US History to 1877

1607

Date Jamestown, the first permanent English colony, was established in the New World

1776

Date that Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence to break ties with England

First Battles of the Revolutionary War

Lexington and Concord (The Shot Heard Round the World)

Turning Point of the Revolutionary War

Saratoga

Last Battle of the Revolutionary War

Yorktown

Treaty of Paris, 1783

Officially ended the Revolutionary War and gave freedom to the American Colonies

1787

Date Delegates meet in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation but ended up drafting a new constitution

1803

Date of Louisiana Purchase-Thomas Jefferson purchased land from France for $15 million. This land was west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains and nearly doubled the size of the U.S.

1861-1865

Dates of The Civil War

First Event of the Civil War

Shots fired at Ft. Sumter

Last Event of the Civil War

Lee Surrenders to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse

1865-1877

Dates of Reconstruction Era

Samuel Adams

Leader of the Sons of Liberty, organized the Boston Tea Party

King George III

King of England during the Revolutionary War

Thomas Jefferson

Wrote the Declaration of Independence in 1776, was the third president of the United States, bought the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Democratic-Republican

George Washington

Fought in the French and Indian War, commanded the colonial troops during the American Revolution, first president of the United States

Thomas Paine

wrote the pamphlet "Common Sense" to convince the common man to join the side of the patriots and fight the British

Quakers

Leader William Penn established Pennsylvania for religious freedom and equality for all. Founded the first anti-slavery society in America

Frederick Douglass

ex-slave who became a very strong abolitionist leader; convinced Abraham Lincoln to let black men fight on the side of the North; "The North Star" newspaper

Harriett Tubman

ex-slave, conductor of the Underground Railroad which helped slaves escape and go north to freedom

Harriett Beecher Stowe

abolitionist who wrote the book "Uncle Tom's Cabin"

William Lloyd Garrison

abolitionist who used his newspaper, the Liberator, to persuade people to join the anti-slavery movement

John Adams

2nd president of the United States; Federalist; Proud of keeping peace with France during XYZ Affair

Andrew Jackson

"President of the Common People". Remembered for the spoils system, Jacksonian Democracy, the Indian Removal Act (Trail of Tears), and new ways of campaigning

Alexander Hamilton

leader of the Federalist party. Believed that 'the best' people should be in control of the government. He was the first Secretary of the Treasury Department and created an economic plan for the US. (He's also the subject of a Broadway musical!)

James Madison

The Father of the Constitution; President of the United States who declared war on the British in 1812.

John Quincy Adams

6th President and son of the 2nd President

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

Statement delivered by President James Monroe stating that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression requiring U.S. intervention.

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

leaders in women's suffrage, equal pay for equal work

Seneca Falls Convention

Women's rights rally in 1848

Robert E. Lee

Confederate Leader (General) during the Civil War; surrendered at Appomattox Court House to Grant

Ulysses S. Grant

Union Leader (General) during the Civil War. Would also become 18th president.

Abraham Lincoln

President of the United States during the Civil War

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War

Manifest Destiny

idea that Americans were chosen by God to move west and take over the continent

Industrial Revolution

Americans started to move from an agricultural society to one based on industry & from rural areas to urban areas.

federalist

person who favored the constitution/wanted a strong federal or central government (George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton)

federalist papers

series of essays to convince the American public to support the Constitution and a strong federal government

anti-federalists

people who refused to ratify the Constitution without the addition of the Bill of Rights - these people wanted strong state governments and a weak central government (Thomas Jefferson, George Mason)

Democratic-Republicans

political party started by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, who advocated a weaker national government and more power to the states; Opposite views from Hamilton and the Federalists

abolitionist

person who wanted to bring an end to slavery

Southern Economy

was based on agriculture (cash crops) and slave labor

Checks and Balances

system to keep any one person or branch of government from becoming too powerful

Legislative Branch

Creates the laws

Executive Branch

Enforces the laws

Judicial Branch

Interprets the laws and decides whether or not they are constitutional

The Great Compromise

set up the legislature using a combination of the Virginia Plan and the New Jersey Plan. Settled representation issues at Constitutional Convention

3/5 Compromise

slaves would count as a part of the population for determining representation and taxation

Sectionalist

association with one part of the country instead of the country as a whole. This contributed to the Civil War because people saw themselves as Northerners or Southerners rather than Americans

Mercantilism

system where colonies were forced to make money for England. Colonies sent raw materials such as timber, cotton and tobacco to England so England could manufacture goods and sell them back to the colonies. High taxes for colonists on imported goods from foreign countries.

Battle of Antietam

Bloodiest single day in Civil War; led to Emancipation Proclamation

Virginia House of Burgesses

1619 - the first elected representative assembly in the colonies

Articles of Confederation

first set of rules of government in the United States - it was very weak because it didn't have a strong central government. The government could not raise taxes or raise a militia; had no central banking system

Results of the War of 1812

Patriotism, Proved independence from England, Increased Manufacturing

Bill of Rights

first 10 amendments to the Constitution

First Political Parties

Federalists (Hamilton) and Democratic Republicans (Jefferson)

Washington's Farewell Address

after George Washington's second term as president he warned the country against forming political parties saying it would divide the nation

Northwest Ordinance

established an orderly way for new territories to become states

Marbury vs. Madison

established judicial review which means the Supreme Court can review decisions and decide if they are constitutional or unconstitutional

Nullification Crisis

constitutional struggle between southern states, particularly South Carolina, and President Andrew Jackson over the issue of raising tariffs on imported items.

Indian Removal Act

President Andrew Jackson removed Cherokee Indians from their home in Georgia to reservations in Oklahoma (Trail of Tears)

Missouri Compromise

let Missouri enter as a slave state and let Maine enter as a free state to keep a balance of slave and free states

Compromise of 1850

California entered the Union as a free state and Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Law to pacify the South

Kansas-Nebraska Act

let the people of Kansas and Nebraska decide if they wanted their state to enter as a free state or a slave state

Dred Scott vs. Sandford

Slave sued his master because his master moved from slave territory to free territory. The Supreme Court ruled against the slave, saying people have the right to control their property, which meant slavery could be allowed even in the northern free states; Said slaves were not citizens

Gettysburg Address

Given by President Lincoln during the Civil War after the Battle of Gettysburg urging the Union to persevere

Emancipation Proclamation

Issued by President Lincoln during the Civil War (1863) freeing the slaves in the states that had seceded from the Union

13th Amendment

freed ALL slaves/outlawed slavery in the U.S.

14th Amendment

made former slaves U.S. citizens

15th Amendment

granted black men the right to vote

1st Amendment

Freedom of Speech, religion, press, to peacefully assemble and to petition the government

2nd Amendment

Right to bear arms

3rd Amendment

Protection of quartering of soldiers

4th amendment

Protection of unreasonable searches and seizures