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Zachery Taylor
Zachery Taylor is elected president -
Library of Congress
The United States Library of Congress is founded. -
John Adams
U.S. President John Adams is the first President to live in the White House, then known as the Executive Mansion and sixteen days later, the United States Congress holds its first session in Washington, D.C. He would be defeated for the presidency by December 6 by Thomas Jefferson. -
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated for his first term as President of the United States -
Purchase of Louisiana
Jefferson buys Louisiana from France, doubling the size of the country in one barely-constitutional action. -
Lewis and Clark
U.S. explorers Lewis and Clark head west on their two year, 8,000-mile expedition, to explore the new Louisiana Purchase territory. -
Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton
U.S. founding fathers Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton fight a duel; Hamilton is killed and Burr is ruined. -
Thomas Jefferson wins reelection
Thomas Jefferson wins reelection over Charles Pinckney with 162 to 14 Electoral College votes. -
Lewis and Clark
The Lewis and Clark Expedition to map the northwest United States ends. Essential to the journey was Sacagawea, their female Indian guide. -
Slavery
Congress passes an act that prohibits the importation of slaves into any port within the confines of the United States from any foreign land. It was to take effect on the 1st of January 1808. -
Slavery
The importation of slaves is outlawed, although between 1808 and 1860, more than 250,000 slaves were illegally imported. -
James Madison
James Madison is elected as the 4th President of the United States, defeating Charles C. Pinckney. -
First steam powered ferry
The first steam-powered ferry service between New York City and Hoboken, New Jersey is started on John Steven's ship, the Juliana. -
Battle of Tippecanoe
At the Battle of Tippecanoe, Indigenous peoples led by Tecumseh fight and lose a major battle opposing White settlement. -
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson becomes an American hero at the Battle of New Orleans. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise precariously balancing the practice of enslavement holds the Union together, temporarily at least. -
James Monroe
The election of James Monroe to a second term in office comes with a landslide victory in the Electoral College with Monroe defeating John Quincy Adams by a tally of 231 to 1. -
John Quincy Adams
John Quincy Adams is inaugurated as President, with John C. Calhoun as his Vice President -
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson, now in the Democratic party, is inaugurated as President, replacing John Quincy Adams after his sole term in office. -
President Jackson's reelection
The second term inauguration occurs for President Jackson, with Martin Van Buren as Vice President after the resignation on December 28, 1832 of John Calhoun as Vice President. -
Charles Darwin
Pioneer scientist Charles Darwin visits the Galapagos Islands. -
Whig Party
The first convention of the American Whig Party is held in Albany, New York. -
Alamo
A tragic siege at the Alamo becomes a legendary battle in the Texas War for Independence. -
The battle of San Jacinto
The battle of San Jacinto is waged with Sam Houston leading the Texas army to victory over Mexican forces. Santa Ana and his troops are taken prisoner the next day along the San Jacinto River. -
Marin Van Buren elected president
Martin Van Buren, as President, and Richard M. Johnson, Vice President, are inaugurated into office. -
Samuel Morse
Samuel Morse, a portrait painter who later turned to invention, first publicly demonstrated the telegraph and developed the Morse Code system of communication. He would apply for a patent two years later in 1840. -
William Henry Harrison
President William Henry Harrison, sworn into office only one month before on March 4, dies of pneumonia. His tenure of one month is the shortest in history and his death in office the first for a president of the United States. He is succeeded by Vice President John Tyler. -
James K. Polk
Democrat James K. Polk defeats Henry Clay for president with 170 Electoral College votes to 105 for Clay. -
Gold fever
U.S. President James K. Polk confirms that quantities of gold have been discovered and Gold Fever strikes thousands who rush to California. -
Compromise of 1850
The ominous Compromise of 1850 over enslavement delays the Civil War. -
Millard Fillmore
Millard Fillmore elected president -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
U.S. abolitionist and writer Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811–1896) publishes Uncle Tom’s Cabin as a book and sells 300,000 copies in its first year. -
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce elected president -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act breaks the previous compromises over enslavement. -
James Buchanan
James Buchanan elected president -
John Brown
Abolitionist John Brown (1800–1859) leads a raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia, hoping to initiate a revolt of enslaved people that would put America back on the path to war. -
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln elected president -
Civil War
The United States is torn by the Civil War. -
Gettysburg Address
"Four score and seven years ago," began what many perceive as the best speech in American history, delivered by President Abraham Lincoln in the town cemetery overlooking the fields of Gettysburg. The Gettysburg Address, only 272 words long and taking about two minutes to speak, captured the essence of the Civil War as both sacrifice and inspiration. -
Civil War ends
Civil War ends -
Abraham Lincoln assasination
Abraham Lincoln assassinated at Ford Theater -
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson becomes president after Lincoln's assassination -
Abolishing slavery
The Thirteenth Amendment, abolishing slavery, takes effect. -
The Civil Rights Act of 1866
The Civil Rights Act of 1866 is passed by Congress, the first federal law protecting the rights of African Americans. It is vetoed by President Johnson, but the veto overridden by Congress.
