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Thomas Jefferson drafts (writes) the constitution. It proposes a Federalist form of government in which power is divided between the nation and the states.
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President Jefferson offers to buy New Orleans from France. That port city would give the United States control over access to the Mississippi River. Napoleon, France's leader, needs money and negotiates the sale of all of France's territory for 15 million dollars.
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Map of Lewis and ClarkPresident Jefferson sends two explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the newly purchased Louisiana Territory (See 1803)
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A work crew building a saw mill for John Sutter spotted small gold nuggets on the ground. That discovery at "Sutter's Mill" near Sacremento, California sparked the Gold Rush of 1849.
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Many Americans rush to California hoping to find gold. The newcomers get a nickname, "49ers," because so many make the trip in 1849.
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Americans fight Americans in this bloody war. The South attempts to leave the United States and form a new country, the Confederate States of America. They want to preserve the rights of states to make decisions. In particular, they want to keep slavery. The North fights to keep the United States together.
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The Civil War ends with the victory of the Union over the Confederacy. The North defeats the South. Eventually slavery is ended.
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Over 600,000 Americans killed each other in this war. The South, or Confederacy, tried to become a separate country from the United States in order to keep the ability of states to keep slavery.
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Although Lincoln had issued the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War, slavery was only made unconstitutional with the passage of this Amendment. It is one of the three "Civil War Amendments" - 12, 14, and 15.
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The 14th Amendment, one of the "Civil War Amendments 13,14, and 15), declared anyone born in the US is a citizen. It effectively gave almost all the freed slaves citizenship.
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The first railroad that extended all the way across the United States The pictures shows a group gathered for the celebration as the final lengths of rail were connected at Promontory, Utah. The event marked the begnning of a new era of movement across the continent.
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This war was a turning point in the United States influence in the world. As a result of the war, the United States controlled territory outside its borders. This event markes the beginning of an era of the United States being a "World Power."
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WW1, or the "Great War" (No one knew there would be another WW2 later!), involved multiple nations and killed millions of people.
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Finally drawn into the war by Germany's use of "Unrestricted Submarine Warfare" in which all ships were targeted, and Germany's attempt to form an anti-United States alliance with Mexico, the US formally commits to war in 1917.
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Also called "Armistice Day"
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Amazing decade noted for rapid cultural change. Sturggles over prohibition, evolution, the emergence of Jazz, rights for women, and overspending introduced some great American moments, but also set the state for the Great Depression.
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Multiple causes led to this disastrous period. Unemployment soared over 20% for over a decade. Bank failures, drought, wide-spread poverty led to ambitious government attempts to intervene in the economic crisis.
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10-29-29 .... October 29, 1929 is regarded as the "day" when the Stock Market crashed signalling the begining of the Great Depression over the next 10+ years. Many investors who had used borrowed money to invest in stocks, lost the money draining the banks of resources.
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Marks the beginning of US involvement in World War 2. The war had already begun in Europe in 1939 with Germany's invasion of Poland, and the United States had offered support to her friends in Europe. But it wasn't until the Japanese attacked that the US formally declared its involvement in the war.
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Although World War 2 started in 1939 in Europe, the United States didn't declare war until the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese. Millions of American soldiers went to fight on two "fronts" or in two "theaters." On the home front, Americans supported the war as well.
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WW2 ended with the defeat of Germany in the "European Theater," and the defeat of Japan in the "Pacific Theater." The use of nuclear weapons on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki led to the end in the Pacific. Millions of American soldiers soon returned home to families and shortly after American experiences a "Baby Boom!"
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First man-made satellite in space lauched by Russia markes the begining of the "Space Age." The satellite did little more than produce a signal "beep," but it was a "milestone" in space exploration. You can hear the actuall signal it transmiteed at
http://www.mentallandscape.com/Sputnik1_WashingtonDC.mp3 -
Dr King's speech calling for racial equality can be heard at http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm
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The "fall" of the wall separating East (Communist) and West (Free democracy) Berlin marked the end of the Soviet Union's dominance in Europe. The event eventually led the reunificatino of East and West Germany.
