successful with about 20,000 people migrating to New England in the 1630s. The colony was mostly Puritans and was governed by a group of leaders strongly influenced by Puritan teachings. Massachusetts Bay Colony was the first slave holding colony in New England. -
The Maryland Toleration Act of 1649
The Maryland Toleration Act ensured religious freedoms to Christians settlers of different denominations who settled in Maryland. Lawmakers hoped this would make Maryland a more desirable place for immigration. The Act was the first law to protect religious freedom in the Thirteen Colonies. However it was short lived and was revoked in 1654. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was caused by Governor Berkeley refused to allow white settlement on land reserved for Indians. It sparked major conflict with Native Americans because Bacon and his following devoted considerable energy to pursuing Indians. It originally started as a dispute between settlers and Indians at the Virginia and Maryland border but it eventually escalated into a full rebellion. -
First Salem Witch Trial
The witch trials, mainly taking place in Salem, were hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft. Bridget Bishop was the first to be executed for the crime of witchcraft. However she was not the first person to be accused of witchcraft. It is believed that Bishop was tried first because the judges felt she would be easiest to convict, as she was a marginalized member of the community. -
Founding of New Orleans
New Orleans was originally founded by the French. The French then ceded Louisiana to Spain to protect the land from the hands of the British, who had recently won the French Indian War. New Orleans was then developed into the port that functioned as an important trading and cultural partner with Cuba, Mexico, and beyond. The land that is Louisiana was then sold back to the French only for Napoleon to then sell it again to the United States for $15 million. -
Founding of Georgia
Georgia was the last of the thirteen colonies to support the American Revolution. The colony's charter was given to a man named General James Oglethorpe. It was given by King George II which is how it received the name Georgia. Oglethorpe envisioned a colony which would serve as a haven for English subjects who had been imprisoned for debt. Georgia originally started as a place of no slavery. -
Stono Rebellion
The Stono Rebellion was the largest slave rebellion in the South Carolina Era. Slaves revolted by killing 75 whites near the Stono River. They followed a long the river in attempt to escape slavery and reach Florida. However the rebellion was suppressed by the South Carolina militia on their way to Florida. Most of the captured slaves were executed, the surviving few were sold to markets in the West Indies. -
Albany Plan
The Albany Plan's goal was to unite the 13 colonies to help boost the military for war. This is important because it is the first plan that saw the colonies as united as one. Ultimately the plan didn't work because the colonists weren't able to understand why they should work together. Benjamin Franklin's Albany Plan ultimately failed but still stands as an important point in history. -
First Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the Seven Years War/ the French Indian War. This war was fought between Great Britain and France, along with their respective allies. The Treaty caused France to give up all its territory in North America, ending military threats to the British colonies in North America. -
Intolerable/ Coercive Acts
The Intolerable Acts included the Sugar Act, the Quartering Act, and the Stamp Act. The Sugar Act lowered taxes on sugar to try and get colonists to stop smuggling sugar. The Quartering Act forced colonists to give royal troops food and housing. The Stamp Act put a tax on all important goods such as documents, wheels, and lumber. These caused hardships on colonists finances and made enemies with the wealthy and powerful Americans. -
Boston Tea Party
The Sons of Liberty dressed as Native Americans and dumped an entire shipment of tea into the harbor in protest of British Parliaments taxation on tea. The colonists believed in "no taxation without representation." This saying was brought about because the colonists were being taxed by British Parliament while they didn't have representation in Parliament. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was a document that announced the 13 American colonies separation from Great Britain. The Declaration also explained the colonists rights to revolution. The colonists did this by essentially listing off their reasons for separation from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence is the founding document of the United States of America. -
Battle of Saratoga
Turning point of the American Revolution. This was important because it convinced the French to give the US military support. It lifted American spirits, ended the British threat in New England by taking control of the Hudson River and most importantly showed the French that the Americans had the potential to beat their enemy, Great Britain. -
Second Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris was the treaty that ended the American Revolutionary War. The treaty caused England to formally recognize the United States as an independent nation. The peace brought about by the treaty also helped to place the United States into international diplomacy playing against the largest and most powerful nations in the world. -
Slater Mill
Slater Mill was the first factory in the United States. It was a textile factory which sparked the usage of factories across the northern United States. The Embargo Act hurt trade but built domestic manufacturing. The growth of cotton caused textile factories to spring up all over to spin the cotton into fabric. The textile mills often employed young unmarried women from the surrounding countryside. Factories led to division in social classes, new sense of time, and early labor unions. -
Hamilton's Financial Plan
Hamilton's financial plan was intended to help build trust of other nations. He wanted to build that trust to help improve trade. He wanted to do this by paying off the United States war debts. Hamilton planned to do this my assumption of the states war debts onto the federal government. He also wanted to create a national bank to safely store money. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Alien and Sedition Acts were three laws that limited individual rights and threatened the party system. The Naturalization Act lengthened the residency requirements for citizenship. The Alien Act gave the president authority to deport foreigners. The Sedition Act prohibited the publication of insults or malicious attacks on the president or members of Congress. -
Marbury v Madison
The Marbury v Madison case led to the usage of judicial review. Justice John Marshall claimed the use of judicial review during the case, judicial review is when a government's executive, legislative, or administrative actions are subject to review by the judiciary. This was used frequently to overturn state laws that violated the Constitution. -
Louisiana Purchase
Tomas Jefferson was president. He purchased the Louisiana Territory from the French military leader Napoleon for $15 million. This purchase doubled the size of the United States. However Jefferson worried the Constitution didn't grant him right to do this. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition
President Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark West to explore previously unexplored lands. Their goal was to confirm or deny the theory of a Northwest passage to the Pacific Ocean. When Lewis and Clark finished their expedition they returned with the first maps of the West. They also created detailed lists of the West's natural resources and inhabitants. -
Embargo Act of 1807
The Embargo Act of 1807 was Congress prohibiting US ships from traveling to foreign ports. This ended up hurting the US and cutting their gross national product by 5% and overall weakened the economy. Jefferson then implemented the Non-Intercourse Act which brought back some overseas trade, however it still failed to restore and protect American trade. -
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent was created by the British to end the War of 1812. It retained the prewar borders of the United States between the US and Canada. The British had gotten tired of fighting with the United States causing this diplomatic solution. This result in no way justified three years of fighting but it did boost American morale. -
Missouri Compromise
The purpose of the Missouri Compromise was to keep the balance of free and slave states in the Union. It was created by Henry Clay drawing the 36th parallel to separate the free northern states and the slave southern states. It also stated that states would have to enter the Union in pairs of one slave state and one free state. This made it so Missouri entered as a slave state with Maine as its free state, even though Missouri was north of the 36th parallel. -
Gibbons v Ogden
In this case Justice Marshall ruled that Congress has the right to regulate commerce and that federal law takes precedent over state laws. Marshall, like other Federalists, was determined to protect individual property rights and used the contract clause of the Constitution to do so. The contract clause prohibits the states from passing any law which would break the obligations of a contract. -
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was the first main railway in the United States. Railroads were faster than the originally used rivers and canals. Trains on the railroads were powered by the newly created steam engine. Railroads made it easier to ship and receive goods to cities not connected by a river. They also helped to move people and information in a faster manner. -
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed by Jackson and was carried out by him and Martin Van Buren. Native Americans living in what had become American territories were forced to move West of the Mississippi River. More than 60,000 Native Americans from at least 18 tribes were displaced with force by the Act. This event is also now known as the Trail of Tears. -
Female acceptance into Oberlin Collage
Oberlin Collage was the first collage to open for women. It led to other collages opening for female students. This helped lead to the Seneca Falls Convention, which was a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of women. These events helped lead to the growing support for women's suffrage in the United States. -
Texas
Mexico had recently gained independence from Spain gaining the territory that is now known as Texas. The land didn't have much civilization but it inhabited the Appacie Indians, outlaws, and bandits. Americans were told that if they moved to the land that is Texas they would receive free land. Those people then declared independence from Mexico as the Republic of Texas, later joining the US in 1845. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The United States and Mexico were fighting over the land between the Rio Grande and the Nueces River. Mexico was winning the war and captured Mexico City, forcing Mexico into signing the Treaty. The Treaty forced Mexico into secsion providing the US with more land. President Polk of the US started the war in hopes of gaining the land of California and because of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo he got the land. -
Compromise of 1850
Due to California being split by the 36th parallel the Compromise of 1850 introduced the concept of popular sovereignty. Territories applying for statehood were now being governed by popular sovereignty. This made the people of California vote on if they wanted to be a free or slave state, California voted to be a free state. The Compromise of 1850 also abolished slavery in Washington DC along with enacting strict fugitive slave laws nationwide. -
Kansas Slavery Election
The North and the South were trying to entice migration into the Kansas territory to sway the votes in their direction, in the popular sovereignty vote. Pro-slavery ruffians from Missouri came to the city of Lawrence and burned through the town. They then stuffed ballot boxes with an untold number of fraudulent pro-slavery votes. Kansas voted pro-slavery due to the Missouri ruffians. This lead to it being unsafe to be in Kansas due to the bad political violence. -
Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott was a slave and moved to a state where slavery was illegal. He then sued hie owner for his freedom because slavery was abolished in the state he was currently living in. The Supreme Court ultimately sided with Dred Scott's owner and declaring the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional. By saying that Dred Scott had to stay in slavery it shattered the idea of free states. -
Election of 1860
Lincoln wins the election with both the popular vote and the electoral vote. This election caused South Carolina to succeed the Union. In the weeks that followed, majority of the South succeeded the Union and created the Confederacy. This all happened before Lincoln could even take office. -
Attack of Fort Sumpter
Due to the outcome of the election of 1860 the Southern states succeeded the nation and formed the Confederate states of America, before Lincoln could take office. However in the Confederacy there were military forts that were still part of the Union. Lincoln sent a convoy of food and medicine to these forts but people in South Carolina saw this as dangerous. They attacked, captured, and killed Fort Sumpter in Charleston, South Carolin beginning the Civil War. -
Battle of Bull Run
Bull Run was the first battle of the Civil War. After a brief skirmish Confederate forces were driven back to Henry Hill and more Union brigades crossed Bull Run. In the afternoon, Confederate reinforcements arrived and broke the Union right flank. Under counterattack and no reinforcements the Union was forced to retreat. The victory shocked the North by the Confederates power, setting the stage for the rest of the war. The emboldened Confederates would fight for nearly four more years. -
Homestead Act
The Homestead Act was created by Lincoln to help motivate people to move West. Cities in the East had quickly become overcrowded. People were given 160 acres of land by the government in the West, which gave people new opportunities. People who received land had to live on the land and improve the land. You also had to engage in agriculture for five years. -
Pacific Railway Act
The Pacific Railway Act was signed by Lincoln to create the first transcontinental railway. It would be able to tie the nation together economically. The railway was funded through bonds for every mile of track made. Lincoln hired the Union Pacific Rail Company to work from East to West while the Central Pacific Rail Company worked West to East. This created competition which helped the companies work faster. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln created the Emancipation Proclamation in hopes of bringing sectioned states back to the Union. The Proclamation stated that slavery would be outlawed in all the sectioned states. However if the states returned to the Union peacefully they could keep their slaves. If they didn't;t rejoin the Union peacefully the Union would conquered the sectioned states and liberate to slaves and the South will not be able to get their slaves back. -
Battle of Vicksburg
The Battle of Vicksburg was the turning point in the war for the Union. The Union control of Vicksburg would mean control of the strategic Mississippi River. Grant's army surrounded Pemberton and outnumbered him two to one. Grant decided to besiege the city and with no reinforcements coming, food and supplies nearly gone, and after holding out for more than forty days Pemberton finally surrendered. The Union controlled the entire Mississippi River and effectively split the Confederacy in half. -
Lincoln's 10% Plan
Lincoln believed that the nation could only be unified if there were no feelings of amnesty. His plan was that states could only rejoin the Union once at least 10% of the states voters swore loyalty to the Union. States that wished to rejoin the Union also had to form new state constitutions that outlawed slavery. Lincoln's plan also stated that pardons would be given to any Confederate leader who swore on oath to the Union. -
Creation of the Freedman's Bureau
The Freedman's Bureau was created to help newly freed African Americans transition into a life of freedom. They did this by creating schools, negotiating labor contracts, and securing loans for people. The bureau would also help people to find and also purchase new land for new opportunities. They would also provide people with legal aid as they were adjusting to their new life. -
Battle of Appomattox
General Lee had to reach Appomattox for more ammunition. When Lee reached Appomattox half of Grant's army was already there and the other half was right behind them. Lee turned his sword over to Grant in surrender but Grant gave it back to him and told him to send his troops home and the fight was over. The Battle of Appomattox was the end of the Civil War. -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 gave citizenship to African Americans. It also offered some protection against the recently created Black Codes. There were still some fears that Democrats would overturn the Act if they regained power so they desired a more permanent solution, the 14th Amendment which gave people born on US soil the right to full citizenship. If a state denied people voting rights, the state would lose its representation in Congress. -
Election of 1876
During the election Democrats gained more power but they still lagged behind the Republicans. Democrats ran Samuel Tilden and Republicans ran Rutherford B Hayes. However it seemed that the South voted 100% for Tilden. The North questioned the validity of the results given the known intimidation of Republicans. After the recount South Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida all switched to voting for Hayes. -
Sitting Bull Surrenders
Sitting Bull was the leader of the Sioux tribe of Native Americans. He and the last of his troops surrendered to the United States troops at Fort Buford in Montana. They were the final group of Native Americans to surrender and give in to moving to a reservation. These reservations were areas of land held by the United States government that were used as Native American tribal land. -
Dawes Act
The Dawes Act was similar to the Homestead Act but for the Native Americans. It gave Native Americans land to create farms and work on. However, like the Homestead Act, they had to live on the land. This land came out of land that had been set aside for reservations. By giving Native Americans large plots of land the American government was destroying tribes. They were separating the people which took away one of the main aspects of the tribe, togetherness. -
Wounded Knee Massacre
Wounded Knee Massacre was a mass killing of Native Americans in Pine Ridge Reservation. American soldiers were disarming natives on the reservations. A Native American man had a gun in his hands that he had bought and refused to give it up. When an American soldier attempted to forcibly take the gun from the man the gun went off. This caused the American soldiers to fire upon the Native Americans because they thought they were being attacked. -
Plessy v Fergusen
In Plessy v Fergusen the Supreme Court ruled, in a 7-1 vote, for "separate but equal" accommodations. This decision was used to justify segregation in all public facilities. Most of the school districts ended up neglecting their black schools. This ruling held until the 1954 Supreme Court case Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The Supreme Court ruled that separate institutions are inherently unequal.