Summary The Treaty of Ryswick, signed on September 20, 1697, ended King William’s War, known in Europe as the War of the League of Augsburg. Delegates from France and the League’s members negotiated at Ryswick in the Netherlands during the summer of 1697. The agreements focused mainly on European affairs. Louis XIV recognized William III … Read more
Key Events Timeline October 3 — In Philadelphia, the Second Continental Congress approved a loan of $5 million at 4% interest to help finance the war effort. Additional funds were expected from France. It also authorized the purchase of a frigate and two cutters in Europe. October 4 — Governor-General Guy Carleton, commanding 13,000 men, … Read more
Overview The New York Campaign grew out of Britain’s plan to divide the colonies along the Hudson River and isolate the New England Colonies from the Middle Colonies and Southern Colonies. After American artillery on Dorchester Heights forced the British to evacuate Boston on March 17, 1776, General George Washington expected their next major attack … Read more
Summary Francisco Vázquez de Coronado was a Spanish explorer, Conquistador, and colonial official who became the Governor of Nueva Galicia in New Spain. In 1540, he led a large expedition northward in search of the legendary Seven Cities of Cíbola and the wealthy kingdom of Quivira. His expedition traveled through parts of present-day Arizona, New … Read more
Summary Hernán Cortés was a Spanish explorer and Conquistador who led the Conquest of the Aztec Empire from 1519 to 1521. After establishing Veracruz, he marched inland with Spanish soldiers and Native allies, including peoples who opposed Aztec rule. Cortés entered Tenochtitlán, took Moctezuma II captive, and later returned after an Aztec uprising forced the … Read more
Overview The region known today as Georgia was originally occupied by various Native American Indian tribes. After Christopher Columbus’s First Voyage of Discovery (1492), Spain and Portugal agreed to a treaty that divided the Americas between the two nations, and Georgia was under Spanish control. Spanish explorers entered the region during the 1500s and established … Read more
Summary Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer and Conquistador who participated in the Conquest of Granada and joined Christopher Columbus’s Second Expedition to the Americas. He later served as a provincial Governor in Hispaniola before conquering Puerto Rico, founding Caparra, and becoming the island’s Governor. In 1513, he explored Florida while searching for … Read more
Summary The 1832 Presidential Election was a landmark moment in American political history, as each party used a national convention to nominate their candidates for President. The candidates were Andrew Jackson (Democrat), Henry Clay (National Republican), William Wirt (Anti-Masonic), and John Floyd (Nullifier), with Jackson and Clay being the two most prominent. The main issue … Read more
Summary Vasco Núñez de Balboa was a Spanish Conquistador, explorer, and colonial administrator who traveled to the New World in 1500 and later founded the settlement of Darién in 1509, in present-day Colombia. While searching for the rumored golden kingdom of Birú, Balboa led an expedition across the Isthmus of Panama. In 1513, he became … Read more
Summary Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar was a Spanish soldier, government official, and Conquistador who rose to prominence by leading Spanish exploration and conquest of the Caribbean. He accompanied Christopher Columbus in 1493 and led the Conquest of Cuba in 1511, becoming the island’s Governor. Velázquez became extremely wealthy through land, livestock, and gold. He sponsored … Read more
Summary The Presidential Election of 1828 saw Andrew Jackson elected to the White House while accelerating organized party competition. Martin Van Buren built a nationwide political network that framed Jackson as “Old Hickory,” a people’s candidate who was blocked from winning the presidency in 1824 due to a “Corrupt Bargain.” John Quincy Adams’s support for … Read more
Summary Jacques Cartier was a French explorer from Saint-Malo who made three voyages to northeastern North America in search of wealth and the Northwest Passage to Cathay (China) and the Far East. On his first voyage (1543), he encountered Native American Indians, including some Iroquois, and traded with the Micmac. He raised a cross at … Read more
Summary The Marblehead Addressers were Massachusetts residents who publicly supported Thomas Hutchinson and Thomas Gage during the crisis caused by the Intolerable Acts in 1774. In May, 23 citizens of Marblehead thanked Hutchinson for his service, while another 100 people welcomed Gage to Boston. Patriots who opposed the Intolerable Acts responded by publishing the names … Read more
Summary The Active Case was a legal dispute that developed after Gideon Olmstead and three other American prisoners seized the British sloop Active off the New Jersey coast in 1778. The dispute involved the Pennsylvania Court of Admiralty and the Committee of Appeals in the Continental Congress, which issued conflicting decisions over ownership of the … Read more
Summary Sir Walter Raleigh was one of the most prominent European Adventurers during the Age of Exploration. Raleigh was not only a soldier and an explorer, but also an English aristocrat who served in Parliament and was, for some time, a favorite of Queen Elizabeth I. As one of her famous “Sea Dogs,” Raleigh waged … Read more
The phrase “Dark and Bloody Ground” refers to the vast area west of the Appalachian Mountains that eventually became the states of Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio. It was known for frequent violence between Native American Indians and European settlers. Prior to the American Revolution, it was mostly populated by Indians, including the Shawnees, Delawares, … Read more
Summary The Philadelphia Associators were a volunteer military organization founded in Philadelphia on November 21, 1747, by Benjamin Franklin and other prominent members of Philadelphia society. The group was formed because the pacifist Quakers who controlled Pennsylvania’s government would not approve a mandatory militia unit to help defend Backcountry settlers against Native American Indian attacks. … Read more
The Three Sisters Cropping System refers to the interplanting of three staple crops, maize (corn), beans, and squash, by Native American Indian civilizations. Together, these are known as the “Three Sisters.” Planting the Three Sisters together in the Three Sisters Cropping System produced higher yields in a sustainable agricultural system. It was popular with the Pueblo … Read more
Summary The Cox Plan of Reconstruction was a proposal tied to the final stage of the Civil War, when Republicans expected the Confederate States of America to agree to peace terms or surrender on the battlefield. Republicans blamed Southern plantation owners, the primary slaveholders in the South, for the Civil War and wanted to break … Read more
Lee’s Lost Order was a copy of Special Orders No. 191, issued by Confederate General Robert E. Lee on September 9, 1862, during the Maryland Campaign. The orders divided his army by sending six Confederate divisions south to attack the Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry and three divisions north to Hagerstown on a foraging mission. … Read more
