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Louisiana Purchase
The Lousiana Purchase it territory purchased by Thomas Jefferson From Napoleon who needed money for the revolution. He sent Lewis and Clark to explore this territory in hopes of locating a Northwest passage. This is important to US History because it is the largest bought territory in the US and is essential for making up a good portion of the country. -
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance set the precedent for allowing new states to enter the union on equal terms to the original 13. It also outlawed slavery in the territory. This is important to US history because it's expansion led to the greatest challenge of democracy. -
Texas Annexation
The Texas Annexation is which Mexico refused to acknowledge Texas independence and Texas could not be admitted as a new state because of border disputes. The slavery issue was a balance of power between slave states and free states. This is important to US history because while the slavery issue was ironed out Texas remained an independent republic for almost a decade. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. This drew the line for the expansion of slavery at the "36'30" line. This is important to US history because Missouri was set as a slave state. -
Monroe Doctrine
President James Moroe issued the policy in 1823. It prevented further European colonization in South and Central America. This influenced the ideas of Manifest Destiny because America could grow and expand without European interference. This is important to US history because of the Monroe Doctrine, the US became a powerful leader in the Western hemisphere. -
Nullification Crisis
The Nullification Crisis is the state's right which gives the states the right to declare a federal law null and void if it harms that state. A compromise was reached and the tariff was lowered. SC was forced by a threat to pay the tariff and didn't give up the right of states to nullify acts of Congress. This is important to US history because the issue of state's rights continued to stew. -
The Oregon Treaty
Oregon Treaty was a territory that was jointly claimed and acquired by the Americans, the British, and the Spanish. However, the Spanish claim to the territory ended after the Adams-Onis treaty was signed. The conflict between the Americans and the British led to the negotiations of a British-American border. The newspaper headlined it "54'40". This is important to US history because the negotiation led to the Oregon Treaty granting the US control of the South the 49th parallel and avoiding war. -
The Mexican Cession
The Mexican Cession completed Manifest Destiny by giving Americans control of land from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It contained territories that made up most of the rest of the Southwestern US. The US acquired this treaty and it ended the Mexican-American War. This is important to US history because Mexico agreed to give California and New Mexico to the US for 15 million. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 introduced the principle of popular sovereignty to decide the slave question, confirmed California admitted as a free state. It outlawed the slave trade in Washington D.C. and strengthen Fugitive Slave laws. This important to US history because it made California a free state and did not allow slavery in the new territories in the Mexican Cession. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
Stephen Douglas proposed popular sovereignty to decide whether these states would be slave or free. The Kansas Nebraska Act overturned the Missouri Compromise, by allowing popular sovereignty north of 36’30” This is important to US history because it leads to Bleeding Kansas. -
Bleeding (Bloody) Kansas
Bleeding Kansas started because the US allowed citizens to decide whether it should be a slave state or a free state. This debate led to extreme violence. Abolosnists John Brown led anti-slavery fighters in Kansas before his famed raid on Harper Ferry. This is important to US history because Bleeding Kansas really pushed the North and South apart and had a deal with causing the civil war. -
The Battle of Bull Run
The Battle of Bull Run was a battle located outside Manassas, Virginia where General Irvin McDowell and General Thomas J. Jackson (Confederacy) fought. Union troops had the upper hand in the beginning, the Confederacy was triumphant this shocked those who hoped the war would end quickly. This is important to US history because it led to the Battle of Antietam. -
The Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter began when confederate soldiers fired on the Union. The Garrison commander surrendered on April 13th and was evacuated the next day. The outcome of the war depended upon was the economic resources of the North and the South. This is important to US History because it was the start of the civil war. -
The Battle of Antietam
Also known as "tactical draw," the Battle of Antietam was the single bloodiest day of the war. This was the first Southern invasion into the North. Although the Union experienced more losses than the Confederacy, Lee retreated to Virginia. This is important to US history because Lincoln had found the opportunity he needed to move forward with the Emancipation Proclamation. -
The Emancipation Proclamination
The Emancipation Proclamation did not free slaves in the regions under the Confederate control or in the border states. Only states in rebellion on January 1, 1863, would be commanded to free their slaves. This is important to US history because it allowed African Americans to fight on the side of the Union. -
The Battle of Vicksburg
Ulysses S. Grant led the Union and John C. Pemberton led the Confederate. The Union wanted to take control of the Mississippi River and split the Confederacy in half. Lincoln believed the capture of Vicksburg, and Port Hudson, Lousiana days later. This split the Confederacy in two at the Mississippi River and have the Union control of the river. This is important to US history because it is the key turning point in the western theatre. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
General George G. Meade led the Union and General Robert E. Lee led the Confederacy. Led a set off to Pennsylvania to take some Union ground. Although the Confederates seemed victorious as night fell on the first night of the battle, swift thinking and action on the part of the Union put them at an advantage. This is important to US history because almost one-third of his fighting forces were dead or wounded. -
The Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address was when Lincoln visited the Gettysburg battlefield to dedicate a cemetery for the fallen soldiers. He describes the Civil War as a struggle to fulfill the Declaration of Independence. Also, the struggle to preserve a nation. This is important to US history because the families and friends of the fallen could have an area to grieve their loved one. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
Sherman's March to the Sea was led by General William Sherman. It was the journey of the Union Army from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. During that trip, the Union Army destroyed all factories, railroads, and farms along their path. This was known as total warfare. This is important to US history because he wanted to destroy the South's strategic and economic capacity to fight. -
The 13th Amendment Passed
The 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States. After the Civil War, it was written. It was passed by Congress on January 31, 1865. When slavery was made illegal, Southern states had to free slaves even though they did not want to. This is important to US history because this was the start of African Americans being able to not live through slavery. -
Presidental Reconstruction (1863-1867)
Abraham Lincoln created the 10% plan. It stated that only 10% of the voters in the 1860 election need to promise an oath to the union and accept the terms of the Emancipation Proclamation. High military leaders and Confederate officials were removed from this plan. This is important to US history because Johnson wants to broaden the Reconstruction plan and grant pardons to the people who swore allegiance to the Union soon being impeached by congress. -
Congressional Reconstruction
Congressional Reconstruction was a plan with the main goal of punishing the South for the Civil War. In addition to the stipulations of presidential reconstruction, Congress required Southern states to ratify the 14th amendment and grant African Americans the right to vote. This is important to US history because it helped pass the Military Reconstruction Act of 1867. -
The 14th Amendment Passed
The 14th amendment granted citizenship to all the people who were born in the US including former slaves. It forbids states from denying any person "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." it also forbids states to "deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This is important to US history because it was another start to colored people being given their correct rights. -
The 15th Amendment Passed
The 15th amendment granted African American men the right to vote. It states that no man can be denied the right to vote because of their race, ethnicity, or religion. This did not include women of any race just men. This is important to US history because now colored men could put there be represented. -
Plessy V. Ferguson
The Supreme Court ruled that the "separate but equal," provision of the Lousiana law was constitutional. The case established this principle of segregation until it was overturned in 1954. This case established "separate but equal," which is also known as segregation as constitutional. This is important to US history because laws that discriminated against African Americans spread across the US and were heavily enforced.