Showing 1–30 of 5047 results
Primary Source
The First Continental Congress issued this statement that codified colonial objections to the Intolerable Acts and listed other grievances against the Crown. It concluded with Congress's plan to boycott British trade, publish addresses to both the...
Primary Source
This document, approved by the National Assembly, codifies the ideals of the French Revolution, strongly influenced by those of the Enlightenment and the American Revolution. The Marquis de Lafayette , with help from Thomas Jefferson , drafted the...
Primary Source
To protect British merchants and creditors from depreciated colonial currency, this act regulated currency, abolishing the colonies' paper currency in favor of a system based on the pound sterling. April 19, 1764 WHEREAS great quantities of paper...
Primary Source
The third charter granted by King James I to the Virginia Company extended Virginia's territorial claims eastward to encompass any islands in the Atlantic Ocean, including Bermuda. March 12, 1611 JAMES, by the Grace of God, King of England;,...
Donate now “What !?! Does the General expect us to fly!?!” – Union Soldier, 149th New York Infantry October 16, 2020 Dear Fellow Preservationist, If you’ve ever stood on the Chattanooga Battlefield and turned your eyes up towards the slopes of...
Your help is needed to save two key tracts at Lookout Mountain and Franklin. The first tract includes 301 acres that played an important role in the “Battle Above the Clouds” at Lookout Mountain. The second tract is a small but crucial parcel at the Franklin Battlefield, which adds a key piece of ground to the land we’ve already worked so hard to reclaim and restore.
Primary Source
This charter built upon the First Virginia Charter, by extending the lands granted to the Virginia Company "sea to sea," from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It also includes a list of all of the Virginia Company's investors. May 23, 1609 JAMES, by the...
Primary Source
King James I issued this charter to the Virginia Company to colonize the land that stretched from present-day South Carolina to present-day Maine for the purpose of spreading Christianity. April 10, 1606 JAMES, by the Grace of God, King of England,...
Primary Source
Charles II granted this charter to reward his closest supporters, the Lords Proprietors, with the colony of Carolina, which began at Virginia's southern border and ended at Spanish Florida's northern border, extending westward to the Pacific Ocean...
Primary Source
King James I granted this charter to the Council for New England, a group of English nobles who would oversee the colonization of the land we know as New England between the 40th and 48th parallel. It was ultimately revoked in 1635 with the...
History
By John U. Rees As the Revolutionary War’s first black-centered combat unit the short-lived Ethiopian Regiment merits attention. Like the segregated 1st Rhode Island Regiment (an integrated unit prior to February 1778, and, integrated again after...
History
In 1846, an enslaved man in St. Louis asked to purchase his freedom from his master. When she refused, the chain of events that followed would forever alter the course of events in the United States. Dred Scott was born into slavery around 1799. He...
Primary Source
King Charles I granted this charter to Cecil Calvert, Second Baron Baltimore, to establish a haven for Catholics in North America. The colony was named after Princess Henrietta Maria, Catholic wife of Charles. 1632 Charles, by the Grace of God, of...
Primary Source
In response to Samuel Adams' Massachusetts Circular Letter in early 1768 that asked other colonies to join in resisting Parliament's Townshend Act , the Earl of Hillsborough, the new Colonial Secretary, wrote this letter addressed to colonial...
Primary Source
This charter was the governing document of William Penn's Pennsylvania until the American Revolution, outstanding among other colonial constitutions in that it granted religious freedom, separated church and state, and asserted the right of self-...
Primary Source
The Boston Committee of Correspondence wrote this letter to inform residents of other colonies of the punishment being inflicted on Boston by the Intolerable Acts . May 13, 1774 We have just received the copy of an Act of the British Parliament...
Primary Source
James Oglethorpe acquired this charter to establish a colony that was to be the haven of the poor of London, as well as a buffer to protect South Carolina from Spanish Florida, French Lousiana, and their various native allies. Georgia, named for...
Primary Source
Originally part of William Penn's colony of Pennsylvania, the Lower Counties of what would become Delaware were difficult to govern, as Delaware's economy and geography were much more like those of the Chesapeake Bay colonies than those of...
Contributor
John U. Rees has been writing about the common soldiers’ experiences in the War for American Independence for over thirty years, on subjects ranging from army food and the soldier’s burden, to women with the army, and military vehicles and watercraft.
Act / Bill
In continuation of the Slave Trade Act of 1794, Thomas Jefferson signed an Act in 1803 to stop importing Africans into the United States to become slaves. Prohibiting the importation of slaves into the country was not Federally mandated until 1807,...
Act / Bill
Signed by George Washington in 1794, the Slave Trade Act of 1794 prohibited exporting slaves from the United States to any foreign place or country. Prohibiting the importation of slaves into the country was not Federally mandated until 1807, and...
Official Record
On January 7, 1861, two days before Alabama's secession from the United States of America, delegates attending Alabama's Secession Convention passed an updated Constitution for the State. Last updated in 1819, the Constitution's only new changes...
Official Record
In 1839, the Spanish schooner La Amistad sailed from Sierra Leone to the Caribbean with human cargo destined for enslavement in the Americas. En route, the illegal captives rebelled against their captors, killed the ship captain, and directed the...
Official Record
Led by John C. Calhoun, Andrew Jackson’s Vice President, “nullifiers” in the South Carolina convention declared that the tariff acts of 1828 and 1832 were unconstitutional and should be nullified. In response, Jackson issued the “Proclamation to the...
Act / Bill
By February 1861, six Southern states had seceded from the United States. The Peace Conference of 1861 held at the Willard’s Hotel in Washington, D.C., was one of the last chances to find a peaceful compromise on the issue of slavery that was...
Overview
In April 1862, the Confederate Congress passed the First Conscription Act in order to increase manpower in the Confederate armies, which were rapidly losing soldiers as twelve-month-enlistments expired and volunteers were fewer than anticipated...
360 Virtual Tour
Discover the Fort Donelson National Battlefield in 360° with our interactive virtual tour – featuring clickable tour points, pictures and much more.
Act / Bill
Unhappy with the War of 1812, New England Federalists met in Hartford, Connecticut, to propose amendments to the Constitution to lessen the Southern and Western states' political power and increase New England's. Unfortunately, these amendments were...
Contributor
Anne Mitchell is a senior project manager at Ancestry and a key figure in the partnership between that organization and the American Battlefield Trust, helping place the military service found on family trees in context through content from the...
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