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The colony of Jamestown, Virginia
John Smith was a famous explorer who traveled from Europe. He along with 104 colonists created the Colony of Jamestown. This was a huge achievement as it was the first ever English colony to survive. Their survival was made possible with the help of the native people. They showed the Europeans how to build shelters, grow crops and produce tobacco. Large tobacco plantations were developed and required more help, that's when the first slaves were imported, changing the history of America forever. -
French and Indian War
The French and Indian war was fought between England and France for 7 years over controlling certain land in North America. The Indians were allied with the French. The English continued winning wars against the French therefore gaining control of all the French land in North America. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is a document written by Thomas Jefferson. It was signed by 56 delegates to the second Continental congress on July 4, 1776. The document declared the 13 colonies would become 13 states and gain independence from Britain. This was the start of Americas true beginning. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights was an amendment to the constitution guaranteeing that certain individual basic rights would be protected. It also set limits on the power of the federal government. The bill of rights is the first 10 amendments in our constitution. This also showed that America was truly its own country. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was between the U.S. and Britain. America declared war because of trade restrictions, impressments, and Britains support of Indians against the U.S. The federalist ended up losing all of their power because of this war. -
The Mexican War
The Mexican war was fought between the United States and Mexico after the annexation of Texas. Mexico considered Texas to be its territory when the U.S. thought otherwise. The U.S. wanted the land from the Rio Grande westward to the Pacific coast. After almost 2 years of fighting the war ended with a treaty called the treaty of Guadalupe. That is where Mexico had to give up nearly 500,000 square miles for $15 Million. This widely expanded America and gave them much more territory for expansion. -
The California Gold Rush
In January 1848, Gold was discovered in California. Approximately 300,000 thousand people traveled to the area once the news spread. Once major newspapers began saying gold was found it quickly became an epidemic. The people that went to California traveled across the country and faced many hardships along the way. The sudden increase in population & money from the gold rush led to California becoming an official state. -
The Civil War
The Civil War was fought between Americas North and South. The war started because of disagreements on slavery, sectionalism, and states rights. After 4 years of fighting the South ended up surrendering to the North. This then freed many slaves but left the South in ruins. Since most battles were fought in the Southern territory they were only left with destroyed farmland, railroads torn up, food shortages and riots. -
Yellowstone
In 1870, A group of Explorers gathered around a campfire in Yellowstone, Being overwhelmed by the cliffs and wild animals, they knew, that this must be preserved. Later, in 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed a protection law against the park for it to be the Worlds first National Park. -
Telephone
In 1876, Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Before his invention, there were acoustic devises that would transmit sounds, but nothing like the telephone. Recently, there has been much confusion on who the real founder of this product is but, Alexander Graham Bell still stands as the first inventor of the telephone. -
Panama Canal
The construction of the Panama Canal started in 1903, and ended in 1914. Theodore Roosevelt oversaw the long term United States goal; so thought of a canal. Throughout the 1800's, men wanted to be able to ship goods cheaply through the Atlantic and Pacific coast, and that's how the Panama Canal began. -
Titanic
March 9, 1909, The construction of the "Unsinkable Ship" started. She was a British passenger ship, getting prepared for her first voyage. In 1909, The Titanic went on its main voyage from Southhampton to New York. On Her maiden voyage, she struck an iceberg in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, Leaving more than 1,500 dead. -
World War 1
On April 6, 1917, The US entered WW1, and joined the allies--Britain, France, and Russia; To fight in WW1. Under the Command of General John J. Pershing, more than two million US soldiers fought on Battleground's of France in WW1. Many Americans were not in favor of the US entering the war, for they wanted to stay neutral. But despite the public opinion, the US entered, and fought with the Allies. -
Tomb Of The Unknown Soldier
On March 4, 1921, Congress approved the burial of an undefined American Soldier from World War 1. The Unknown Soldier now lays in Arlington Cemetery, Never not being guarded. -
Stock Market Crash
in 1929, the Stock Market plunges, soon leading to the Great Depression. October 29, Black Tuesday hit Wall Street as some investors traded millions of shares in the New York exchange. Billions of dollars were lost, Wiping out thousands of investors. After this, America, and the rest of the industrialized world tanked downward leading into the Great Depression which lasted 10 years. -
Pearl Harbor
December 7, 1941, Japan invaded a naval base in Hawaii. They flew over in planes and dropped bombs on the Ships and base. All eight US battleships were hit with only a few sunken. All were later raised and returned to battle except for the USS Arizona. The Japanese also sank or damaged 3 cruisers, 3 destroyers, an anti-aircraft training ship, and one minelayer. 188 U.S aircrafts were destroyed; 2,403 Americans were left dead after the attack, and this led to the US joining the war. -
Atomic Bombs
On August 6, The United States dropped the worlds first Atomic Bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The bomb destroyed 90% of the city and killed 80,000 people. Tens of thousands would die later due to exposure of radiation. On Aug. 9, The U.S dropped another bomb on Nagasaki. The explosion immediately killed 40,000 people. Japans Emperor Hirohito announced his country surrender in WWII. -
African American Sports
Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play major league baseball in the twentieth century. This showed that segregation was slowly going away and showed that the African Americans dream of equality was becoming true. -
Vietnam
Harry Truman sends troops to Vietnam to help the French in fighting Communism. This was the start of the Vietnam war which lasted around 20 years. This war was huge because many Americans feared communism and they couldn't have it come to their country. -
Stalin
In 1953, Jospeh Stalin dies. This is huge for America because Stalin was an Allie with Hitler and one of the main leaders against the U.S. -
School segregation
The U.S supreme court rules in Brown v. Board of education that school segregation is illegal. This was a huge accomplishment because it was another step to African American equality and it let kids get equal eduction. -
NASA
U.S congress passed a law establishing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This is a civilian agency that coordinates Americas activities in space. NASA has sponsored space expeditions that have given us a lot of information about our solar system and the universe. NASA has Launched a lot of satellites that orbit the earth that helps us with navigation, weather and even global communications.
