The Colonial Period (1607 – 1763)At the beginning of the 17th Century, England was in turmoil. A population explosion and economic upheaval left many people rootless
and impoverished. Religious struggles between the Anglican Church and other
religious groups created a spiritual malaise as well. The newly opened areas of the Western Hemisphere beckoned to many
people as a refuge from the difficulties at home. After several failed attempts, a permanent colony was established at
Jamestown, Virginia in the spring of 1607.
Congregationalists (Puritans) in New England
TheocracySociety of Friends
(Quakers) in the Middle Colonies
Headright system and indentured servants in the Southern colonies
John SmithSalem Witch Trials
House of Burgesses
Anne Hutchinson and Roger Williams
First Great Awakening
Jonathan Edwards and John Winthrop
MercantilismNavigation ActsBacon’s RebellionSalutary NeglectGreat Britain vs.
France vs. Spain
The Revolutionary Period (1763 – 1783)At the conclusion of the Seven Years War (the
French and Indian War in North America), Great Britain dominated North America. In the Treaty of Paris (1763), France surrendered all its holdings and the Spanish were forced to the
western side of the Mississippi River. In addition, the American colonists seemed content in the British imperial system.
Mercantilism rested lightly on them as they enjoyed a strong measure of home rule.
George III and Parliament controlled external matters but the colonial assemblies made many
local decisions. All that changed in 1763.
PontiacProclamation of
1763John LockeSamuel AdamsStamp Act (“no
taxation without representation”)
Stamp Act Congress
Virtual Representation
Sons of LibertyDeclaratory ActBoston MassacreBoston Tea Party
Coercive ActsOlive Branch
PetitionThomas JeffersonThomas PaineDeclaration of
IndependenceLoyalistsBattle of SaratogaGeorge
WashingtonLafayetteYorktownTreaty of Paris
(1783)
The New Nation (1783 – 1801)As they snapped their political bonds
with England, the colonials constructed a new government to replace the
monarchy. The product of their efforts, the Articles of Confederation, was written in 1777 and not ratified until 1781 after a long wrangling over western land claims.
This new government produced a “firm league of friendship” that maintained
individual state equality and state sovereignty.
Shays’s RebellionLand Ordinance of 1785The Northwest
Ordinance of 1787James MadisonAlexander HamiltonAnnapolisVirginia Plan vs. new
Jersey PlanAreas of contention:
representation, slavery, the presidency
Great Compromise3/5 CompromiseRepublican Motherhood
Federalists vs. Anti-Federalists
Strict construction vs. loose construction
Whiskey RebellionHamilton’s Financial
PlanDemocratic-
Republicans vs. Federalists
Jay’s Treaty and the Pinckney Treaty
Farewell AddressXYZAlien and Sedition
ActsVirginia and Kentucky
Resolutions
The Jeffersonian Era (1801 – 1815) and the Era of Good Feelings (1815 – 1828)
Thomas Jefferson’s election over John Adams was the first transition from one political party to
another. Unlike the Federalists, the Democratic Republicans supported a limited, frugal
government. Jefferson’s primary goals were reductions in the central government, the national debt, the excise tax and the military. He also tried
to reign in the Federalist judiciary. Despite the triumph of John Marshall in strengthening the Supreme Court, Jefferson sought to restrain its influence. The overall thrust of his governance
was reducing the power of the central government and increasing the agrarian, states’ rights
influence of his constituents.
Louisiana PurchaseLewis and ClarkMarbury vs. MadisonImpressmentChesapeake and
Leopard AffairEmbargo ActNon-Intercourse ActWar Hawks vs. DovesThe War of 1812New Orleans
Hartford ConventionAndrew JacksonTreaty of GhentEra of Good FeelingsHenry Clay’s
American SystemJohn MarshallMcCulloch vs.
MarylandMonroe DoctrineAdams-Onis TreatyMissouri
Compromise
The Age of Jackson (1828 – 1848)The presidential election of 1824 brought an end to the post-war political tranquility. With
five regional candidates running, no one received an electoral majority. In a decision
by the House of Representatives, John Quincy Adams was elected president after gaining support from Henry Clay, a rival candidate. Andrew Jackson, who had won a plurality of the popular vote, claimed a corrupt bargain
between Clay and Adams denied him the presidency. Adams spent four difficult years
in the White House trying to implement a program of economic nationalism.
Corrupt BargainSouth Carolina
Exposition and Protest
Indian Removal Act
Trail of TearsMarket RevolutionNullificationSpecie CircularPet Banks (wildcat
banks)
Tariff of Abominations
WhigsDemocratizationRise of the
Common ManDaniel Webster
The Age of Reform (1830 – 1850)Responding to the transformation of America
society after the War of 1812, reformers in the 1820s and 1830s began reconsidering the
conventional thinking of their times. With the rise of the market revolution and the increase of urbanization and immigration in the 1820s, many Americans experienced uncertainty and anxiety as they confronted a rapidly changing
society. The Second Great Awakening addressed many of these feelings.
“burned over district”
TranscendentalismRalph Waldo
EmersonHenry David
ThoreauUtopian societiesDorothea DixTemperance and
the Maine LawStanton, Mott and
Anthony
Seneca Falls and the Declaration of Sentiments
AbolitionFrederick DouglassAmerican
Colonization SocietyWilliam Lloyd
GarrisonCult of Domesticity
Expansion and Its Consequences (1840 – 1850)
In the early 1840s, America increasingly viewed territorial expansion as a means to restore its confidence and prosperity. The editor John L. O’Sullivan added a divine quality to this quest
when he wrote of “our manifest destiny.” Expansionist ideas also reflected America’s successful experiment with democracy, as
leaders called on the nation to expand “the area of liberty” to include lands controlled by Mexico
and Native Americans. In addition, for slaveholding southerners and their allies,
expansion meant more land for slavery and increased influence in Congress.
TexasSanta AnnaThe AlamoSan JacintoJames K. Polk54 40 or fightMexican WarZachary Taylor
and Winfield Scott
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Mexican CessionWilmot ProvisoPopular
SovereigntyFree Soil PartyGadsden PurchaseOstend Manifesto
The Civil War and Reconstruction (1850 – 1877)
Violence and political upheaval marred the second half of the 1850s. When Kansas organized in 1856, “Bleeding Kansas” resulted, as antislavery and pro-slavery paramilitary forces fought to gain political
ascendancy. The violence culminated with the burning of Lawrence, Kansas and John Brown’s murder of five pro-slavery settlers. Out of this
lawlessness emerged the Lecompton Constitution and Kansas’ pro-slavery effort to join the Union.
President James Buchanan supported this proposed state constitution, but western Democrats led by
Stephen Douglas did not and defeated it in Congress. This interparty battle postponed Kansas
statehood and further damaged the Democratic Party.
Dred ScottCompromise of 1850Kansas-Nebraska ActBrooks and SumnerJohn BrownJefferson DavisFt. SumterBorder StatesHabeus CorpusU.S. GrantRobert E. LeeGettysburgMartial LawEmancipation
Proclamation
13th, 14th , 15th Amendments
Andrew JohnsonJohn Wilkes BoothTen Percent PlanRadical
ReconstructionTenure of Office Act ImpeachmentFreedmen’s BureauScalawags and
CarpetbaggersKKKCompromise of 1877The New South
America Transformed (1865 – 1900)From the end of the Civil War to the turn of the
century, Americans headed west and the population of the western states and territories exploded. The federal government encouraged this migration by practically giving away land
(Homestead Act), building the Transcontinental Railroad and subduing the Plains Indians. While
some people who headed west took up mining and ranching, for millions of settlers farming remained
the American dream. However, these farmers faced a world far different from the agrarian conditions that existed before the war. They
specialized in a cash crop, marketed their products by railroad, bought costly planting and
harvesting equipment and borrowed heavily. Meanwhile, cities and industrial production
exploded and America became the world leader in manufacturing.
Waving the bloody shirt
Chief JosephThe Ghost DanceA Century of DishonorThe Dawes ActCoxey’s ArmyFrederick Jackson
TurnerGranger MovementHaymarket,
Homestead, PullmanRockefeller, Carnegie,
Vanderbilt, DukeThe Gospel of Wealth
Knights of LaborAFLPendleton ActJim CrowNew vs. Old
ImmigrationPopulistsPlessy vs. FergusonSocial DarwinismSherman Anti-Trust ActTweed and Tammany
HallWilliam Jennings BryanSamuel GompersLaissez-Faire
America and the World (1898 – 1919)For two decades after the Civil War, the nation
looked inward. Involved with westward expansion, railroad building, political scandals and economic dislocation, America was insular and mostly self-contained. Secretary of State
Seward did acquire Midway Island and Alaska. However, overall, the nation was content to
focus on domestic issues. All that changed in 1898. The “splendid little war” gave way to World War I and the days of an isolationist
United States were coming to a close.
Queen LiliAlfred Thayer
MahanValeriano WeylerYellow JournalismThe MaineEmilio AguinaldoDeLome LetterBoxer RebellionBig Stick – Dollar –
Moral DiplomacySpheres of InfluenceOpen Door
Roosevelt CorollaryPlatt and Teller
AmendmentsLusitaniaZimmerman NoteTreaty of VersaillesLeague of Nations14 Points
Progressivism and the 1920s (1900 – 1929)By 1900, America was a troubled nation. The urbanization and industrialization of the late
nineteenth century damaged the country’s social, economic and political systems. Business
competition all but vanished, government served only the needs of the wealthy and millions of people
lived in economic deprivation. To combat these problems, progressive reformers stepped forward to change America. Growing out of the Populist movement and the Social Gospel, these middle
class reformers tried to restore equality and fairness to American society. Social workers like Jane Addams, authors like Ida Tarbell and Upton Sinclair and politicians like Robert LaFollette did
their best to right the injustices of society in order to bring solutions to a wide range of abuses.
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois
Ida B. WellsFederal Reserve ActClayton Anti-Trust ActThe initiative, referendum
and recallCity manager vs.
commissionPure Food and Drug LawsHow the Other Half LivesThe Jungle16th, 17th, 18th, 19th
Amendments
MuckrakersBull MooseCaveat emptorGreat MigrationHarlem RenaissanceLangston HughesI.W.W.Palmer RaidsNativismSacco and VanzettiJohn T. ScopesTeapot DomeRed Scare