APUSH Timeline Units 1-5
Key:
Places, Names
Ideas, Laws/Acts/Events
Do note:
The highlighting and colors may be off-hue since I’m not able to put in the exact color codes
Not every single event is described in full detail here, rather some dates to remember are!
Unit 1: 1492-1607
1492: Columbus reaches the Americas
1520: Small Pox arises
1584: Queen Elizabeth sent Sir Walter Raleigh w/ a crew to establish a colony at Roanoke Island Colony
1585: John White’s FIRST failed colonizing expedition →Roanoke
1587: He became governor and left the colony for supplies, but failed to return & secure a timely expedition to the colony. The colony, however, was abandoned and became known as the "Lost Colony”
1607: Jamestown, the first successful British colony of the 13 colonies was established
Unit 2: 1607-1754
1607: Before Jamestown became Virginia, tobacco was grown and exported to England. However, Jamestown went bankrupt—4,000 to 6,000 colonists died and King James I took control
1730-1750: [First] Great Awakening - Religious revival in American colonies during its time
1754:
Disputes over land in the Ohio River Valley arose, leading to the French-Indian War/Seven Years War
Unit 3: (1754-1800)
1754-1763: French-Indian War took place in the French empire land in the New World
Why? Competition for territory.
1763:
Proclamation Act: Restricted colonizers from moving to the West of the Appalachian Mtns to prevent further conflicts with the Indigenous peoples in its area + protect fur trade
It was essentially a demarkation line w/ a boundary between the 13 colonies and Native American territories (the West)
Treaty of Paris: The agreement that officially ended the French-Indian War, marking the expansion of British territorial claims in North America
Additionally, French territory had to be given up to the English empire (the British)
1765: Quartering Act: required colonial authorities to provide housing, supplies, and food & drink for British troops in America (essentially, British soldiers could reside in anyone’s house at any given time)
1770:
Sons of Liberty arose, a secret underground society opposing British rule, investigating riots against British army
Boston Massacre: Colonists threw snowballs (w/ rocks hidden in them) at the British. Someone yelled “FIRE!” and British army men fired shots into the crowd
5 Bostonians killed as a result of this
Became an anti-British movement, even having John Adams defend the British as a result of this in a debate
1773: Boston Tea Party - a protest by colonists against the heavy load of taxes and imposements of Acts constantly being established during the 1760’s-1770’s
Sons of Liberty had 25 members dress as Natives in disguise to guard the ships all around to make sure the tea wasn’t offloaded.
1766-1776: Tar & Feathering was a torture method in which hot tree sap “tar” was poured onto people and then they were covered with feathers as a form of public humiliation.
Why? For colonists to protest against British authorities against taxes and loyalists
1776:
Declaration of Independence was officially signed, to which King George III disliked
VA Constitution of 1776 - 2 members in the House of Delegates/county were the only ones in charge
This lead to further tensions since there was an inbalance in representation given only TWO people in charge, as all the states had different populations and weren’t being recognized by the delegates as needed
1777: Articles of Confederation were ratified, establishing the first governing document of the United States and reflecting the states' desire for a loose confederation rather than a strong central government.
1780: The Gradual Abolition Act of 1780
Who? Pennsylvania General Assembly
What? Tried to appease slave owners by gradually phasing out slavery
Stopped Imports of enslaved ppl → PA, requiring them all to be registered
Additionally Establishing that all PA-born children were free
Where? PA Colony
Why? To grant enslaved ppl freedom
1783: In addition to the Treaty of Paris;
Ended the Revolutionary War,
Recognized US as independen
Established boundaries within territories (i.e the Proclamation Act)
Expanded territories (WEST to Mississippi River and SOUTH to the Florida Peninsula)
1788: George Washington was elected as the first president of the USand the new federal government was established under the Constitution.
1789-1799: French Revolution - Was an overthrow of the French monarchy, the abolition of feudalism, and the establishment of the First French Republic.
The Revolution occured due to:
Economic hardship
Social inequality
Enlightenment ideals (i.e advocating for liberty, equality, and fraternity)
Though France helped America win their revolution, America remained neutral during the Revolution
Why? To avoid financial ruin during their early yrs
1791-1793: Haiti executed the largest and most successful enslaved-person revolt movement of all time
1796: Seamen’s Protection Act was a solution to the amount of forced military service and kidnapping of citizens for the navy
This act provided American seamen with documentation to affirm their citizenship and protect them from being impressed into foreign navies.
Unit 4: 1800-1848 (Period of the Market Revolution)
1790-1835: [Second] Great Awakening - Protestant religious revival occurred in the US
1800: WA, D.C. became America’s capital
1800-1815: “Jeffersonian Era" (Thomas Jefferson becoming the 3rd president of the US) was able to double U.S. territory, clear Western lands of Native Americans, and fought with British
1808-1806: Thomas Jefferson sent explorers Lewis & Clark to explore the New Wrld
1812: War of 1812 occurred, declared by James Madison (4th pres of US) due to the:
British impressment upon Americans
British search & seizure of American ships
1817: American Colonization Society - a form of reform that occurred while the nation was grappling with issues regarding slavery, as free enslaved people were demanded to return to Africa
1820’s-1830’s: Industrial Revolution started in Britain
1823: Monroe Doctrine - a doctrine declaring:
that no Europe country is to colonize North America again
Ties are to be cut with foreign countries between America
1826: American Temperance Society - a reform group against alcohol consumption in an attempt to ban alcohol due to its rise in [controversial] popularity
Did NOT get banned, BUT the drinking age was raised
1831: Nat Turner’s Rebellion - an example of one of the many anti-slavery rebellions by enslaved people that was attempted
Unsuccessful, resulting in more strictly-enforced slavery laws
1808-1836: Latin was against the empires of Spain and Portugal in hope of reaching Independence
1848: Gold Rush took place in CA
Unit 5 (1844-1877): Westward Exp → Civ. War → Reconstruction
1846-1848: Invasion of Mexico (done by President James K. Polk), half of Mexico was stolen
1848:
Treaty of Guadalupe, Hidalgo - Mexican citizens have 1 yr to choose to move to the US or keep their citizenship at Mexico
Mexican Cession - Mexico gave up 55% of its territory to the U.S.
1850: East Asia began to create foreign relations with ppl from the West
1853: Gadsden Purchase - Gov official James Gadsden was sent to Mexico to offer $10 million to purchase the land, but it only made tensions w/ Northerners rise more
1862: The Homestead Act (The Great Plains) gave160 acres of land for $10 to any family who could improve it within 5 yrs
Attracted city ppl, formerly enslaved African American’s, European immigrants, and Asian immigrants
1863: Transcontinental Road:
Union Pacific railroad → 8K+ Irish, German, and Italian immigrants (some former-enslaved ppl) build West from New York
Central Pacific Railroad → 10K+ Chinese immigrants build East from Sac, CA
BOTH Union & Pacific Railroads combined as the Union Pacific Corporation