| 1607-1775: Colonial Period |
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| 1 | The first 13 colonies | Early immigration routes to America |
| 2 | Early American tribes | Early Native American Settlements in the United States – External Link |
| 3 | Beginning of slavery | Triangular Trade 1650–1860 |
| 4 | British taxing the colonials | |
| 5 | The call for revolution | The dates each of the 13 initial states ratified the U.S. Constitution – External Link |
| 6 | The first battle of the war | Battle at Lexington & Concord – External Link |
| 1776-1781: Independence |
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| 7 | The formal break with Britain | |
| 8 | Early American losses | Battle sites: 1775 to 1776 – External Link |
| 9 | The tide begins to turn | Battle sites: 1777 to 1781 – External Link |
| 10 | The British surrender | Battle of Yorktown – External Link |
| 1781-1787: New Government |
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| 11 | America’s 1787 Constitution | Dates that states ratified – External Link |
| 12 | The Bill of Rights | |
| 13 | Initial boundaries on slavery | Northwest Ordinance – External Link |
| 14 | President George Washington | 1788 Electoral College votes by state – External Link |
| 1787-1829: Dual Economies |
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| 15 | Early expansion of slavery | Enslaved population moving west |
| 16 | Competing economic visions | |
| 17 | The movement west begins | Total population moving west |
| 18 | Another battle with Britain | Key battles in War of 1812 – External Link |
| 19 | Blacks fight for survival | |
| 20 | Another compromise on slavery | The 1820 Missouri Compromise – External Link |
| 21 | America asserts it hegemony | |
| 22 | The Age of Jackson begins | |
| 23 | First signs of Southern secession | |
| 24 | Opposition to Jackson appears | |
| 1829-1835: Great Awakening |
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| 25 | America seeks spiritual guidance | The “burned over” districts in the east – External Link |
| 26 | The search for racial justice | Location of major black churches |
| 27 | Abolitionists get organized | |
| 1836-1848: Manifest Destiny |
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| 28 | Movement west accelerates | |
| 29 | Native tribes lose homelands | Trail of Tears |
| 30 | “Slavery as a positive good” | |
| 31 | Churches divide over slavery | |
| 32 | The search for new slave states | |
| 33 | The Mexican War adds land | The Mexican Cession – External Link |
| 34 | The Wilmot Proviso resists expansion | |
| 1848-1861: Broken Union |
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| 35 | The Free Soil Party poses a political threat | |
| 36 | “Popular Sovereignty” fails in Kansas | |
| 37 | The 1850 Compromise fails both sides | |
| 38 | Abolition gains ground | Landmark abolition events by state – External Link |
| 39 | The Kansas-Nebraska Act proves fatal | |
| 40 | Republican Party founded | |
| 41 | High Court denies slave’s rights | |
| 42 | Harper’s Ferry Raid fuels secession | Battle of Harper’s Ferry – External Link |
| 43 | Lincoln’s election ensures schism | 1860 Electoral Votes by state |
| 44 | Confederate States secede | |
| 45 | Failure of President Buchanan | |
| 46 | Crittenden’s Compromise fails | |
| 47 | The Civil War begins. | |