Major Events in US History

The Texas Revolution

• The Alamo was a pivotal event where Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie died.
• James Polk was the President who declared war on Mexico in 1846.

The Transportation Revolution

• The period was marked by innovations such as Fulton's Steamboat, the Railroad Locomotive, and the Erie Canal.
• The Erie Canal, also known as the "big ditch", opened in New York during this period.

The Trail of Tears

• The event led to the forced removal of Indians from the South to Western lands.
• Andrew Jackson was the President responsible for the Trail of Tears.

The Mexican-American War

• The war resulted in the state of California being added to the United States.

The Industrial Revolution

• The period was a change from farmland to factories.
• It led to a dramatic increase in urban growth, with a significant population shift to cities.

Abolitionism

• Abolitionist refers to the movement to end slavery.
• Famous abolitionists include Frederick Douglass, who escaped slavery and published the newspaper "North Star", and William L. Garrison, who published the "Liberator" and demanded immediate emancipation of slaves.
• Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin", which convinced many Northerners to oppose slavery.

The American Civil War

• The election of Abraham Lincoln as President led to the secession of eleven Southern states from the Union.
• The Battle of Bull Run was where Thomas Jackson earned the nickname "Stonewall".
• The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order by Lincoln that declared all slaves to be free.
• Robert E. Lee was the commander of the Confederate States of America's army.
• The Battle of Fort Sumter was the Confederate victory that started the Civil War.
• Harriet Tubman was the famous conductor of the Underground Railroad.
• The Battle of Antietam Creek was a Union victory where General McClellan stopped Lee's army on the single bloodiest day of the war.
• William T. Sherman led the Atlanta Victory, created the concept of "Total War", and marched to the Sea.
• The Battle of Gettysburg was a Union victory and turning point of the war when Pickett's charge failed.
• Ulysses S. Grant was the victorious Union general who was nicknamed "Unconditional Surrender".
• The Battle of Vicksburg was a Union victory where General Grant captured a strategic fort on the Mississippi River.

The Aftermath of the Civil War

• The 13th Amendment was passed to abolish slavery.
• Reconstruction efforts were made to rebuild the South and aid the former slaves.
• Clara Barton was the head of Union Nurses and the future founder of the American Red Cross.
• John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln at Ford's Theater on April 14, 1865.
• The Appomattox Court House was the site of General Lee's surrender to General Grant, marking the end of the Civil War.