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The High Pressure Steam Engine
Richard Trevithick developed the high-pressure steam engine. This would revolutionize travel across the world. -
The Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition of the territory of Louisiana by the United States from France in 1803. Napoleon sold the land to finance his wars. In return for fifteen million dollars, or approximately eighteen dollars per square mile, the United States nominally acquired a total of 828,000 sq mi. -
War of 1812
In June 1812, the United States declared war against Great Britain in reaction to three issues: the British economic blockade of France, the induction of thousands of neutral American seamen into the British Royal Navy against their will, and the British support of hostile Indian tribes along the Great Lakes frontier -
The Adams–Onís Treaty
A treaty between the United States and Spain in 1819 that ceded Florida to the U.S. and defined the boundary between the U.S. and New Spain. -
Andrew Jackson Elected President
Marked the beginning of the democratic party, the breaking of treaties with the native Indians, the expansion of the U.S. into Indian territory, the trail of tears, the first great depression, and the expansion of slavery. -
The Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830, authorizing the president to grant unsettled lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. A few tribes went peacefully, but many resisted the relocation policy -
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The Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was a series of forced relocations of approximately 60,000 Native Americans in the United States from their ancestral homelands in the Southeastern United States, to areas to the west of the Mississippi River that had been designated as Indian Territory. The forced relocations were carried out by government authorities following the passage of the Indian Removal Act in 1830. Approximately 4,000 died before reaching their destinations or shortly after from disease. -
The Annexation of Texas
Texas was annexed by the United States in 1845 and became the 28th state. -
South Carolina Declaration of Secession
This marked the first Declaration of secession by the southern states and prompted others to follow in drafting their own. -
Secession of South Carolina
Marked the first State to secede from the Union. -
Abraham Lincoln becomes President
Abraham Lincoln became the United States' 16th President in 1861. -
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The American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States from 1861 to 1865, fought between northern states loyal to the Union and southern states that had seceded from the Union to form the Confederate States of America. The war was fought over the right of states to practice slavery with the South in favor and the North against. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Congress passed the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy. -
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address is a speech that President Abraham Lincoln delivered during the American Civil War at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. -
Abraham Lincoln Assassinated
On the evening of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor and Confederate sympathizer, assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C. -
The KKK
The Ku Klux Klan (commonly called the KKK) is an American white supremacist hate group whose primary target is African Americans. Historically, the Klan used terrorism—both physical assault and murder—against politically active blacks and their allies in the South. -
U.S. Purchase of Russia
On March 30, 1867, the United States reached an agreement to purchase Alaska from Russia for a price of $7.2 million. The Treaty with Russia was negotiated and signed by Secretary of State William Seward and Russian Minister to the United States Edouard de Stoeckl. -
The Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell was a Scottish-born scientist and inventor best known for inventing the first working telephone in 1876 and founding the Bell Telephone Company in 1877. -
The Light Bulb
In 1879, Thomas Alva Edison is credited with inventing the light bulb. -
Indian Reservations
By 1886 all Indians in America had been moved to reservations.