US History Timeline

  • 1492

    Columbus discovers America

    Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492, while searching for an alternate route to India. He discovered it in a small armada of three ships. He claimed the new land for Spain and brought back gold, slaves, and an assortments of plants and animals.
  • Period: 1492 to

    US History Timeline

  • The settlement of Jamestown

    Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America. About 105 colonists left England in 1607 in three ships, after roughly 5 months of travel.
  • The French and Indian War

    The French and Indian war was around nine years long, and it was fought between France and Great Britain. The matter over which they were fighting was who had control over the new land in North America.
  • The Albany Plan of Union

    The Albany Plan of union was a conference held at Albany, New York, that advocated a union of the British colonies in North America for their defense and safety against the French. This later led to their unification.
  • The Boston tea party

    The Boston tea party was an incident in which American patriots disguised as Mohawk Indians threw 342 crates of tea being shipped by the British East India Company into the water as an act of rebellion and protestation against the taxes.
  • The Battle of Lexington and Concord

    The battles of Lexington and Concord were "skirmishes" between British soldiers and American minute men, which marked the beginning of the American revolution. The British were about to suppress the colonist's weapon stores when the minute men interfered.
  • The Declaration of Independence

    The Declaration of Independence was a document that announced the Independence of America from Britain.
  • The Battle of Yorktown

    The battle of Yorktown was a siege where the French and Americans surrounded and conquered a large English army, by land and by sea. Which gave the Americans the advantage they needed.
  • The Constitutional Convention

    The Constitutional Convention was a convention that was focused on the topic of creating a strong and central government. 55 delegates were present, and the product of the convention was the Constitution of the United States. 39 men signed it, with 16 against it.
  • The Invention of the Cotton Gin

    The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney, and the purpose of it was to clean the cotton of its seeds, which was much faster than picking out the cotton seeds by hand. So the cotton gin was in high demand because of it's convenience.
  • The Alien and Sedition Acts

    The Alien and Sedition acts were four security laws that were passed by US congress that restricted curtailing and aliens the excesses of press, because of the expected war with France.
  • The Louisiana Purchase

    The Louisiana Purchase was the purchase of 828,000 square miles west of the Mississippi river. The land was previously owned by France, until the US bought it from them for less than 3 cents an acre. This doubled the size of the US and started the westward expansion.
  • The War of 1812

    The War of 1812 was a three year conflict between the US and Great Britain. It began due to the British violating the US' maritime rights.
  • The Missouri Compromise

    The Missouri Compromise was the eventual admission of Missouri as the 24th state
  • Andrew Jackson’s Election

    Andrew Jackson was a renowned military leader and notable president
  • The Trail of Tears

    The trail of tears was the unwilling relocation of the eastern Indians.
  • The invention of the telegraph

    Samuel Morse invented the Telegraph in 1832
  • The Mexican-American War

    The Mexican-American War was started over who had control over that land that is Texas, and in the end America won 500,000 square miles of land.
  • The Compromise of 1850

    A series of compromises made by "the great compromiser", Henry Clay, which solved several slavery disputes.
  • The Firing on Fort Sumter

    The Firing on Fort Sumter was the first battle between the north and the south in the Civil war.
  • The Emancipation Proclamation

    The Emancipation Proclamation was an edict issued by President Abraham Lincoln, that freed all of the slaves in the Confederate territories.
  • 13th, 14th, 15th Amendments

    The 13th Amendment abolished slavery, and was passed in 1865. The 14th Amendment was passed in 1868, and it granted citizenship and equal rights to all African American, and former slaves. And the 15th Amendment which was passed in 1870, guaranteed the right to vote regardless of race.
  • Surrender at Appomattox Courthouse

    On April 9th, 1865 the Confederates surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, which marked the end of the Civil war, making slaves free!
  • Abraham Lincoln’s Assassination

    Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, who shot President Lincoln in the head while he was at a theater. President Lincoln died in the morning.
  • Andrew Johnson’s Impeachment

    Andrew Johnson was the President after Abraham Lincoln, and due to his reconstruction policies, he was impeached, although he was acquitted.
  • The Organization of Standard Oil Trust

    The Standard Oil Trust company was a very large oil company owned by John D. Rockefeller.
  • The End of Reconstruction

    The reconstruction process that happened due to the civil war ended in 1876, and the country started to become unstable.
  • The invention of the electric light, telephone, and airplane

    Alexander Bell invented the telephone in 1876, which was a large leap for technology.
    The wright Brothers invented the first airplane in 1904.
    The electric light was invented by Thomas Edison in 1879
  • The Pullman and Homestead Strikes

    The Pullman strike was a widespread railroad strike and boycott that disrupted traffic in cities.
    The Homestead strike was a violent labor disagreement between the workers and the employers of the Carnegie Steel company.
  • The Spanish-American War

    The Spanish-American War was a fight between Spain and America that ended in Spanish rule in the Americas.
  • Theodore Roosevelt becomes president

    Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th President of the US, and was a very successful in strengthening our country