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Election of 1800
Thomas Jefferson vs. Aaron Burr. -
Capital moved to D.C.
The U.S. capital is moved from Philadelphia to Washington, DC.
November 17. The U.S. Congress meets in Washington, DC, for the first time later that year. -
Thomas Jefferson inaugurated 3rd President
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Louisiana Purchase
United States agrees to pay France $15 million for the Louisiana Territory, which extends west from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and comprises about 830,000 sq mi. As a result, the U.S. nearly doubles in size. -
12th Amendment
Provided the procedure for electing the President and Vice President. -
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Lewis and Clark Expedition
set out from St. Louis, Mo., on expedition to explore the West and find a route to the Pacific Ocean. -
Alexander Hamilton Duel
Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr have a duel. Hamilton looses and died the following day. -
Slave Trade Act
Act prohibiting the trade and importation of slaves. -
Election of 1808
James Madison vs. Charles Pinckney -
James Madison inaugurated 4th President
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War of 1812
U.S. declares war on Britain over British interference with American maritime shipping and westward expansion. -
Star Spangled Banner
Francis Scott Keys writes Star-Spangled Banner as he watches British attack on Fort McHenry at Baltimore. -
Treaty of Ghent
officially ending the war of 1812 -
New Orleans Attack
British attack New Orleans, but they had yet to hear of the treaty and Andrew Jackson defeated the British. -
Tariff of 1816
also known as the Dallas Tariff, is notable as the first tariff passed by Congress with an explicit function of protecting U.S. manufactured items from overseas competition -
Second National Bank
Second Bank of the U.S. is established in Philadelphia -
Election of 1816
James Monroe v. Rufus King -
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Seminole War
First conflict between the United States and the Seminole Indians of Florida. -
James Monroe inaugurated 5th President
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Convention of 1818
Set boundaries between U.S. and British North America at the 49th parallel. -
Panic of 1819
First major depression because of poor banking policies. -
United States acquire Florida
Spain agrees to cede Florida to the United States. -
Missouri Compromise
In an effort to maintain the balance between free and slave states, Maine (formerly part of Massachusetts) is admitted as a free state so that Missouri can be admitted as a slave state; except for Missouri, slavery is prohibited in the Louisiana Purchase lands north of latitude 36°30'. -
Vesey Revolts
an enslaved African American carpenter who had purchased his freedom, plans a slave revolt with the intent to lay siege on Charleston, South Carolina. The plot is discovered, and Vesey and 34 coconspirators are hanged. -
Monroe Doctrine
In his annual address to Congress, President Monroe declares that the American continents are henceforth off-limits for further colonization by European powers. -
Election of 1824
There were five republican candidates. John Quincy Adams wins -
Erie Canal
Erie Canal, linking the Hudson River to Lake Erie, is opened for traffic. -
John Quincy Adams inaugurated 6th President
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First Railroad
Construction is begun on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, the first public railroad in the U.S. -
Election 1828
Andrew Jackson won with John C. Calhoun as his vice president. -
Andrew Jackson inaugurated 7th President
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Church of Jesus Christ
Joseph Smith organizes the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints -
Indian Removal Act
President Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, which authorizes the forced removal of Native Americans living in the eastern part of the country to lands west of the Mississippi River. -
William Lloyd Garrison
begins publishing the Liberator, a weekly paper that advocates the complete abolition of slavery. He becomes one of the most famous figures in the abolitionist movement. -
Nat Turner Revolts
an enslaved African American preacher, leads the most significant slave uprising in American history. He and his band of about 80 followers launch a bloody, day-long rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia. The militia quells the rebellion, and Turner is eventually hanged. As a consequence, Virginia institutes much stricter slave laws. -
South Carolina's Nullification
Stated that tariffs of 1828 were null and void. They prohibited the collection of the duties after February 1, 1833. They also threatened succession if federal officials tried to collect them. -
The Reaper Invented
This machined invented by Cyrus Hall McCormick brought power to grain harvesting. -
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Second Seminole War
Second conflict between the United States and the Seminole Indians of Florida -
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Texas Revolution
The fight for Texas between America and Mexico -
Election of 1836
Martin Van Buren v. William H. Harrison -
Battle at The Alamo
Texan defenders of the Alamo are all killed during siege by the Mexicans -
United States acquire Texas
Texas declares its independence from Mexico. -
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson writes The American Scholar -
Martin Van Buren inaugurated 8th President
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Trail of Tears
More than 15,000 Cherokee Indians are forced to march from Georgia to Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. Approximately 4,000 die from starvation and disease along the “Trail of Tears.” -
Liberty Party
Activists in Warsaw, New York, organized the antislavery Liberty Party -
Election of 1840
William Henry Harrison wins election -
William Henry Harrison inaugurated 9th President.
William Henry Harrison is inaugurated as the ninth president. But dies one month later and is succeeded by VP, John Tyler -
John Tyler takes office as 10th President
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Election of 1844
Henry Clay v. James K. Polk -
Manifest Destiny
The term “manifest destiny” appears for the first time in a magazine article by John L. O'Sullivan. It expresses the belief held by many white Americans that the United States is destined to expand across the continent. -
James Polk inaugurated 11th President
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Tyler makes offer to Texas
Tyler at last extended an official offer to Texas -
Texas becomes 28th state
The republic accepted Tyler's offer, becoming the twenty-eighth state. -
The Nueces Strip
President Polk secretly dispatched John Slidell to Mexico City to purchase the Nueces strip along with large sections of New Mexico and California. -
Wilmot Proviso
introduced by Democratic representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania, attempts to ban slavery in territory gained in the Mexican War The proviso is blocked by Southerners, but continues to enflame the debate over slavery. -
Mexico cedes most of Western states.
Mexico recognizes Rio Grande as new boundary with Texas and, for $15 million, agrees to cede territory comprising present-day California, Nevada, Utah, most of New Mexico and Arizona, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming. -
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Mexican War
U.S. declares war on Mexico in effort to gain California and other territory in Southwest. -
Oregon Treaty
Oregon Treaty fixes U.S.-Canadian border at 49th parallel; U.S. acquires Oregon territory. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
War concludes with signing of Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. -
Election of 1848
Zachary Taylor wins -
Gold Discovered
James W. Marshall, a contractor hired by John Sutter, discovered gold on Sutter’s sawmill land in the Sacramento Valley area of the California Territory. -
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery and becomes one of the most effective and celebrated members of the Underground Railroad. -
Zachary Taylor inaugurated 12th President
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Millard Fillmore elected 13th President
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Fugitive Slave Act
was also part of the Compromise of 1850. The act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. The act also made the federal government responsible for finding, returning, and trying escaped slaves. -
Election of 1852
Franklin Pierce v. Winfield Scott -
Franklin Pierce inaugurated 14th President
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Period: to
Third Seminole War
Third and final conflict between the United States and the Seminole Indians of Florida -
Election of 1856
James Buchanan v. John C. Frémont -
James Buchanan inaugurated 15th President
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Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln v. John C. Breckinridge -
States being seceding the Union
Mississippi seceded. Later in the month, the states of Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana also all left the Union. By early February, Texas had also joined the newly seceded states. -
The Anaconda Plan
Winfield Scott’s Anaconda Plan meant to slowly squeeze the South dry of its resources, blocking all coastal ports and inland waterways to prevent the importation of goods or the export of cotton. -
Abraham Lincoln inaugurated 16th President
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Battle of Fort Sumter
The Confederate attack on Fort Sumter, a federal outpost in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, marks the first military engagement of the American Civil War. After some 34 hours of bombardment, the fort surrenders on April 13, and Federal troops evacuate the fort the next day. -
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The Civil War
the bloodiest war in the nation’s history, resulted in approximately 750,000 deaths. African Americans, both enslaved and free, pressed the issue of emancipation and nurtured this transformation. -
First Battle of Bull Run
or the First Battle of Manassas, takes place near Manassas in northern Virginia and ends in a Confederate rout of Union forces. -
First Ironclad Ship
Designed by Swedish engineer and inventor John Ericsson, the U.S. Navy's first ironclad, USS Monitor, was commissioned at New York City, New York. An innovative warship, she had a thick-armored round turret which was twenty-feet in diameter. -
Battle of the Monitor and Merrimack
In the first battle of ironclad warships, the Merrimack (which had been rechristened by the Confederates as the Virginia) clashes with the Union Monitor. -
Battle at Shiloh
in southwestern Tennessee, Union forces rally from almost near defeat to drive back the Confederate army. Both sides are immobilized for the next three weeks because of the heavy casualties, including more than 13,000 on the Union side and more than 11,000 on the Confederate side. -
Battle at Antietam
Maryland, is regarded as a Union victory in an otherwise bleak year for Union forces in the East. However, the casualties set a grisly record. In what marks the bloodiest single day of the war, the South loses 10,316 troops, and the North suffers casualties of 12,401. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." -
Battle of Vicksburg
In the western theater of the war, General Ulysses S. Grant lays siege to the Confederate stronghold of Vicksburg, Mississippi. The victory leaves the Mississippi River completely under Union control and splits the Confederacy in half. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Confederate forces under General Robert E. Lee meet Union forces at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle rages over three days, involving heavy artillery duels and high casualties on both sides. The battle is considered a major turning point in the eastern theater. -
Atlanta Campaign
General William T. Sherman captures Atlanta, Georgia. Sherman adopts a strategy of “total war” on his march through Georgia and the Carolinas. His troops destroy crops, supplies, railroads, bridges, and many small industries to weaken support for the war. -
General Lee's Surrender
General Lee is surrounded by Grant’s forces in Virginia. He finally surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Court House on April 9. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
President Lincoln is shot in Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., by John Wilkes Booth. The president dies the next day. Vice President Andrew Johnson becomes president. The death of Lincoln will make reconciliation between the North and South more difficult. -
Battle at Palmito Ranch
This final battle of the war.