Timeline by Walter Ruhl

Missouri Compromise

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-08 17:47:57 UTC

The Missouri Compromise was a deal made in 1820 to keep peace between the North and South in the U.S. It let Missouri join as a slave state and Maine as a free state, keeping the balance of power in Congress. They also decided that slavery wouldn’t be allowed in new states north of the 36°30′ line. It was supposed to stop arguments about slavery, but it didn’t really solve the problem. Eventually, it got overturned, and the fight over slavery kept getting worse.

Monroe Doctrine (1823)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 15:58:21 UTC

The Monroe Doctrine, announced in 1823, was a policy that told Europe to stay out of the Americas. It said no more colonizing or messing with countries in the Western Hemisphere. In return, the U.S. promised not to interfere in European affairs. Later, it was used as an excuse for America to expand.

Indian Removal Act (1830)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 15:58:36 UTC

The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was a law passed when Andrew Jackson was president. It forced Native American tribes to move west of the Mississippi River. The government wanted their land for settlers. Many tribes resisted, but they were pressured or forced to sign treaties. This led to the Trail of Tears, where thousands of Native Americans died while being forced to relocate. It was one of the most tragic events in U.S. history.

The Compromise of 1850

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 15:58:55 UTC

The Compromise of 1850 was a deal made to calm tensions between free and slave states. California became a free state. It also let new territories decide for themselves whether to allow slavery. Slave trading was banned in Washington D.C., but slavery was still legal there. It was meant to keep the peace, but it only made the North and South angrier with each other.

Uncle Toms Cabin (1852)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 15:59:10 UTC

Uncle Tom's Cabin is a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 that showed how horrible slavery was. It tells the story of Uncle Tom, who was an enslaved man, and the struggles he and others faced. The book made a lot of people in the North more aware of how cruel slavery was, which angered people in the South. The people in the South rebelled by writing their own books on slavery, but they were unsuccessful. It became super popular and helped grow the abolitionist movement.

Bleeding Kansas (1854)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 15:59:27 UTC

Bleeding Kansas was a series of violent fights in the 1850s over whether Kansas would be a free state or a slave state. After the Kansas-Nebraska Act let people vote on slavery, pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers rushed there to sway the decision. This led to brutal attacks, like when abolitionist John Brown and his followers killed pro-slavery settlers. Both sides fought hard, and the area became a battleground. It showed how divided the U.S. was over slavery and was basically a preview of the Civil War.

Dred Scott Case (1857)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 15:59:40 UTC

The Dred Scott case was a major Supreme Court decision in 1857. Dred Scott was an enslaved man who sued for his freedom, arguing that living in free states made him free. The Court ruled against him, saying Black people weren’t citizens and couldn’t sue in court. They also said Congress couldn’t ban slavery in any territory, making the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. The decision outraged abolitionists and made tensions between the North and South even worse.

Lincolns Election (1860)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 15:59:56 UTC

Abraham Lincoln was elected president on November 6, 1860, becoming the first Republican to win the office. He won because of strong support in the North and West. His election caused a major crisis, as many Southern states saw it as a threat to slavery and began to secede from the Union. Lincoln’s win was based on promises to stop the spread of slavery, though he didn’t plan to abolish it right away. This election set the stage for the Civil War, as tensions between the North and South hit a breaking point.

Civil War (1861-1865)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:00:11 UTC

The Civil War was fought in the United States from 1861 to 1865 between the Northern states (the Union) and the Southern states (the Confederacy) that had seceded. The main cause was disagreements over slavery, especially whether it should expand into new territories. The war started after Confederate forces attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. It was the bloodiest conflict in U.S. history, with major battles like Gettysburg and Antietam. In the end, the Union won, slavery was abolished, and the country began the long process of rebuilding during Reconstruction.

Emancipation Proclamation (1863)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:00:33 UTC

The Emancipation Proclamation was an executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863. It declared that all enslaved people in Confederate states were free. While it didn’t immediately free all enslaved people, it was a crucial step toward ending slavery in the U.S. The Proclamation also allowed African Americans to join the Union Army, which added thousands of troops. It shifted the war's focus to not just preserving the Union, but also ending slavery, and it paved the way for the 13th Amendment, which officially abolished slavery.

Gettysburg Address (1863)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:00:50 UTC

The Gettysburg Address was a speech given by President Abraham Lincoln on November 19, 1863, during the Civil War. It was delivered at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, after the Battle of Gettysburg. In just a few short minutes, Lincoln honored the fallen soldiers and redefined the purpose of the war, emphasizing that it was not just about preserving the Union, but also about ensuring freedom and equality for all.

Reconstruction Acts (1867)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:01:11 UTC

The Reconstruction Acts were laws passed in 1867 to rebuild the South after the Civil War and protect African American rights. Southern states had to rewrite their constitutions, ratify the 14th Amendment, and let African American men vote before they could rejoin the Union. These acts aimed to secure civil rights but faced resistance from Southern whites and groups like the Ku Klux Klan. Reconstruction ended in 1877 but many goals weren’t fully achieved for years.

The Purchase of Alaska (1867)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:01:28 UTC

The Purchase of Alaska was the acquiring of Alaska by the United States from Russia in 1867. Secretary of State William H. Seward negotiated the deal, paying $7.2 million, which was about two cents per acre. Many people at the time thought it was a waste of money because Alaska was far away and seemed like a barren, unimportant land. However, it turned out to be a great deal because Alaska was rich in resources like gold, oil, and timber. The purchase helped expand the U.S. territory and eventually played a significant role in the country’s economic growth, and more access to natural resources.

Telephone Invented (1876)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:01:56 UTC

The telephone was invented by Alexander Graham Bell in 1876. He was trying to improve telegraph technology and ended up creating a device that could transmit sound over long distances. On March 10, 1876, Bell famously spoke to his assistant, Thomas Watson, saying, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you,” through the telephone, making the first successful call. The invention revolutionized communication, allowing people to talk to each other across great distances. It became one of the most important inventions of the 19th century and changed the way the world connected.

Haymarket Bombing (1886)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:02:15 UTC

The Haymarket bombing occurred on May 4, 1886, during a labor rally in Chicago. The rally was meant to support workers who were striking for an 8 hour shift. As the crowd gathered at Haymarket Square, a bomb was thrown at the police as they were trying to disorganize the crowd, killing seven police officers and several civilians. The bombing led to widespread fear and suspicion of labor movements.

Dawes Act (1887)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:02:31 UTC

The Dawes Act, passed in 1887, was a law aimed at breaking up Native American tribes and promoting assimilation into American society. It allowed the government to divide tribal lands into individual plots, which would be given to Native American families. Each family received land, but the surplus land was sold to non-Native settlers. The goal was to encourage Native Americans to adopt farming and "American" ways of life, but it resulted in the loss of much of their land and culture. The Dawes Act is often seen as a failure, as it undermined Native American communities and led to a significant loss of Native land.

Pullman Strike (1894)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:02:47 UTC

The Pullman Strike was a nationwide railroad strike that started in 1894, led by the workers at the Pullman Company in Chicago. The company had cut wages but did not lower the cost of living in company-owned housing, causing workers to protest. The strike quickly spread to other railroad workers and halted rail traffic across the country. The federal government, under President Grover Cleveland, sent in troops to break the strike, arguing that it interfered with trades. The strike ended with violent clashes, and many leaders were arrested.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:03:13 UTC

Plessy v. Ferguson was a Supreme Court case in 1896 that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws. The case arose when Homer Plessy, who was of mixed race, was arrested for sitting in a "whites-only" railroad car in Louisiana. Plessy argued that segregation violated the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. However, the Court ruled 7-1 that "separate but equal" facilities for Black and white people were constitutional, effectively legalizing segregation in public places. This decision made segregation widespread, especially in the South.

Spanish American War

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:03:35 UTC

The Spanish-American War was a conflict between the United States and Spain in 1898. The war was started by the explosion of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor, Cuba, which the U.S. blamed Spain, though nobody knows the cause. The U.S. supported Cuban independence from Spain, and the war quickly spread to other Spanish colonies, including Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines. The U.S. won easily, and the Treaty of Paris, signed in December 1898, resulted in Spain ceding Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the U.S. The war marked the emergence of the U.S. as a global power and began its imperialist phase.

Annexation of Hawaii (1898)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:03:53 UTC

The annexation of Hawaii occurred in 1898 when the United States officially took control of the Hawaiian Islands. Hawaii had been a strategic location for the U.S. in the Pacific, and American businessmen had significant interests there, especially in the sugar industry. In 1893, a group of American planters, backed by U.S. Marines, overthrew Queen Liliuokalani and established a provisional government. Congress passed a resolution to annex Hawaii.

Mckinley assassination (1901)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:04:22 UTC

President William McKinley was assassinated on September 6, 1901, by Leon Czolgosz who was an anarchist. Czolgosz approached McKinley while he was shaking hands with the public and shot him twice. McKinley was initially able to survive the attack, but complications from the wounds led to his death on September 14, 1901. His assassination made Vice President Theodore Roosevelt the new president. McKinley’s death shocked the nation and led to increased security for future presidents.

Construction of Panama Canal Begins (1904)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:04:55 UTC

The French tried to build a canal in Panama, however it failed. The U.S got inspiration from the French and asked Colombia (which owned Panama) to build a canal in Panama. However Colombia refused, this led to the U.S funding an independence movement in Panama, which led to Panama's independence. Under President Teddy Roosevelt, the U.S. started digging the canal and owned a 10 mile width of land in Panama to construct the canal.

Teddy Roosevelt wins Nobel peace prize (1906)

walterruhl1_1 — 2025-01-09 16:05:22 UTC

Teddy Roosevelt won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906 because he helped end a war between Russia and Japan. The war, called the Russo-Japanese War, had been going on for over a year, and was devastating for both sides. Roosevelt stepped in and helped end the conflict. They signed a peace treaty called the Treaty of Portsmouth, which stopped the war.