Pilgrims land at Plymouth and write the Mayflower Compact to establish self-government

Virginia House of Burgesses - first elected legislature in the colonies

Great Britain draws the Proclamation Line banning settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains

The Battle of Lexington & Concord begins the American Revolution

Treaty of Paris - Britain recognizes America's independence

Thomas Jefferson writes the Declaration of Independence

The Constitutional Convention writes the U.S. Constitution

Louisiana Purchase - US doubles in size and owns the Mississippi River

Battle of Yorktown - French aid helps win last battle of the American Revolution

U.S. goes to war with Great Britain over impressment and interference with trade

Adams-Onis Treaty annexes Florida from Spain

Marbury v. Madison case establishes judicial review

Missouri Compromise balances the Senate, bans slavery in northern territories

Nullification Crisis in SC foreshadows conflicts that lead to the Civil War

California Gold Rush

Oregon Territory annexed by the U.S.

War with Mexico over disputed Texas border - U.S. gained Mexican Cession

California becomes a state and Fugitive Slave Act passed

Dred Scott v. Sandford case denies citizenship for African-Americans, angering northern abolitionists

Lincoln elected president, causing 11 southern states to secede from the Union

Battle of Gettysburg - turning point of the Civil War

Confederate attack on Fort Sumter begins the Civil War

Lee surrenders at Appomattox Court House, ending the Civil War

The 14th Amendment makes all native-born Americans citizens

A compromise ends Reconstruction in the South