American History Timeline

  • 🟥 The Revolutionary War

    🟥  The Revolutionary War
    The Revolutionary War was a war fought between America, then the colonies, and Great Britain for American independence. America wanted freedom from Britain after Britain heavily taxed the Colonists without the Colonists having a say. The war ended with the Battle of Yorktown but an official end didn't come until September 3, 1783.
  • Period: to

    Early Federal Period

  • George Washington

    George Washington
    Washington was not a member of any party. He was president from April 30, 1789 to March 4, 1797
  • 🟦 The Second Great Awakening

    🟦 The Second Great Awakening
    The Second Great Awakening is a term for a resurgence of Christianity. It changed the way Americans worshiped and preached. It inspired many social reforms, such as the Settlement House Movement. The Awakening lasted until 1840.
  • 🟩 Hamilton's Financial Plan

    🟩 Hamilton's Financial Plan
    Hamilton's Financial Plan was a plan written by Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, that dictated how he wanted to lay out the First National Bank. Hamilton wanted the bank to include three main parts: the federal assumption of state debts, the creation of a Bank of the United States, and support for the new nation's emerging industries.
  • John Adams

    John Adams
    He was a member of the Federalist party. He was president from March 4, 1797 to March 3, 1801.
  • Thomas Jefferson

    Thomas Jefferson
    Jefferson was the founder of the Democratic-Republicans. He was president from March 4, 1801 to March 4, 1809
  • James Madison

    James Madison
    Madison was a member of the Democratic-Republicans. His presidency was from March 4, 1809 to March 3, 1817.
  • Period: to

    Manifest Destiny/Westward Expansion

  • 🟥 The War of 1812

    🟥 The War of 1812
    The War of 1812 was a war fought between Britain, through Canada, and the U.S. Tensions were still high from the American Revolution between the two nations and war broke out when Britain kept violating America's maritime rights. The war got so bad that Canada burned down the White House during a battle. The war ended on February 18, 1815.
  • Period: to

    Era of Good Feelings

  • James Monroe

    James Monroe
    Monroe was a Democratic-Republican. He was president from March 4, 1817 to March 4, 1825.
  • 🟦 The Temperance Movement

    🟦 The Temperance Movement
    The Temperance Movement was a movement started in the early 19th century focused on promoting "good morals" and going against the alcohol epidemic sweeping the country. They often used religion to condemn the hard liquor being sold and the amounts people were consuming.
  • Andrew Jackson

    Andrew Jackson
    Jackson was a Democrat. He was president from March 4, 1829 to March 4, 1837.
  • John Quincy Adams

    John Quincy Adams
    Adams was a member of the Whig party. He was president from March 4, 1825 to March 4, 1829
  • Period: to

    Jacksonian

  • 🟧 The Indian Removal Act

    🟧 The Indian Removal Act
    Signed by Andrew Jackson. Allowed the U.S. Government to grant native land to settlers and forcibly remove the tribes and relocate them.
  • 🟩 Jackson Vetoes the Second National Bank

    🟩 Jackson Vetoes the Second National Bank
    Andrew Jackson was a firm believer that the National Bank was unconstitutional. When Congress passed a bill that would extend the Second National Banks charter Jackson vetoed the bill. Later, when explaining his decision to the American public Jackson said that the bill was incompatible with "justice", "sound policy", and the Constitution.
  • Martian Van Buren

    Martian Van Buren
    Van Buren was a democrat. He was president from March 4, 1837 to March 4, 1841.
  • William Henry Harrison

    William Henry Harrison
    Harrison was a member of the Whig party. He was president from March 4, 1841 to April 4 1841.
  • John Tyler

    John Tyler
    Tyler was a member of the Whig party. He was president from April 6, 1841 to March 4, 1845.
  • 🟪 The Great Famine and Irish Immigration

    🟪 The Great Famine and Irish Immigration
    The Great Famine was a period in Ireland where their potato crop was ruined by a disease. Due to this many Irish people moved to the United States, where there was no famine.
  • James K. Polk

    James K. Polk
    Polk was a Democrat. He was president from March 4, 1845 to March 3, 1849
  • 🟥 The Mexican American War

    🟥 The Mexican American War
    The Mexican American War was fought between Mexico and America over America's annexation of Texas and a land dispute. The war ended when America took Mexico's capital and Mexico surrendered. The war ended on February 2, 1848 and the treaty had America taking modern day Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado for less than their original promised price.
  • 🟦 Seneca Falls Convention

    🟦 Seneca Falls Convention
    The Seneca Falls Convention was an assembly held in Seneca Falls, New York. This assembly is known as the first American women's rights convention. The assembly is regarded as the event that kick started 1st wave feminism. The even was a two day affair with the first day being for women only.
  • Zachary Taylor

    Zachary Taylor
    Taylor was a member of the Whig party. He was president from March 4, 1849 to July 9, 1850
  • Millard Fillmore

    Millard Fillmore
    Fillmore was a member of the Whig party. He served from July 10, 1850 to March 4, 1853.
  • Franklin Pierce

    Franklin Pierce
    Pierce was a Democrat. He served from March 4, 1853 to March 4, 1857
  • 🟧 Kansas Nebraska Act

    🟧 Kansas Nebraska Act
    The Kansas Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise and created two new territories that allowed for popular sovereignty to decide if a state would be pro or anti slavery.
  • James Buchanan

    James Buchanan
    Buchanan was a democrat. He served from March 4, 1857 to March 4, 1861.
  • Abraham Lincoln

    Abraham Lincoln
    Lincoln was a Republican. He served from March 4, 1861 to April 15, 1865.
  • Period: to

    🟥 Civil War

    The Civil War was a war fought between the North, the Union, and the South, the Confederates, in the United States. The war was primarily fought because The Union wanted the U.S. to be slavery free while the Confederates wanted the U.S. to be a slave country. In the end the Union won.
  • Period: to

    Progressive Era

  • 🟧 Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

    🟧 Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
    President Lincoln was assassinated at the Ford theater by John Wilkes Booth.
  • Andrew Johnson

    Andrew Johnson
    Johnson was a democrat. He served from April 15, 1865 to March 4, 1869.
  • 🟧 13th Amendment

    🟧 13th Amendment
    The 13th Amendment formally abolished slavery in all states and territories except when used as corporeal punishment.
  • 🟧 Reconstruction Acts

    🟧 Reconstruction Acts
    The Reconstruction Acts were passed between 1867-1868. The acts outlined how the Southern states would be readmitted into the United States and divided the states, besides Tennessee, into 5 military districts.
  • 🟧 14th Amendment

    🟧 14th Amendment
    The 14th amendment granted citizenship to anyone who was born or naturalized in the United States
  • Ulysses S. Grant

    Ulysses S. Grant
    Grant was a Republican. He served from March 4, 1869 to March 4, 1877.
  • Period: to

    Gilded Age

  • Period: to

    🟧 Jim Crows Laws

    Jim Crow Laws were a series of laws passed in the South that targeted African Americans. These laws helped perpetuate segregation and had very strict voting restrictions on African Americans, such as the Grandfather Clause and literacy tests.
  • 🟧 The 15th Amendment

    🟧 The 15th Amendment
    The 15th Amendment allowed any man to vote regardless of race or if he was a slave or not.
  • Rutherford B. Hayes

    Rutherford B. Hayes
    Hayes was a Republican. He served from March 4, 1877 to March 4, 1881.
  • James A. Garfield

    James A. Garfield
    Garfield was a Republican. He served from March 4, 1881 to September 19, 1881.
  • Chester A. Arthur

    Chester A. Arthur
    Arthur was a Republican. He served from September 20, 1881 to March 4, 1885.
  • 🟪 The Chinese Exclusion Act

    🟪 The Chinese Exclusion Act
    The Chinese Exclusion Act put a 10-year ban on all Chinese laborers trying to immigrate into the United States. The act also required immigrants coming for reasons other than labor to obtain certification from the Chinese Government. The act also said that any Chinese immigrant who left the U.S. had to re-obtain certification to be let back in.
  • Grover Cleveland

    Grover Cleveland
    Cleveland was a Democrat. He served from March 4, 1885 to March 4, 1889.
  • 🟦 Settlement House Movement

    🟦 Settlement House Movement
    The Settlement House Movement was an attempt by middle class people, mainly women, to bridge the gap between the wealthy and poor class. They would settle in poor neighborhoods to assist there in anyway they could.
  • Benjamin Harrison

    Benjamin Harrison
    Harrison was a Republican. He served from March 4, 1889 to March 3, 1893.
  • Grover Cleveland

    Grover Cleveland
    Cleveland was a Democrat. He served from March 4, 1893 to March 4, 1897
  • William McKinley

    William McKinley
    McKinley was a Republican. He served from March 4, 1897 to September 14, 1901
  • 🟥 The Spanish American War

    🟥 The Spanish American War
    The Spanish American War was a war fought between Spain and America following the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana Harbor. The battle ended on December 10, 1898.
  • Theodore Roosevelt

    Theodore Roosevelt
    Roosevelt was a Republican. He served from September 14, 1901 to March 4, 1909.
  • William Howard Taft

    William Howard Taft
    Taft was a Republican. He served from March 4, 1909 to March 4, 1913.
  • Woodrow Wilson

    Woodrow Wilson
    Wilson was a Democrat. He served from March 4, 1913 to March 4, 1921.
  • Period: to

    🟥 World War l

    World War l was a war fought between the Allied Powers, Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States (in 1917), and the Central Powers, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Italy. The Allied Powers won the war and signed the Treaty of Versailles, a direct cause of WWll.
  • Period: to

    Roaring 20s

  • Warren G. Harding

    Warren G. Harding
    Harding was a Republican. He served from March 4, 1921 to August 2, 1923.
  • 🟦 Tulsa Race Massacre

    🟦 Tulsa Race Massacre
    After the arrest of Dick Rowland fighting broke out among the white and black communities leading to angry whites burning down the Greenwood District. Every black Tulsan was imprisoned directly after the event.
  • 🟦 Introduction of the ERA

    🟦 Introduction of the ERA
    The ERA, Equal Rights Amendment, was an amendment proposed to Congress written by Alice Paul, a suffrage leader. It was reintroduced every year for half a century but never passed. If passed the amendment would end legal distinctions between men and women, such as pay gaps.
  • Calvin Coolidge

    Calvin Coolidge
    Coolidge was a Republican. He served from August 2, 1923 to March 4, 1929.
  • Herbert Hoover

    Herbert Hoover
    Hoover was a Republican. He served from March 4, 1929 to March 4, 1933.
  • Period: to

    🟩 Great Depression

    The Great Depression was a decade long period when the Stock Market crashed and many people lost their money after the banks lost everything. Many people were left homeless and jobless after the crash. Dust bowls out west didn't help anyone trying to get back on their feet by growing their own food. The depression didn't officially end until the start of WWll with America getting more economic stability by supporting other nations.
  • 🟪 The Dust Bowls

    🟪 The Dust Bowls
    The Dust Bowls were massive clouds of dust that formed in the southwest Great Plains during the Great Depression due to a drought the land was experiencing. The Dust Bowl caused many people to lose their lives, homes, and livelihoods. Many fled back to the cities they came from when the storms started.
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt

    Franklin D. Roosevelt
    Roosevelt was a Democrat. He served from March 4, 1933 to April 12, 1945.
  • 🟩 The New Deal

    🟩 The New Deal
    The New Deal was a series of plans enacted by Franklin D. Roosevelt to help pull America out of the Great Depression. The policies could be summed up by the three R's: Relief, Reform, and Recovery. All policies enacted under the New Deal were created to help relieve people from the stress of the depression, help reform systems to keep another depression from happening, or helping recover from the effects of the depression.
  • Period: to

    🟥 World War ll

    World War 2 was the second world war fought between the Allied Powers, Great Britain, France, the U.S.S.R., and (eventually) American, against the Axis Powers, Germany, Japan, and Italy. WWll saw events such as the Holocaust, the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the atom bomb hitting Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and D-Day. The Allied powers won the war after D-Day.
  • 🟪 Japanese Internment

    🟪 Japanese Internment
    Following the Bombing of Pearl Harbor people became suspicious of Japanese Americans and thought they might be spies for Japan. The American government decided that for safety all Japanese Americans should be moved to camps for their "protection". These camps were cramped, dirty, in the middle of the desert causing extreme temperatures, and were surrounded by soldiers. Japanese Internment didn't end until March 20, 1946.
  • 🟦 Zoot Suit Riots

    🟦 Zoot Suit Riots
    Zoot Suit Riots happened when a group of white U.S. servicemen and police officers descended upon a town with a majority Mexican-American population in East Los Angeles, California. The officers detained, beat, and harassed hundreds of Mexican American youths. The riots were caused by years of white supremacy but were kick-started by Zoot Suits, a type of oversized suits that tapered at the ankle and were seen as unpatriotic.
  • Harry S. Truman

    Harry S. Truman
    Truman was a Democrat. He served from April 12, 1945 to January 20, 1953.
  • Period: to

    🟥 Cold War

    The Cold War wasn't an active war, it was a war with no fighting. It was a stalemate between Russia and the United States where both countries wanted to be the best at everything, space travel, weapons, even the Olympics. There was no true fighting between Russia and the U.S. but tensions were high during this period.
  • 🟥 The Korean War

    🟥 The Korean War
    The Korean War was a proxy war fought during the Cold War between Russia and the U.S. The U.S. got involved in the Korean War to keep the Communist North Korea from taking over the anti-communist South Korea. Active fighting in the Korean War ended on July 27, 1953. However the Korean War never officially ended as no treaty was ever signed. Today Korea is divided by a heavily guarded wall and tensions are still high.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower

    Dwight D. Eisenhower
    Eisenhower was a Republican. He served from January 20, 1953 to January 20, 1961.
  • 🟥 The Vietnam War

    🟥 The Vietnam War
    The Vietnam War was a proxy war America fought in while in the Cold War with Russia. America fought with South Vietnam to keep communism from North Vietnam spreading to South Vietnam. In the end America was unsuccessful in this endeavor as one month after American troops left North Vietnam took over South Vietnam and the country turned Communist. The war, for America, ended April 30, 1975.
  • 🟦 The Chicano Movement

    🟦 The Chicano Movement
    The Chicano Movement was a series of protests by Mexican Americans demanding to be given the same representation as white people. Key protests in the movement are East L.A. Walkouts (1968) and The Delano Grape Strike and Boycott (1965).
  • John F. Kennedy

    John F. Kennedy
    Kennedy was a Democrat. He served from January 20, 1961 to November 22, 1963.
  • 🟥 The Bay of Pigs

    🟥 The Bay of Pigs
    The Bay of Pigs was a failed invasion of Cuba by Brigade 2506, who were defeated in 2 days.
  • Lyndon B. Johnson

    Lyndon B. Johnson
    Johnson was a Democrat. He served from November 22, 1963 to January 20, 1969.
  • 🟧 The Assassination of John F. Kennedy

    🟧 The Assassination of John F. Kennedy
    John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas by Lee Harvey Oswald while riding in a presidential motorcade.
  • 🟦 Red Power Movement

    🟦 Red Power Movement
    Native Americans were unhappy about how they were being treated so they held Alcatraz to raise awareness to the conditions they live in. Ended on May 8, 1973.
  • Richard Nixon

    Richard Nixon
    Nixon was a Republican. He served from January 20, 1969 to August 9, 1974.
  • 🟦 The Stone Wall Riots

    🟦 The Stone Wall Riots
    The Stonewall Riots, also known as the Stonewall Uprising, began when New York City police raided the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar. The raid sparked riots between bar patrons and neighborhood residents as police dragged employees and patrons out of the bar. This led to 6 days of protests and violent clashes with officers. The Stonewall Riots were a catalyst for the gay rights movement.
  • 🟧 Watergate

    🟧 Watergate
    Watergate was a scandal surrounding Richard Nixon. It became public knowledge on March 23, 1973 when a confession letter from one of Nixon's accomplices was made public. It was revealed that Nixon had been recording every interaction in the Oval Office, including confidential meetings, and the scandal was found out from a break-in at the Democratic National Committee.
  • 🟩 The 70s Gas Crisis

    🟩 The 70s Gas Crisis
    In 1973, during the Arab-Israeli War, Arab members of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) exposed an embargo against the U.S. for supporting Israeli troops and to gain leverage in peace negotiaitions.
  • Gerald Ford

    Gerald Ford
    Ford was a Republican. He served from August 9, 1974 to January 20, 1977.
  • Jimmy Carter

    Jimmy Carter
    Carter was a Democrat. He served from January 20, 1977 to January 20, 1981.
  • Ronald Reagan

    Ronald Reagan
    Reagan was a Republican. He served from January 20, 1981 to January 20, 1989.
  • Second National March on Washington

    Second National March on Washington
    The Second National March on Washington was a massive political rally for Lesbian and Gay rights. The march had a turn out of 750,000 participants and also had a focus on AIDS activism.
  • Period: to

    Contemporary History

  • George H. W. Bush

    George H. W. Bush
    Bush was a Republican. He served from January 20, 1989 to January 20, 1993.
  • Bill Clinton

    Bill Clinton
    Clinton is a Democrat. He served from January 20, 1993 to January 20, 2001.
  • George W. Bush

    George W. Bush
    Bush is a Republican. He served from January 20, 2001 to January 20, 2009.
  • Barack Obama

    Barack Obama
    Obama is a Democrat. He served from January 20, 2009 to January 20, 2017.
  • Donald Trump

    Donald Trump
    Trump is a Republican. He served from January 20, 2017 to January 20, 2021.
  • Joe Biden

    Joe Biden
    Biden is a Democrat. He served from January 20, 2021 to January 20, 2025.
  • Donald Trump

    Donald Trump
    Trump is a Republican. His second term started January 20, 2025 and he is still on office today.