Migration across the Bering Strait (circa 15,000 BCE)

Arrival of the Clovis culture (circa 13,000 BCE)

Development of Native American tribes and cultures

Viking exploration of North America (circa 1000 CE)

Christopher Columbus's first voyage (1492)

Establishment of Jamestown (1607)

Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock (1620)

Massachusetts Bay Colony founded (1630)

Maryland founded as a haven for Catholics (1634)

Rhode Island founded on religious freedom (1636)

King Philip's War (1675-1676)

Bacon's Rebellion (1676)

Salem Witch Trials (1692)

Establishment of the 13 Colonies

Great Awakening religious revival (1730s-1740s)

French and Indian War (1754-1763)

Stamp Act imposed (1765)

Boston Massacre (1770)

Boston Tea Party (1773)

First Continental Congress (1774)

Battles of Lexington and Concord (1775)

Declaration of Independence (1776)

Battle of Saratoga (1777)

Winter at Valley Forge (1777-1778)

Treaty of Alliance with France (1778)

Siege of Yorktown (1781)

Treaty of Paris ends Revolutionary War (1783)

Northwest Ordinance (1787)

Shays' Rebellion (1786-1787)

Constitutional Convention (1787)

Signing of the U.S. Constitution (1787)

Federalist Papers published (1787-1788)

Ratification of the Constitution (1788)

George Washington inaugurated as first President (1789)

Bill of Rights ratified (1791)

Alexander Hamilton's financial plan (1790-1791)

Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

Jay's Treaty with Britain (1795)

Pinckney's Treaty with Spain (1795)

Washington's Farewell Address (1796)

John Adams inaugurated as second President (1797)

XYZ Affair and Quasi-War with France (1797-1800)

Alien and Sedition Acts (1798)

Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions (1798-1799)

Election of 1800 (Thomas Jefferson)

Louisiana Purchase (1803)

Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-1806)

Barbary Wars (1801-1805)

Embargo Act (1807)

War of 1812 (1812-1815