Important Dates
1607 – Jamestown Settlement
1776 – Declaration of Independence
1787 – U.S. Constitution
1803 – Louisiana Purchase
1861-1865 – Civil War
Timeline
Era of European Exploration
1215 – Magna Carta – trial by jury, due process, limited government
1265 – English Parliament – English government
1492 – Columbus sails to New World – looking for the route to Asia; discovered the New World
Era of Colonial Settlement
1607 – Jamestown Settlement – First Permanent English Colony
1619 – Virginia House of Burgesses – first example of representative government
1619 – First Africans arrive in America – Indentured Servants
1620 – Mayflower Compact – self-government
1639 – Fundamental Orders of Connecticut – First written Constitution
1689 – English Bill of Rights – Inspired our own Bill of Rights
1720 – First Great Awakening – First religious revival; equality; traveling preachers
1754 – Albany Plan of Union – Ben Franklin’s plan for the colonies to defend themselves against the French
1754 – French and Indian War – the colonists and the British vs. the French and the Indians; Ohio River Valley
1763 – Treaty of Paris – ended the French and Indian War
1763 – Proclamation of 1763 – the colonists could not go past the Appalachian Mountains
American Revolutionary Era
1764 – Causes for American Revolution – debt from the French and Indian War; various taxes
1774 – First Continental Congress – colonies form their own militias
1775 – Lexington and Concord – first battles of the Revolution
1775 – Second Continental Congress – George Washington is chosen to lead the army; the colonies will declare independence
1776 – Thomas Paine’s Common Sense – the pamphlet encourages colonists to declare independence
1776 – Declaration of Independence – written by Thomas Jefferson, it declares our independence from England
1777 – Articles of Confederation – America ’s first Constitution; the main weakness was that the states had too much power
1777 – Saratoga – the turning point of the Revolution; encourages the French to help us
1778 – Valley Forge – Washington ’s greatest challenge; the Continental Army has to defeat the cold and smallpox before they can fight the British
1781 – Yorktown – the last battle of the Revolution
1783 – Treaty of Paris – ends the Revolution; the U.S. now extends from the Atlantic to the Mississippi River
New Republic Era
1787 – Northwest Ordinance -- established the Northwest Ordinance; provided an orderly way to settle the West
1787 – Philadelphia Convention -- delegates gather to fix the Articles of Confederation; end up with a new Constitution
1787 – Three-fifths Compromise -- slaves are counted as 3/5 of a person for the purpose of representation
1787 – U.S. Constitution -- the Supreme Law of the Land
1789 – First U.S. President (George Washington) -- Washington is only president to win 100% of the electoral vote
1789 – Origin of Political Parties -- Alexander Hamilton founds the Federalist Party; Thomas Jefferson founds the Anti-Federalists (Democratic-Republicans) after disagreements over Federal and States' rights
1791 – Bill of Rights -- the first 10 amendments of the Constitution; protect individual liberties
1796 – Washington’s Farewell Address -- Washington warns against the evils of political parties and foreign alliances
1798 – Alien and Sedition Act -- four bills passed to limit the activities of aliens (foreigners) during an undeclared war with France
1798 – XYZ Affair -- three French agents demand a loan and a bribe from the US
1800 – Industrial Revolution and Free Enterprise -- a dramatic change in manufacturing (factories; new technology; steam power; child labor; pollution; urban slums) and the right to buy and sell anything
1803 – Marbury v. Madison -- increases the power of the Supreme Court; establishes the concept of judicial review
1803 – Second Great Awakening -- a second religious revival that leads to the Reform Movements
Era of Westward Expansion
1803 – Louisiana Purchase -- doubles the size of the country; the US pays $15 million to France
1809 – James Madison -- Father of the US Constitution; President during the War of 1812
1812 – War of 1812 -- known as the second American Revolution; fought against England
1815 – Battle of New Orleans -- ended the War of 1812; made Andrew Jackson a national celebrity
1816 – Second Bank of U.S. -- anti-federalists felt the bank was unconstitutional; originally founded by Alexander Hamilton; chartered for 20 years
1817 – Reform Movement: Disabilities -- Braille and Sign Language are developed to aid the disabled
1819 – McCulloch v. Maryland -- The Second Bank of the US is headquartered in Maryland; the state expects the government to pay them taxes. The Court rules in favor of the federal government
1820 – Missouri Compromise -- keeps the balance of slave and free states equal; Missouri (slave state) and Maine (free state)
1823 – Monroe Doctrine -- No new colonies in the Western Hemisphere; no interference in our politics
1824 – Gibbons v. Ogden -- The Court determines the federal government will regulate interstate commerce
1826 – Reform Movement: Temperance -- reformers blame alcohol for poverty, crime and mental illness
1828 – Election of Andrew Jackson -- Jackson becomes the first President from the frontier and the first democratic candidate
1828 – Rise of Modern Democrats -- Jacksonian Democracy defends the rights of the "Common Man"
1830 – Indian Removal Act -- Jackson signs legislation that will require the removal of all Native Americans west of the Mississippi
1832 – Nullification Crisis -- a sectional crisis involving a state's right to nullify (cancel) a federal law; protested the Tariff of 1832
1832 – Jackson challenges Second Bank of U.S. -- Jackson believed the bank was unconstitutional; he destroyed it by withdrawing the country's money
1832 – Worcester v. Georgia -- the Court rules that only the federal government could intervene in Cherokee affairs
1837 – Reform Movement: Education -- Horace Mann's reforms result in free public education and better-trained teachers
1838 – Trail of Tears -- the forced removal of all Native Americans to Indian Territory (Oklahoma)
1840 – Oregon Country -- The US and England avoid a third war and agree to split the Oregon Country
1841 – Reform Movement: Prisons -- Dorthea Dix's reforms result in better prison conditions and the end of the imprisonment of the mentally-ill
1845 – Manifest Destiny -- Newspaper columnist John L. O'Sullivan first uses the term; the belief America should go from the Atlantic to the Pacific (from sea to shining sea)
1845 – Texas is annexed as the 28th state -- starts the Mexican-American War
1846 – Mexican-American War -- US provokes a war to gain territory in the West
1848 – Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo -- ends the Mexican-American War; US gains the Mexican Cession and Texas
1848 – California Gold Rush -- 300,000 people come to California searching for gold; helps to populate the state
1848 – Mormons in Utah -- Brigham Young leads the Mormons to Utah; establishes the Utah Territory
1848 – Seneca Falls Convention -- produced the Declaration of Sentiments, which is modeled on the Declaration of Independence (all men and women are created equal)
Civil War/Reconstruction Era
1850 – Compromise of 1850 -- five bills that delayed the beginning of the Civil War; made California a state; changed the Texas border; ended the slave trade in Washington DC, let Utah and New Mexico decide on their own about slavery and Fugitive Slave Act
1850 – Fugitive Slave Act -- required that all citizens assist in returning fugitive slaves
1854 – Kansas-Nebraska Act -- established the Kansas and Nebraska Territories and repeals (cancels) the Missouri Compromise
1857 – Dred Scott v. Sandford -- The Court rules that slaves were not citizens and were not protected by the Constitution
1861 – Civil War begins at Fort Sumter, SC -- Confederate forces attack a Union fort; Civil War begins
1863 – Emancipation Proclamation -- frees slaves in Confederate territory
1863 – Battle of Gettysburg -- 1st turning point in Civil War; Lee's Army of Northern Virginia threatens Washington, DC, Philadelphia and Baltimore, but is defeated; never able to attack the North again
1863 – Battle of Vicksburg -- 2nd turning point; Grant's victory gives the Union control of the Mississippi River
1863 – Gettysburg Address -- Lincoln's speech at the dedication of a former battlefield explains the sacrifices made by Americans for the Union
1865 – 13th Amendment -- abolishes slavery in the US
1865 – Lee surrenders at Appomattox -- Last major battle of the Civil War
1865 – President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated -- John Wilkes Booth shoots President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, DC
1867 – 14th Amendment -- gives freed slaves citizenship
1870 – 15th Amendment -- gives freed Black men the right to vote
