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Jan 13, 1443
Columbus lands in the “New World”
America is founded colonists begin to explore the huge uncolonized land mass that would one day be the greatest superpower -
Settlers arrive at Roanoke Island
Settler arrive at an island off of the cheasapeake bay this is where first people of America ventured -
Jamestown established
First town called Jamestown is built. Colonization is beggining first town of Americans. Located off of the chesapeake bay -
Mayflower Compact
First governing document of Plymouth Colony. It was written by the seperatistis. -
John Winthrop’s “City Upon a Hill” speech
Speech given by puritan leader John Winthrop. Speech was given to demonstrate irratating Puritan pridefulness, they thought they were perfect, and since they were a city on a hill people looked up to them. -
Anne Hutchinson is kicked out of Massachusetts Bay Colony
Anne Hutchinson was a lady who stood up for what she believed in. Her strong religious convictons threatened to destroy the Puritans religious experiment in New England -
Pequot War
War between the Pequot indians and english settlers. This war resulted in the elimination of the Pequot tribe. -
Bacon’s Rebellion
Was an armed rebellion by Nathaniel Bacon against the governor William Berkeley. Suppressed by armed merchant ships. First rebellion in the American colonies which discontented frontiersman took part. -
Salem Witch Trials
Girl is taken into doctors because she is sick. They determine that its witch craft and that she is a witch. The only way to get people to believe you arent a witch would be to rat out other witches. This caused mayhem. -
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Benjamin Franklin lives
The man who created electricity. One of the most brilliant people of his time without him there would not have been the discovery of electricity. He was an inventor, political thinker, and strived for social equality. -
Jonathan Edwards delivers “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” sermon
It is Edwards most famous work. Combines imagery of hell and observations of the world. This helped provide a glimpse of theology into the Great awakening. -
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French & Indian War
Fought between British America and France. With each side supported by there superpower back home. Idenginous tribes teamed up with french. -
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Alexander Hamilton lives 1755-1804
Founding father of the United States. Cheif of Staff to George Washington. And a very influential person of the Constitution. -
Treaty of Paris
Ended the American Revolutionary War. This also officailly recognized the United States as a country and defined its borders. -
Proclamation of 1763
Helped the US gain land from france after the French-Indian War. -
Sugar Act
Revenue raising act. People were furious about this tax because it was such a large product. -
Stamp Act
Another way for the government to gain revenue. They made every piece of legal paper or mail have a stamp which was taxed people were very furious with this. -
Quartering Act
Said that soldiers of the Militia must be housed and taken care of by people. Made it difficult to plan against the british. -
Townshend Acts
Were a series of acts passed by the parliament of Great Britain relating to the british colonies in North America -
Boston Massacre
British soldiers killed 5 civilian men and injured 6 others. This would ignite a future of hatred towards the british. -
Boston Tea Party
Dumped all of tea in the Harbor because they wanted taxes lowered back down to normal on tea. -
1st Continental Congress
was a convention of delegates from twelve colonies that met at carpenters hall in Pennsylvania early in the american revolution. -
Intolerable / Coercive Acts
The acts stripped Massachusetts of self-government and historic rights, triggering outrage and resistance in the 13 colonies. -
Olive Branch Petition
affirmed American loyalty to great britain and entreated the king to prevent future conflict. -
Lexington & Concord
Battles where important quotes such as "the shot heard around the world" came from. Kicked off the American Revolutionary war. -
2nd Continental Congress
Talked mainly about the colonial war effort and moved towards indenpendence slowly. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
Colonies vs Britain. Britain wins. British capture charlestown penisula. -
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Common Sense
This book, written by Thomas Payne, explaines that it is common sense for Americans to revolt. This sparked a lot of interest in the revolution and helped it gain support. -
Declaration of Independence
Gave us independence from Britain. Stated political ideals that would guide the governing of the United States. -
Battle of Saratoga
Decided the fate for Britain. Thought of as a turning point in the war. Two battles were fought. First battle British victory, second was a decisive American win and British surrendered on October 17 -
Articles of Confederation
First Constitution for the United States. Arguably hurt the US and did more harm than real good. Was replaced by the current constitution on March 4, 1789 -
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Henry Clay lives
Henrey Clay was able to find compromises between atifederalist and federalists as well as between slave states and free states. He delayed the inevitable civil war with his brilliant compromising skills. -
Surrender at Yorktown
Effectively ended the revolutionary war. Although there was fighting after this point, this was a huge victory for the Americans and French. The French sealed off the bay and did not allow the British to escape. -
Treaty of Paris (Sep. 1783)
This treaty ended the Revolutionary war and Britian officially recognized the United States as an independant country. This also helped define the borders of the United States. -
Land Ordinance of 1785
The goal of the ordinance was to raise money through the sale of land in the territory west of the original states acquired after the end of the Revolutionary War in the 1783 Treaty of Paris. This was part of the Articles of Confederation and helped the economy of the new and growing country. -
Shays’ Rebellion
Armed uprising in Massachusettes. This was what made the founding fathers recognize the fact that the articles of confederation were inadequite. -
Constitutional Convention
the Convention was intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, but then many representatives wanted a completely new Constitution. This is where the constitution of the United States was writen. -
Northwest Ordinance of 1787
Congress could did not have the power to raise taxes to gain revenue. The immediate goal of the ordinance was to raise money through the sale of land in the largely unmapped territory west of the original states. -
The Great Compromise
Established a bicameral system in which representation in the housewould be based on population, and representation in the senate would be equal. This is how out legislature works today. -
The Federalists Papers
The Federalist Papers were a series of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. -
3/5ths compromise
This compromise was in regards to the counting of slaves in the taxation of a state and its representation. The north wanted them to count for taxation but not representation. The south weanted them to count for representation but not taxation. It was eventually agreed that slaves would count as 3/5 of a white man in regards to both taxation and representation. -
Washingtons Presidency
Washington did not belong to a political party and despised the idea of a system ruled by defined political partys. He kept the United States out of the war in France and John Adams was his Vice President. -
The Bill of Rights
These are the first 10 amendments to the constitution. These included Right to free speach and the right to bear arms. These are rights that are still given to citizens today. -
Whiskey Rebellion
Was a tax protest in which people were protesting about the recent increase in tax on whiskey. Washington had to send in the militia to put down the rebellion and exercised his militias force showcasing them to the general public. -
Jay's Treaty
treaty between the United States and the Britain that averted war. It allowed the US to keep trade with Britain during the French Revolution which was crucial to the early development of the ecomony and the country. -
Citizen Genet comes to America
Citizen genet was an envoy from France who attempted to gain American support in the French Revolution. His attempt failed because Washington did not want the young country getting into any foreign wars. This was a good move and allowed the government to focus on internal affairs. -
Pickney's Treaty
Gurranteed the friendship between the United States and Spain. Also gave the U.S. the right to the mississippi river which would greatly help with trade and travel. -
Washington’s Farewell Address
Washington warns system governed by partys. He also says to focus on domestic affairs rather than foreign. Adams was the next president. -
XYZ Affair
American represenative goes to france to negotiate. Mr. X, Mr. Y, Mr. Z all said that France wanted money before any negotiations could commence, Adams said no. -
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John Adams’ presidency
Adams passed the Alien and Sedition acts. Although these were Federalist acts, he tried to maintain neutrality during his presidency. -
Alien Sedition Acts
Bills passed by the Federalists during an undeclared naval war with France. John Adams passed this under pressure from his Federalist peers. They were later repealed. -
Thomas Jefferson’s presidency
Thomas Jefferson, who grew up with money, lived very simply as the president. He also aquired the Louisiana Purcahase from France and was the third president of the US. -
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John Marshall is chief justice
John Marshal was the chief justice for 34 years. He helped form the American legal system. He was extremely influential and important in the early years of the country. -
Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson purchased the Lousiana Territory from France. This was made possibble because Napoleon needed money quickly and the territory did not interest him in his European conquest. Although the purchase was not technically constitutional, it was approved by congress. -
Lewis & Clark Expedition
Lewis and Clark were 2 explorers who were sent west to explore the new land that was aquired from the Lousiana Purchase. They found lots of new things on their journey and were able to map out the new land. -
Embargo Act
The Embargo act was argubaly a very hurtful thing to the U.S. It cut off all trading with everyone and made the economy of the U.S. stuggle because of it. -
James Madison’s presidency
James Madison was the fourth president of teh United States. He was very smart and had many good ideas, but he was not a very stong leader. The war of 1812 was often called "Mr. Madison's war" He was unable to gain favor with the people and was unwize to get involved in a war. -
War of 1812
This war was declared after Britain failed to sign a treaty. The treaty was sent over to England because they were selling guns to the Indians who were attacking America. Britain later actually signed the treaty, but war had already been declared. The war was basically pointless because in the end the peace treaty was essentially the same as the one Britain had already signed. -
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James Monroe’s presidency
Was an average president. Signed the Monroe Doctrine which said that if the British tried to colonize or intefere with the states than that would be treated as an act of aggression. -
Adams-Onis Treaty
This treaty gave florida to the United States after Jackson had been attacking Spanish forts. This allowed for a transcontenental railroad. -
Financial Panic of 1819
The economy collapsed because England found another, cheaper source of cotton. This means the US was not able to export as much cotton. This made the US realize that industry was neccessary in order to have a stable economy. -
McCulloch v. Maryland
First real use of the Supremacy clause which states that national laws supercede laws passed at a state level. -
Missouri Compromise
It prohibited slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30′ north. Missouri was admitted as a slave state. -
Monroe Doctrine
Established the United States as a power and stated that European policies were not welcome in the western hemisphere. All attempts to further colonize would be seen as a threat. -
Gibbons v. Ogden
Established that interstate commerce was to be taxed at a federal level. -
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John Quincy Adams’ presidency
Adams Presidency was harsh for him because he had a mixed group of followers. People loved him because he was so devoted to the nation but people also did not like him.Was a well rounded president because he cut the national debt from 16 million to 5 million. Although people were not fans of him he was a very good president. -
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Andrew Jackson’s presidency
Was a national man. People loved him because he was a fighter and the American Man. Had a strong opposition to the National Bank. Thought that states should have own money, which was stupid because then there would be no national currency and then trade could not happen and the U.S. relyed on trade. -
Indian Removal Act of 1830
This was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson. It allowed Jackson to push the Native Americans out of their homelands and farther west. This was another example of how Andrew Jackson ruled as a tyrant. -
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Nullification Controversy-1830-1834
South Carolina did not agree with the Tariffs placed on some goods. Calhoun the vice president at the time sided with South Carolina while Jackson stuck against him. These two would split and become enemies forever. Jackson wanted to send military to force them to pay called this the force bill. Eventually everything was solved. -
Jackson vetoes charter of Bank of US
Jackson hated the idea of a national bank. He vetoed the charter of the second National bank. This created severe economic problems after his presidency. -
Panic of 1837
Due to Jackson's terrible economic policies, there was a financial panic after his presidency. In 1837 there was a financial panic. -
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Martin Van Buren’s presidency-1837-1841
Had a tough job in front of him because of Jackson. Had to deal with the Fiancial Panic of 1837 in his presidency. His overally presidency was lowered thanks to the presidents that came before him. -
William Henry Harrison wins 1840 Election
He was a military officer and politician, and the first president to die in office. Harrison died on his 32nd day in office. He had the closest thing to a modern campaign.