U.S. History Timeline

By Mack207
  • The state of Delaware was admitted to the union

    The state of Delaware was admitted to the union
  • The state of Pennsylvania was admitted to the union

    The state of Pennsylvania was admitted to the union
  • The state of Georgia was admitted to the union

    The state of Georgia was admitted to the union
  • The state of Connecticut was admitted to the union

    The state of Connecticut was admitted to the union
  • The state of Massachusetts is admitted to the union

    The state of Massachusetts is admitted to the union
  • The state of Maryland was admitted to the union

    The state of Maryland was admitted to the union
  • The state of South Carolina was admitted to the union

    The state of South Carolina was admitted to the union
  • The state of New Hampshire was admitted to the union

    The state of New Hampshire was admitted to the union
  • The state of Virginia was admitted to the union

    The state of Virginia was admitted to the union
  • The state of New York was admitted to the union

    The state of New York was admitted to the union
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    George Washington's presidency

    On April 30, 1789, George Washington, standing on the balcony of Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York, took his oath of office as the first President of the United States.
  • The state of North Carolina was admitted to the union

    The state of North Carolina was admitted to the union
  • The state of Rhode Island was admitted to the union

    The state of Rhode Island was admitted to the union
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    The Whiskey Rebellion

    The U.S. Treasury Secretary John Hamilton proposed an extra tax on whiskey to fine a steady source of revenue. Many people, especially farmers in western Pennsylvania disliked the idea and rebelled destroying a tax collectors home. This lead to other rebellions which were eventually snuffed out by the army. However, it wasn't until 1802 that the tax was completely abolished.
  • The state of Vermont was admitted to the union

    The state of Vermont was admitted to the union
  • The state of Kentucky was admitted to the union

    The state of Kentucky was admitted to the union
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    Horace Mann's campaign for free compulsory public education

    Horace Mann was an American politician and education reformer, best known for promoting universal public education and teacher training in "normal schools." He became the catalyst for tuition-free public education and established the concept of state-sponsored free schools.
  • The state of Tennessee was admitted to the union

    The state of Tennessee was admitted to the union
  • Washington's Farewell Address

    Washington's Farewell Address
    A letter written by George Washington to "The People of the United States of America" declining another term as president and warned of dividing the U.S. Into Political factions but instead staying united and neutral toward foreign dangers or problems.
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    John Adam's presidency

    John Adams, a remarkable political philosopher, served as the second president of the United States (1797-1801), after serving as the first vice president under George Washington.
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    John Adam's presidency

    John Adams, a remarkable political philosopher, served as the second president of the United States (1797-1801), after serving as the first vice president under George Washington.
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    Sojourner Truth

    Isabella Baumfree, who later changed her name to Sojourner Truth, was one of the most powerful advocates for human rights in the nineteenth century. born into slavery, a law that passed in 1817 should have made Truth free by the time she reached age twenty-five but this did not happen and she ran away. Sojourner Truth is best known for her speech on racial inequalities, "Ain't I a Woman?" delivered at the Ohio Women's Rights Conven in Akron, Ohio in 1851. She spent her last 26 years in MI.
  • Alien and Sedition Acts

    Alien and Sedition Acts
    The Alien and Sedition Acts were four laws passed by the U.S. Congress. Together, they increased residency requirements for U.S. Citizenship, required "aliens" (non U.S. Citizens) to state why they intended to become American citizens, made it illegal for people from enemy nations to become U.S. Citizens, and banned publishing of critical writing towards the U.S. government. They were passed because of the expected war with France.
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    Chief Justice John Marshall

    Fourth Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, Marshall's court opinions and decisions began to lay the foundation for U.S. Constitutional law and made the Supreme Court an individual branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches. One of his most major cases included the Marbury vs. Madison case which helped determine how much legal power each branch of government was given.
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    Thomas Jefferson's presidency

    Thomas Jefferson, a spokesman for democracy, was an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence (1776), and the third President of the United States (1801–1809).
  • Marbury vs. Madison

    Marbury vs. Madison
    This case was a result of Federalist William Marbury who was appointed to Judge of Peace by John Adam's in the final days of his presidency. It was never fully finalized, and because of this Marbury sued for his job and demanded that the current Secretary of State James Madison deliver the commissions. The request, however was then denied by the Supreme Court because it was deemed unconstitutional. This case defined the boundaries between the judicial and executive branches.
  • The state of Ohio was admitted to the union

    The state of Ohio was admitted to the union
  • Louisiana purchase

    Louisiana purchase
    Thomas Jefferson purchased over 600 million acres of land at less than .04 cents an acre. This avoided a possible war with France and largely increased the countries size.
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    Lewis and Clark

    Thomas Jefferson sent explorers Lewis and Clark to find a water route across North America and explore the undiscovered west. The Indian woman Sacagawea also accompanied them as a guide and interpreter.
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    Willian Lloyd Garrison

    On January 1, 1831, Garrison published the first issue of his own anti-slavery newspaper. In speaking engagements and through the newspaper and other publications, Garrison advocated the immediate emancipation of all slaves. His approach to emancipation stressed nonviolence and passive restistance, and he did attract a following. In 1832 he helped organize the New England Anti-Slavery Society, and the American Anti-Slavery Society.
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    James Madison's presidency

    James Madison, America's fourth President (1809-1817), made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing The Federalist Papers, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. In later years, when he was referred to as the "Father of the Constitution."
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    The War of 1812

    The United States fought against Great Britian along with Canada and the Native Americans. Because of the war "The Star-Spangled Banner" song was created. Washington was burnt to the ground, and Canada would not have been a country if the American Invasion of 1812 was successful.
  • The state of Louisiana was admitted to the union

    The state of Louisiana was admitted to the union
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    Elizabeth Cady Stanton

    Elizabeth Cady Stanton was an early leader of the woman's rights movement, writing the Declaration of Sentiments as a call to arms for female equality. Stanton was the president of the National Woman Suffrage Association for 20 years and worked closely with Susan B. Anthony. Elizabeth Cady Stanton held the famous Seneca Falls Convention in July 1848. At this meeting, the attendees drew up its “Declaration of Sentiments” and took the lead in proposing that women be granted the right to vote.
  • The state of Indiana was admitted to the union

    The state of Indiana was admitted to the union
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    James Monroe's presidency

    James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States (1817–1825) and the last president from the Founding Fathers of the United States.
  • The state of Mississippi was admitted to the union

    The state of Mississippi was  admitted to the union
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    Frederick Douglass

    Douglas was born a slave, eand scaped at 20 years old. He was a world renowned anti- slavery activist. He had been invited to speak about what the Fourth of July means for America's black population, and while the first part of his speech praises what the founding fathers did for this country, his speech soon develops into a condemnation of the attitude of American society toward slavery.
  • The state of Illinois was admitted to the union

    The state of Illinois was admitted to the union
  • Dartmouth college Vs. Woodward

    Dartmouth college Vs. Woodward
    In 1816, the New Hampshire legislature attempted to change Dartmouth College-- a privately funded institution--into a state university. In a 6-to-1 decision, the Court held that the College's corporate charter qualified as a contract between private parties, with which the legislature could not interfere.
  • McCullouch Vs. Maryland

    McCullouch Vs. Maryland
    James McCullouch, cashier of the Baltimore branch bank, refused to pay taxes. In a unanimous decision, the Court held that Congress had the power to incorporate the bank and that Maryland could not tax instruments of the national government employed in the execution of constitutional powers.
  • Transcontinental treaty

    Transcontinental treaty
    The United States made a treaty between themselves and Spain which gave Florida to the U.S. It also created a border between the U.S. And New Spain (now Mexico).
  • The state of Alabama was admitted to the union

    The state of Alabama was admitted to the union
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    Susan B. Anthony

    Susan Brownell Anthony was an American social reformer and feminist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. In 1856 Anthony became an agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society. In 1863 Anthony and Stanton organized a Women's National Loyal League to support and petition for the Thirteenth Amendment outlawing slavery. They went on to campaign for full citizenship for women and people of any race, including the right to vote, in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.
  • The Missouri Compromise

    The Missouri Compromise
    In 1819 tension between pro and anti slavery groups in the U.S. began to grow. By 1820, when Missouri requested to be recognized as a slave state, it had boiled over and congress made a compromise, granting Missouri's request but keeping Maine a free slave state. It also passed an amendment dividing what was the Louisiana territory into free and slave divisions.
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    The Abolitionist Movement

    The goal of the abolitionist movement was the immediate freeing of all slaves and the end of racial discrimination and segregation. Advocating for immediate emancipation distinguished abolitionists from more moderate anti-slavery advocates who argued for gradual emancipation, and from free-soil activists who sought to restrict slavery to existing areas and prevent its spread further west. Some of its leaders included William Loyd Garrison, Nathaniel Taylor, and Lewis Tappan.
  • The state of Maine was admitted to the union

    The state of Maine was admitted to the union
  • The state of Missouri was admitted to the union

    The state of Missouri was admitted to the union
  • Monroe Doctrine

    Monroe Doctrine
    President James Monroe, as apart of his 1823 annual message to congress, included the Monroe Doctrine, which warned Europe to stay out of the business concerning the Western Hemisphere.
  • Gibbons Vs. Ogden

    Gibbons Vs. Ogden
    A New York state law gave to individuals the exclusive right to operate steamboats on waters within state approval. Laws like this one were duplicated elsewhere which led to problems as some states would require foreign (out-of-state) boats to pay large fees for navigation privileges. Thomas Gibbson, a steam boat operator challenged the monopoly license given to Aaron Ogden. The court found the law inconsistent and said that NY did not have the authority to interfere w/ interstate commerce.
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    John Quincy Adams' presidency

    John Quincy Adams, son of John and Abigail Adams, served as the sixth President of the United States from 1825 to 1829. A member of multiple political parties over the years, he also served as a diplomat, a Senator and member of the House of Representatives.
  • The U.S. Government passed The Indian Removal Act

    The U.S. Government passed The Indian Removal Act
    This law allowed the government to force Indian tribes to vacate their land and relocate to reserves the government set aside for them. Most Indians resisted and refused to leave, so the U.S. Army was brought in to move them.
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    The Trail of Tears

    Native Americans were removed from their homes by the U.S. Army and forced to walk thousands of miles to reservations. Many acquired sicknesses and death. In one instance over 5,000 Cherokee died.
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    Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

    Born into slavery in Maryland, Tubman escaped north in 1849 returning to rescue other slaves over a period of 8 years. During this time she used the secret Underground Railroad to free over 300 slaves and successfully evade capture. The Underground Railroad was a vast network of people who helped fugitive slaves escape to the North and to Canada. The Underground Railroad had many notable participants, including John Fairfield in Ohio and Levi Coffin, a Quaker who assisted more than 3,000 slaves
  • Nat Turner's Rebellion

    Nat Turner's Rebellion
    Also known as the Southampton insurrection, Nat Turner's rebellion was a slave rebellion in Southampton county, Virginia led by Nat Turner. The rebel slaves killed from 55-65 people. Nat Turner was captured later on, tried, found guilty, and executed on November 11.
  • The state of Arkansas was admitted to the union

    The state of Arkansas was admitted to the union
  • The state of Michigan was admitted to the union

    The state of Michigan was admitted to the union
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    Martin Van Buren's presidency

    Martin Van Buren was the eighth President of the United States (1837–1841), after serving as the eighth Vice President and the tenth secretary of state, both under Andrew Jackson. While the country was prosperous when the "Little Magician" was elected, less than three months later the financial panic of 1837 punctured the prosperity.
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    William Henry Harrison's presidency

    William Henry Harrison, an American military officer and politician, was the ninth President of the United States (1841), the oldest president to be elected at the time. He became the first to die in office on his 32nd day, serving the shortest tenure in United States presidential history.
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    John Tyler's presidency

    John Tyler became the tenth President of the United States (1841–1845) when William Henry Harrison, his running mate, died in April 1841. He was the first Vice President elevated to President after the death of a predecessor.
  • The state of Florida was admitted to the union

    The state of Florida was admitted to the union
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    James K. Polk's presidency

    Often referred to as the first "dark horse," James Knox Polk was the 11th President of the United States from 1845-1849, the last strong President until the Civil War.
  • Manifest destiny

    Manifest destiny
    Manifest Destiny is a term for the attitude commonly found during the 19th century period of American expansion that the United States not only could, but was destined to, stretch from coast to coast. This attitude helped fuel western settlement, Native American removal and war with Mexico.
  • The state of Iowa was admitted to the union

    The state of Iowa was admitted to the union
  • The state of Texas was admitted to the union

    The state of Texas was admitted to the union
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    The Mexican- American war

    When U.S. President Polk's offer to buy New Mexico and California from Mexico was rejected he moved troops into Mexico and began the Mexican- American war. This was the first U.S. armed conflict that was fought on foreign soil. In the end, Mexico lost roughly 1/3 of its land and the U.S. gained what is now present day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.
  • The state of Wisconsin was admitted to the union

    The state of Wisconsin was admitted to the union
  • Seneca Falls convention

    Seneca Falls convention
    At the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, N.Y., a woman’s rights convention–the first ever held in the United States–convenes with almost 200 women in attendance. The convention was organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, two abolitionists. On July 19, 200 women convened at the Wesleyan Chapel, and Stanton read the “Declaration of Sentiments and Grievances,”
  • Seneca Falls Resolution

    Seneca Falls Resolution
    Its primary goal was to discuss the rights of women—how to gain these rights for all, particularly in the political arena. Stanton took the task of writing the document that would be debated and signed by the attendees. She based the Declaration of Sentiments on the Declaration of Independence, listing 18 grievances and 11 resolutions demanding the recognition of women as equal members of society.
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    Zachary Taylor's presidency

    Zachary Taylor, a general and national hero in the United States Army from the time of the Mexican-American War and the the War of 1812, was later elected the 12th President of the United States, serving from March 1849 until his death in July 1850.
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    Millard Filmore's presidency

    Millard Fillmore, a member of the Whig party, was the 13th President of the United States (1850–1853) and the last president not to be affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican parties
  • The state of California was admitted to the union

    The state of California was admitted to the union
  • John Brown and the armed resistance,

    John Brown and the armed resistance,
    John Brown was an American abolitionist who believed armed insurrection was the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. Dissatisfied with the pacifism encouraged by the organized abolitionist movement, he decided to take matters into his own hands. He and his supporters killed five pro-slavery southerners in what became known as the Pottawatomie Massacre in May 1856. He was later found guilty of treason, and murder and was then hung.
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    James Buchanan's presidency

    James Buchanan, Jr., the 15th President of the United States (1857–1861), served immediately prior to the American Civil War. He remains the only president to be elected from Pennsylvania and to remain a lifelong bachelor.
  • Dred Scott Vs. Sanford

    Dred Scott Vs. Sanford
    Dred Scott, who was a slave in Missouri and lived in Illinois (a free state) and the Louisiana territory (where slavery was forbidden) from 1833-1843 sued his master upon returning to Missouri, claiming he was a free man. He lost the case, because his master claimed no descendent of an American slave could ever be a free citizen of the U.S. due to the purposes of Article 3 of the Constitution.
  • The state of Minnesota was admitted to the union

    The state of Minnesota was admitted to the union
  • The state of Oregon is admitted to the union

    The state of Oregon is admitted to the union
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    Abraham Lincoln's presidency

    Abraham Lincoln became the United States' 16th President in 1861, issuing the Emancipation Proclamation that declared forever free those slaves within the Confederacy in 1863.
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    Franklin Pierce's presidency

    Franklin Pierce became 14th President of the United States at a time of apparent tranquility (1853–1857). By pursuing the recommendations of southern advisers, Pierce--a New Englander--hoped to prevent still another outbreak of that storm.