APUSH Important Events: 1800-1900

1800s: Manifest Destiny

A notion held by a nineteenth-century Americans that the United States was destined to rule the continent, from the Atlantic the Pacific.

1800: Jefferson and the Revolution of 1800

Jefferson's election changed the direction of the government from Federalist to Democratic- Republican, so it was called a "revolution."

1803: Louisiana Purchase

The U.S. purchased the land from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains from Napoleon for $15 million. Jefferson was interested in the territory because it would give the U.S. the Mississippi River and New Orleans (both were valuable for trade and shipping) and also room to expand. Napoleon wanted to sell because he needed money for his European campaigns and because a rebellion against the French in Haiti had soured him on the idea of New World colonies. The Constitution did not give the federal government the power to buy land, so Jefferson used loose construction to justify the purchase.

1803: Marbury V. Madison

Marbury was a midnight appointee of the Adams administration and sued Madison for commission. Chief Justice Marshall said the law that gave the courts the power to rule over this issue was unconstitutional. established judicial review

1807: Embargo Act

Act which ended all of America's importation and exportation. Jefferson hoped the act would pressure the French and British to recognize U.S. neutrality rights in exchange for U.S. goods. Really, however, just hurt Americans and our economy and got repealed in 1809.

1808: The End of Slave Trade

Slaves could no longer be legally imported into America in 1808 under Congress.

1809: The Non-Intercourse Act

Replaced the Embargo of 1807. Unlike the Embargo, which forbade American trade with all foreign nations, this act only forbade trade with France and Britain. It did not succeed in changing British or French policy towards neutral ships, so it was replaced by Macon's Bill No. 2.

1810: Fletcher V. Peck

The Supreme Court struck down a state law as unconstitutional. In the Yazoo Land Fraud Georgia claimed a bunch of land from the Louisiana Purchase that it had no right to claim. Georgia then sold the land to speculators who sold it to farmers. The Federal government stepped in and takes back the land and tells Georgia to give back the money but the money will just end up with the speculators and not the farmers. The Federal government says that the farmers must be paid. This was asserting federal power over state power.

1812: The War of 1812

Resulted from Britain's support of Indian hostilities along the frontier, interference with American trade, and impressments of American sailors into the British army (Leopard on Chesapeake) (1812 - 1815).

1814: Treaty of Ghent

Ended the War of 1812 and restored the status quo. For the most part, territory captured in the war was returned to the original owner. It also set up a commission to determine the disputed Canada/U.S. border.

1814: Hartford Convention

Meeting of Federalists near the end of the War of 1812 in which the party listed it's complaints against the ruling Republican Party. These actions were largley viewed as traitorous to the country and lost the Federalist much influence

1814: Star Spangled Banner

Francis Scott Key observed the battle of Fort Mchenry and wrote his thoughts down in a poem called the "Star Spangled Banner"

1815: Industrial Revolution

Transition from small shops of hand-made goods to factories & mills powered by water; the first industrial labor force consisted of single girls in New England textile mills such as the Lowell Mills; accompanied by revolutions in transportation and the market economy

1817: Rush-Bagot Agreement

Agreement between the U.S. and Britain (which controlled Canada at that time) for mutual disarmament of the Great Lakes. Later expanded to an unarmed U.S.-Canada border.

1818: Treaty of 1818

A negotiated treaty between the Monroe administration and England. This treaty came after the War of 1812 to settle disputes between Britain and U.S. It permitted Americans to share Newfoundland fisheries w/ the Canadians, and fixed the vague northern limits of Louisiana from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky Mountains. It also provided for a 10-year joint occupation of untamed Oregon country. Surprisingly, neither Britain or America had to surrender rights or claims for this to occur.

1820: Missouri Compromise

"Compromise of 1820" over the issue of slavery in Missouri. It was decided Missouri entered as a slave state and Maine entered as a free state and all states North of the 36th parallel were free states and all South were slave states.

1823: Monroe Doctrine

Declared that Europe should not interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere and that any attempt at interference by a European power would be seen as a threat to the U.S. It also declared that a New World colony which has gained independence may not be recolonized by Europe. (It was written at a time when many South American nations were gaining independence). Only England, in particular George Canning, supported the Monroe Doctrine. Mostly just a show of nationalism, the doctrine had no major impact until later in the 1800s.

1824: Gibbons V. Ogden

U.S. Supreme Court decision reinforcing the "commerce clause'' (the federal government's right to regulate interstate commerce) of the Constitution; Chief Justice John Marshall ruled against the State of New York's granting of steamboat monopolies.

1828: Election of 1828

The election of 1824 convinced Van Buren of the need for a renewed two-party competition. In the election of 1828, a new party formed & gradually became known as the Democratic Party which made Jackson president & Calhoun VP. Opponents called themselves the National Republicans.

1830: Railroad Boom

The expansion of the railroad changed the West in many ways. Until they were regulated, railroads would overcharge where they had a monopoly and undercharge when they were competing with other railways in the same market. This practice was harmful to farmers in remote areas. Rail companies also led to the near-extinction of buffalo. This led to increased tension with the Native Americans who lived in the West. (The Battle at Little Big Horn). They also connected little towns to civilization, making them big cities. It accelerated industrial revolution. "Railroad time", by which rail schedules were determined, gave the nation its first standardized method of time telling with the adoption of time zones. By 1889, North and South Dakota, Washington, and MOntana were populous enough to achieve statehood. Wyoming and Idaho followed in 1890.

1830: Indian Removal Act

Signed by President Andrew Jackson, the law permitted the negotiation of treaties to obtain the Indians' lands in exchange for their relocation to what would become Oklahoma.

1830: Whig Party

An American political party formed in the 1830s to oppose President Andrew Jackson and the Democrats, stood for protective tariffs, national banking, and federal aid for internal improvements

1831: Nat Turner's Rebellion

Rebellion started by a VA slave who believed he received divine messages telling him the time was right for a rebellion, gathered 80 followers who killed 60 whites, Turner eventually captured and executed. Greatly increased tensions between whites and blacks across the South.

1831: Cherokee Nation V. Georgia

The Cherokees argued that they were a seperate nation and therefore not under Georgia's jurisdiction. Marshall said they were not, but rather had "special status"

1832: Nullification Crisis

A sectional crisis during the presidency of Andrew Jackson created by the Ordinance of Nullification, an attempt by the state of South Carolina to nullify a federal law - the tariff of 1828 - passed by the United States Congress.

1832: Bank of the US

The Bank was created to handle the financial needs and requirements of the new central US government, which previously had 13 individual colonies with their own banks, currencies, financial institutions, and policies

1832: Worchester V. Georgia

The Supreme Court decided Georgia had no jurisdiction over Cherokee reservations. Georgia refused to enforce decision and President Jackson didn't support the Court. Cherokee Nation v. Georgia: 1831 - The Supreme Court ruled that Indians weren't independent nations but dependent domestic nations which could be regulated by the federal government. From then until 1871, treaties were formalities with the terms dictated by the federal government.

1835: Texas Revolution

War between Texas settlers and Mexico from 1835-1836 resulting in the formation of the Republic of Texas

1838: Trail of Tears

The Cherokee Indians were forced to leave their lands. They traveled from North Carolina and Georgia through Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Arkansas-more than 800 miles (1,287 km)-to the Indian Territory. More than 4, 00 Cherokees died of cold, disease, and lack of food during the 116-day journey.

1846: Mexican-American War

President Polk declared war on Mexico over the dispute of land in Texas. At the end, American ended up with 55% of Mexico's land.

1848: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Treaty signed by the U.S. and Mexico that officially ended the Mexican-American War; Mexico had to give up much of its northern territory to the U.S (Mexican Cession); in exchange the U.S. gave Mexico $15 million and said that Mexicans living in the lands of the Mexican Cession would be protected

1848: Result of Mexican-American War

The United States gained what is now CA, Nevada, Utah, part of Colorado, and New Mexico

1850: Compromise of 1850

California admitted as free state, territorial status and popular sovereignty of Utah and New Mexico, resolution of Texas-New Mexico boundaries, federal assumption of Texas debt, slave trade abolished in DC, and new fugitive slave law.

1850: Fugitive Slave Law

A rule that was written in the Compromise of 1850 that stated: If a slave goes from the South to the North, they are a fugitive slave and can be returned to the South. It also included the deputization of ordinary citizens so that they were unable to refuse to help.

1853: Gadsden Purchase

U.S. purchase of land from Mexico that included the southern parts of present-day Arizona and New Mexico; set the current borders of the contiguous United States.

1854: Kansas-Nebraska Act

Created Nebraska and Kansas as states and gave the people in those territories the right to chose to be a free or slave state through popular sovereignty.

1855: Bleeding Kansas

A sequence of violent events involving abolitionists and pro-Slavery elements that took place in Kansas-Nebraska Territory. The dispute further strained the relations of the North and South, making civil war imminent.

1856: Sumner and Brooks

Charles Sumner gave a two day speech on the Senate floor. He denounced the South for crimes against Kansas and singled out Senator Andrew Brooks of South Carolina for extra abuse. Brooks beat Sumner over the head with his cane, severely crippling him.

1858: Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Senate Debate, Lincoln forced Douglas to debate issue of slavery, Douglas supported pop-sovereignty, Lincoln asserted that slavery should not spread to territories, Lincoln emerged as strong Republican candidate

1859: John Brown's Raid

The militant abolitionist John Brown seized the U.S. arsenal at Harper's Ferry. He planned to end slavery by massacring slave owners and freeing their slaves. He was captured and executed.

1860: Election of 1860

Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won because the Democratic party was split over slavery. As a result, the South no longer felt like it has a voice in politics and a number of states seceded from the Union.

1861: American Civil War

War between North (union states) and South (confederate states) over slavery and succeeding.

1861: Fort Sumter

Federal fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina; the confederate attack on the fort marked the start of the Civil War

1861: Morrill Tariff

This was an act passed by Congress in 1861 to meet the cost of the war. It raised the taxes on shipping from 5 to 10 percent however later needed to increase to meet the demanding cost of the war.

1862: First Bull Run

First major battle of the Civil War, in which untrained Northern troops and civilian picnickers fled back to Washington. This battle helped boost Southern morale and made the North realize that this would be a long war.

1863: Battle of Antietam

Civil War battle in which the North suceedeed in halting Lee's Confederate forces in Maryland. Was the bloodiest battle of the war resulting in 25,000 casualties

1862: Homestead Act

Provided free land in the West to anyone willing to settle there and develop it. Encouraged westward migration.

1862: Emancipation Proclamation

An order issued by President Abraham Lincoln freeing the slaves in areas rebelling against the Union; took effect January 1, 1863

1865: End of Civil War

Robert E. Lee surrenders the exhausted South at Appomattox Court House

April 14 1865: Lincoln Assasinated

John Wilkes, Radicalist, Shot Lincol on Good Friday in the Ford's Theater in Washington DC

1866: Thirteenth Ammendment

Constitutional ammendment that officially ended slavery

1866: Formation of the KKK

Stands for Ku Klux Klan and started right after the Civil War in 1866. The Southern establishment took charge by passing discriminatory laws known as the black codes. Gives whites almost unlimited power. They masked themselves and burned black churches, schools, and terrorized black people. They are anti-black and anti-Semitic.

1867: First Reconstruction Act

Divided the South into military districts, granted local voting rights to African Americans, and barred former Confederate leaders from holding office.

1868: Fourteenth Ammendment

This ammendment states that no state could take away a citizens life, liberty, and property "without due process of law"

1870: Fifteenth Ammendment

B arred any state from abridgin a citizens right ot vote on the basis of race color or previous servitude

1871: Second Industrial Revolution

Involved development of chemical, electrical, oil, and steel industries. Mass production of consumer goods also developed at this time through the mechanization of the manufacture of food and clothing. It saw the popularization of cinema and radio. Provided widespread employment and increased production.

1876: Battle of Little Bighorn

In 1876, Indian leaders Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse defeated Custer's troops who tried to force them back on to the reservation, Custer and all his men died

1876: Munn V. Illinois

The Supreme Court upheld the Granger laws. The Munn case allowed states to regulate certain businesses within their borders, including railroads, and is commonly regarded as a milestone in the growth of federal government regulation.

1881: Standard Oil Trust

John D Rockefeller's corporation that controled over 90% of the nation's oil and bribed politicians for favors.

1883: Pendleton Civil Service Act

Law that created a Civil Service Commission and stated that federal employees could not be required to contribute to campaign funds nor be fired for political reasons

1886: Haymarket Riot

100,000 workers rioted in Chicago. After the police fired into the crowd, the workers met and rallied in Haymarket Square to protest police brutality. A bomb exploded, killing or injuring many of the police. The Chicago workers and the man who set the bomb were immigrants, so the incident promoted anti-immigrant feelings.

1887: Interstate Commerce Commission

Former independent agency of the U.S. government, established in 1887; it was charged with regulating the economics and services of specified carriers engaged in transportation between states. Surface transportation under the it's jurisdiction included railroads, trucking companies, bus lines, freight forwarders, water carriers, oil pipelines, transportation brokers, and express agencies. After his election in 1904, Theodore Roosevelt demonstrated support of progressive reforms by strengthening this.

1887: Davies Act

Allowed each head of household 160 acres for farming

1890: Sherman Anti-Trust Act

1890: First federal action against monopolies, it was signed into law by Harrison and was extensively used by Theodore Roosevelt for trust-busting. However, it was initially misused against labor unions

1891: Sherman Silver Purchase Act

Increased the amount of silver the gov. baught for coinage, but the money supply did not increase enough to satisfy silver supporters

1890:Wounded Knee Massacre

In December 1890, Army troops captured some of Sitting Bull's followers and took them to a camp. 300 Sioux men, women, and children were killed

1895: Pollock V. Farmers

Direct taxes were unconstitutional because they violated the provision that direct taxes be apportioned.

1898: Spanish-American War

America wanted Spain to peacefully resolve the Cuban's fight for independence - the start of the war was due in large part to yellow journalism

1898: Annexation of Hawaii

U.S. wanted Hawaii for business and so Hawaiian sugar could be sold in the U.S. duty free, Queen Liliuokalani opposed so Sanford B. Dole overthrew her in 1893, William McKinley convinced Congress to annex Hawaii in 1898

1900: Gold Standard

A monetary system in which paper money and coins are equal to the value of a certain amount of gold