Early Encounters & Colonies (1492-1763)
This Italian explorer, sailing under the Spanish flag, landed in the Caribbean in 1492, mistakenly believing he had reached Asia.
Christopher Columbus
This event, occurring in Boston in March 1770, sparked intense anti-British sentiment throughout the colonies. Paul Revere, a silversmith, created an engraving of this allegedly unprovoked act of violence, in which British soldiers fired into a crowd of Bostonians, killing five men.
The Boston Massacre
In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson purchased this massive tract of land from France for $15 million, doubling the size of the U.S.
The Louisiana Purchase
This was an overland wagon route connecting the Missouri River to valleys in the Oregon Territory that served as the main path for 19th-century westward expansion, enabling thousands of American pioneers to emigrate west for land and opportunity.
The Oregon Trail
The US Civil War was fought between the North and the South. These were the “official” names of the two armies.
Union Army (North), Confederate Army (South)
Founded in 1607, this was the first permanent English settlement in North America.
Jamestown
This was a major rallying cry of the American colonists against the British government in the 1760s and 1770s. It reflected the belief that it is tyrannical for a government to tax its citizens if those citizens have no voice or elected representatives in the lawmaking body.
"No taxation without representation!"
The burning of the White House and the writing of the "Star-Spangled Banner" occurred during this military conflict.
The War of 1812
The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848 triggered a massive gold rush to this state the following year.
California
The first shots of the Civil War were fired in April 1861 at this military outpost in South Carolina.
Fort Sumter
This conflict, fought between Great Britain and France for control of land in North America, changed the American colonies and ultimately created the conditions that sparked the American Revolutionary War.
The Seven Years' War, The French and Indian War
The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776 in this city.
Philadelphia
This Native American woman served as an invaluable guide and translator for the Lewis and Clark Expedition between 1804 and 1806.
Sacagawea
This church-turned-fort became infamous during the Texan War of Independence when all of its defenders were killed by the Mexican army in March 1836. It subsequently became the source of a famous battle cry.
The Alamo
("Remember the Alamo!")
Issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, this executive order declared that all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory were legally free.
This 1620 document, signed aboard a famous ship carrying the Pilgrims to the “New World,” established the first framework for self-governance in New England.
The Mayflower Compact
This 1777 battle in New York is widely considered the turning point of the Revolutionary War because it convinced France to ally with the Americans.
The Battle of Saratoga
Eli Whitney's 1793 invention of this machine revolutionized the Southern economy but also drastically increased the demand for enslaved labor.
The cotton gin
This network of secret routes and safe houses helped thousands of enslaved people escape to free states and Canada.
The Underground Railroad
Fought in July 1863, this three-day Pennsylvania battle is widely considered the military turning point of the Civil War.
The Battle of Gettysburg
This British policy was a “hands-off” approach to dealing with the American colonies. It allowed the colonies to become more self-sufficient by largely governing and regulating themselves throughout much of the 18th century.
Salutary Neglect
Before the current US Constitution was created in 1787, the United States was governed by this weak predecessor (considered the US’s “first” constitution), which lacked the power to tax or regulate commerce.
The Articles of Confederation
This 1820 negotiation admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state, while banning slavery north of the 36” 30' parallel.
The Missouri Compromise
This 1857 Supreme Court ruling declared that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, were not citizens and that Congress had no power to ban slavery in U.S. territories.
The Dred Scott v. Sandford decision
On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at this Virginia location.
Appomattox Court House