The Handy American History Answer Book. David L. Hudson

Introduction

      History always interested me more than all other subjects in school. I couldn’t find enough information about different historical figures, battles, movements, and eras. While I later took courses on ancient Greek and Roman history, Russian history, and modern European history, my favorite was American history.

      That is one reason why I remain grateful to Roger Jänecke of Visible Ink Press because he gave me the opportunity to write a book on American history. When he asked if I would like to write this book for the “Handy Answers” series, I couldn’t help but say “yes.”

      The “Handy Answers” series provides information on important subjects in an accessible, easy-to-read format. Previously, I have worked on several works in the series—The Handy Supreme Court Answer Book, The Handy Law Answer Book, The Handy Presidents Answer Book (2nd edition), and The Handy History Answer Book, (3rd edition). The Handy American History Answer Book is a natural extension of the series.

      Hopefully, the Handy American History Answer Book will supplement high school or community college courses on American history. Students in the United States need more education on history and civics. The book also can provide a starting point for those who simply want to refresh their memory or learn more about the subject.

      The difficulty with such a work is determining what material most merits inclusion. But that is a great problem to have because it leads to more reading, more research and more writing. It helps satisfy the thirst for more knowledge. If you don’t find what you are looking for, let us know and we will consider it for the next edition. It is impossible to include every fascinating detail of America’s story in one book, so the intention of this work is to provide a solid overview of this nation’s history, hitting the high points and illuminating the most significant events and people of the last couple hundred years.

      I truly hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoyed working on it.

Timeline of U.S. Events

Date	Event
1513	Spanish explorer Ponce de León sights Florida.
1587	Sir Walter Raleigh founds a British colony in Roanoke, Virginia.
1607	On May 14, John Smith and others found the Jamestown settlement in modern-day Virginia.
1626	On May 6, Dutch explorer Peter Minuit purchases Manhattan Island from American Indians.
1631	John Winthrop becomes the first governor of Massachusetts.
1633	On June 19, Lord Cecil Baltimore obtains a charter for Maryland.
1634	On March 25, the first English settlers arrive at present-day Maryland.
1636	Harvard University is founded.
1642	On June 14, Massachusetts passes the first compulsory education law.
1649	On April 21, the Toleration Act is passed in Maryland, providing for religious freedom.
1652	On May 18, Rhode Island passes a law declaring slavery illegal.
1662	On April 23, Connecticut is chartered as a British colony.
1664	On June 24, the colony of New Jersey is established.
1665	On June 12, the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam becomes a British territory and is named New York after the English Duke of York.
1681	On March 1, William Penn receives a charter to start a colony in what would become known as Pennsylvania.
1682	On June 18, William Penn founds the city of Philadelphia.
1701	Yale University is founded.
1718	The city of New Orleans is founded.
1721	On May 21, South Carolina becomes a royal colony.
1733	James Oglethorpe begins the colony of Georgia.
1734	New York printer John Peter Zenger is arrested for seditious libel (he is later acquitted).
1746	Princeton College receives its charter.
1749	On May 19, King George II authorizes the Ohio Company to settle the region that became known as the Ohio Valley.
1751	On May 11, Pennsylvania Hospital is founded—the first hospital in what would become the United States of America.
1752	On May 10, Benjamin Franklin conducts his famous kite-flying, lightning experiment.
1765	On March 22, the British Parliament enacts the Stamp Act, which imposes a host of taxes on American colonists.
	On August 4, colonists in Massachusetts plant the first liberty tree in protest of what they perceive as autocratic British rules.
	On October 7, the Stamp Act Congress begins meeting in New York.
1769	On June 7, Daniel Boone begins exploring in what is now known as Kentucky.
1770	On March 5, British soldiers fire into a crowd of angry American colonists in what became known as the “Boston Massacre.”
1774	On June 13, Rhode Island becomes the first colony to ban the importation of slaves.
1775	On March 23, Virginia politician Patrick Henry delivers his famous “Give me Liberty or Give me Death” speech.
	On April 14, the first abolitionist group forms in Philadelphia.
	On April 18, Paul Revere rode during nighttime hours to warn colonist in Concord of a pending attack by the British.
	On April 19, the Battle of Lexington takes place—the first battle of the Revolutionary War.
	On May 24, John Hancock is elected president of the Continental Congress.
	On June 15, George Washington becomes the commander of the Continental Army.
	On June 17, the Battle of Bunker Hill takes place.
1776	In January, Thomas Paine’s work Common Sense is published. It provides support for the cause of American independence.
	On June 10, the Continental Congress forms a committee to work on creating what became known as the Declaration of Independence. The committee consists of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, and Roger Livingstone.
	On July 4, the Continental Congress approves of the Declaration of Independence drafted principally by Thomas Jefferson. The document includes a series of grievances against English King George III and famously declares that “all men are created equal.”
1777	On November 15, the Articles of Confederation is released. This document establishes the structure of the American government.
1778	France signs a treaty with the American forces, becoming its ally in the Revolutionary War against Great Britain.
1781	The British army, under the direction of Lord Charles Cornwallis, surrenders at York-town.
1783	The United States and Great Britain sign the Treaty of Paris, ending the Revolutionary War.
1787	On June 19, Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut introduces a proposal at the Constitutional Convention to call the country the United States.
	On Dec. 7, Delaware is admitted as the first state.
	On Dec. 12, Pennsylvania is admitted as the second state.
	On Dec. 18, New Jersey is admitted as the third state.
1788	On Jan. 2, Georgia is admitted as the fourth state.
	On January 9, Connecticut is admitted as the fifth state.
	On Feb. 6, Massachusetts is admitted as the sixth state.
	On April 28, Maryland is admitted as the seventh state.
	On May 23, South Carolina is admitted as the eighth state.
	On June 21, New Hampshire is admitted as the ninth state.
	On June 25, Virginia is admitted as the tenth state.
1789	On April 1, the U.S. House of Representatives holds its first meeting.
	On April 30, George Washington is inaugurated as the first president of the United States.
	On June 8, U.S. Representative James Madison (VA) introduces his proposed bill of rights in what is called “The Great Rights of Mankind” speech.
	On July 26, New York is admitted as the eleventh state.
	On December 21, North Carolina is admitted as the twelfth state.
1790	On May 29, Rhode Island is admitted as the thirteenth tate.
1791	On March 4, Vermont is admitted as the fourteenth state.
1792	On June 1, Kentucky is admitted as the fifteenth state.
1796	On June 1, Tennessee is admitted as the sixteenth state.
1802	On May 3, Washington, DC, is incorporated as a city.
	On June 9, the U.S. Academy at