American History Timeline

Early Republic

Period: 1780 to 1830

George Washington (1789 - 1797)

Apr 30, 1789

Unaffiliated

Hamilton's Financial Plan🟩

1790

A plan proposed to handle the financials of the United States.https://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-resources/spotlight-primary-source/hamiltons-report-subject-manufactures-1791#:~:text=Hamilton's%20vision%20for%20the%20economic,the%20new%20nation's%20emerging%20industries.

The Second Awakening (1790's - 1830's)🟦

1790

An evangelical movement that led people to incorporate religion into more parts of their lives.https://www.ushistory.org/us/22c.asp?srsltid=AfmBOorufrhylprGx_fATHqPw8UizjpmmRPI1PdkvXtT0pOz7JXrBJH4

John Adams (1797 - 1801)

Mar 4, 1797

Federalist

Thomas Jefferson (1801 - 1809)

Mar 4, 1801

Democratic - Republican

James Madison (1809 - 1817)

Mar 4, 1809

Democratic - Republican

War of 1812 (1812 - 1815)🟥

1812

Conflict between the US and Britain due to violations of US rights
https://www.britannica.com/event/War-of-1812

Westward Expansion

Period: 1812 to 1867

Era of Good Feelings

Period: 1815 to 1825

James Monroe (1817 - 1825)

Mar 4, 1817

Democratic - Republican

Temperance Movement🟦

1820

A social movement that spoke out against alcohol consumption https://prohibition.themobmuseum.org/the-history/the-road-to-prohibition/the-temperance-movement/

John Quincy Adams (1825 - 1829)

Mar 4, 1825

Democratic - Republican

Jacksonian

Period: 1829 to 1854

Andrew Jackson (1829 - 1837)

Mar 4, 1829

Democratic

Indian Removal Act 🟪

May 28, 1830

Allowed the president to exchange lands west of the Mississippi River for native land.https://guides.loc.gov/indian-removal-act#:~:text=The%20Indian%20Removal%20Act%20was,many%20resisted%20the%20relocation%20policy.

Jackson Vetoes the Second National Bank🟩

1836

Andrew Jackson deemed the bank as "unconstitutional"https://billofrightsinstitute.org/essays/andrew-jacksons-veto-of-the-national-bank

Martin Van Buren (1837 - 1841)

Mar 4, 1837

Democratic

William Henry Harrison (1841 - 1841)

Mar 4, 1839

Whig

John Tyler (1841 - 1845)

Apr 4, 1841

Whig / Unaffiliated

The Great Famine and Irish Immigration🟪

1845

During the Great Famine in Ireland, Irish immigration hit a peak. https://www.museum.ie/en-IE/Collections-Research/Folklife-Collections/Folklife-Collections-List-(1)/Other/Emigration/Irish-Emigration-to-America

James K. Polk (1845 - 1849)

Mar 4, 1845

Democratic

Mexican American War (1846 - 1848)🟥

1846

An invasion of Mexico by the US in order to gain more territory
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/grant-mexican-american-war/

Seneca Falls Convention🟦

Jul 19, 1848

A convention where women called for more rights and better treatmenthttps://www.history.com/articles/seneca-falls-convention

Zachary Taylor (1849 - 1850)

Mar 4, 1849

Whig

Millard Fillmore (1850 - 1853)

Jul 9, 1850

Whig

Franklin Pierce (1853 - 1857)

Mar 4, 1853

Democratic

Kansas - Nebraska Act🟧

May 30, 1854

Repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed for popular sovereignty, but lead to the "Bleeding Kansas" uprising. (https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Kansas_Nebraska_Act.htm#:~:text=It%20became%20law%20on%20May,territories%20to%20sway%20the%20vote.)

James Buchanan (1857 - 1861)

Mar 4, 1857

Democratic

Civil War (1861 - 1865)🟥

1861

A dispute between the northern and southern states over the issue of slavery https://www.loc.gov/collections/civil-war-glass-negatives/articles-and-essays/time-line-of-the-civil-war/1861/

Civil War

Period: 1861 to 1865

Abraham Lincoln (1861 - 1865)

Mar 4, 1861

Republican / Unionist

Progressive Era

Period: 1863 to 1899

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln🟧

Apr 14, 1865

President Lincoln was shot dead by John Wilkes Booth while attending a play at Ford's Theater.
https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/civil_war/Death_of_Lincoln.htm#:~:text=The%20euphoria%20of%20Union%20victory,Sumner%20appeared%20at%20his%20bedside.)

Andrew Johnson (1865 - 1869)

Apr 15, 1865

Democratic / Unionist

13th Amendment🟧

Dec 6, 1865

Abolished slavery in every U.S territory, unless as punishment.https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/constitutional-amendments-amendment-13-abolition-slavery#:~:text=Amendment%20Thirteen%20to%20the%20Constitution,except%20as%20a%20criminal%20punishment.

Reconstruction Act🟧

1867

"Reshaped" the Southern states after the Civil War https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/Civil_War_AdmissionReadmission.htm#:~:text=The%20Reconstruction%20Act%20of%201867%20outlined%20the%20terms%20for%20readmission,Tennessee%2C%20into%20five%20military%20districts.

14th Amendment🟧

Jul 9, 1868

Grants citizenship to anyone born in the United States.
https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-14/

Ulysses S. Grant (1869 - 1877)

Mar 4, 1869

Republican

Gilded Age

Period: 1870 to 1890

15th Amendment🟧

Feb 3, 1870

Prohibits the refusal to let someone vote because of your race or color.https://constitutioncenter.org/the-constitution/amendments/amendment-xv#:~:text=Section%202-,Section%201,or%20previous%20condition%20of%20servitude.

Jim Crow (1870's - 1965)🟧

1877

Laws created by both central and state governments to enforce racial segregation.
https://jimcrowmuseum.ferris.edu/what.htm

Rutherford B. Hayes (1877 - 1881)

Mar 4, 1877

Republican

Settlement House Movement🟪

1880

A movement of both wealthy and poor people moving into urban areas.https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/settlement-houses/settlement-houses/

James A. Garfield (1881)

Mar 4, 1881

Republican

Chester A. Arthur (1881 - 1885)

Mar 4, 1881

Republican

Chinese Exclusion Act🟧

May 7, 1882

Laws that restricted immigration (specifically on the West Coast) https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/chinese-exclusion-act

Grover Cleveland (1885 - 1889)

Mar 4, 1885

Democratic

Benjamin Harrison (1889 - 1893)

Mar 4, 1889

Republican

Grover Cleveland (1893 - 1897)

Mar 4, 1893

Democratic

William McKinley (1897 - 1901)

Mar 4, 1897

Republican

Spanish American War🟥

1898

A dispute between the US and Spain over territories like Cuba and the Philippines
https://www.britannica.com/event/Spanish-American-War

Theodore Roosevelt (1901 - 1908)

Sep 14, 1901

Republican

William Howard Taft (1909 - 1913)

Mar 4, 1909

Republican

Woodrow Wilson (1913 - 1921)

Mar 4, 1913

Democratic

WW1

Period: 1914 to 1921

World War 1 (1914 - 1918)🟥

1915

A lethal dispute between the Allied and the Central powers

Roaring Twenties

Period: 1920 to 1929

Warren G. Harding

Mar 4, 1921

Republican

Tulsa Race Massacre🟥

May 30, 1921

A two day long massacre fueled by racism and white supremacy.https://www.tulsahistory.org/exhibit/1921-tulsa-race-massacre/

Introduction of the ERA🟧

1923

An amendment designed to ensure women have equal rights to men.https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/equal-rights-amendment-explained

Calvin Coolidge (1923 - 1929)

Aug 2, 1923

Republican

Great Depression🟩

1929

After the stock market crashed, the American economy went under, causing millions of Americans to lose jobs and fall well under the poverty line.https://www.fdrlibrary.org/great-depression-facts

Great Depression

Period: 1929 to 1939

Herbert Hoover (1929 - 1933)

Mar 4, 1929

Republican

The Dust Bowl🟩

1930

A severe drought that decimated the agricultural economy of the US
https://drought.unl.edu/dustbowl/

The New Deal (1933 - 1936)🟩

1933

Economic and Political reforms set in place by FDR to bring America out of the depression

Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933 - 1945)

Mar 4, 1933

Democratic

World War 2 (1939 - 1945)🟥

1939

Yet another murderous conflict fought between the Allied and the Axis powers

WW2

Period: 1941 to 1945

Japanese Internment🟥

Feb 19, 1942

Forced relocation of both natural born US citizens with Japanese heritage and Japanese immigrants.https://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/japanese-relocation

Zoot Suit Riots🟥

Jun 3, 1943

People wearing Zoot Suits were targeted by white people and became the center of racial injusticehttps://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/zoot-suit-riots-and-wartime-los-angeles

The Bombing of Nagasaki🟥

1945

The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan just after Hiroshima https://www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/bombing-nagasaki-august-9-1945

Harry S. Truman (1945 - 1953)

Apr 12, 1945

Democratic

Cold War (1947 - 1991)🟥

1947

Tension between the US and the Soviet Union.https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/jfk-in-history/the-cold-war

Cold War

Period: 1947 to 1988

Korean War (1950 - 1953)🟥

1950

Disputes between the US and Korea, split Korea into North and South
.https://www.britannica.com/event/Korean-War

Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953 - 1961)

Jan 20, 1953

Republican

Vietnam War (1954 - 1975)🟥

1954

Conflict between the communist northern Vietnam and South Vietnam
https://www.britannica.com/event/Vietnam-War

Red Power Movement (1960's - 1970's)🟦

1960

Social movement that pushed for better treatment for Native American people.https://library.law.howard.edu/civilrightshistory/indigenous/selfdetermination

John F. Kennedy (1961 - 1963)

Jan 20, 1961

Democratic

The Cuban Missile Crisis 🟥

1963

The Soviet Union almost sparked a war when they deployed missiles to Cuba https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis

Lyndon B. Johnson (1963 - 1969)

Nov 22, 1963

Democratic

The Stonewall Riots🟦

1969

A riot at the Stonewall Inn that led to an uprise in the gay rights movement
https://guides.loc.gov/lgbtq-studies/stonewall-era

Richard Nixon (1969 - 1974)

Jan 20, 1969

Republican

Chicano Movement (1940's - 1970's)🟦

1970

A civil rights movement that focused on more rights for Mexican Americanshttps://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/background-chicano-movement#:~:text=The%20Chicano%20Movement%20was%20the,between%201965%20and%201975%20.%20.%20.

Gerald Ford (1974 - 1977)

Sep 9, 1974

Republican

Jimmy Carter (1977 - 1981)

Jan 20, 1977

Democratic

Ronald Reagan (1981 - 1989)

Jan 20, 1981

Republican

Second National March on Washington🟦

1987

A political rally that advocated for the rights of queer Americans
https://www.lib.uiowa.edu/gallery/exhibit-media/second-national-march-on-washington-1987/

Contemporary History

Period: 1989 to 2025

9/11

Sep 11, 2001

A terrorist attack launched on the US where planes flew into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and a field.https://www.911memorial.org/