-
Eli Whitney Patented the Cotton Gin
a machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by greatly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber -
Gabriel Prosser Slave Revolt
the republican ideology of the Revolution and the anti-elitist thrust of the Democratic-Republicans helped shape Gabriel's vision in leading a slave revolt -
Thomas Jefferson Elected President
constitutes the first peaceful transfer of power from one political party to another in the United States -
Second Great Awakening Began
a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1790, gained momentum by 1800 and, after 1820, membership rose rapidly among Baptist and Methodist congregations whose preachers led the movement. -
Louisiana Purchase
land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million -
Marbury vs Madison
arguably the most important case in Supreme Court history, was the first U.S. Supreme Court case to apply the principle of "judicial review" -- the power of federal courts to void acts of Congress in conflict with the Constitution. -
Beginning of Lewis and Clark Expedition
the first American expedition to cross the western portion of the United States -
Embargo Act
It prohibited American ships from trading in all foreign ports. -
Chesapeake-Leopard Affair
naval engagement that occurred off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia. The crew of Leopard pursued, attacked, and boarded the American frigate, looking for deserters from the Royal Navy. -
James Madison Elected President
The Democratic-Republican candidate James Madison defeated Federalist candidate Charles Cotesworth Pinckney decisively. -
Non-Intercourse Act
This Act lifted all embargoes on American shipping except for those bound for British or French ports. -
Francis Cabot Lowell Smuggled Memorized Textile Mill Plans From Manchester, England
During a visit to Great Britain in 1811, Francis Cabot Lowell spied on the new British textile industry. Using his contacts, he visited a number of mills in England, sometimes in disguise. Unable to buy drawings or a model of a power loom, he committed the power loom design to memory. -
Death of Tecumseh
Tecumseh led a remnant of the confederation into an alliance with Britain during the War of 1812. At the Battle of the Thames in 1813, the British and Native Americans were defeated by an American force, Tecumseh was killed, and the surviving Native Americans withdrew from the alliance -
The British Burn Washington DC
as the War of 1812 neared its conclusion, British forces torched the White House, the Capitol and nearly every other public building in Washington -
Hartford Convention
Federalist delegates gathered in Hartford, Connecticut, to discuss the impact of the War of 1812 on their home states' economies -
Robert Owen Founded the New Harmony Community
the site of two attempts to establish Utopian communities. The first, Harmonie (1814-1825), was founded by the Harmonie Society, a group of Separatists from the German Lutheran Church. -
End of the war of 1812
It caused no geographical changes. The main result of the war was two centuries of peace between the United States and Britain -
Battle of New Orleans
Because the decisive victory was followed shortly afterward by news of a peace treaty, many Americans at the time mistakenly believed the Battle of New Orleans had won the war. -
Treaty of Ghent Ratified
ended the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain. The Senate unanimously ratified the Treaty of Ghent on February 16, 1815 -
Era of Good Feeling Began
the mood of victory that swept the nation at the end of the War of 1812. Exaltation replaced the bitter political divisions between Federalists and Republicans, between northern and southern states, and between east-coast cities and settlers on the western frontier. -
James Monroe Elected President
His presidency is most known for achievements in foreign affairs including the Monroe Doctrine, which is considered a defining moment in U.S. foreign policy -
Rush-Bagot Treaty
between the United States and Great Britain following the War of 1812 and its goal was to significantly eliminate both countries' burgeoning naval fleets stationed in the Great Lakes. Both nations aimed to ease tensions as a way to prevent another Anglo-American war. -
Anglo-American Convention
The Treaty of 1818 set the 49th parallel as the border with Canada from Rupert's Land west to the Rocky Mountains -
Missouri Compromise
an effort by Congress to defuse the sectional and political rivalries triggered by the request of Missouri late in 1819 for admission as a state in which slavery would be permitted -
Dartmouth College vs Woodward
a landmark decision in United States corporate law from the United States Supreme Court dealing with the application of the Contracts Clause of the United States Constitution to private corporations. -
Adams-Onis Treaty
also known as the Transcontinental Treaty, the Florida Purchase Treaty, or the Florida Treaty, was a treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to the U.S. and defined the boundary between the U.S. and New Spain. -
McCulloch vs Maryland
the Supreme Court ruled that Congress had implied powers under the Necessary and Proper Clause of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution to create the Second Bank of the United States and that the state of Maryland lacked the power to tax the Bank. -
Panic of 1819
the impressive post-War of 1812 economic expansion ended. Banks throughout the country failed; mortgages were foreclosed, forcing people out of their homes and off their farms. Falling prices impaired agriculture and manufacturing, triggering widespread unemployment. -
Denmark Vesey Slave Revolt
the most extensive slave revolt in U.S. history in South Carolina -
Monroe Doctrine
created separate spheres of European and American influence. The United States promised to stay out of European business and told the Europeans to stay out of the Western Hemisphere's business. -
John Quincy Adams Elected President (Corrupt Bargain)
marked the final collapse of the Republican-Federalist political framework. Andrew Jackson received more electoral and popular votes than any other candidate, but not the majority of 131 electoral votes needed to win the election. -
Gibbons vs Ogden
served to vastly expand the power of Congress and the federal government. Now, Congress could regulate any commercial activity which moved between two states. This meant that the vast majority of business could become regulated by the United States -
Charles B Finney Lead Religious Revivals in Western New York
Charles Grandison Finney is credited with being one of the most forceful American evangelists, one who was greatly responsible for the rise of religious fervor in western New York from the 1820s to the 1850s. -
Erie Canal Completed
It was built to create a navigable water route from New York City and the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. -
Tariff of Abominations
the third protective tariff implemented by the government. The protective tariffs taxed all foreign goods, to boost the sales of US products and protect Northern manufacturers from cheap British goods. It followed the wave of Nationalism in the country following the War of 1812 -
Lyman Beecher Delivered His "Six Sermons on Intemperance"
Delineating its nature, occasions, signs, evils, and remedy -
Andrew Jackson Elected President
Andrew Jackson won a plurality of electoral votes in the election of 1824, but still lost to John Quincy Adams when the election was deferred to the House of Representatives -
Creation of a Whig Party in the US
It originally formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic Party. -
Joseph Smith Founded the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today numbers more than 14 million. Latter-day Saints revere Joseph Smith as a prophet, just as they revere biblical prophets such as Moses and Isaiah -
Indian Removal Act
The law authorized the president to negotiate with southern Native American tribes for their removal to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their lands. -
Worcester vs Georgia
United States Supreme Court vacated the conviction of Samuel Worcester and held that the Georgia criminal statute that prohibited non-Native Americans from being present on Native American lands without a license from the state -
Nullification Crisis Began
This was the scene in 1832, when South Carolina adopted the ordinance to nullify the tariff acts and label them unconstitutional. Despite sympathetic voices from other Southern states, South Carolina found itself standing alone -
Andrew Jackson Vetoed the Re-Charter of the Second Bank of the US
by arguing that in the form presented to him it was incompatible with “justice,” “sound policy” and the Constitution. The charter was bad policy for several technical reasons. -
Black Hawk War
around a treaty between the Sauk and Fox peoples and the United States that had been signed in St. Louis in November 1804, by which the Indians agreed to cede to the United States all of their lands east of the Mississippi and some claims west of it. -
Treaty of Echota
ceding Cherokee land to the U.S. in exchange for compensation. It cost three men their lives and provided the legal basis for the Trail of Tears, the forcible removal of the Cherokee Nation from Georgia. -
Catherine Beecher Published Essays on the Education of Female Teachers
Written at the request of the American Lyceum and communicated at their annual meeting, New York, May 8th, 1835 -
Transcendental Club's First Meeting
Henry Hedge, Ralph Waldo Emerson, George Putnam, and George Ripley met in Cambridge to organize regular conferences of people who believed the current intuition of the country was inadequate. -
First McGuffey Reader Published
a series of graded primers for grade levels 1-6. They were widely used as textbooks in American schools from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century, and are still used today in some private schools and in homeschooling -
Texas Declared Independence from Mexico
Slavery was against Mexican law, but Americans brought slaves to Texas. Many American settlers and Tejanos, or Mexicans who lived in Texas, wanted to break away from Mexico. They did not like laws made by Santa Anna, Mexico's president. The Tejanos and Texans decided to fight for independence. -
Battle of the Alamo
13 day siege fought from February 23 1836 and March 6, 1836 between a handful of 180 American rebels, fighting for Texan independence from Mexico, who were in the Alamo against Mexican forces of about 4000, under President General Santa Anna. -
Martin Van Buren Elected President
the third consecutive election victory for the Democratic Party by defeating several whigs -
Andrew Jackson Issued Specie Circular
Under this act, the government would only accept gold or silver in payment for federal land. ... The principal reason for Jackson's implementation of the Specie Circular was high inflation. -
Horace Mann Elected Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education
an American educational reformer and Whig politician dedicated to promoting public education. -
Panic of 1837
financial crisis in the United States that touched off a major recession that lasted until the mid-1840s. Profits, prices, and wages went down while unemployment went up. Pessimism abounded during the time. -
Ralph Waldo Emerson gave the "Divinity School Address"
Ralph Waldo Emerson gave to the graduating class of Harvard Divinity School -
Trail of Tears Begin
as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma -
Webster-Ashburton treaty
resolved several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies (the region that became Canada) -
Treaty of Wanghia with China
opening the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate to American trade and permitting the establishment of a U.S. consulate in Japan -
James Polk Elected President
Democrat James K. Polk defeated Whig Henry Clay in a close contest that turned on the controversial issues of slavery and the annexation of the Republic of Texas. -
Beginning of Manifest Destiny
the idea that Americans were destined, by God, to govern the North American continent. This idea, with all the accompanying transformations of landscape, culture, and religious belief it implied, had deep roots in American culture. -
US Annexation of Texas
annexation led quickly to war with Mexico in 1846. The victorious United States came away with control of the American Southwest and California through the Treaty of Guadalupe in 1848. -
Start of the Mexican War
stemming from the United States’ annexation of Texas in 1845 and from a dispute over whether Texas ended at the Nueces River (Mexican claim) or the Rio Grande (U.S. claim) -
Bear Flag Revolt
a small group of American settlers in California rebelled against the Mexican government and proclaimed California an independent republic. -
John Humphrey Noyes Founded the Oneida Community
a perfectionist religious communal society that practiced communalism (in the sense of communal property and possessions), complex marriage, male sexual continence, and mutual criticism. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
ended the U.S.-Mexican War, it is the oldest treaty still in force between the United States and Mexico. Because of its military victory the United States virtually dictated the terms of settlement. -
Gold Rush began in California
the largest mass migration in American history since it brought about 300,000 people to California. It all started on January 24, 1848, when James W. Marshall found gold on his piece of land at Sutter's Mill in Coloma. The news of gold quickly spread around. -
Henry David Thoreau Published Civil Disobedience
Thoreau argues that individuals should not permit governments to overrule or atrophy their consciences, and that they have a duty to avoid allowing such acquiescence to enable the government to make them the agents of injustice -
Commodore Matthew Perry Entered Tokyo Harbor Opening Japan to the US
seeking to re-establish for the first time in over 200 years regular trade and discourse between Japan and the western world. -
Gadsden Purchase
secured area for the transcontinental railroad and set the U.S.-Mexican border. -
Kanagawa Treaty
the first treaty between Japan and the United States. The Treaty was the result of an encounter between an elaborately planned mission to open Japan and an unwavering policy by Japan's government of forbidding commerce with foreign nations.
