History Timeline - 1800s What you would have experienced and how your life would change.

1800
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1800

Immigration to America

Mass migration from Europe to America begins as people look for a better life.

1820
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1820

Cotton is King

United States becomes the world’s biggest cotton producer.

1830
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1830

Railroads Open Up the Nation

First Railway station opens in Baltimore, Maryland.

1840
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1840

Factories Pop Up Across the Land

Railway tracks go from 100 to 3,500 miles. United States has 1,200 cotton factories. Increased use of factory-made farm machinery encourages the beginning of commercial farming.

1843-1845
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1843-1845

The Oregon Trail

America settlers begin mass migration westward on the Oregon Trail Potato Famine in Europe and Ireland causes starvation and mass migration to United States. Many will settle on small family farms.

1850
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1850

California Gold Rush

Commercial corn and wheat belts begin to develop across the south and great plains. Gold rush is taking place in California. Cholera epidemic continuers in the united states

1860
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1860

First Oil Well

World trade increases almost 5 times of what it was in 1800. First successful oil well is drilled in Pennsylvania.

1861
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1861

Lincoln Elected

Abraham Lincoln becomes president.

1862
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1862

Paper Money Appears

First paper money is issued in the United States. The Homestead act gave free land to persons willing to farm it.

1865
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1865

Civil War Ends

Civil war ends. President Lincoln is assassinated. The sharecropping system in the south replaces the old slave plantation system.

1871
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1871

Chicago Fire

The Great Chicago fire will destroy most of the city . The increased use of barbed wire fencing ends an era of open range grazing.

1875
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1875

Edison's Light Bulb

The light bulb is invented, and the telephone will come the next year.

1897
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1897

First Subway in America

Southern states have abandoned their dependence on growing cotton to maintain their economy. The first subway is built in Boston.