history

1492

Columbus arrives in the Americas; beginning of European colonization

1519

Cortés conquers the Aztec Empire

1607

Jamestown founded; first permanent English settlement

1619

House of Burgesses established; first representative assembly

1620

Mayflower Compact; early self-government

1630

Massachusetts Bay Colony founded by Puritans

1676

Bacon’s Rebellion; conflict between frontier settlers and elites

1692

Salem Witch Trials; religious hysteria and fear

1739

Stono Rebellion; major slave uprising in South Carolina

1754–1763

French and Indian War; Britain gains land and debt

1763

Pontiac’s Rebellion and Proclamation Line of 1763

1764

Sugar Act; tax on imports to pay war debt

1765

Stamp Act; direct tax on printed materials

1770

Boston Massacre; British soldiers kill colonists

1775

Battles of Lexington and Concord; start of Revolutionary War

1776

Declaration of Independence issued

1777

Articles of Confederation adopted

1781

Battle of Yorktown; British surrender

1786

Shays’ Rebellion; weaknesses of Articles exposed

1787

Constitutional Convention; U.S. Constitution written

1789

French Revolution begins

1791–1804

Haitian Revolution; successful slave revolt

1794

Whiskey Rebellion and Jay’s Treaty

1798

XYZ Affair; tensions with France

1800

Thomas Jefferson elected president

1803

Louisiana Purchase; U.S. doubles in size

1807

Robert Fulton’s steamboat; transportation revolution

1812–1814

War of 1812

1820

Missouri Compromise; balances free and slave states

1825

Erie Canal opens; boosts trade

1828

Election of Andrew Jackson; rise of democracy

1831

Nat Turner’s Rebellion; slave uprising

1836

Texas gains independence from Mexico

1838

Britain abolishes slavery

1846–1848

Mexican-American War; U.S. gains Southwest

1848

Seneca Falls Convention; women’s rights movement begins

1850

Compromise of 1850; temporary solution to slavery disputes

1852

Uncle Tom’s Cabin published; fuels abolitionism

1854

Kansas-Nebraska Act; popular sovereignty causes violence

1858

Lincoln-Douglas Debates; slavery debate intensifies

1859

John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry

1860

Lincoln elected; Southern secession begins

1861–1865

Civil War

1863

Emancipation Proclamation

1865

13th Amendment; slavery abolished

1867

Radical Reconstruction begins

1868

14th Amendment; citizenship and equal protection

1870

15th Amendment; voting rights for Black men

1876

Election of Rutherford B. Hayes; end of Reconstruction