AP U.S. History Chronological Dates and Periodization (Units 1–6)

Comprehensive vocabulary and timeline review cards for AP U.S. History Units 1 through 6, covering critical boundary dates, treaties, rebellions, Supreme Court rulings, and legislative milestones from 1491 to 1898.

Unit 1 start date: 1491

Why- last year before European contact

Unit 1 end date: 1607

Why- founding of Jamestown

Voyage of Columbus

1492

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494

Encomienda Begins

1512

Transatlantic Slave Trade Begins

1525

Unit 2 start date: 1607

why- founding of Jamestown

Unit 2 End date: 1754

why- beginning of sevens years war

Founding of Jamestown

1607

Founding of Quebec

1608

First Slave Sold in Virginia

1619

Founding of Plymouth Colony

1620

Beaver Wars

1640s

Capture of New Amsterdam

1664

Metacom's War

1675

Bacon's Rebellion

1676

Pueblo Revolt

1680

First Great Awakening

1730s

Unit 3 start date: 1754

why- beginning of seven years war

Unit 3 end date: 1800

Why- Jefferson revolution of 1800

Seven Years' War

1754

Pontiac's Rebellion

1763

Proclamation of 1763

1763

Stamp Act

1765

Boston Tea Party

1773

Battles of Lexington & Concord

1775

Declaration of Independence

1776

Alliance Between France & US

1778

Battle of Yorktown

1781

Treaty of Paris (1783)

1783

Shays' Rebellion

1786

Constitutional Convention

1787

Washington's First Term Begins

1789

Bill of Rights Ratified

1791

Whiskey Rebellion

1794

Washington's Farewell Address

1796

Alien and Sedition Acts

1798

Jefferson "Revolution" of 1800

1800

Unit 4 start date: 1800

Why- Jefferson revolution of 1809

Unit 4 End date: 1848

Why- Seneca falls convention

Louisiana Purchase

1803

Embargo Act

1807

International Slave Trade Ends

1808

War of 1812

1812

Treaty of Ghent / Battle of New Orleans

1815

Missouri Compromise

1820

Monroe Doctrine

1823

Election of Andrew Jackson

1828

Nat Turner's Rebellion

1831

Nullification Crisis

1832

Indian Removal Act

1832

Peak of the Second Great Awakening

1830s

Texas Wins Independence

1836

Seneca Falls Convention

1848

Unit 5 start date: 1844

Why- election of James Polk

Unit 5 end date:1877

Why- compromise of 1877

Election of James Polk

1844

Annexation of Texas

1845

War with Mexico Begins

1846

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

1848

Compromise of 1850

1850

Bleeding Kansas

1855

Dred Scott Decision

1857

John Brown's Failed Uprising

1859

Election of Abraham Lincoln

1860

South Carolina Secedes

1860

Emancipation Proclamation

1863

Lee's Surrender at Appomattox

1865

Assassination of Lincoln

1865

Reconstruction Acts Passed

1867

Impeachment of Johnson

1868

14th Amendment Ratified

1868

Enforcement Act (Ku Klux Klan Act)

1871

Compromise of 1877

1877

Unit 6 start date: 1865

Why- end of civil war

Unit 6 end date:1898

Why- Spanish American war

First Transcontinental RR Completed

1869

Knights of Labor Founded

1869

Panic of 1873

1873

Sioux Wars / Little Bighorn

1876

Great Railroad Strike

1877

Haymarket Square Riot

1886

American Federation of Labor Founded

1886

Dawes Act

1887

Interstate Commerce Act Passed

1887

Hull House Opened

1889

Sherman Antitrust Act Passed

1890

Homestead Strike

1892

Panic of 1893

1893

Pullman Strike

1894

Plessy v. Ferguson

1896

Bryan's "Cross of Gold" Speech

1896

Spanish American War Begins

1898