Girish Mahajan (Editor)

1846 in the United States

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Events from the year 1846 in the United States. In this year, the United States declares war on Mexico, starting the Mexican–American War.

Contents

Federal Government

  • President: James K. Polk (D-Tennessee)
  • Vice President: George M. Dallas (D-Pennsylvania)
  • Chief Justice: Roger B. Taney (Maryland)
  • Speaker of the House of Representatives: John Wesley Davis (D-Indiana)
  • Congress: 29th

    • Events

  • January 5 – The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the United Kingdom.
  • January 31 – The City of Milwaukee is incorporated in Wisconsin, merging Juneautown, Kilbourntown and Walker's Point following the Milwaukee Bridge War of 1845. Solomon Juneau is elected first mayor.
  • February 10 – Many Mormons begin their migration west from Nauvoo, Illinois to the Great Salt Lake, led by Brigham Young.
  • February 19 – In Austin, Texas, the newly formed Texas state government is officially installed.
  • February 26 – The Liberty Bell is cracked while being rung for George Washington's birthday.
  • April 25 – Mexican-American War: Open conflict begins over border disputes of Texas' boundaries.
  • May 8 – Mexican-American War – Battle of Palo Alto: Zachary Taylor defeats a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande at Palo Alto, Texas in the first major battle of the war.
  • May 13 – Mexican-American War: The United States declares war on Mexico.
  • June 10 – Mexican-American War: The California Republic declares independence from Mexico.
  • June 14 – Bear Flag Revolt: American settlers in Sonoma, California start a rebellion against Mexico and proclaim the California Republic.
  • June 15 – The Oregon Treaty establishes the 49th parallel as the border between the United States and Canada, from the Rocky Mountains to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
  • July 7 – Battle of Monterey: Acting on instructions from Washington, D.C., Commodore John Drake Sloat orders his troops to occupy Monterey and Yerba Buena thus beginning the United States annexation of California.
  • August 10 – Establishment of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C..
  • November – The Donner Party becomes snowbound.
  • December 28 – Iowa is admitted as the 29th U.S. state (see History of Iowa).

    • Undated

  • The portion of the District of Columbia that was ceded by Virginia in 1790 is re-ceded to Virginia.
  • Elias Howe patents the sewing machine.

    • Ongoing

  • Mexican–American War (1846–1848)

    • Deaths

  • March 25 – William Lee D. Ewing, United States Senator from Illinois in 1834. (born 1795)
  • September 5 – James Alexander, Jr., United States Representative from Ohio from 1837 till 1839. (born 1789)
  • September 15 – Samuel A. Foote, 28th Governor of Connecticut from 1834 till 1835. United States Senator from Connecticut from 1827 till 1833. (born 1780)
  • December 29 – Alexander Barrow, United States Senator from Louisiana from 1841 till 1846. (born 1801)

    • References

    1846 in the United States Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA