* A Little HISTORY if you Please *

1492-1665-----A period of Spanish colonization and mercantilism where the monarchs of Spain, England, and France gained much power. This time period was the most devastating for the Native American populations in North and South America because of disease, slave labor, and killings.

The Beginnings

1607-----The English settle Jamestown Virginia under Captain John Smith.

1619-----A Dutch ship transports 20 Africans to Jamestown, Virginia where slavery would eventually spread in the Southern colonies. Tobacco would become the chief cash crop in the colony of Virginia. This early event, along with the industrialization of the North, leads to the economic sectionalism of the U.S. and causes civil war 240 years later.

1620-----English citizens, searching for religious freedom and reform, settle Plymouth colony in Massachusetts.

1624-----The Dutch settle in New Amsterdam, which becomes New York colony.

1660-----The New Jersey colony is settled by the english, Dutch, and Swedes.

1681-----The Mississippi River Valley is explored and claimed by Robert LaSalle of France. Louisiana is claimed.

1682-----William Penn settles Pennsylvania and the Quakers bring the idea of tolerance to the colonies.

1712-----North and South Carolina divide into two colonies because of economic differences in farming and production.

1733-----Georgia is settled as a penalty colony for prisoners from England. Debtors are the most common prisoners in Georgia.

1754-----Fighting begins to break out between the French and the British over territorial claims in the Ohio River Valley. The French have a favorable amount of Native American allies to help them in their cause, but the British will prove superior.

1763-----The British become the dominant European force in North America because of their victory in the French and Indian War. The British then pass the Proclamation Act of 1763 forcing the colonists to stay east of the Appalachian Mountains. This becomes the first major argument between the colonies and teh Crown.

1764-1765-----The British Parliament passes the Sugar and Quarting Acts and also moves to enforce the dormant Navigation Acts. These actions by the British force the colonists to react.

1765-----The first direct tax is passed on the colonists in the form of the Stamp Act. The colonists are outraged.

1766-----The Stamp Act is repealed and the Declaratory Act is passed stating that the Parliament is the final authority over the colonists.

1767-----The Townshend Acts are passed taxing manufactured goods. No representation is given to the colonists in Parliament.

1770-----British troops are sent to Massachusetts and the Boston Massacre occurs on March 5th. Ben Franklin's prediction of sending troops to Massachusetts is like placing gun powder in a black smith'shop.

1773-----The Sons of Liberty carry out the Boston Tea Party on the night of December 16th in retaliation for Governor Thomas Hutchinson's action of allowing tea to come in to Massachusetts from the East India Company. Parliament allowed members of the company to sell their surplus tea to the colonists.

1774-----The Intolerable Acts are passed by the British in retaliation for the Boston Tea Party. British military rule takes over in Boston, trade is stopped, and Boston harbor is closed for business. Colonial merchants are crippled econmically. The First Continental Congress is formed to boycott British goods and to claim their rights as British citizens under the Crown.

1775-----The Battles of Lexington and Concord begin the American Revolutionary War.

1776-----The thirteen colonies declare independence from the British Crown. Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Ben Franklin work on a draft for a Declaration of Independence.

1776-----George Washington is placed in command of the Continental Army by the Congress in Philadelphia. Washington and his army suffer major defeats at the hands of the British and the Hessian troops.

1776-----George Washington, his army almost destroyed by Christmas, suprise attacks Hessian mercenaries at the Battle of Trenton, New Jersey. This victory leads to many supplies for the Continentals after the crossing of the Deleware River.

1777-----The Battle of Saratoga, New York becomes another major turning point in the American Revolution that favors the colonists.

1778-----The British shift their main armies to the Southern colonies, where they think Loyalists will help their cause.

1778-----Spain declares war on Great Britain.

1780-----The Dutch Republic declares war on Great Britain.

1781-----The Articles of Confederation becomes law in the colonies as the first form of government. The Battle of Yorktown is fought in Virginia. British General Cornwallis surrenders concluding the last major battle of the Revolutionary War.

1783-----The Peace of Paris officially ends the Revolutionary War and the U.S. is recognized as a free country around the world.

1784-----Spain closes New Orleans to U.S. trade. Economic depression begins in the U.S. after the War.

1786-----Virginia ratifies Thomas Jefferson's law for religious freedom. Daniel Shays' rebellion takes place in Massachusetts.

1787-----The Congress, under the Articles of Confederation, passes its most inportant law, the Norhtwest Ordinance. The Constitutional Convention meets in Philadelphia to discuss the idea of creating a stronger national federal government for the U.S. The Virginia, New Jersey, and Connecticut Plans are debated and a two-house Congress is decided on by the menbers.

1788-----Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay write the Federalist Papers to convince the states that the Constitution is strongly needed for the nation. The U.S.Constitution becomes law in the U.S. creating a new form of government that has lasted to today.

1789-----Georgr Washington is sworn in as the first President of the New U.S.

1791-----The Bill of Rights is added to the U.S. Constitution. Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, gives his plans to the government for puble credit and a National Bank.

1792-----Washington is reelected president.

1793-----A Fugitive Slave Law is passed by the Congress. Slave uprisings occur in the French colony of Saint Domingue.

1796-----John Adams is elected President.

1800-----Thomas Jefferson elected President.

1803-----Jefferson negotiates the Louisiana Purchase with Napoleon from France for $15,000,000. The Napoleonic Wars start in Europe.

1804-1806-----The Lewis and Clark expedition across the new Louisiana lands is a success.

1807-----The Embargo Act is passed by Congress.

1808-----James Madison is elected President.

1811-----The National Road is started in Cumberland , Maryland.

1812-----The U.S. declares war on Great Britain. Madison is reelected President.

1812-14-----The Battles of Lake Erie, Fort McHenry, Thaimes, and Blandensburg are fought in the War.

1814-----The Treaty of Ghent ends the War of 1812.

1815-----The Battle of New Orleans is fought, led by Andrew Jackson, after the treaty is signed ending the war.

1816-----James Monroe is elected President bringing in the Era of Good Feelings. Henry Clay's American System is passed to guide the U.S.

1817-----The Rush-Bagot Treaty is signed.

1819-----Florida is obtained from Spain by the U.S.

1820-----The Missouri compromise is passed by the Congress to address the issue of slavery. James Monroe is reelected President.

1821-----Mexico wins its independence from Spain. Stephen and Moses Austin move settlers into the Mexican Territory of Texas.

1823-----The Monroe Doctrine is passed and declared.

1824-----John Quincy Adams is elected President of the U.S. by the House of Representatives.

1825-----The Era of Good Feelings ends.

1828-----Andrew Jackson is elected President of the U.S. The tariff argument divides the country North and South.

1830-----Mexico closes immigration to Americans because of governmental problems.

1831-----William Lloyd Garrison starts publishing the Liberator newspaper to lead the fight against slavery in the U.S. called Abolitionism. Nat Turner leads a slave revolt in Virginia.

1832-----The Virginia legislature narrowly defeats a proposal for the gradual freedom of slaves.

1833-----The American Anti-slavery Society is founded. The first penny newspaper is established called teh New York Sun.

1834-----Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna becomes the dictator of Mexico. More Americans move into Texas territory.

1836-----The Texas Revolution begins when Texas declares its independence from Mexico, forms its own army, fights at the Alamo, and eventually wins the war.

1839-----Economic Depression worsens in the U.S.

1840-41-----William Harrison is elected President and dies a month later of pneumonia. John Tyler takes over, being the first vice president to fill teh office of president.

1843-----President John Tyler launches a campaign to annex Texas.

1844-----John Polk is elected President.

1845-----Texas is annexed by the U.S. and the Mexican government rejects an offer of $25,000,000 for the lands of New Mexico and California.

1846-----After Texas is annexed, the Texan economy begins to weaken, Mexican debts worsen, Manifest Destiny is spreading, and the river boundary dispute brings the U.S. and Mexico into war.

1847-----Colonel Stephen Kearny takes Santa Fe, the Wilmont Proviso is proposed, and Zachary Taylor takes Monterry Mexico.

1848-----The Mexican American War ends, the U.S. gains the Mexican cession lands in exchange for $15,000,0000. Zachary Taylor is elected President after the war ends.

1849-----Gold is discovered in California.

1850-----The Compromise of 1850 is passed by Congress to try and save the Union from breaking apart over slavery.


Thought you might enjoy a little history a flash from our past , we have come along way since our founding fathers came to this country and with their arrival many things changed and that change still gos on today . have a good weekend one and all be safe .

MP Fantumofthewinds