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Washington DC Becomes US Capital
1783 Congress decided they would create a new capital.
1800 Washington DC was officially selected and the government arrived. -
Louisiana Purchase
A territory of the western United States extending from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains between the Gulf of Mexico and the Canadian border. It was purchased from France on April 30, 1803, for $15 million and officially explored by the Lewis and Clark expedition (1804–1806). -
Lewis and Clark
1804 Thomas Jefferson hired Capt. Meriwether Lewis and Lt. William Clark to explore the northwest United States. They explored the newly purchased Louisiana Purchase with as many as 30 men. They created detailed maps of this entire area while exploring through 1806. Sacagawea, a Native American woman was also important as their guide and interpreter. -
American Fur Company
A poor German immigrant, John Jacob Astor, wanted to get into the fur trade in the Louisiana Purcahse area dominated by Canadian fur companies. He met with Thomas Jefferson and was given $1 million capital to start the American Fur Company. Astor continued to run and expand the business until 1834, when the Rocky Mountain fur trade organizaiton, that made agreements with the local Indians and took over much of the fur trade routes. Astor sold it in 1834. It failed by 1842. -
War 1812
Started in 1812 between US and Great Britain primarily over trade sanctions by Britain hindering trade with France as well as the British support of the Indians. Indians were blocking western US expansion by raiding US civilians and soldiers to protect what they felt was their land. Neither the US or Britian gained much territory in this war. By the end of 1814, both sides conceded and signed the peace treat - Treaty of Ghent. -
Indian Removal Act
A law passed on May 28, 1830, to relocate eastern Indian tribes to land west of the Mississippi. Promoted by Andrew Jackson, so the land in the east could be settled by whites. Indians resisted and this eventually led to much fighting between whites and Indians for many years. -
Texans Defend Alamo
Battle of the Alamo was from February 23 - March 6 1836. It was a Roman Catholic mission established in 1718. Texas wanted to sever its ties to Mexico. Mexico attacked in 1836 bringing in over 4,000 men. Texans retreated to the Alamo and fought with only 400 men. They were over taken quickly. The famous expression "Remember the Alamo" became a battle cry throughout the rest of this conflict. -
Trail of Tears
Relocation movement of five main Indian tribes - Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee-Creek, and Seminole. The term "Trail of Tears" came from the many deaths of Indians during the relocation from exposure, disease, and starvation. No numbers are known, but most historians estimate up to 50% of members of these tribes died during this time. -
California Gold Rush
On January 24, 1848 gold was discovered by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill, in Coloma, California. News of the discovery soon spread. About 300,000 men, women, and children coming to California from the rest of the United States and around the world including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Austraila. They came by sea and land. California grew from a small town to a large settlement. It officially became a state in 1850. -
Mexican-American War
War between US and Mexico over the annexation of Texas. President Tyler offered Texas admission to the US, and Presiden Polk signed it into the Union in Deceber 29, 1845, making Texas the 28th state. April 25, 1846, 2000 Mexicans attacked a small patrol of US soldiers. US declared war on Mexico in May 1846. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, signed on February 2, 1848 that finally ended the war. -
Abraham Lincoln Elected President
Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, guided the United States through the CIVIL WAR. He is considered by many historians to have been the greatest American president. He was assassinated April 14, 1865. -
Civil War Begins
The war officially began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate (southern) forces attacked a U.S. military installation at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Lincoln responded by calling for a volunteer army from each state. Over 620,000 people died during the Civil War. It led to the ending of slavery and the strengthening of the federal government. President Andrew Jackson declared an end to the war on May 10, 1865. Even today, southerns refer to this war as the Northern Aggreession. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Proclamation that freed slaves from the ten states that did not return to the union during the Civil War. -
13th Amendment
Amendment that formally abolished and continues to prohibit salvery in the United States. -
Transcontinental Railroad
The First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869 between Council Bluffs, Iowa/Omaha, Nebraska and Alameda, California. By linking with the existing railway network of the Eastern United States, the road thus connected the Atlantic and Pacific coasts by rail for the first time. -
Spanish American War
The Spanish–American War was a military conflict between Spain and the United States over the issues of the liberation of Cuba. Senator Henry M. Teller of Colorado proposed the Teller amendment that demanded Spanish withdrawal. from Cuba. Spain broke off diplomatic relations with the United States and declared war on April 25, 1898. By August 1989, Spain was defeated. The US gained control of Spain owned Phillipines, Guam and Puerto Rico. Cuba gained its independence from Spain. -
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
The NAACP was formed February 12, 1909 by a diverse group of individuals worried about issues that were happening to people of color (anyone not white) especially segregration and barriers to voting registration. Most of the original group were White Jews. In fact, it did not have a black president until 1975. NAACP mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination" -
World War I
WWI had over 70 million people that fought and over 15 million killed in one of the largest and deadliest wars ever. Most histories think the 28 June 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by a Serbian nationalist, Gavrilo Princip started WWI. Within weeks all of the major European powers were at war. The United States joined the war in 1917 when it declared war on Germany for having unauthorized sub warfare on US east coast. WWI ended with the Treaty of Versailles. -
Treaty of Versailles
A peace treaty that ended the war between Germany and the Allied Powers (United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Italy, Japan, Portugal and France). -
Ninteenth Amendment
Prohibits each of the states and the federal government from denying any citizen the right to vote because of that citizen's sex. -
Great Depression
Crash of the stockmarket in October 1929 led to a decade of severe economic downturn in US and many other countries. -
World War II
Beginning fo WWII with Germany invading Poland. -
US Officially Enters World War II
The United States officially joins WWII, declaring war on Japan after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. -
Malcolm X Assasination
Malcolm X was a Muslim minister, public speaker, and human rights activist. He was assassinated while giving a speech in New York. Some people believe Malcolm X encouraged violence as a way to equality unlike MLK Jr that always talked about peace. -
Martin Luther King Jr Assasinated
MLK was a spokesperson for nonviolent protest in the Civil Rights Movement. He was assasinated while standing on a balcony at a hotel in Tennessee. -
Vietnam War Ends
The Vietnam War occurred from 1959 to 30 April 1975. The war was fought between the communist North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam, supported by the United States. The United States entered the war to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam. Many people, especially in the US opposed the war saying we should withdraw to help lesson tensions in the region and then less human bloodshed. -
AIDS
First recognized in gay men in New York and California in early 1980. AIDS is Acquired immune deficiency syndrome which is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to infections. HIV is transmitted through direct contact of bodily fluids. -
Operation Desert Storm
Saddam Hussein's rejection of diplomatic efforts led to the decision to restore Kuwait's sovereignty by military force. The following air war and the effects of the economic embargo decimated Iraq's military infrastructure, severed communication and supply lines, smashed weapons arsenals, and destroyed morale. It last 43 days. -
Iraq War
This is a continuing military campaign which began with the invasion of Iraq on March 20, 2003 by the US and other countries. It was designed to find and destroy weapons of mass destructoin in Iraq. The invasion of Iraq led to an occupation and the eventual capture and execution of Saddam Hussein. Ongoing troops, primarily US and Great Britain, continue to stay to help with ongoing conflicts in the region. -
Pirates in Somalia
Piracy off the Somali coast has been a threat to international shipping since the beginning of Somalia's civil war in the early 1990s. In October 2008, the US called on all nations in the area of Somalia to apply military force. In April 2009, a US ship captain was captured. US went in and applied force and was able to rescue him. Piracy contributes to an increase in shipping costs and slows down the delivery of food aid shipments.
