Archives
Archives: Important USA History Shiz
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- U.S. Constitution (1787)
- Drafted in secret, it creates a representative democratic republic with three branches of government and a system of checks and balances
- Missouri Compromise (1820)
- This legislation admits Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state and outlaws slavery in the northern part of the Louisiana Territory
- President Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address (1865)
- Speaks of mutual forgiveness, the true mettle of a nation lies in its capacity for charity
- Federalist Paper Nos. 10 and 51 (1787-88)
- Part of a series of essays written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Jay, they promote ratification of the Constitution
- Morrill Act (1862)
- New states are granted public land to sell, and the proceeds go to establish agricultural and engineering colleges
- Articles of Agreement Regarding the Surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia (1865)
- On April 9, Generals Grant and Lee meet at the Appomattox Court House to discuss the surrender of the Army of North Virginia
- Emancipation Proclamation (1863)
- Lincoln declares "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are and henceforward shall be free"
- Jefferson's Secret Message to Congress Regarding Exploration of the West (1803)
- The president asks Congress for $2500 to fund the westward exploration that would be led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
- Telegram Announcing the Surrender of Fort Sumter (1861)
- Maj. Robert Anderson announces the surrender of the South Carolina Arsenal to the Confederacy in the first battle of the Civil War
- Marbury V. Madison (1803)
- The Supreme Court establishes the right of the courts to determine the constitutionality of the actions of the other two branches of government
- Bill of Rights (1791)
- Twelve amendments to the constitution are originally proposed, but these 10, defining basic citizens' rights, are ratified
- McCullough V. Maryland (1819)
- In this ruling, the Supreme Court broadly interprets the powersof the national government, becoming the legal basis for further expansion of federal power
- Washington's Inaugural Speech (1789)
- Washington is unanimously elected president by the Electoral College. He gives the first inaugural address in New York on April 30
- Gettysburg Address (1863)
- Lincoln urges Americans to remember the cause for which soldiers died and to rededicate themselves to freedom and equality
- Lee Resolution (1776)
- On Joune 7, in the Second Continental Congress, Richard Henry Lee proposes Independence for the American Colonies
- Compromise of 1850 (1850)
- Provides for slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty in new states; prohibits slaves in D.C.
- Articles of Confederation (1777)
- Reserves the right for each state to maintain "its sovereignty, freedom, and independence"
- Dred Scott V. Sanford (1857)
- The Supreme Court rules that no slave or descendant of a slave has ever been or could ever be a U.S. citizen
- Gibbons V. Ogden (1824)
- The Supreme Court rules that states cannot enact laws that interfere with Congress's right to regulate interstate
- Treaty of Alliance with France (1778)
- In their first military treaty, the Colonies agree to aid France in case of an attack by England; neither country would make peace with England until it recognized U.S. independence
- President Andrew Jackson's Message to Congress on Indian Removal (1830)
- Calls for relocating eastern tribes, such as the Cherokee, to land west of the Mississippi to open new land for settlement
- Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)
- Ends the war between U.S. and Mexico and provides for Mexico to cede parts of present-day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Texas, and Utah
- Original Design of the Great Seal of the United States (1782)
- Altered several times; its famous motto is "E pluribus unum"-"Out of many, one"
- Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
- Repeals the Missouri Compromise and allows the citizens in the new states of Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether to peremit slavery
- War Department General Order 143: Creating of the U.S. Colored Troops (1863)
- Lincoln approves the recruitment of slaves and free blacks for military service
- 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery (1865)
- Outlaws the practice of slavery
- Monroe Doctrine (1823)
- President James Monroe warns European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere, which, he says, is solely in the U.S. realm of interest
- Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)
- Tightens restrictions on foreign-born Americans and limits speech critical of the government (considered treason)(first serious attack on 1st Amendment)(John Adams-Federalist)
- Wade-Davis Bill (1864)
- creates a framework for reconstruction after the Civil War and the readmittance of the Confederacy to the nation
- Patent of the Cotton Gin (1794)
- Separating cotton fiber from seed, Eli Whitney's invention makes cotton a profitable crop for the first time
- Federal Judiciary Act (1789)
- One of the first acts of the new Congress, it creates the Supreme Court and the lower federal courts
- Virginia Plan (1787)
- Drafted by James Madison, it proposes a strong central government composed of three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial
- Treaty of Paris (1783)
- Ends the war between Great Britain and its former colonies, formally recognizing the U.S. as an independent nation; gives the U.S. land east of the Mississippi River
- Declaration of Independence (1776)
- The formal statement of separation from England and list of grievances is adopted by Continental Congress on July 4
- Homestead Act (1862)
- accelerates the settlement of western territory by granting families 160 acres of surveyed public land for five years for a small fee
- Pacific Railway Act (1862)
- provides federal subsidies in land and loans for the construction of a transcontinental railroad
- Treaty of Ghent (1814)
- Ends the War of 1812 between Britain and the U.S., confirming the sovereignty of the new nation (accomplished nothing more, anything else proposed in this treaty had effectively already taken place)
- Washington's Farewell Address (1796)
- The president advises Americans to avoid political parties (Jefferson vs. Hamilton in his cabinet) and to be wary of foreign entanglement (stay neutral, not stable country yet, let alone military power)
- Northwest Ordinance (1787)
- Lays the groundwork for westward expansion; establishes U.S. control over the territory north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi; establishes precedents for new states