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Washington - Buchanan Administrations -
Dewey 973.4
[a constantly changing URL database with content relevant to elementary school curricula]
GEORGE WASHINGTON ADMINISTRATION, 1789-1797
Life
- Biography * of George Washington
- George Washington * is elected president. (1789) [Mount Vernon *]
- Monuments to Washington: Washington Monument * | Birthplace * in Westmoreland County, Virginia
- First Lady - Martha Dandridge Custis Washington *
Domestic
- 1789 -The Judiciary Act specifies the number of Federal courts and judges
- 1790 - The Supreme Court meets for the first time with John Jay as the Chief Justice
- 1791 - Federal capital established in swamplands on the Potomac.
- A national banking system established by the Bank Act.
- The Bill of Rights * take effect.
- 1782 - Post Office established by Congress as a separate entity.
- 1792 - New York Stock Exchange organized.
- Coins are minted by the government as enacted by the Coinage Act.
- 1794 - Whiskey Rebellion * over excise tax in western Pennsylvania. Federal troops called to suppress the armed rebellion.
- 1796 - Washington's Farewell Address *
International
- September 30, 1783 - Paris Peace Treaty *
- 1793 - War breaks out between Britain and France. ( United States Proclamation of Neutrality *)
- 1795 - The Jay Treaty * ratified. British troops required to withdraw from the U.S.
JOHN ADAMS ADMINISTRATION, 1797-1801
Life
- Biography * of John Adams (see:973.3113) [ Adams * National Historic Park ]
- First Lady - Abigail Smith Adams *
Domestic
- 1798 - Federalists support the highly unpopular Alien * and Sedition * Acts. They would later be repealed.
- 1800 - U.S. capital relocated to Washington, D.C. from Philadelphia.
- The Adams' were the first residents of the White House. They moved in in November 1800 while the paint was still wet. Mrs. Adams would hang her laundry in the East Room to dry.
- 1800 - Congress established Library of Congress.
- In 1807, Robert Fulton * takes steamboat trip from NYC to Albany. (see: 925.2)
International
- Three anonymous French trouble makers brought France and the U.S. to the brink of war in what became known as the XYZ Affair *
THOMAS JEFFERSON ADMINISTRATION, 1801-1809
Life
- Thomas Jefferson Papers * (see: 973.121)
- Monticello *, the home of Thomas Jefferson (see: 973.121)
- Biography * of Thomas Jefferson (see: 923.121)
- First Lady - Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson *
Domestic
- 1803 - Supreme Court ruled in Marbury v. Madison * . Any law passed by Congress can be declared unconstitutional by the courts.
- April 30, 1803 - The Louisiana Purchase Treaty * - land was purchased from France * for $15 million dollars. The price works out to three cents per acre for the 512 million acres.
- Meriwether Lewis * (1774-1809)(see: 923.92)
- Thomas Jefferson orders Lewis and Clark Expedition in May, 1804.(see: 917.55)
- Lewis and Clark Expedition * - St. Louis, Missouri, May 14, 1804.(see: 917.78)
- Sacagawea * acts as guide and interpreter for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804.(see: 923.93)
- 1804 - 12th * Amendment changed Presidential election rules.
- 1804 - Vice President Aaron Burr kills Alexander Hamilton in a duel * July 11.
- 1808 - Slave importation outlawed. Yet, another 1/4 million brought in by 1860.
International
- 1807 - Embargo Act, December 22, forbids American ships to leave American waters.
- 1809 - Non-Intercourse Act, March 1, repeals the Embargo Act, which didn't work.
EARLY 19th CENTURY, 1809-1845
African-Americans (slavery and fugitive slaves)
- American Colonization Society *(1817) (see: 973.542)
- Immigration of free blacks to Sierra Leone * (Liberia), Africa in 1820 (see: 973.542)
- Henry Clay *, Missouri Compromise, 1820 *
- Sojourner Truth * (see: 923.4)
- Confessions of Nat Turner * November 5, 1831 (see: 973.512)
- Reward for capture of Nat Turner * - Governor's Proclamation (see: 973.512)
Native American friction
- Indian Removal Act *(1830) (see:973.552)
- Trail of Tears * (1838): Cherokee Indians begin walk from Georgia to Oklahoma (see:973.572)
JAMES MADISON ADMINISTRATION, 1809-1817
Life
- Biography * of James Madison [1751 - 1836](see: 923.122)
- First Lady - Dolley Paine Todd Madison *
International [War of 1812]
- 1812 - War declared on England on June 18 after England continued to attack U.S. ships headed to France. [War of 1812 sites ](see: 973.52)
- Fort McHenry, Maryland bombarded by British in September, 1814 (see: 975.2)
- Francis Scott Key witnesses the bombardment at Fort McHenry, Maryland 1814 and seeing the flag made by Mary Young Pickersgill flying was inspired to write the Star Spangled Banner (see: 975.2)
- Star Spangled Banner written about Fort McHenry bombardment in 1814 (see: 975.2)
- Student challenge focusing on bombardment at Fort McHenry
- Student-create narrative based on bombardment at Fort McHenry
- Problem of impressment of US sailors by British (1812) (see: 973.52)
War of 1812
- War of 1812 sites (see: 973.513)
- USS Constitution destroys Guerriere during naval battle - August 19, 1812
- Guerriere battles USS Constitution - August 19, 1812
- September 11, 1814 - Battle of Lake Champlain at Plattsburgh Bay, New York with the Saratoga
- 1814 - Fort San Carlos de Barrancas in Pensacola, Florida
- 1814 - City of Washington captured and burned by British, August 24. James Madison moved to the Octagon House owned by the Tayloe family. In 1815, Madison signed the Treaty of Ghent here.
- December 24, 1814 - Treaty of Ghent ended War of 1812 on December 24, but fighting continued.
- 1815 - Andrew Jackson defeated British at New Orleans January 8, after war ended.
- Pawtucket, RI weavers strike (1824) in first such action by women (see: 331)
JAMES MONROE ADMINISTRATION, 1817-1825
International
- 1819 - Florida ceded by Spain to the United States on February 22. In exchange the U.S. cancelled $5 million in Spanish debts.
- 1823 - Monroe Doctrine
- Emigration to the United States and British Colonies 1825 - 1849
JOHN QUINCY ADAMS ADMINISTRATION, 1825-1829
Domestic
- 1825 - The appointment of Henry Clay as secretary of state, led to charges that the Clay and Adams made a bargain in the election of 1824.
- Erie Canal opening the Great Lakes area from Buffalo (images)
- Student challenge focusing on the Erie Canal
- 1827 - Settlers were concerned that Native Americans and they could not live peacefully together. The US government built Fort Leavenworth along with Fort Snelling, Fort Atkinson, and Fort Scott, to create a "Permanent Indian Frontier" to keep the two cultures apart.
- Irish emigration to the United States and British Colonies (1825-1849) during famine.(see:941.15)
- 1828 - Baltimore & Ohio railroad, the first designed for passengers and freight.
- Indian Removal Act (1830) argued against by John Ross, a chief of the Cherokee nation in Georgia (see:970.102)
- Student challenge focusing on Trail of Tears
International
- Irish emigration to the United States and British Colonies (1825-1849) during famine.(see:941.15)
ANDREW JACKSON ADMINISTRATION, 1829-1837
MARTIN VAN BUREN ADMINISTRATION, 1837-1841
Domestic
- 1837 - With banks closing in Philadelphia and New York City on May 10, the Panic of 1837 began bringing on a depression that followed would last throughout Van Buren's term.
- Trail of Tears (1838): Cherokee Indians begin walk from Georgia to Oklahoma (see:973.502)
- Student challenge focusing on Trail of Tears
International
-
Were they ladinos or bozals? The Amistad Mutiny of slaves from Cuba who landed in Connecticut on U. S. soil and were put on trial. (see: 974.46423)
WILLIAM HENRY HARRISION ADMINISTRTION, 1841-1841
JOHN TYLER ADMINISTRATION, 1841-1845
Domestic
- 1841 - Tyler's cabinet resigned after he vetoed banking bills supported by the Whigs.
- On May 24, 1844, Samuel Morse sends the first telegraph message from Washington to Baltimore: "What hath God wrought!" (see:925.2)
- Julia, Tyler's second wife, started the playing of "Hail to the Chief" when a president appears at functions
International
- 1844 - Far East opened to U.S. traders after a treaty with China signed.
- 1845 - Texas annexed followed by war with Mexico.
MIDDLE 19th CENTURY, 1845-1861
Frontier trails (westward movement)
and student-created interpretative narrative
Transcontinental Railroad history including the Central Pacific Railroad
Picture of Promontory, Utah - golden spike being driven as transcontinental railroad is completed [image of spike](see: 385)
Promontory, Utah (May 10, 1869) transcontinental railroad completed (see: 973.822)
Chinese in Boston in the 1800s (see: 974.4642)
The Chinese in California history
Chinese working on the Southern Pacific Railroad in Arizona
Tales from Gold Mountain - 1855 (see: 973.662)
Angel Island - California detention area
JAMES KNOX POLK ADMINISTRATION, 1845-1849
Domestic
- News of Polk's nomination was widely disseminated using the telegraph. The first time his had been done.
- Classroom-created challenge focusing on the Oregon Trail (1842) and student-created #1 and #2 narrative responses (see:973.612)
- In Search of the Oregon Trail (1842) leads people to settle Oregon (see:973.60)
- 1848 - Gold discovered in California in December.
- Expansion of the United States (1846 - 1848)
International
- 1846 - Dispute with Britain over the Oregon Territory settled. Both nations get a part of the territory.
- 1846 - Battle of Palo Alto with General Zachary Taylor fighting the Mexicans
- February 2, 1848 - Treaty of 1848 (Guadalupe Hidalgo) after the war with Mexico gave the U.S. control over California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
ZACHARY TAYLOR ADMINISTRATION, 1849-1850
International
- 1850 - The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty signed with Britain guaranteed that any future canal across Central America would be available to all nations.
MILLARD FILLMORE ADMINISTRATION, 1850-1853
Life
Biography * of Millard Fillmore
- Millard Fillmore's burial place * at Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, New York
- First Lady - Abigail Powers Fillmore *
Domestic
- Biography * of Harriet Beecher Stowe who published "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (1852)(see: 928)
- Fugitive Slave Law (1850) * is made more harsh (see: 973.7115)
- Abolition, Anti-Slavery Movements, and the Rise of the Sectional Controversy *
- Henry Clay's Compromise of 1850 * admits California as a free state (see: 973.7115)
FRANKLIN PIERCE ADMINISTRATION, 1853-1857
Life
Biography * of Franklin Pierce
- Obituary * of Franklin Pierce
- First Lady - Jane Means Appleton Pierce *
Domestic
- 1854 - Anthony Burns * , the fugitive slave of Charles Suttle of Virginia, was helped * by Anti-Slavery Society in Boston from slave-catchers enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850.
- 1854 - Kansas-Nebraska Act * - decide if to be a slave or free state
- Dred Scott Decision * by US Supreme Court - March 6, 1857 (see: 973.601)
International
- 1853 - The Gadsen Purchase
- 1854 - Ostend Manifesto attempting to purchase Cuba from Spain
- Commodore Matthew Perry *, negotiates the Treaty with Japan to allow trade
JAMES BUCHANAN ADMINISTRATION, 1857-1861
Life
- James Buchanan *
- First Lady - Harriet Lane * - niece of bachelor James Buchanan
Domestic
- John Brown's Raid * - Chronology (1859) (see:973.7114)
- John Brown's anti-slavery * actions (see: 973.7114)
Educator is the recipient of the Miss Rumphius Award *
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Copyright © 1997 Marjorie Duby, practitioner formerly sited at Joseph Lee School, Boston, MA.
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Last modified: September 19, 2005.
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