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Jamestown
About 100 members of the Virginia Company founded the first permanent English settlement in North America (virginia). The Virginia Company planned to search for gold in the New World. They were also looking for a river route to the Pacific Ocean that would allow them to trade with the Orient. Although most trading, at the moment, was done with indians (native americans). The inhabitants of Jamestown went through long, harsh winters which most people died through. -
Boston Tea Party
On the night of December 16,1773 Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty boarded three english ships and threw 342 chests of tea into the Boston harbor. This was an act of protest against high taxes (The Tea Act) . The Boston Tea Party led to the Coercive Acts, which closed the port of boston and gave harsher penalties. It rose tention between Britan and America. -
The American Revolution
The American Revolution was the first modern revolution between Britan and America. Britan had a much larger army with well trained men and Loyalists supporting them in the US. The American army was much smaller but had an amazing leader (george washington). The first battle was at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. After the Battle of Saratoga, France decided to come in as an alli with the US. On Oct. 19, 1781 British general Cornwallis surrendered, stating that the US had won. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is a document that highlights all of the gerievances and reasons America wanted to be separate from Britan. It was mainly drafted by Thomas Jeferson. He split the declaration into five sections. It included the introduction, a preamble, a body, and a conclusion. The ask for independence angered Britan and was one of the causes of the American Revolution. -
Constitutional Convection
The Constitutional Convection met in Philadelphia to discuss the overthrow of the Articles of Confederation. During the Constitutional Convection James Madison proposed the Virginia Plan, a new government that favored large states. William Patterson then countered with the New Jersey Plan, a new government that appealed to small states. Finally they came to an agreement, equal rep. in senate and proportional representation in the House of Reps. This formed the basis of the new U.S. Constitution -
Invention of the Steamboat
Robert Fulton was the first successful inventor of the steamboat. Steamboats used steam to power themselves, therefor not needing wind or man power to work. They could move large amounts of cargo at a time both up and down rivers. Unfortunately they had many mechanical problems and were expensive at first. -
Trail Of Tears 1830s
Eager for land, American settlers encouraged the government to acquire Indian Territory. In 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokees were forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. During Worchester V. Virginia the Cherokee sued to protect their land. The supreme court ruled in their favor, but Jackson ingnored them. More than 4,000 indians died from cold, hunger, and disease on their way to OK. -
California Gold Rush
The discovery of gold nuggets in the Sacramento Valley sparked the Gold Rush, which shaped California as a new state. Thousands of gold miners traveled by sea and over land to San Fransisco and the surrounding areas. A total of $2 billion worth of precious metal was extracted from the area during the gold rush and California gained about 99,000 inhabitants, compared to 1848. -
"Uncle Tom's Cabin"
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe to promote the abolishion movement.It portrayed slave families forced to cope with separation by masters through sale. Across the North, readers became accurately aware of the horrors of slavery. Unlike the South, where the book was met with outrage, banned, and branded an irresponsible book of distortions and overstatements. It resulted it resulted with tention in between the North and South. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave who sought his freedom through the American legal system. He was denied his freedom on the basis that slaves couldn't sue, because they weren't considered citizens. Slaves were property, and private property couldn't be taken. Northern abolitionists were outraged. The Dred Scott case became a rallying point for them and contributed to the election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860.
