American History Timeline By elanlonstein 47,980 BCE Leaving Africa 14,980 BCE Entering North America Jan 1, 1400 Prehistory Aug 4, 1492 Columbus Jan 1, 1519 Hernando Cortes lands in Mexico Dec 18, 1620 Arrival at Plymouth Rock Mar 1, 1692 Salem Witch Trials Period: May 28, 1754 to 1763 French and Indian War Mar 5, 1770 Boston Massacre Period: Apr 19, 1775 to Sep 3, 1783 American Revolution Dec 19, 1777 Arrival at Valley Forge Sep 17, 1787 Constitution completed Period: 1790 to 1830 Industrial Revolution 1802 Nathaniel Bowditch Publishes His Book Period: May 14, 1804 to Sep 23, 1806 Lewis and Clark's Expedition Period: Jun 18, 1812 to Feb 18, 1815 War of 1812 Period: 1831 to 1877 Trail of Tears Mar 6, 1836 Battle of the Alamo Ended 1837 United States entered a Depression 1839 Herman Melville goes to sea 1841 Nakahama Manjiro is Saved 1841 Herman Melville Joins Whaling Ship Aug 11, 1841 Frederick Douglass' First Speech 1845 Texas becomes an official state Jan 24, 1848 Gold Rush Started 1849 Flood of Pioneers Move West 1850 Compromise of 1850 May 29, 1851 Sojourner Truth gave her speech Apr 12, 1861 American Civil War Started Period: 1862 to 1879 Homesteading the plains Jan 1, 1863 Emancipation Proclamation Goes into Effect Period: 1865 to 1877 Reconstruction Apr 9, 1865 American Civil War Ended Apr 15, 1865 President Lincoln Assassinated Period: 1866 to 1886 Cattle drives in Great Plains 1867 Alaska Purchase 1869 First Transcontinental Railroad 1869 Suez Canal Opens 1870 Labor Unions Started Period: 1870 to 1924 Massive Immigration to America 1873 Carnegie builds steel mill Period: 1874 to 1881 Plains Wars 1876 First Telephone Conversation-Alexander Graham Bell 1878 Edison invents electric light bulb Period: 1880 to 1920 Immigration to America Period: 1880 to 1890 Electricity for cities Period: 1883 to 1914 Jim Crow Laws Created Feb 18, 1885 Mark Twain writes Huckleberry Finn Period: 1890 to 1910 Progressive Era 1893 The Panic of 1893 1898 Spanish-American War 1898 U.S. gains control of Puerto Rico, Philippine Islands and other Pacific Islands 1898 Hawaii becomes U.S. possession 1900 United States has become a world power 1901 U.S. takes over Panama Canal construction 1901 Theodore Roosevelt becomes President 1903 Wright Brothers make first airplane flight 1913 Henry Ford builds cars on assembly line 1914 U.S. opens Panama Canal Period: 1914 to 1918 World War 1 1917 Russian Revolution Period: 1929 to 1941 World-wide Depression May 11, 1934 The Giant Sandstorm of the 1930s May 29, 1935 Hoover Dam Built 1936 Joe Louis Vs Max Schmeling 1938 Joe Louis Vs Max Schmeling (Rematch) Period: 1939 to 1945 World War 2 Sep 1, 1939 World War 2 Started Period: Sep 7, 1940 to May 11, 1941 The Blitz Jun 6, 1944 D-Day Happens Apr 12, 1945 Franklin D. Roosevelt Dies Aug 6, 1945 First atomic bomb exploded Aug 9, 1945 Nagasaki Bombed 1946 Beginning of Cold War 1950 Beginning of Korean War 1950 Beginning of American Civil Rights Movement 1953 End of Korean War 1959 Cuban Revolution 1963 Assassination of President Kennedy 1965 End of Civil Rights Movement 1965 Beginning Vietnam War 1973 End of Vietnam War 1974 Whale Oil Banned from Being Used 1989 Collapse of Communism in Europe 1991 End of Cold War and Breakup of the Soviet Union 1992 Formation of the European Union Sep 11, 2001 Terrorists successfully attack American landmarks 2002 EU adopts the euro 2003 Beginning of Iraq War 2008 Election of President Barack Obama 2011 End of Iraq War
