History by Time Period Colonial Period (1607-1763) Big Picture: This was the time when there was a large movement of European, and later African, people coming to North America. Those from Europe came for economic and/or religious reasons. Africans experienced a force migration. Thirteen colonies were established along the Atlantic seaboard. Each colony was given its own separate charter. Laws were passed in England to govern the colonies but these laws were not enforced. As a result, due to this policy of salutary neglect, the colonies became independent in their political and economic activities.
Important Concepts and Terms:
Mercantilism
Salutary neglect
Royal, proprietary, and corporate/joint stock companies
New England Colonies
Middle Colonies
Southern Colonies
ethnic diversity
colonial assemblies
Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
Indentured servants
Headright system
Navigation Laws
Puritanism
Separatists/Pilgrims
“city upon a hill”
Half-Way Covenant
Smuggling
Middle passage
Triangular trade
Great Awakening
Jonathan Edwards
George Whitfield
Rules for voting in colonial assemblies
Albany Plan for Union
French and Indian War
Key Events and Dates:
Jamestown founded
House of Burgesses
1st African in Virginia
Plymouth founded; Mayflower Compact
Massachusetts Bay founded
Maryland founded
1636 Rhode Island (Roger Williams) and Connecticut (Thomas Hooker) founded
First Navigation Act passed
1660s Virginia economy more slave than indentured
Bacon’s Rebellion in Virginia
Dominion of New England
1720s-60s Great Awakening
American Enlightenment
Albany Congress; Plan for Union (Join or Die snake Political Cartoon)
French and Indian War/ Seven Years’ War
Signing Treaty of Paris to end French and Indian War
Establishment of Proclamation Line of 1763 and 10,000 British troops in colonies to protect line
Rebellion and Revolution (1763-1783) Big Picture: The French and Indian War left a huge debt. The king and Parliament both agreed that the colonists should pay this debt since the war was fought to keep the colonists safe. In 1763 the crown/Parliament abandoned the policy of salutary neglect and began to impose internal, not external taxes. The colonists resented these new taxes and rebelled in various forms. Ultimately, when the king refused to negotiate with the colonists, the colonists felt forced to declare independence in 1776 and go to war with Britain.
Important Concepts and Terms:
Committees of correspondence
Taxation without representation
Writs of assistance
Sons of Liberty
Virtual representation
Internal(direst) vs. external (indirect) taxes
Quartering Act
Independence
Continental Army
Loyalist v. Patriot
Common Sense by Thomas Paine
Treaty of Alliance
Articles of Confederation, weaknesses and strengths
When it became apparent that the colonies would win the war, the former colonists came together to create a new form of government. The taxation and tyranny the colonists experienced under the British crown was still fresh in their minds. As a result, the former colonists established the Articles of Confederation, a form of government that sacrificed a strong central government in order to greedily protect the individual states’ rights. This attempt to safe guard states’ rights proved to be a failure, especially in the areas of taxation and commerce. The former colonies gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 to address the weakness of the Articles. After three months, the delegates emerged with a new form of government all together – the Constitution of the United States.
Important Concepts and Terms:
Articles of Confederation; powers and weaknesses
Shay’s Rebellion
Land Ordinance 1785
Northwest Ordinance, 1787
Constitutional Convention
Role of compromise
Virginia Plan
Connecticut Compromise
3/5’s Compromise
separation of powers
checks and balances
federalism
Article 1, 2, and 3 of Constitution
Federalist
Anti-federalist
Federalist Papers
Bill of Rights
Amendments
Judiciary Act, 1789
Strict v. loose interpretations of Constitution
tariff
Key Events and Dates:
1781 Articles of Confederation ratified
1783 Treaty of Paris
1785 Land Ordinance
1787 Shay’s Rebellion in Massachusetts
Northwest Ordinance
Constitutional Convention called in Philadelphia
1788 Federalist Papers circulate in states
states ratify Constitution
1789 George Washington inaugurated
French Revolution begins
The New Republic (1789-1815)
Big Picture: Washington faced both foreign and domestic problems as the first president. After developing his cabinet and establishing a strong/powerful executive, Washington than turned his attention towards financial concerns. War debts, the tariff, and other financial policies had to be addressed. The financial mastermind that developed a complex plan for the new nation was the first Secretary of State, Alexander Hamilton. France and Britain tested the strength of the new nation with impressments on the high seas. The country soon began to split over foreign and domestic policies causing the first political parties to form: the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. During this time America experienced expansion, aided by the Louisiana Purchase. The problems with France and Britain would not subside until a war was fought from 1812-1814.
Important Concepts and Terms:
George Washington
Hamilton’s Financial plans
1st Bank of the U.S
protective tariffs
Whiskey Rebellion
Impressments
Citizen Genet
Jay’s Treaty
Pinckney’s Treaty
Washington’s Farewell Address
John Adams
Federalists
Democratic-Republicans
XYZ Affair
Alien and Sedition Acts
Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions
Aaron Burr
Revolution of 1800
Thomas Jefferson
Judiciary Act of 1801
Midnight judges
Marbury v. Madison
Judicial review
Louisiana Purchase
Lewis and Clark
Neutrality
Embargo Act 1807
Non-Intercourse Act
James Madison
War of 1812
Treaty of Ghent
Hartford Convention
Key Dates and Events:
1790 capitol placed on the Potomac
Hamilton’s tariff
1791 Establishment of 1st Bank of U.S.
Bill of Rights ratified
1793 Citizen Genet
1794 Whiskey Rebellion
1795 Jay’s Treaty
Pinckney’s Treaty
1798 XYZ Affair
Alien and Sedition Acts
Kentucky and Virginia Resolves
1800 “Revolution of 1800”
1801 John Marshall head of Supreme Court
1803 Louisiana Purchase
Marbury v. Madison
1804 Hamilton killed in duel by Burr
12th Amendment
1807 Embargo Act
1808 Slave trade ends
1809 Non-intercourse Act
1812 War with Britain
1814 Treaty of Ghent
Hartford Convention
1815 Battle of New Orleans (Andy Jackson)
Henry Clay proposes American System
Era of Good Feelings (1816-1825)
Big Picture: This era was dubbed on of “Good Feelings” due to the reduction in competition between political parties. Americans were ready to put foreign affairs aside and focus on domestic issues, especially developing the economy and transportation networks. During this era, American industry began to grow with the aid of tariffs and national transportation in the form of turnpikes, roads, and canals. Canals and roads allowed the new “west” to be connected to the markets of the east.
1816 Monroe elected president; last of Virginia Dynasty
Second Bank of U.S.
Tariff of 1816
1817 American Colonization Society (Madison, Monroe, Clay and Marshall)
1819 Panic of 1819
Adams-Onis Treaty (Florida)
Dartmouth Case
McCulloch v. Maryland
1820 Missouri Compromise
1820s Textile mills expand; factories in Northeast
1821 N.Y. abolished property requirements for voting
1823 Monroe Doctrine
1824 Clay’s American System part of presidential campaigns
Age of Jackson (1824-1840)
Big Picture: A time of increasing democracy as the old order aristocrats died out and a society that eliminated visible class distinctions emerged. Most states had eliminated property requirements for voting making the political process more democratic. Jackson therefore inherited a more expansive electorate that previous presidents. He became the image of the “common man” for his appeal to the ordinary, not the wealthy citizens. Electors for president also began to be elected popularly instead of by party caucuses. Another movement that made America more democratic was the Second Great Awakening. This movement opened up religion and salvation to everyone. Expansion caused conflict over slavery and Native American rights. Nat Turner’s slave revolt led many southern states to pass strict slave codes. Slavery would also be an indirect cause for John C. Calhoun and South Carolina to test the concepts of nullification and secession in 1832. Lastly, Jackson’s desire to expand west led him to force the removal of all Native Americans in the way.
Important Concepts and Terms:
Corrupt bargain
John Quincy Adams
Tariff of Abominations 1828
Spoils system
Common man
Strong executive
Kitchen cabinet
Nullification crisis
John C. Calhoun
Nat Turner’s Rebellion
Whig Party
Bank destruction
Nicholas Biddle
Indian Removal Act
Trail of Tears
Marshall v. Jackson
Independent Treasury System
Key Dates and Events:
1824 Quincy Adam elected by House of Representatives
1828 Tariff of Abominations
Jackson elected (Democrat)
1830 Growth of Whig Party
1830s Railroad era begins
1831 Cherokee Nation v. Georgia
1832 Jackson re-elected
nullification crisis
1834 1st strike of women textile workers in Lowell, Massachusetts
1836 Texas Revolution; Republic of Texas established
Van Buren Elected
1840 William Henry Harrison elected president (Whig)
First Age of Reform (1790-1860)
Big Picture: The Age of Jackson witnessed many political reforms as more men were able to participate in the political process. The nineteenth century also gave birth to a group of socially conscious Americans who were unhappy with the conditions of America. These Ambitious individuals wanted to enact change for women, slaves, the imprisoned, and others who lacked a political voice. The successes of these reforms varied, but all drew national attention to issues many Americans did not want to talk about. Movements also arose in which Americans tried to escape regular society and develop a perfect or utopian community.
Important Concepts and Terms:
Second Great Awakening
Charles Finney
Revival meetings
Evangelism
Temperance movement
American Temperance Society
Lyman Beecher
Prison reform
Dorothea Dix
Horace Mann
William Lloyd Garrison
Grimke sisters
Abolitionist movement
The Liberator
American Anti-Slavery Society
Joseph Smith
Mormons
Brigham Young
Transcendentalism
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Henry David Thoreau
Social Utopianism
Oneida Community
New Harmony, Illinois
Changing nature of family and marriage – love centered
Catherine Beecher and the “Cult of Domesticity”
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Lucretia Mott
Seneca Falls Convention, 1848
Harriet Beecher Stowe and Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1854)
Key Dates and Events:
1790s-1830s Second Great Awakening
Prison Reform
1821 First High School in U.S. (Boston)
1825 New Harmony, Indiana established by Robert Owen
1830 Mormon religion founded
1831 1st issue of Liberator published
1833 Oberlin College – first college to allow women in (co-educational)
1836 1st meeting of American Temperance Society
Horace Mann education reforms
1843 Southern Baptist Convention formed due to pro-slavery stance
1844 Methodist church splits over issue of slavery
Age of Expansion and Sectionalism (1840-1860)
Big Picture: During this era America grew in total land acquired through treaties and wars while it grew apart as each section developed different economic and social patterns. The debate over slavery grew more intense as new land added to the U.S. had to be declared to be either slave or free. Problems in Europe forced many to migrate to America, especially the Irish and Germans. The presence of these immigrants, many in large cities, caused the rise of a nativist movement. The Mexican War brought the U.S. back into international conflict. Disagreements over the governments handling of both the issues of land acquisition and slavery led to the formation of a new political party, the Republican Party, in 1854. These tensions would lead to the Civil War.
1852 Uncle Tom’s Cabin published in response to fugitive slave law
1853 Gadsden Purchase
1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act
Republican Party formed
1856 Bleeding Kansas
Canning of Charles Sumner
1859 John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia
Civil War and Reconstruction (1860-1877)
Big Picture: The Republican Party won the strangest election in U.S. history. Abraham Lincoln’s victory led to the secession of South Carolina from the Union – they did not even wait for him to take office. Soon, other southern states joined to form the Confederate States of America with their capital at Richmond, Virginia and Jefferson Davis as their president. The first shots of the war were fired at Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The Union had weaker generalship, but a huge advantage in supplies due to their manufacturing based economy. The South would be forced into submission by an embargo and a scorched earth policy of General William Tecumseh Sherman. After the fighting ceased and Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, the problem now was how to make the nation whole again. The years that followed the Civil War, referred to as Reconstruction, were tense between the soon to be impeached Johnson, and a radical Congress. The failure of Reconstruction to secure basic rights and freedoms, as well as its inability to remove the past slave masters from political power would result in the need of a second reconstruction, the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s.
1868 Impeachment of Johnson; acquitted by one vote
Grant elected president
1870 Fifteenth Amendment
1872 Grant re-elected
1876 disputed election between Hayes and Tilden
1877 Dirty Compromise; Hayes wins and military reconstruction ends
Western Expansion (1860-1900)
Big Picture: In the decades following the Civil War Americans looked west for opportunities and a new start. The government assisted settlers by offering cheap land and helping to pay for the construction of railroads. The Western economy was based mostly on agriculture. In addition to farming, some settlers engaged in ranching and mining. This massive movement of people, both black and white, east to west caused conflict with the Natives already living on the land. Battles between these two groups ensued with the white man victorious. His victory ensured an unfair land policy for the Native Americans. In 1893, Frederick Jackson Turner was worried about the character of America when he declared the frontier officially closed.
1879 Exoduster movement leaves South for Great Plains
1880s Large movement of immigrants westward
1887 Dawes Act
1889 Indian territories open for white settlement
1890 Massacre at Wounded Knee
Wyoming women get the vote
1893 Beginning of great depression of the 1890s
Turner frontier thesis is published
1896 William Jennings Bryan’s Cross of Gold Speech
The Gilded Age (1877-1900)
Big Picture: This was the era that marked the birth of America as an industrial power. After the Civil War, the Northeast and major cities in the Midwest, like Chicago and Detroit, became industrial centers. Business soon controlled local and national government and politics. In general, the government took a laissez-faire approach choosing to not interfere or regulate the economy. To help fuel these industrial centers, numerous immigrants from Europe and failed farmers from the west came to these cities. This wave of immigration, from 1880-1920, brought in “new” immigrants from Southern and Eastern Europe. These immigrants were very different than the previous wave of Northern and Western immigrants before the Civil War. These new immigrants refused t give up their native culture or language, causing nativism to rise again. The movement of so many into cities, urbanization, in such a short period of time put a strain on the cities resources. Tenements were built to maximize space. The inability of the city to provide for its numerous working class poor gave rise to political machines, like boss Tweed’s Tammany Hall in NYC. Politics and corruption went hand in hand during the Gilded Age. The government’s refusal to address the needs and demands of the working classes caused labor unions to rise in the cities. These unions would have little success during this age, yet they drew attention to the poor and dangerous conditions so many worked under in America. Laws were passed to help the few, the wealthy business tycoons, not the masses of poor. Business giants like Carnegie and Rockefeller fell into one of two categories: captain of industry or robber baron. Although men like Carnegie gave money to help improve society, there existed a huge gulf between the masses that were poor, and the few who were wealthy. A New South was beginning to emerge, if only on a small scale. Basic industry was replacing part of this agriculturally dominated region. Yet, while the economy was trying to modernize, the governments of the South sought to take steps backward socially. Segregation, Jim Crow, became the law of the land after the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 declared that “separate but equal” was an acceptable policy. The South refused to grant rights to African Americans. Segregation would have to wait another fifty+ years before it would be addressed on the national level.