Traditionally, the second Monday of October is set aside to commemorate Christopher Columbus' arrival in America. In actuality, Columbus first sighted land on October 12, 1492. In recent years Columbus Day has come under some attack because of the impact Columbus' discovery had on the Native Americans. His voyage was a key event in the Age of Discovery.

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• History of Columbus Day
• Christopher Columbus

Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony on October 9, 1635. He had pushed forward his views of the need for freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. He was supposed to go back to England but instead fled to what is now Rhode Island. He lived amongst the Narragansett Indians and then founded Providence. This was the first colony to offer all its citizens freedom of worship and was founded upon the idea of separation of church and state.

Abraham Lincoln, Allan Pinkerton, and General John McClernand at the Battle of Antietam

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On October 7, 1763, King George III issued a royal proclamation that would cause a furor amongst the colonists. This Proclamation of 1763 closed lands north and west of the Appalachian Mountains to settlement. The goal of the British was to put a stop to conflicts that had arisen between the Native Americans and the colonists due to the French and Indian War. However, many colonists had purchased land or had been given land grants in that area in exchange for their military service during the war. Settlers began ignoring the Proclamation Line. Further, the colonists were able to get the line moved further west. This event was just the beginning of rising tensions between Great Britain and the colonies.

Causes of the American Revolution