1492
Answer:
• Christopher Columbus sails West to find a
faster all-water route to Asia and lands in
the Caribbean (Hispaniola).
1494
Answer:
• Treaty of Tordesillas = Pope divides the
New World with the Line of Demarcation.
– Spain gets land west of the line.
– Portugal gets the eastern land (Brazil) and
Africa.
1587-1590
Answer:
• Roanoke Colony is founded and LOST.
– 1st English Colony off coast of N. Carolina
– Founder = Sir Walter Raleigh
– Lost during Spanish Armada attack.
– Only clue = “Croatoan” carved into tree.
1588
Answer:
• Spanish Armada is defeated by the
English navy.
1607
Answer:
• Jamestown founded
– VA Company = joint-stock company
– Captain John Smith
1619
Answer:
• Boat of women
• Boat of slaves (Portugal)
• Headright system
– 50 acres of land if you paid for
indentured servant trip to
American colonies + keep
indentured servant for ~7
years until debt paid back
• House of Burgesses
– 1st representative assembly of
landed colonists
1620
Answer:
• Plymouth Colony is founded by mostly
Pilgrims.
– Mayflower Compact = majority rules
– Separatist Gov. William Bradford
– Squanto
– Thanksgiving
1624
Answer:
• VA becomes a royal colony b/c of financial
difficulties.
– Tobacco saves the colony soon after & royal
government benefits financially.
1630
Answer:
• Massachusetts Bay Colony is founded by
the Puritans.
– Non-Separatist Gov. Winthrop = “build a city
upon a hill”
1636
Answer:
• Pequot War = Pequots attacked Plymouth
and Mass. Bay because their land was
being encroached upon. Pequot lose.
1675
Answer:
• King Phillip’s War = Metacomet, leader of
the Wampanoag, attacked Plymouth and
Mass. Bay because their land was being
encroached upon. Indians lose.
1676
Answer:
Bacon’s Rebellion
•
stops indentured
servants & starts
slavery boom!
1680
Answer:
• Pope’s Rebellion = Indians in New Mexico
attack Spanish over land encroachment
and lose.
1688
Answer:
• Glorious Revolution:
– Bloodless revolution to restore English rights
& get rid of Catholic king.
– James II removed from the thrown
– English Bill of Rights passed
– William III & Mary II jointly rule
1689
Answer:
• Coode’s Rebllion = rebellion over religion
in Maryland; Protestants take control from
Catholics.
• Leisler’s Rebellion = rebellion over rights
of Englishmen in NY; English men fight &
win rights.
• Dominion of New England is broken up.
– Sir Edmund Andros escapes.
1692
Answer:
• Salem Witch Trials
1713
Answer:
•
Salutary neglect begins = British are
not strictly enforcing the Navigation
Acts.
1700’s
Answer:
• Enlightenment Movement
1730s-1740s
Answer:
• 1st Great Awakening
• Leaders:
– Jonathan Edwards
• Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God
– George Whitefield
1739
Answer:
• Stono Rebellion
1754
Answer:
•
Albany Plan of Union
–
•
for defense against Indians & French; it fails; shows disunity of
colonies
The French and Indian War begins:
–
–
–
–
Over Ohio River Valley – trade / settlement
French build forts in Ohio Valley– Fort Duquesne – and friendly with
the Indians
Washington sent to expel the French; attacks Fort Dusquene
British declare war on France
1763
Hint:
Answer:
•
•
•
•
Treaty of Paris of 1763
–
Ends the French and Indian War - French loose all territory
Pontiac’s Rebellion
–
Indians rebel against the British in the NW territory after the FIW; had
been loyal to the French; British didn’t respect their culture or trade
with them as equals = ANGER
Proclamation of 1763
–
Colonials temporarily can’t settle west of the Appalachians
Paxton Boys Rebellion
–
•
A group of Western Pennsylvania backcountry Scotch-Irish “nur nurs” decide
to take the law into their own hands and get even with the Indians for Pontiac’s
Rebellion in the NW Territory. They disobey the pacifist Mass. state
government & attack innocent Christian Indian tribes nearby murdering women
& children; never punished. 
SALUTORY NEGLECT ENDS
–
British need revenue ($) to pay off FIW debt; now going to enforce
Nav. Acts (regulations) & stop ignoring the smuggling; going to enforce
mercantilist policy
1764
Answer:
• Sugar Act:
• Purpose: to raise revenue ($) to pay off FIW debt by getting
Americans to stop smuggling French molasses & buy British in
the Caribbean
• indirect tax (pre-added tax) on molasses & sugar imported into
the colonies from Britain;
• it actually lowered the tax to make British goods cheaper than
competitors BUT strictly enforced = end of salutary neglect
• Currency Act:
– Colonies can only use British currency & can’t print their own.
Massachusetts, Three Shilling Note, 1775
1765
Answer: S3V
• Stamp Act
– Direct tax on internal goods of the colonies (previously taxed by only by
the colonial assemblies) including: legal documents, paper, cards,
newspapers, dice
– purpose of tax: to raise revenue to pay off FIW war debt
• Sons of Liberty
– Massachusetts colonials against direct taxes w/o actual representation
(like the colonial assemblies had)
• Stamp Act Congress
– Delegates from several colonies met in NY & agree to boycott (nonconsumption) stamped products
– Purpose: to hurt Britain economically, so they repeal the vile act
• Virginia Resolves
– Patrick Henry; VA resolved that Britain could not directly tax the colonies
internally w/o colonial assembly approval b/c they don’t have actual
representation in Parliament.
1766
Answer:
• Stamp Act repealed by Parliament
– New Prime Minister Rockingham Rocks!
• Declaratory Act:
– Parliament has unlimited power of taxation/legislation over
colonies
– & complete sovereignty over the colonies 
This cartoon depicts the
repeal of the Stamp Act as a
funeral, with Grenville carrying
a child's coffin marked "born
1767
Answer: TDC
• Townshend Acts
– Indirect tax on lead, paint, glass, silk, paper & tea imported from Britain
– Purpose: to raise revenue to pay Brit officials’ salaries in colonies 
(which irritates colonists b/c that used to be a power of the colonial
assemblies used to control the officials, especially Governors) & to pay
off FIW debt
• Dickinson’s “Letters of a PA Farmer”
– Unites the colonists together against the Townshend Acts
– Parliament can’t tax internal goods in the colonies (direct taxes) & it can’t tax for the sole
purpose of raising revenue it must be to regulate trade like the Nav. Acts
• Circular Letter - (Sam Adams & James Otis)
– Mass. Assembly adopted this resolution & sent to other colonial assemblies & they
adopted it as well
– It stated Am. Colonies had rights to assemblies, to tax themselves, right to
representation, liberties…
• Colonies boycott (non-importation agreements) British
Townshend taxed goods
1770
Answer:
• Lord North new Prime Minister of Parliament
• Townshend Acts repealed EXCEPT tax on tea!
• Boston Massacre:
• Crispus Attacks; mob attacks custom house; hatred of
taxes & British standing army in Boston; Sons of
Liberty led propaganda
1772
Answer:
•
Gaspee Incident
–
British smuggler catcher
boat burned off the coast
of RI by the Sons of
Liberty
1773
Answer:
•
Tea Act:
–
•
reduces price of British East India Co. tea to give it a
monopoly, so it doesn’t go bankrupt
Boston Tea Party:
–
Sons of Liberty dump B.E.I.C. tea into Boston Harbor (iced
tea)
1774
Answer:
•
Coercive/Intolerable Acts:
–
–
–
–
–
•
Purpose: punish Boston/Mass. for Tea Party
Boston Port Act = closes ports to all trade until tea repaid
Massachusetts Government Act = no town meetings, no trial by jury,
military rule, trials in England
Quartering Act, new Governor appt, Gen. Gage in charge
No stock piling of weapons
Quebec Act:
–
•
Quebec extended to Ohio River Valley& Catholicism tolerated
1st Continental Congress
–
–
convenes in Philadelphia to discuss Coercive Acts
Passes the Declaration of Rights & Grievances and the Suffolk
Resolves
• Declaration of Rights & Grievances = declares Am. Colonies rights (to
assemble, have juries…) & tells Parliament & King our grievances/problems
with Intolerable Acts
• Suffolk Resolves = agree to NOT to buy Brit. Goods (non-import/nonconsume) to hurt Brit. Econ. For Intolerable Acts
1775
Answer:
• April = Lexington & Concord
– Gage sent troops to find militias & stockpiling of weapons outside of Boston; British were
going to Concord by sea (2 lanterns); Revere & William Dawes warn that British are coming
by sea
– Lex. the colonials & British meet up: “Shot heard ‘round the world”; starts the Am. Revolt.
– Minutemen arrive at Concord & shoot British all the way back to Boston & surround the city
• May = 2nd Continental Congress
– convenes b/c of Lex & Concord; U.S. gov’t until 1781 (Articles ratified)
– Olive Branch Petition = written by Dickinson; last effort to avoid war; asked king to
redress grievances; king rejected the petition  Turning point for declaring war (unites
colonists in cause)
– Declaration of Necessity of Taking Up Arms
• Continental Army created -> GW commander-in-chief
• June = Battle of Bunker/Breed’s Hill
– Bloodiest battle of the Am. Revolution; proves it will not be a short, easy war;
colonials have the high ground outside Boston
• Aug. = Geo. declares the colonies in rebellion
– 18,000 Hessian mercenaries hired 
1776
Answer:
• Jan. = Common Sense
• Pamphlet published by Thomas Paine
• Should an island govern a continent?
• June = Richard Henry Lee’s Resolution
• July 4, 1776 = Declaration of Independence
•
•
•
•
•
Purpose: to gain foreign alliances (France)
Declared our natural rights of life, liberty & property had been violated
Declared we had the right to abolish our government b/c of violations
Lists 27 grievances with the king that he never remedied
Declares us an independent nation called the USA
• Dec. 26, 1776 = Battle of Trenton
• 1st “battle” the Continental Army under GW won;
• sneaked up on drunk Hessian mercenaries
• by crossing Delaware River into NJ Xmas night
• Motivates soldiers to keep fighting 
1777
•
Battle of Saratoga:
Answer:
• Turning point = Brits lose big battle & surrender 5,800, French now will help 
•
Winter at Valley Forge: (outside Philadelphia)
• British take over Philadelphia & Continental Congress runs & hides 
• US Continental Army spends winter outside Philly at Valley Forge freezing, while Brits are warm
in our beds in Philly 
• Prussian Baron von Stuben trains soldiers
•
Articles of Confederation adopted but NOT ratified:
• Not ratified until 1781 b/c ALL 13 states had to ratify it & they disagreed over the state borders;
MD, Del & RI landlocked and borders didn’t extend into the land west of the Appalachian
Mountains like other 10 states, so they refused to ratify it until they got land or others lost land.
• Written by John Dickinson
1778
Answer:
•
Franco-American Alliance
• France agrees to fight Britain until she acknowledges our
sovereignty AND
• U.S. agrees to help France out when she asks in future
•
British begin Southern strategy
• Why? Need Loyalists to help now that the war is being fought
in Europe (France) and in America
1781
Answer:
•
Articles of Confederation is ratified by all 13 states. 
– Confederation = states are sovereign and more powerful than the federal gov’t;
loose “League of friendship” among the states
– Powers of the unicameral Federal Congress:
• Make laws, declare war, make treaties (Treaty of Paris 1783; proposed the JayGardoqui Treaty), print money, borrow money, each state got one vote
regardless of size, its supposed to solve disputes b-w states, & all 13 states are
needed to amend the Articles
•
Battle of Yorktown
– French arrive blocking off Chesapeake Bay;
– Cornwallis surrenders;
– Last major battle. 
1783
Answer:
• Treaty of Paris (1783)
– Set some of the boundaries between the US &
British N. America (Canada)
– US got fishing rights in Newfoundland and in the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
– US & Britain agreed to pay pre-war debts to private
creditors
– State legislatures were supposed to return property
& land to Loyalists confiscated after the war (This
NEVER happens)
– Prisoners of war on both sides were to be released
and all property left by the British army in the United
States unmolested (including slaves); British were to
leave forts in NW territory
– Great Britain and the United States were to share
access to the Miss. River
Newburgh Conspiracy of Continental Army officers:
•Planned to use force to make states relinquish
power to tax to the national government, so
veterans could get paid; GW prevents it with
guilt. 
1784
Answer:
• Spain closes off port of New Orleans! 
– U.S. sends Jay to negotiate treaty w/Spain to open port.
• US Army = 100 men; we can’t do anything to stop
Spanish 
1785
Answer:
• Land Ordinance of 1785
– Passed by the Confederation Congress.
– Purpose: To sell land to speculators &
westerners to raise $ for the fed’l gov’t
– 1. Surveys & divides NW territory (Ohio
River Valley) into 5 possible territories;
– 2. Divides into towns of 6X6 square
mile blocks; the blocks could be divided
up further if necessary and sold for
revenue for the federal gov’t;
– 3. The 16th square was not sold but
instead saved for public education
1786
Answer:
• Jay-Gardoqui Treaty
– Proposed but NOT ratified by Confederation Congress!!!!
– Spain would have sole use of the Miss. River for 25 years and in
return the New Englanders would have a commercial advantage in
trade
• Annapolis Convention
– Wanted to amend Articles to help trade or commerce between the
largely independent states; not enough representatives came;
rescheduled for Philadelphia the next year
• Shay’s Rebellion
– W. Mass. Farmers rebel against Mass. state gov’t b/c of economic
depression, state gov’t taxing and foreclosing on farms 
– Federal gov’t can’t help b/c no money or army! 
– The events revealed weaknesses under the Articles of
Confederation and helped lead to adoption of the Constitution of
the United States.
1787
Answer:
Northwest Ordinance (1787)
•Organized the territory north west of the Ohio
River into max. of 5 territories
•Legislated away slavery in NW territory
•All states to be admitted on equal status
•60,000 pop. + state Constitution = Congress
decides whether to admit territory as a state
•
Constitutional Convention
–
–
–
–
–
–
Met in Philadelphia to revise/amend the Articles (Madison = Father)
Great Compromise = bi-cameral legislature (equality in Senate,
population in House)
Commerce Compromise = federal gov’t controls interstate commerce
& taxes on imports (tariffs) BUT not on exports or intrastate!
3/5 Compromise = 3/5th of slaves counted as pop. for determining
representation in House of Rep. & for determining taxation.
Importation of slaves can’t be legislated away earlier than 1808
Presidency Compromise =indirect election of Pres. by Electoral
College with 4 year terms.
Great Compromise
One of the first issues to be resolved was representation to the new government. The Articles of
Confederation had allowed each state equal representation and equal say, despite size or population and
this did not sit well with the largest states (Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania). The smaller states feared
losing say in the federal government and so continued to support equality in representation.
3/5ths Compromise
A fundamental economic and social division began to erupt over the issue of
slavery. The southern, agriculturally based states relied heavily on slavery and
slaves constituted a significant portion of their populations. The northern states
opposed counting slaves for representation in government because they were not
citizens and their population could easily be increased, tipping control of the federal
legislature to the southern states.
Commerce Compromise
Again a regional disagreement arose, in this case over the issue of trade and its
regulation. The northern, more industrial states saw the regulation of trade by the
federal government as essential to the smooth working of a national economy. The
southern states feared regulation of trade would not only threaten the sale of slaves,
but also the essential export of their agricultural products (chiefly cotton and
tobacco).
Presidency Compromise
Nearly all of the delegates could agree on the need for a president, to serve as a central figure
and executive of the new nation. The disagreement arose over the power and service of such
an office. Some delegates, fearing the rise of king-like president advocated for a weak official,
who would be limited to a single one-year term. Others argued the need for a powerful figure
who would be elected, but serve for life. Debates also raged about how best to elect the
president and what role the people of the nation should serve in his selection.
1788
Answer:
• Constitution is ratified
– by 9 of 13 states in June.
• Federalist Papers
– Purpose = published in NY to get
NY and VA to ratify it.
– These papers were written by
Hamilton, Madison & Jay under the
pseudonym Publius to convince
the people of NY that a strong
central gov’t was needed & well
thought out.
– Anti-Federalists (people against a
strong federal gov’t at the expense
of the states; want a Bill of Rights)
persuaded NY & VA not to ratify it.
(e.g. Patrick Henry, Richard Henry
Lee, Elbridge Gerry, and George
Mason)
– VA ratifies it in June 1788 with
help of George Washington.
1789
Answer:
• 1st session of Congress convenes in NYC March 4th.
• Georgia Washington is unanimously elected President &
John Adams VP by electoral college April 30th.
–
N. Carolina and Rhode Island refused to approve the Constitution or take
part in the new government until Congress agreed to add a bill of rights.
• Congress creates Departments of State, Treasury, War
& Justice
• GW selects cabinet = Secretaries for Departments w/
majority of Senate’s approval:
–
–
–
–
Sec. of State = Thomas Jefferson (VA)
Sec. of Treasury = Alexander Hamilton (NY)
Sec. of War = Henry Knox (Mass.)
Attorney General = Edmund Randolph (VA)
• Judiciary Act of 1789 passed by Congress.
• French Revolution begins 
• July 4th = Congress passed 1st Tariff = led by Madison (loved by
Hamilton), enacted a 5% tax on imports to raise revenue.
End OF Material for
1789-1793
Answer:
• George Washington’s 1st term as President
1790
Answer:
• 1st national census = 4 million population
• R.I. ratifies the Constitution & joins the U.S. 
• Hamilton issued his Report on Public Credit to Congress:
– “B.E. F.A.T.” =
•
•
•
•
•
Bank of the U.S.
Excise Tax on whiskey,
Funding at par (original value of the debt)
Assumption of state debts
Tariffs.
• July 16th =District of Columbia created.
– Wash. signed bill that permanently placed the nation’s capital along
the Potomac River between Virginia and Maryland.
– This bill was the Southern states’ reward in exchange for passing
the assumption of states’ debts bill.*****
• Dec. 1790= capital moved from NYC to Philadelphia
where it remained until 1800.
1791
Answer:
•
1st B.U.S. is chartered by Congress for 20 yrs.
• Ham. wanted a B.U.S. to stabilize the national economic system.
• Wash. asks his cabinet for their opinion on the B.U.S.!
– Sec. of State Jeff. says it is unconstitutional b/c not strictly enumerated.
• Wash. sided with Ham. even though he wasn’t completely convinced.
– Why? If can’t decide, go with the person/department involved, they hopefully know
more.
• In the doctrine of implied powers, Ham. used a loose construction of the
Constitution to defend his proposal for a central BUS. He argued that the B.U.S.
was a means by which Congress could exercise its constitutional power to collect
taxes and regulate trade.
• According to Ham., b/c that power (trade) is specifically enumerated in the
Constitution, the creation of the BUS was a means toward that end & thus
constitutional.
•
1st Internal Revenue Law passed = excise tax on whiskey
• Framers in the West HATE the tax b/c they rely on distilling whiskey in order to
use up surplus rye and corn crops. Federal law allows tax agents to enter homes
and collect taxes from whiskey producers!!!!!!!!!!!!
•
•
•
Miami Indians beat a US military force of 1400 men led by Gen. St.
Clair (900 US lives lost). Wash. had sent the Gen. to the Ohio territory
with the hope that his presence would clear the way for US settlers.
Oops.  (Nov.)
Bill of Rights ratified by 2/3 of the states. (Dec.)
Congress rejects Hamilton’s Manufacturing Plan.
st
1
Bank of the
United States
• The 1st Bank of the United States began operation in 1791 and
was jointly funded by private and government monies.
• The Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton modeled it
after the Bank of England as an institution meant to spur private
commerce and support government funding of debts.
• The Bank was the nation's largest business enterprise of the time,
capitalized at $10 million. Its shares, at $400 each, sold out within
hours of being offered to the public on the 4th of July.
• By 1805 the Bank had 7 branches which circulated an acceptable
form of paper currency throughout the country, although it was
used mainly for wholesale rather than retail purchases.
• Critics of the Bank (D-Rs) feared that national finances would be
controlled by only the very wealthy, who owned 80% of the
shares, while supporters felt it was important to have a bank that
allowed the federal government ready access to large reserves of
deposits.
• Thomas Jefferson, who had argued that the Bank was
unconstitutional, got rid of the remaining 2,200 shares of
government stock in 1802 after becoming president.
• Congress allowed the Bank's charter to expire in 1811 (20 yrs
1792
Answer:
• Jan. = Thomas Pinckney appointed 1st US
Minister/Ambassador to England by Washington.
• He’s told to convey a spirit of “sincere friendship” and
• To seek liberation of US commerce from British regulations.
• The Militia Act is passed.
• Passed b/c of growing resistance from Indians in the NW
Territory.
• It commissioned Gen. Anthony Wayne as Commander in
Chief of the Army & authorized that all white males b-w 18 &
45 be enrolled for military service.
• Nov. = Wash. re-elected to 2nd term as
President!!!
1793-1797
Answer:
• George Washington’s 2nd term as President.
1793
Answer:
• Jan. = French King Louis XVI beheaded
• April = France declares war on England, Spain, Prussia & Austria.
• France sends over Citizen Genet
• Wash. issues the Neutrality Proclamation unilaterally
• Citizen Genet/France angers Wash. threatening our neutrality 
• June = Britain blockades French ports to all Neutral shipping 
• spread of D-R clubs freak out Federalists
• July = Jefferson turns in his letter of resignation after Wash. begins to
heed Ham.’s advise on foreign affairs.
• Not effective until Dec. 31st, though
• Oct. = Reign of Terror begins in France (lasts until July 1794)
• Nov. = Great Britain issues Order of Council that allow for the seizure
of American ships carrying French goods in the West Indies & the
impressments of American sailors.
• England then captures several hundred US vessels w/o warning US.
• Jeff. wants a U.S. embargo against Brit. but it doesn’t happen!!
• Result = tension b-w US & GB rises to the verge of war.
• Dec. = Jefferson resigns as Sec. of State; Edmund Randolph replaces
him.
• ****1793 = Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin increasing slave
demand in the South****
1794
Answer:
• Jan. = 1,000 Brit. Soldiers still occupy NW Territory violating 1783 Treaty

• April = Senate confirms Wash.’s choice of John Jay, Chief Justice of
S.Ct., as special envoy to Britain.
• Jay’s assignment is to seek British withdrawal from the NW Territory, reparations
for US ships seized by Brit., an end to impressments of US sailors, compensation
for slaves seized during Am. Revolt., & restoration of trade rights in the West
Indies.
• June = Neutrality Act passed by Congress.
• The Act forbade US citizens from enlisting in service of a foreign god’s & bans the
outfitting of armed foreign vessels in US ports.
• July-Nov. = Whiskey Rebellion
• Small farmers in western Penn. break into an open revolt against a 1791 federal
excise tax on whiskey producers, comparing the tax to the Stamp Act of 1765.
• In response, Wash. calls up 15,000 militia from VA, MD, NJ & PA. After attempts
to reach a negotiated settlement fail, he follows Ham.’s advice & orders the militia
to forcibly put down the rebellion
• Important b/c it displays the use of federal power to enforce federal law w/in a
state.
• Aug. = Battle of Fallen Timber
• Treaty of Greenville
1795
Answer:
•
Jan. = Naturalization Act passed = non-citizens must live in US for 5 years
before they apply for naturalized citizenship.
– Ham. resigns as Sec. of Treasury!!! Still active politically & influences Wash.
•
March = Opposition to Jay’s Treaty after it’s terms become public. D-Rs
insist better terms could have been reached if embargo had occurred.
– Southern planter’s angry over not being reimbursed for slaves. Northern
merchants angry, too.
•
June = Jay’s Treaty = Senate ratifies & Wash. reluctantly signs. Political
humiliation for US 
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
GB agrees to withdraw its troops from NW Territory by 1796
GB agrees to pay US $10 million in reparations for seized ships
GB agrees to open ports in Brit. West Indies to very limited US trade.
US agrees to settle pre-Revolt. War debts owed to Brit. creditors
US agrees to allow Brit. subjects to continue trading fur on US soil.
****GB does NOT agree to stop impressing Am. Sailors*****
****France/Spain see this as an act defying neutrality = Anglo-American
Alliance****
• ****NOT TRUE OF COURSE****
•
Oct. = Pickney’s Treaty (officially Treaty of San Lorenzo) = Awesome
treaty for US  It helps US gain control over its vast western lands.
– Spain recognizes the Miss. River to be the U.S. western border. 
– Spain recognizes the 31st parallel to be US southern border. 
– Spain gives US right to deposit goods at the Port of New Orleans w/o having to
pay. 
– US have access to Miss. River (sharing w/ Spain.) 
1796
Answer:
• Sept. = Washington’s Farewell Address:
– Madison, Ham. & Jay helped him write it.
– Published in the newspaper in Philadelphia
– Announces:
•
•
•
•
1. Not running for a 3rd term
2. Beware of political factions/parties, especially along regional lines
3. Protect nation’s public credit
4. Stay clear of permanent foreign political alliances = isolationalism
• Nov.-Dec.= Election of 1796
– 1st election w/ Political Parties: Federalists pick Adams for Pres.&
Pinckney for VP; D-R pick Jefferson for Pres. & Burr for VP.
– Choosing b-w Adams & Jeff. was like choosing b-w the head & the heart
of the Am. Revolt.
– Mudslinging campaign by party not candidates
– Candidate w/ most electoral votes = Pres. & 2nd place =VP regardless of
party
– Hamilton (Federalist) tries to manipulate the Electoral College so that
Pinckney (Federalist) becomes President instead of VP and Adams
(Federalist) becomes VP instead of Pres.
– This backfires & Adams wins Presidency BUT Jefferson becomes VP
instead of Pinckney. (Wash. put support behind Adams.)
– So, President=Adams=Federalist and VP=Jefferson=D-R
1797
Answer:
•
March = Adams inaugurated as 2nd Pres. of US 
– Out of the 1st six presidents, Adams is the only one to have a male heir & his son
becomes Pres.
– Adams asks Jeff. to be his partner as VP & part of his cabinet. Adams was fighting
the Federalists for this bipartisan relationship. Jeff. refuses. Jeff. & Adams stop
speaking after this. Party politics & lines now too strong. 
•
April = Relations w/ France deteriorate!  Quasi-War begins!!! 
– French become enraged when the Anglo-American Jay Treaty takes affect b/c it does
not guarantee US trade rights w/ France. 
– France begins seizing US ships & cargoes 
– France refuses to receive US minister, Charles Cotesworth Pickney, who Pres.
Adams had sent to Paris to secure friendly relations. 
•
October = XYZ Affair
– To avoid a war w/ France over whether the US should take France’s side in its war w/
Britain, Adams sent a US delegation to France to negotiate.
– France’s foreign minister, Tallyrand, sent 3 agents to greet the US delegation upon
arrival.
– The agents asked for a $250,000 bribe + a $12 million dollar loan for the French gov’t
before the US delegates could speak w/ Tallyrand.
– Insulted the US delegation returned to the US.
– Adams tried to keep the insult quiet b/c he knew Americans would demand war.
– Adams released it to the public though, when Jeff. & the D-Rs blasted HIM for trying
to start a war w/ France. However, the names of the 3 French diplomats were not
released; Adams used the pseudonym XYZ to describe them.
– Public opinion of XYZ then hurt the D-Rs****
1798
Answer:
•
January = 11th Amend. passed
–
•
May = Department of the Navy & Provisional Army created
–
–
•
fed’l cts. decide cases involving people from diff. states
Congress creates Dept. of the Navy in preparation for war w/ France.
Provisional Army (New Army) gave Adams power to enlist 10,000 men for service. Authorized
Adams to instruct commanders of ships-of-war to seize armed French vessels attacking US
merchants along the coast.
June = Naturalization & Alien Acts passed by Congress.
•
Naturalization Act:
–
–
•
•
Must live 14 years in US & declare intent to be US citizen 5 years ahead of time.
Most recent immigrants were D-Rs. 
Alien Act granted Adams the power to deport any foreigner he deemed potentially dangerous to the country’s
safety.
July = Adams appoints Washington commanding general of the US military. Wash.
accepts on the condition that Ham. Is appointed 2nd in command. 
–
–
Alien Enemies Act is passed = allows the US gov’t to arrest any citizen of an enemy power who
resides in, or visits the US in times of declared war.
Sedition Act passed= virtually nullifies the 1st Amend. freedoms of speech & press. It makes all
US citizens subject to fines (up to $5,000) or prison if found to be “obstructing the implementation of
federal law, or for publishing malicious or false writings against Congress, the pres., or the gov’t.”
•
•
•
•
•
•
Passed by Federalists b/c of D-R’s criticism**
Adams never enthusiastically enforced the Alien Acts BUT he & his party used the Sedition Act to send
reporters, newspaper publishers & even a congressman to jail.
When Jefferson’s president, the D-Rs will repeal the Naturalization Act, and the other acts expire at the
beginning of his presidency. 
Sedition Act KILLS Federalist Party. Why? “reign of witches” makes D-Rs arrested into martyrs.
Became a joke = D-R arrested for saying Adams had a big butt. Found NOT GUILTY b/c it was true. 
D-R’s stood back & let the Feds KILL themselves.
Answer continued:
• Nov.-Dec= Kentucky & Virginia Resolutions – statements by
these states refusing to enforce the acts & even threatening to nullify
them.
– Ky Resolution: Jeff. wrote it in response to the Sedition Act.
• State’s rights argument: Sedition Act is unconstitutional b/c it violates the
natural rights of the citizens of each state to control their own domestic
affairs. (violates 10th Amend.)
• Nullification doctrine = fed’l law can be nullified by states. States have the
right to secede if fed’l courts refuse to uphold the states’ decisions.
• KY passes the resolution after deleting the nullification section. Too
radical. Madison collaborates w/ Jeff. & convinces him to chill on the
succession idea.
– Virginia Resolution: Madison wrote in response to the Sedition Act.
• Sedition Act is unconstitutional b/c it violates the 1st freedoms of speech &
press.
• Judicial Review = Fed’l Courts should be in charge of reviewing laws &
declaring them constitutional or unconstitutional.
– VA, feared a federal attack & mobilized its state militia after publishing
the resolution for a possible showdown w/ Adams. Federalist Hamilton,
now in charge of the federal military was ready to send in troops.
– Adams did NOT want a civil war!!!! He looked for a political solution &
decided to make peace w/ France himself. He ignored Congress, his
cabinet, and sent one last envoy to France to negotiate peace.
1799
Answer:
• Feb. = Adams separates from Hamiltonian Federalists 
• US has 1st naval victory in the Quasi-War 
• March = Adams sends envoy to France to have peace w/ France &
not an all-out war.
• Why did he send it?
– 1. Adams hated & distrusted Hamilton.
» Ham. manipulated his cabinet against him. 
» Ham. had convinced the Congress to create a dangerous/expensive
Provisional Army against Adam’s wishes. Adams loved the Navy.
» If no war w/ France, then Ham.’s Provisional Army was no longer needed &
Ham. would lose power & never be a military dictator. 
– 2. John Quincy reports from Prussia say Tallyrand will receive US with respect &
eager for peace. 
– 3. Adams is personally declaring his independence from the Federalist Party. It’s the
virtuous/right thing to do; it’s what’s best for the country.
» Adams will change parties in 1812 b/c of his hatred for Ham. & betrayal of the
Federalists. He will become a D-R, and his son will win the presidency as a DR. (1812 Adams will renew correspondence/friendship w/ Jeff. as well)
• April-Nov. = Adams demobilized the Provisional Army.
• Wanted to prevent a confrontation w/ VA. Hamilton was furious!!
• Adams fired two members of his cabinet b/c he couldn’t trust them; they were
loyal to Hamilton.  Hamilton gets his revenge in the upcoming election. 
• Nov. = Napoleon Bonaparte now in control of France: military
dictatorship. 
• Dec. = Washington died at Mount Vernon. 
1800
Answer:
•
•
•
Convention of 1800/Treaty of Mortfontaine
ends Quasi-War and Franco-American
Alliance
Election of 1800 = TJ & Burr tie
Revolution of 1800
=
1803
Answer:
•
•
Louisiana Purchase – Federalists
oppose – establish loose construction of
the Constitution
Marbury vs. Madison - Supreme Court
declares parts of the Judiciary Act of
1789 – Supreme Court could declare law
unconstitutional and powers of Court
only given in Constitution
1807
Answer:
•
•
•
Robert Fulton builds his first steamboat.
US ship Leopard sunk by Br. for refusal
to be searched
Embargo Act – stop exports – no war, no
impressments – Federalist object to cut
off trade
1812-1815
Answer:
•
•
•
•
The War of 1812 – to protest trade, stop
impressments, protect mercantilism
War Hawks – want Canada to join
Federalist against war
Battle of New Orleans
1814
Answer:
•
•
•
Hartford Convention = Federalists
against War of 1812 and mercantile
practices of Madison
Treaty of Ghent – ends war with a
status-quo
Era of Good Feelings begins
1816
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
2nd Bank of U.S. created
1st protective tariff
American Colonization Society founded –
to relocate free blacks to Liberia
Election of Madison (Rep) vs. King (Fed)
Henry Clay’s American System –
federally founded domestic
improvements and protective tariff
1819
Answer:
• Adams-Onis Treaty
• McCulloch v. Maryland
1820
Answer:
•
Missouri Compromise – Congress
legislates territory North of 36-30 to be
free TERRITORY, Maine admitted as
free state and Missouri a slave state.
1835-1836
Answer:
•
Texas War for Independence – “Lone
Star Republic”
1846-1848
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Mexican-American War- Gen. Taylor
provokes Mexicans by moving into disputed
Rio-Grande / Neuces River
- Three part plan to take over Mexico – decide
against
Slidell Mission –Slidell sent to negotiate –
rejected by Mexico
Wilmot Proviso – no slavery in new states
formed from Mexican land – rejected
54” 40’ or Fight – Get Oregon below 49th
parallel
Reestablish Independent Treasury System –
vaults
Walker Tariff Bill – lowered tariff
1848
Answer:
•
•
•
•
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo
Gold is discovered at Sutter's Mill in
California.
Women's Rights Convention is held in
Seneca Falls, NY – headed by Mott and
Stanton
Election of 1848 = Taylor (Whig) defeats
Cass (Dem. – father of pop. sovereignty)
and Van Buren(Free-Soil – abolitionists)
1849
Answer:
•
Wilmot-Proviso bill passes in HR but fails
in the Senate b/c balanced!!!!
1850
Answer:
•
Clay’s Compromise of 1850 – passes as
separate acts during Fillmore
–
–
–
–
–
•
California free state
Mexican Cession – popular sovereignty
TX get $10 million for Western land
Slave trade banned in Washington D.C.
Fugitive Slave Law strengthened
Clayton – Bulwer Treaty = U.S. and
Britain agree to neutrality of a canal in
Central America
1854
Answer:
•
•
•
•
The Kansas-Nebraska Act - passed to
create two territories for a north
transcontinental RR to go to west – slavery in
territories to be determined by popular
sovereignty
Republican Party created =North fears
overturn of Missouri Compromise
1854-1859 = Bleeding Kansas – Topeka
(Free Soilers) government vs. LeCompton
(slavery) gov.
Ostend Manifesto – Southern Democrats plan
to take Cuba – rejected
1857
Answer:
•
The Dred Scott decision:
– slaves are property to be taken anywhere –
allows for slavery in North
– Missouri Compromise unconstitutional
– Congress can NOT legislate away slavery in
a territory
•
•
LeCompton Constitution rejected by
Congress; Compromise
Panic of 1857 – depression – Buchanan
does nothing
1859
Answer:
•
John Brown’s Raid – Harpers Ferry to
free slaves
1863
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Battle at Antietam
The Emancipation Proclamation.
National Banking Act – establish central
banking system
Draft Riot - NY
Battle of Gettysburg – turning point
Battle of Vicksburg = Grant takes Miss.
River
Lincoln announces "10 Percent Plan" –
lenient plan – must swear allegiance to
US
1876
Answer:
•
•
•
•
Battle of Little Bighorn. – Custer killed
U.S. vs. Reese- allows voting
qualifications – literacy test, poll tax,
grandfather clause
Alexander Graham Bell invents the
telephone.
Election 1876: Hayes (Rep) defeats
Tilden (Dem)
1890
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
•
North American Women's Suffrage Association
is founded = NAWSA
Sherman Antitrust Act = “Trusts in restraint
of trade are illegal”
1890-1900: Blacks are deprived of the vote in
the South.
Battle of Wounded Knee = Indians revolt to
outlawing the sacred ghost dance – Last
Indian war
Sherman Silver Purchase Act – gov’t buys
silver but doesn’t coin – curb inflation
McKinley Tariff Act – raises tariffs
1895
Answer:
•
•
•
•
U.S. vs. E. C. Knight Co. = difference
between manufacturing and commerce –
manufacturing doesn’t violate the Sherman
Antitrust Act
In reDebs – strikes are a restraint of trade
under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Pollack vs. Farmers’ Loan and Trust Co. =
income tax is unconstitutional
Booker T. Washington's Atlanta
Compromise Speech = both races must
accept and help each other – blacks have to
earn rights
1896
Answer:
• Plessy vs. Ferguson – “Separate but
Equal”
• Election of 1896: McKinley (Rep) defeats
Bryan (Dem)
• Cross of Gold Speech by Bryan
1898
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Gen. Weyler’s reconcentration policy in
Cuba
DeLome Letter
Yellow journalism – Pulitzer & Hearst
U.S.S. Maine blows up off coast of Cuba
Teller Amendment
Spanish American War
U.S. annex Hawaii
1899
Answer:
•
Treaty of Paris 1899
–
•
•
•
U.S. gets Puerto Rico, Guam & buys Philippines
for $20 million
Platt Amendment
Hay’s Open Door policy announced
Philippine-American War begins (ends in
1901).
1900
Answer:
•
•
•
•
Election: McKinley defeats W. Jennings
Bryan again
Teddy Roosevelt is McKinley’s new VP
Gold Standard Act – gold standard unit
of value
Boxer Rebellion – Chinese nationalist
rebel – foreign nations unite to put down
rebellion
1901-1920
Answer:
•
Progressive Era = cure corruption, antimonopolies, temperance, help
immigrants and labor, building codes,
public utilities
1901
Answer:
•
•
•
US Steel Corporation formed
Platt Amendment – gave US a base in
Cuba and permission for troops to
intervene and consent to treaties
Insular Cases – Constitution does not
follow the flag
1906
Answer:
• Upton Sinclair writes The Jungle – meat packing
reform – resulted in Meat Inspection Act
• Gentleman’s Agreement – Japanese can return
to school – if Japan limits immigration
• T. Roosevelt negotiates Treaty of Portsmouth of
Russo-Japanese War – receives Nobel Peace
Prize
• Hepburn Act - strengthened the powers of the
Interstate Commerce Commission
• Pure Food and Drug Act - Established Food and
Drug Administration
1909
Answer:
•
•
•
•
NAACP is founded.
Taft’s Dollar Diplomacy (Haiti,
Nicaragua)
Payne-Aldrich Tariff = lowered tariffs
Ballinger - Pinchot Controversy =
Ballinger, Sec. of Interior, dismissed –
charged with not following nation’s
conservation policy
1914
Answer:
•
•
•
•
WWI begins in Europe
The Clayton Antitrust Act –
amendment to Sherman Anti-Trust Act –
strengthen anti-monopolistic reform
Federal Trade Commission created to
enforce anti-trust legislation
United States invades Vera Cruz in
Mexico
1917
Answer:
•
•
•
US enters WWI
Great Migration = blacks move from
South to North – causes race riots –
Harlem Renaissance – Garvey back to
Africa movement
Creel Committee: Public Info. – spread
propaganda – formed Liberty Leagues
1919
Answer:
•
Treaty of Versailles = Germany accepts full blame,
demilitarize Rhineland, Ger. Looses all colonies,
reparations
Red Scare =Palmer Raids
Shenck vs. US – “clear and present danger” – open
opposition to war will undermine war effort
Senate rejects Versailles Treaty and League of
Nations
•
•
•
–
–
•
•
•
Irreconcilables – Borah – disagree with Article X = involvement
in foreign affairs
Reservationists – Lodge – accept treaty if Article X is clarified
– only Congress can commit troops
18th Amendment is ratified prohibiting sale,
manufacturing of alcoholic beverages.
Volstead Act = enforced 18th Amendment
Race riots - Chicago
1920
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
Election: Harding (GOP) wins = Return to
Normalcy
19th Amendment grants Women
Suffrage.
Women vote 1st time
KDKA – 1st radio station
First Commercial radio broadcast.
1947
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Marshall Plan = economic aid to Europe after
WWII
Taft –Hartley Act = 80 cooling period not to
strike – labor leaders must sign NonCommunist oath
Truman Doctrine = financial commitment to
nations fighting Communism
Federal Employee Loyalty Program – anticommunistic oaths
National Security Act = created CIA
Jackie Robinson breaks color barrier in major
league baseball
1948
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
Election of 1948 =Truman defeats
Dewey and Strom Thurman (DixieCrat)
Truman desegregates armed forces
Berlin Blockade - Berlin Airlift starts
OAS = Alliance of North America and
South America
Alger Hiss Case = convicted of perjury
– HUAC; Nixon; Pumpkin Papers
•
Nuremberg trials begin
1949
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
NATO formed
China becomes communist under Mao
Russia’s gets 1st A-Bomb
Department of Defense created
West Germany created
Fair Deal: most don’t pass; Housing Act
(construction increases); minimum wage
increases
Orwell, Ninteen Eighty-Four
1950
Answer:
•
•
•
•
Korean War begins – enter because of
containment
McCarren Internal Security Act – illegal
to contribute to Communism
McCarthyism – fear of communism wide
spread
National Security Council Memo 68 –
beginning of massive defense spending
to stop communism
1953
Answer:
•
•
•
•
Rosenbergs executed
Armistice in Korea – 38th parallel
Shah of Iran returns to power in coup
– to keep Iran from going Communistic
Krushchev takes control of Russia
1954
Answer:
•
Army – McCarthy hearings = brought down Joseph
McCarthy
Brown vs. Board of Education = overturns Plessy vs.
Ferguson decision
SEATO = alliance Turkey, US, Iraq, and Iran
Fall of Dien Bien Phu = French loose in Vietnam
Geneva Accords = reduction of nuclear weapons,
divide Vietnam along 17th parallel for 2 years until free
elections
China (Mao) bombs Taiwan = Eisenhower threatens
to send troops in and the A-bomb - brinkmanship
•
•
•
•
•
–
Eisenhower sends troops to Taiwan & China backs off.
Brinkmanship worked.
1960
Answer:
•
•
•
U-2 incident – US spy plane goes down
in USSR – convert operation discovered
Greensboro sit -in
Election 1960: Kennedy (Dem) defeats
Nixon (Rep) – 1st TV debate
1961
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Bay of Pigs Invasion: attempt to overthrow
Castro – fails
U.S. trade embargo on Cuba
Alliance for Progress - to build up Third
World nations to the point where they could
manage their own affairs.
Berlin wall built to stop crossing
Peace Corps – encouraged US citizens to
help third world countries
Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries (OPEC) - an Arab majority - oil
trade - joined together to protect themselves.
1962
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
Cuban Missile Crisis – USSR sends missiles
to Cuba – US removes missiles from Turkey
and USSR from Cuba.
Baker vs. Carr – end of gerrymandering –
manipulating voting districts
Engel v. Vitale - prayer in public schools were
banned on violation the First Amendment.
Silent Spring by Rachel Carson – on pollution
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)
created - condemned anti-Democratic
tendencies of large corporations, racism and
poverty
1963
Answer:
•
•
•
•
March on Washington: Martin Luther
King Jr. I have a Dream Speech
Test Ban Treaty – no testing in
atmosphere or ocean – US, USSR, Br
Kennedy assassinated by Oswald –
Johnson becomes President
The Feminine Mystique , Betty Freidan
1965
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
Medicare and Medicaid – aid to elderly &
poor for healthcare
Higher Education Act – Federal Scholarships
Ralph Nadar's Unsafe at any Speed criticized poor construction and design of
automobiles
Watts, Detroit race riots - army sent in
Voting Rights Act - it allowed for supervisors
to register Blacks to vote in places where they
had not been allowed to vote before
1968
Answer:
•
•
•
•
Election of 1968 – RFK shot; Demo.
National Convention riots in Chicago;
Nixon elected
Nixon's "New Federalism" - returning
power to the states
TET – Viet Cong attacks during
Vietnamese holiday
Civil Rights Act attempted to provide
Blacks with equal-opportunity housing.
1969
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
Vietnamization begins – slow withdrawal of
troops from Vietnam
Nixon Doctrine – reducing number of troops
abroad by helping nations economically and
militarily
Neil Armstrong walks on the moon
Warren E. Burger appointed - a conservative
to fill Earl Warren's liberal spot.]
U.S. bombed North Vietnamese positions in
Cambodia and Laos. Technically illegal
because Cambodia and Laos were neutral
1970
Answer:
•
Kent State = Protest war & invasion of
Cambodia– troops sent in & 4 students
die
1972
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
Nixon visits Red China and Russia: eases
tensions/détente working 
SALT1: Nuclear arms limitation agreement
Watergate Scandal begins: burglarizing and
wiretapping the national headquarters of the
Democratic Party -- investigation headed by
Baker
Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) - proposed
the 27th Amendment, calling for equal rights
for both sexes
Election of 1972: Nixon re-elected defeating
McGovern in largest landslide victory
1973
Answer:
•
•
•
•
Treaty of Paris: Ends Vietnam – troops
withdrawn – Vietnam temp. divided again
Gideon vs. Wainwright - court decided
that state and local courts must provide
counsel for defendants in felony cases
Roe vs. Wade - states can’t restrict
abortions during the 1st trimester. It’s a
constitutional privacy right implied in Bill
of Rights.
VP Agnew resigns: Ford replaces him
25th Amend.
1974
Answer:
•
•
Nixon resigns
Ford pardons Nixon
1975
Answer:
•
•
US ship Mayaquez attacked by
Cambodia - crew rescued
North Vietnam attacks South Vietnam;
South becomes Communist 
1976
Answer:
•
•
Election of 1976: Carter defeats Ford
1977:US gives up rights to Panama
Canal in 1999
1979
Answer:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Department of Energy and Department of
Education created
Fuel shortage b/c of continued OPEC
embargo; stagflation
Camp David Accords: Peace between Israel
and Egypt
Shah expelled from Iran: American embassy
taken hostage: Carter’s rescue mission fails
SALT II - Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty with
Russia - removed after Russia attacked
Afghanistan
Three Mile Island - power plant failure emits
radiation in Pennsylvania