When the first uniform rules for American football were enacted by the newly formed Intercollegiate Football Association just following the 1876 Rugby season, a touchdown counted for  1⁄4 of a kicked goal (except in the case of a tie) plus it allowed the offense the chance to kick for goal by placekick or dropkick from a spot along a line perpendicular to the goal line and passing through the point where the ball was touched down, or through a process known as a "punt-out", where the attacking team would kick the ball from the point where it was touched down to a teammate. If the teammate could fair catch the ball, he could follow with a try for goal from the spot of the catch, or resume play as normal (in an attempt to touch down the ball in a spot more advantageous for kicking). The governing rule at the time read: "A match shall be decided by a majority of touchdowns. A goal shall be equal to four touchdowns, but in the case of a tie, a goal kicked from [after] a touchdown shall take precedence over four touchdowns."[3]

In 1881, the rules were modified so that a goal kicked from a touchdown took precedence over a goal kicked from the field in breaking ties.[3]
In 1882, four touchdowns were determined to take precedence over a goal kicked from the field. Two safeties were equivalent to a touchdown.[3]
In 1883, points were introduced to football, and a touchdown counted as four points. A goal after a touchdown also counted as four points.[3]
In 1889, the provision requiring the ball to actually be touched to the ground was removed. A touchdown was now scored by possessing the ball beyond the goal line.[3]
In 1897, the touchdown scored five points, and the goal after touchdown added another point.[3]
In 1900, the definition of touchdown was changed to include situations where the ball becomes dead on or above the goal line.[3]
In 1912, the value of a touchdown was increased to six points. The end zone was also added. Before the addition of the end zone, forward passes caught beyond the goal line resulted in a loss of possession and a touchback.[3] (The increase from five points to six did not come until much later in Canada, and the touchdown remained only five points there until 1956.)
The ability to score a touchdown on the point-after attempt (two-point conversion) was added to NCAA football in 1958, high school football in 1969, the CFL in 1975 and the NFL in 1994.[3][4] The short-lived World Football League a professional American football league that operated 1974 and 1975 gave touchdowns a 7 points value.