This section of the

Timeline of United States history A timeline is a display of a list of events in Chronology, chronological order. It is typically a graphic design showing a long bar labelled with calendar date, dates paralleling it, and usually contemporaneous events. Timelines can use any ...

concerns events from 1820 to 1859.

1820s

Presidency of James Monroe

*1820 – Massachusetts divided in two with the admission of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

as a state. *1820 –

U.S. presidential election, 1820 The 1820 United States presidential election was the ninth quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election. It was held from Wednesday, November 1, to Wednesday, December 6, 1820. Taking place at the height of the Era of Go ...

James Monroe James Monroe ( ; April 28, 1758July 4, 1831) was an American statesman, lawyer, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fifth president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Monroe was ...

reelected president unopposed,

Daniel D. Tompkins Daniel D. Tompkins (June 21, 1774 – June 11, 1825) was an American politician. He was the fifth governor of New York from 1807 to 1817, and the sixth vice president of the United States from 1817 to 1825. Born in Scarsdale, New York, Tompkins ...

reelected vice president. *1821 – President Monroe and Vice President Tompkins begin second terms *1821 –

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

becomes a state *1821 –

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

becomes a U.S.

territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

; the 1819 Adams–Onís Treaty goes into effect *1823 –

Monroe Doctrine The Monroe Doctrine was a United States foreign policy position that opposed European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. It held that any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign powers was a potentially hostile act ...

proclaimed *1824 – ''

Gibbons v. Ogden ''Gibbons v. Ogden'', 22 U.S. (9 Wheat.) 1 (1824), was a landmark decision in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the power to regulate interstate commerce, which was granted to Congress by the Commerce Clause of the United Sta ...

'' (22 US 1 1824) affirms federal over state authority in interstate commerce. Gibbons' business partner is

Cornelius Vanderbilt Cornelius Vanderbilt (May 27, 1794 – January 4, 1877), nicknamed "the Commodore", was an American business magnate who built his wealth in railroads and shipping. After working with his father's business, Vanderbilt worked his way into lead ...

. *1824 – U.S. presidential election, 1824: Presidential results inconclusive. John C. Calhoun elected the vice president. *1825 –

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States ...

elected president by the House of Representatives;

Presidency of John Quincy Adams

*1825 – Adams becomes the sixth President; John C. Calhoun, Vice President *1825 –

Erie Canal The Erie Canal is a historic canal in upstate New York that runs east-west between the Hudson River and Lake Erie. Completed in 1825, the canal was the first navigable waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, vastly reducing t ...

is finally completed *1826 – Former presidents

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the natio ...

and

John Adams John Adams (October 30, 1735 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, attorney, diplomat, writer, and Founding Father who served as the second president of the United States from 1797 to 1801. Before his presidency, he was a leader of t ...

die on the same day, which happens to be on the fiftieth anniversary of the approval of the Declaration of independence. *1828 – U.S. presidential election, 1828:

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

elected president; John C. Calhoun reelected vice president *December 22, 1828 - First Lady-designate

Rachel Jackson Rachel Jackson ( ''née'' Donelson; June 15, 1767 – December 22, 1828) was the wife of Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the United States.

dies of a heart attack.

Presidency of Andrew Jackson

*1829 – Andrew Jackson becomes the 7th President; Vice President Calhoun begins second term

1830s

*1830s –

Second Great Awakening The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...

is the religious revival movement *1830s –

Oregon Trail The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what is now the state of Kans ...

which comes into use by settlers migrating to the Pacific Northwest *1830 –

Indian Removal Act The Indian Removal Act was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for ...

*1831 –

Nat Turner Nat Turner's Rebellion, historically known as the Southampton Insurrection, was a rebellion of enslaved Virginians that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831.Schwarz, Frederic D.1831 Nat Turner's Rebellion" ''American Heri ...

's revolt *1831 – '' The Liberator'' begins publication in 1831 *1831 –

Cyrus McCormick Cyrus Hall McCormick (February 15, 1809 – May 13, 1884) was an American inventor and businessman who founded the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company, which later became part of the International Harvester Company in 1902. Originally from the ...

invents the mechanical

reaper A reaper is a farm implement or person that reaps (cuts and often also gathers) crops at harvest when they are ripe. Usually the crop involved is a cereal grass. The first documented reaping machines were Gallic reapers that were used in Roma ...

*1831 –

Petticoat affair The Petticoat affair (also known as the Eaton affair) was a political scandal involving members of President Andrew Jackson's Cabinet and their wives, from 1829 to 1831. Led by Floride Calhoun, wife of Vice President John C. Calhoun, these wo ...

(also known as the Eaton affair) *1832 – '' Worcester v. State of Georgia'' the Supreme Court rules in favor of

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

s; President Jackson ignores the ruling *1832 – Maria Stewart is the first black American woman to give speech in front of a mixed audience *1832 –

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the " British Band", cros ...

*1832 –

Tariff of 1832 The Tariff of 1832 (22nd Congress, session 1, ch. 227, , enacted July 14, 1832) was a protectionist tariff in the United States. Enacted under Andrew Jackson's presidency, it was largely written by former President John Quincy Adams, who had b ...

*1832 –

Ordinance of Nullification The Ordinance of Nullification declared the Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 null and void within the borders of the U.S. state of South Carolina, beginning on February 1, 1833. It began the Nullification Crisis. Passed by a state convention on Novembe ...

passed by

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

*1832 –

Department of Indian Affairs Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

established *1832 –

1832 United States presidential election The 1832 United States presidential election was the 12th quadrennial presidential election, held from November 2 to December 5, 1832. Incumbent president Andrew Jackson, candidate of the Democratic Party, defeated Henry Clay, candidate of the N ...

reelected president;

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

elected vice president *1832 – Jackson vetoes the charter renewal of the

Second Bank of the United States The Second Bank of the United States was the second federally authorized Hamiltonian national bank in the United States. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the bank was chartered from February 1816 to January 1836.. The Bank's formal name, ...

, bringing to a head the

Bank War The Bank War was a political struggle that developed over the issue of rechartering the Second Bank of the United States (B.U.S.) during the presidency of Andrew Jackson (1829–1837). The affair resulted in the shutdown of the Bank and its re ...

and ultimately leading to the Panic of 1837 *1832 – John C. Calhoun resigns as vice president *1833 – The

Force Bill The Force Bill, formally titled "''An Act further to provide for the collection of duties on imports''", (1833), refers to legislation enacted by the 22nd U.S. Congress on March 2, 1833, during the nullification crisis. Passed by Congress at ...

expands presidential powers *1833 – President Jackson begins second term; Martin Van Buren becomes Vice President *1834 – Slavery debates at Lane Theological Seminary are one of the first major public discussions of the topic *1835 – Mexican President

Santa Anna Santa Anna may refer to: * Santa Anna, Texas, a town in Coleman County in Central Texas, United States * Santa Anna, Starr County, Texas * Santa Anna Township, DeWitt County, Illinois, one of townships in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. ...

annuls the 1824 constitution, precipitating a civil war which spawns the Texas War for Independence. *1835 –

Alexis de Tocqueville Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his wor ...

's ''Democracy in America'' published *1835 – Second Seminole War begins in Florida as members of the Seminole tribe resist relocation *1836 – Mexican President Santa Anna's army defeats Texas rebels at

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Anto ...

*1836 - Battle of Goliad *1836 - Santa Anna deposed after losing the

Battle of San Jacinto The Battle of San Jacinto ( es, Batalla de San Jacinto), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Pasadena, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engage ...

and recognizing Texan independence. *1836 –

Creek War of 1836 The Creek War of 1836, also known as the Second Creek War or Creek Alabama Uprising, was a conflict in Alabama at the time of Indian Removal between the Muscogee Creek people and non-native land speculators and squatters. Although the Creek ...

*1836 –

Samuel Colt Samuel Colt (; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now Colt's Manufacturing Company) and made the mass production of ...

invents the revolver *1836 – Original "

gag rule A gag rule is a rule that limits or forbids the raising, consideration, or discussion of a particular topic, often but not always by members of a legislative or decision-making body. A famous example of gag rules is the series of rules concernin ...

" imposed when U.S. House of Representatives bars discussion of antislavery petitions *1836 –

Specie Circular The Specie Circular is a United States presidential executive order issued by President Andrew Jackson in 1836 pursuant to the Coinage Act. It required payment for government land to be in gold and silver. History The Specie Circular was a rea ...

issued *1836 –

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

becomes a state *1836 - Texas is the Lone Star Republic *1836 – U.S. presidential election, 1836:

elected president, no one is elected vice president. *1837 - Richard M. Johnson elected vice president by the Senate.

Presidency of Martin Van Buren

*1837 – Van Buren becomes the eighth President; Johnson, Vice President *1837 – U.S. recognizes the Republic of Texas *1837 – ''Caroline'' affair *1837 –

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

becomes a state *1837 – Oberlin College begins enrolling female students, becoming first coeducational college in the U.S. *1837 – Panic of 1837 *1837 – '' Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge'' reverses '' Dartmouth College v. Woodward'':

property right The right to property, or the right to own property (cf. ownership) is often classified as a human right for natural persons regarding their possessions. A general recognition of a right to private property is found more rarely and is typically ...

s can be overridden by public eyed *1838 – Forced removal of the Cherokee Nation from the southeastern U.S. leads to over 4,000 deaths in the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was an ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of approximately 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850 by the United States government. As part of the Indian removal, members of the Cherokee, ...

*1838 –

Aroostook War The Aroostook War (sometimes called the Pork and Beans WarLe Duc, Thomas (1947). The Maine Frontier and the Northeastern Boundary Controversy. ''The American Historical Review'' Vol. 53, No. 1 (Oct., 1947), pp. 30–41), or the Madawaska War, wa ...

*1839 – '' Amistad'' case

1840s

*1840 –

1840 United States presidential election The 1840 United States presidential election was the 14th quadrennial presidential election, held from Friday, October 30 to Wednesday, December 2, 1840. Economic recovery from the Panic of 1837 was incomplete, and Whig nominee William Henry Har ...

William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...

is elected president;

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth president of the United States, serving from 1841 to 1845, after briefly holding office as the tenth vice president in 1841. He was elected vice president on the 1840 Whig tick ...

is elected vice president *1841 –

argues the '' Amistad'' Case before the Supreme Court

Presidency of William Henry Harrison

*March 4 – Harrison becomes the ninth President; John Tyler, Vice President *March 6 - Supreme Court finds for Amistad defendants. Freeing them. *April 4 – Harrison dies after only a month in office

Presidency of John Tyler

*April 6, 1841 - Vice President Tyler becomes the tenth President *September 11, 1841 - Harrison's former cabinet resigns en masse. Only Daniel Webster remains. *1842 –

Webster–Ashburton Treaty The Webster–Ashburton Treaty, signed August 9, 1842, was a treaty that resolved several border issues between the United States and the British North American colonies (the region that became Canada). Signed under John Tyler's presidency, it r ...

*1842 – The

Dorr Rebellion The Dorr Rebellion (1841–1842) (also referred to as Dorr's Rebellion, Dorr's War or Dorr War) was an attempt by disenfranchised residents to force broader democracy in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, where a small rural elite was in control of ...

: A civil war in Rhode Island *1843 – Attempt to impeach President Tyler fails *1843 - Emigrants begin their journey along the Oregon Trail. *1844 –

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

message *1844 –

U.S. presidential election, 1844 The 1844 United States presidential election was the 15th quadrennial presidential election, held from Friday, November 1 to Wednesday, December 4, 1844. Democrat James K. Polk defeated Whig Henry Clay in a close contest turning on the controve ...

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

is elected president;

George M. Dallas George Mifflin Dallas (July 10, 1792 – December 31, 1864) was an American politician and diplomat who served as mayor of Philadelphia from 1828 to 1829, the 11th vice president of the United States from 1845 to 1849, and U.S. Minister to the ...

is elected vice president *1845 –

Texas annexation The Texas annexation was the 1845 annexation of the Republic of Texas into the United States. Texas was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico o ...

Presidency of James K. Polk

*1845 – Polk becomes the 11th President ; Dallas, Vice President *1845 –

and

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

become states *1846 –

Dred Scott Dred Scott (c. 1799 – September 17, 1858) was an enslaved African American man who, along with his wife, Harriet, unsuccessfully sued for freedom for themselves and their two daughters in the '' Dred Scott v. Sandford'' case of 1857, popula ...

sues for his freedom *1846 – The

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

begins *1846 - Bear Flag revolt in Alta California, which is momentarily independent. *1846 –

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

becomes a state *1846 –

Wilmot Proviso The Wilmot Proviso was an unsuccessful 1846 proposal in the United States Congress to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican–American War. The conflict over the Wilmot Proviso was one of the major events leading to the ...

*1846 - The United States and Great Britain sign the Oregon Treaty *1847 -

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

introduces himself to the world by his introduction of the Spot Resolutions in the House. *1847 -

Battle of Buena Vista The Battle of Buena Vista (February 22–23, 1847), known as the Battle of La Angostura in Mexico, and sometimes as Battle of Buena Vista/La Angostura, was a battle of the Mexican–American War. It was fought between the US invading forces, l ...

*1847 -

Battle of Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

*1848 – The

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

ends the Mexican–American War *1848 –

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

becomes a state *1848 –

Seneca Falls Convention The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention. It advertised itself as "a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman".Wellman, 2004, p. 189 Held in the Wesleyan Chapel of the tow ...

*1848 – U.S. presidential election, 1848;

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

is elected president;

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

is elected vice president

Presidency of Zachary Taylor

*1849 – Taylor becomes the 12th President; Fillmore, Vice President *1849 – California Gold Rush begins

1850s

*1850 –

Clayton–Bulwer Treaty The Clayton–Bulwer Treaty was a treaty signed in 1850 between the United States and the United Kingdom. The treaty was negotiated by John M. Clayton and Sir Henry Bulwer, amidst growing tensions between the two nations over Central America, a ...

*1850 – President Taylor threatens to veto

Compromise of 1850 The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that defused a political confrontation between slave and free states on the status of territories acquired in the Mexican–Am ...

even if it means Civil War. *June 3–11 -The secessionist

Nashville Convention {{Events leading to US Civil War The Nashville Convention was a political meeting held in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 3–11, 1850. Delegates from nine slave states met to consider secession, if the United States Congress decided to ban slavery ...

held in Nashville, Tennessee.

Presidency of Millard Fillmore

*July 9, 1850 – President Taylor dies, Vice President Fillmore becomes the 13th President *September 9–20, 1850 – The

, including the notorious

Fugitive Slave Act A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also kno ...

passed *September 9, 1850 –

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

becomes a state *November 1850 -

reconvenes; Satisfied with the Compromise, it declares the Union intact-for the moment. *1852 – U.S. presidential election, 1852: Franklin Pierce elected president; William R. King elected vice president *1853 – Commodore

Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). As well as starring in the short-lived television series '' St ...

opens Japan

Presidency of Franklin Pierce

*1853 – Pierce becomes the 14th President; King, Vice President *1853 – Vice President King dies after only six weeks in office. *1854 – Gadsden Purchase from Mexico *1854 –

Kansas–Nebraska Act The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 () was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, passed by the 33rd United States Congress, and signed into law by ...

; nullified Missouri Compromise *1854 –

Ostend Manifesto The Ostend Manifesto, also known as the Ostend Circular, was a document written in 1854 that described the rationale for the United States to purchase Cuba from Spain while implying that the U.S. should declare war if Spain refused. Cuba's annex ...

*1854 – Whig Party collapses *1854 –

Treaty of Kanagawa The Convention of Kanagawa, also known as the Kanagawa Treaty (, ''Kanagawa Jōyaku'') or the Japan–US Treaty of Peace and Amity (, ''Nichibei Washin Jōyaku''), was a treaty signed between the United States and the Tokugawa Shogunate on March ...

with Japan *1854 – Walker Expedition into

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

*1854-1855

Know-Nothing Party The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

, mushroom growth and sudden collapse *1855 – The Farmers' High School, which becomes Penn State University is founded. *1856 – Sack of Lawrence, Kansas *1856 – Pottawatomie massacre *1856 – Preston Brooks beats Charles Sumner with his walking stick on the steps of the U.S. Capitol building *1856 –

U.S. presidential election, 1856 The 1856 United States presidential election was the 18th quadrennial United States presidential election, presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 4, 1856. In a three-way election, History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democra ...

: James Buchanan elected president;

John C. Breckinridge John Cabell Breckinridge (January 16, 1821 – May 17, 1875) was an American lawyer, politician, and soldier. He represented Kentucky in both houses of Congress and became the 14th and youngest-ever vice president of the United States. Serving ...

, vice president

Presidency of James Buchanan

*1857 – Buchanan becomes the 15th President; Breckinridge, Vice President *1857 – ''

Dred Scott v. Sandford ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'', 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that held the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of black African descent, enslaved or free; th ...

'' 60 US 393 1857 declares that slaves and blacks descended from slaves were not American citizens and cannot sue *1857 –

Utah War The Utah War (1857–1858), also known as the Utah Expedition, Utah Campaign, Buchanan's Blunder, the Mormon War, or the Mormon Rebellion was an armed confrontation between Mormon settlers in the Utah Territory and the armed forces of the US go ...

*1857 –

Lecompton Constitution The Lecompton Constitution (1859) was the second of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas. Named for the city of Lecompton where it was drafted, it was strongly pro-slavery. It never went into effect. History Purpose The Lecompton C ...

rejected in Kansas Territory *1857 – Panic of 1857 *1857 - San Francisco Board of Education established Minns Evening Normal School for current and prospective teachers, which becomes

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

*1858 – Transatlantic cable laid *1858 –

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

becomes a state *1858 – Lincoln-Douglas Debates *1858 – U.S. is party to

Treaty of Tientsin The Treaty of Tientsin, also known as the Treaty of Tianjin, is a collective name for several documents signed at Tianjin (then romanized as Tientsin) in June 1858. The Qing dynasty, Russian Empire, Second French Empire, United Kingdom, and t ...

*1859 – John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry *1859 –

Comstock Lode The Comstock Lode is a lode of silver ore located under the eastern slope of Mount Davidson, a peak in the Virginia Range in Virginia City, Nevada (then western Utah Territory), which was the first major discovery of silver ore in the Unit ...

discovered

* John S. Galbraith. "British-American Competition in the Border Fur Trade of the 1820s". ''Minnesota History'', Vol. 36, No. 7 (Sep., 1959), pp. 241–249. * Robert Henry Billigmeier and Fred Altschuler Picard, eds. ''The old land and the new : the journals of two Swiss families in America in the 1820s''. Minneapolis : University of Minnesota Press, 1965. * Merrill D Peterson. ''Democracy, liberty and property; the State Constitutional Conventions of the 1820s''. Indianapolis, Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1966. * Robert A. McCaughey. "From Town to City: Boston in the 1820s". ''Political Science Quarterly'', Vol. 88, No. 2 (Jun., 1973), pp. 191–213. * James Brewer Stewart. "Evangelicalism and the Radical Strain in Southern Antislavery Thought During the 1820s". ''The Journal of Southern History'', Vol. 39, No. 3 (Aug., 1973), pp. 379–396. * Anne M. Boylan. "Sunday Schools and Changing Evangelical Views of Children in the 1820s". ''Church History Studies in Christianity and Culture'', Vol. 48, No. 3 (Sep., 1979), pp. 320–333 * Priscilla Ferguson Clement. "The Philadelphia Welfare Crisis of the 1820s". ''The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography'', Vol. 105, No. 2 (Apr., 1981), pp. 150–165. * Barbara Cloud. "Oregon in the 1820s: The Congressional Perspective". ''The Western Historical Quarterly'', Vol. 12, No. 2 (Apr., 1981), pp. 145–164. * David J Russo. ''Keepers of our past : local historical writing in the United States, 1820s-1830s''. New York : Greenwood Press, 1988. * James L. Huston. Virtue Besieged: Virtue, "Equality, and the General Welfare in the Tariff Debates of the 1820s". ''Journal of the Early Republic'', Vol. 14, No. 4 (Winter, 1994), pp. 523–547 * George A. Thompson, Jr. "Counterfeiter's Jargon of the 1820s". ''American Speech'', Vol. 71, No. 3 (Autumn, 1996), pp. 334–335.

1830s

* Miguel Guelbenzu. "Gest's Recollections of Life in the Middle West in the 1830s". ''Indiana Magazine of History'', Vol. 73, No. 2 (June 1977), pp. 125–142. * William R. Swagerty. "A View from the Bottom Up: The Work Force of the American Fur Company on the Upper Missouri in the 1830s". ''Montana: The Magazine of Western History'', Vol. 43, No. 1, Fur Trade Issue (Winter, 1993), pp. 18–33. * Curtis D. Johnson. "Supply-Side and Demand-Side Revivalism? Evaluating the Social Influences on New York State Evangelism in the 1830s". ''Social Science History'', Vol. 19, No. 1 (Spring, 1995), pp. 1–30. * Mary Hershberger. "Mobilizing Women, Anticipating Abolition: The Struggle against Indian Removal in the 1830s". ''The Journal of American History'', Vol. 86, No. 1 (Jun., 1999), pp. 15–40 * Christine MacDonald. "Judging Jurisdictions: Geography and Race in Slave Law and Literature of the 1830s". ''American Literature'', Vol. 71, No. 4 (Dec., 1999), pp. 625–655.

1840s

* Ralph Mann. "Mountains, Land, and Kin Networks: Burkes Garden, Virginia, in the 1840s and 1850s". ''The Journal of Southern History'', Vol. 58, No. 3 (Aug., 1992), pp. 411–434. * Harlan D. Parker. "The Musical Cabinet: An Educational Journal of the Boston Area in the 1840s". ''

Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education The ''Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education'' is a quarterly academic journal covering music education. It is published by the University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Council for Research in Music Education. History The ...

'', No. 116 (Spring, 1993), pp. 51–60. * John W. Quist. "The Great Majority of Our Subscribers Are Farmers": The Michigan Abolitionist Constituency of the 1840s. ''Journal of the Early Republic'', Vol. 14, No. 3 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 325–358. also * Raymond L. Cohn. "Nativism and the End of the Mass Migration of the 1840s and 1850s". ''The Journal of Economic History'', Vol. 60, No. 2 (Jun., 2000), pp. 361–383. * Patricia Junker. Thomas Cole's "Prometheus Bound:" An Allegory for the 1840s. ''American Art Journal'', Vol. 31, No. 1/2 (2000), pp. 32–55. * Ronald J. Zboray, Mary Saracino Zboray. "Gender Slurs in Boston's Partisan Press during the 1840s". ''Journal of American Studies'', Vol. 34, No. 3, Part 1: Living in America: Recent and Contemporary Perspectives (Dec., 2000), pp. 413–446. * Alice Taylor. "From Petitions to Partyism: Antislavery and the Domestication of Maine Politics in the 1840s and 1850s". ''The New England Quarterly'', Vol. 77, No. 1 (Mar., 2004), pp. 70–88.

1850s

* P. L. Rainwater. "Economic Benefits of Secession: Opinions in Mississippi in the 1850s". ''The Journal of Southern History'', Vol. 1, No. 4 (Nov., 1935), pp. 459–474. * Christopher Hatch. "Music for America: A Critical Controversy of the 1850s". ''American Quarterly'', Vol. 14, No. 4 (Winter, 1962), pp. 578–586. * William W. Chenault, Robert C. Reinders. "The Northern-born Community of New Orleans in the 1850s". ''The Journal of American History'', Vol. 51, No. 2 (Sep., 1964), pp. 232–24. * Howard H. Bell. "Negro Nationalism in the 1850s". ''The Journal of Negro Education'', Vol. 35, No. 1 (Winter, 1966), pp. 100–104. * Jane H. Pease, William H. Pease. "Confrontation and Abolition in the 1850s". ''The Journal of American History'', Vol. 58, No. 4 (Mar., 1972), pp. 923–937. * Howard I. Kushner. "Visions of the Northwest Coast: Gwin and Seward in the 1850s". ''The Western Historical Quarterly'', Vol. 4, No. 3 (Jul., 1973), pp. 295–306. * Michael Fellman. "Theodore Parker and the Abolitionist Role in the 1850s". ''The Journal of American History'', Vol. 61, No. 3 (Dec., 1974), pp. 666–684. * Anne Firor Scott. "Women's Perspective on the Patriarchy in the 1850s". ''The Journal of American History'', Vol. 61, No. 1 (Jun., 1974), pp. 52–64. * James P. Morris. "An American First: Blood Transfusion in New Orleans in the 1850s". ''Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association'', Vol. 16, No. 4 (Autumn, 1975), pp. 341–360. * Marshall Scott Legan. "Railroad Sentiment in North Louisiana in the 1850s". ''Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association'', Vol. 17, No. 2 (Spring, 1976), pp. 125–142. * Carl Abbott. "Indianapolis in the 1850s: Popular Economic Thought and Urban Growth". ''Indiana Magazine of History'', Vol. 74, No. 4 (December 1978), pp. 293–315. * Dale Baum. "Know-Nothingism and the Republican Majority in Massachusetts: The Political Realignment of the 1850s". ''The Journal of American History'', Vol. 64, No. 4 (Mar., 1978), pp. 959–986. * Susan Jackson. "Movin' On: Mobility through Houston in the 1850s". ''The Southwestern Historical Quarterly'', Vol. 81, No. 3 (Jan., 1978), pp. 251–282. * Matilda W. Rice. "The 4th of July in the 1850s". ''Minnesota History'', Vol. 49, No. 2 (Summer, 1984), pp. 54–55. * Lori D. Ginzberg. "Moral Suasion Is Moral Balderdash: Women, Politics, and Social Activism in the 1850s". ''The Journal of American History'', Vol. 73, No. 3 (Dec., 1986), pp. 601–622. * Carla L. Peterson. ""Capitalism, Black (Under)Development, and the Production of the African-American Novel in the 1850s". ''American Literary History'', Vol. 4, No. 4 (Winter, 1992), pp. 559–583. * Marius M. Carriere Jr. "Anti-Catholicism, Nativism, and Louisiana Politics in the 1850s". ''Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association'', Vol. 35, No. 4 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 455–474. * Vincent J. Bertolini. "Fireside Chastity: The Erotics of Sentimental Bachelorhood in the 1850s". ''American Literature'', Vol. 68, No. 4 (Dec., 1996), pp. 707–737. * Larry Knight. "The Cart War: Defining American in San Antonio in the 1850s". ''The Southwestern Historical Quarterly'', Vol. 109, No. 3 (Jan., 2006), pp. 319–336.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Timeline Of United States History (1820-1859)

1820 Events January–March *January 1 – Nominal beginning of the Trienio Liberal in Spain: A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament (March 7). *January 8 – General Maritime T ...

* * * *

1820s

Presidency of James Monroe

Presidency of John Quincy Adams

Presidency of Andrew Jackson

1830s

Presidency of Martin Van Buren

1840s

Presidency of William Henry Harrison

Presidency of John Tyler

Presidency of James K. Polk

Presidency of Zachary Taylor

1850s

Presidency of Millard Fillmore

Presidency of Franklin Pierce

Presidency of James Buchanan

See also

Further reading

General survey

1820s

1830s

1840s

1850s

External links