American History Timeline

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    Early Republic

  • Treaty of Paris

    Treaty of Paris
    In 1783, the British and US signed a treaty that declared the official independence and sovereignty of the 13 colonies.
  • George Washington

    George Washington
    1st President of the United States
    1789-1797
  • Hamilton's Financial Plan

    Hamilton's Financial Plan
    A financial plan created by Alexander Hamilton for the US. It consisted of a National Bank, state debts, and creation of new industries.
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    The Second Great Awakening

    A big boom in religious popularity in the US.
  • John Adams

    John Adams
    2nd President of the USA 1797-1801
  • Thomas Jefferson

    Thomas Jefferson
    3rd US president, 1801-1809
  • James Madison

    James Madison
    4th president of the US 1809-1817
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    Manifest Destiny/Westward Expansion

  • War of 1812

    War of 1812
    The War of 1812 was a war between the US and Canada (Britain) over trade restrictions and maritime rights.
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    Era of Good Feelings

  • James Monroe

    James Monroe
    5th president of the US 1817-1825
  • Temperance Movement

    Temperance Movement
    The churches in the US encouraged citizens to moderate their drinking habits.
  • Indian Removal Act

    Indian Removal Act
    The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was signed into law on May 28, 1830, by United States President Andrew Jackson. The law, as described by Congress, provided "for an exchange of lands with the Indians residing in any of the states or territories, and for their removal west of the river Mississippi".
  • John Quincy Adams

    John Quincy Adams
    6th president of the US 1825-1829
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    Jacksonian

  • Kansas-Nebraska Act

    Kansas-Nebraska Act
    The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty.
  • Andrew Jackson

    Andrew Jackson
    7th president of the US 1829-1837
  • Indian Removal Act

    Indian Removal Act
    Put into place by Andrew Jackson, this relocated American Indians to the western territories of the USA.
  • Jackson Vetoes Second National Bank

    Jackson Vetoes Second National Bank
    In 1832, President Andrew Jackson vetoed a bill to place a National Bank.
  • Martin Van Buren

    Martin Van Buren
    8th president of the US 1837-1841
  • Mexican American War

    Mexican American War
    A war between the US and Mexico, primarily over territory that the US wanted from Mexico.
  • John Tyler

    John Tyler
    10th president of the US 1841-1845
  • William Henry Harrison

    William Henry Harrison
    9th president of the US 1841-1841
  • The Great Famine and Irish Immigration

    The Great Famine and Irish Immigration
    In Ireland there was a major Famine which caused lots of Irish to migrate to the US.
  • James K. Polk

    James K. Polk
    The 11th president of the US, 1845-1849
  • Seneca Falls Convention

    Seneca Falls Convention
    The Seneca Falls Convention, held in Seneca Falls, New York on July 19-20, 1848, was the first women's rights convention, organized by Elizabeth Stanton and others, and it's known for the Declaration of Sentiments, which called for women's rights, including suffrage
  • Zachary Taylor

    Zachary Taylor
    12 president of the US, 1849-1850
  • Millard Filmore

    Millard Filmore
    13th president of the US, 1850-1853
  • Franklin Pierce

    Franklin Pierce
    14th president of the US, 1853-1857
  • James Buchanan

    James Buchanan
    15th president of the US, 1857-1861
  • Andrew Johnson

    Andrew Johnson
    17th President of the US, 1865-1869
  • Civil War

    Civil War
    The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union.
  • Abraham Lincoln

    Abraham Lincoln
    16th President of the US, 1861-1865
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    Civil War

  • 14th Amendment

    The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, addresses citizenship, equal protection under the law, and due process, ensuring that states cannot deny these rights to any person within their jurisdiction.
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    Progressive Era

  • Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

    Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
    On April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States, was shot by John Wilkes Booth while attending the play Our American Cousin at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.
  • 13th Amendment

    13th Amendment
    The constitutional amendment that abolished slavery.
  • 15th Amendment

    15th Amendment
    The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1870, prohibits the denial or abridgment of the right to vote based on race, color, or previous condition of servitude, effectively granting African American men the right to vote.
  • Ulysses S. Grant

    Ulysses S. Grant
    18th President of the US, 1869-1877
  • Rutherford B. Hayes

    Rutherford B. Hayes
    19th President of the US, 1877-1881
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    Gilded Age

  • James A. Garfield

    James A. Garfield
    20th President of the US, 1881-1881
  • Chester A. Arthur

    Chester A. Arthur
    21st President of the US, 1881-1885
  • Chinese Exclusion Act

    Chinese Exclusion Act
    The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 was the first major law in the United States to restrict immigration based on nationality. It was signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882.
  • Settlement House Movement

    Settlement House Movement
    A social movement that aimed to close the gap between lower class and upper class US citizens
  • Grover Cleveland

    Grover Cleveland
    22nd President of the US, 1885-1889
  • Benjamin Harrison

    Benjamin Harrison
    23rd President of the US, 1889-1893
  • Grover Cleveland (again)

    Grover Cleveland (again)
    Guess who's back, back again!!! Grover is back, tell your friends! 24th President of the US, 1893-1897
  • William McKinley

    William McKinley
    25th President of the US, 1897-1901
  • Theodore Roosevelt

    Theodore Roosevelt
    26th President of the US, 1901-1909
  • William Howard Taft

    William Howard Taft
    27th President of the US, 1909-1913
  • Woodrow WIlson

    Woodrow WIlson
    28th President of the US, 1913-1921
  • WW1

    WW1
    A war fought in Europe by Germany, Austria Hungary, Great Britain, France, and the US who joined in 1918
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    WW1

  • Warren G. Harding

    Warren G. Harding
    29th President of the US, 1921-1923
  • Passage of the 19th Amendment

    Passage of the 19th Amendment
    The 19th Amendment was passed in 1920, it guaranteed women the right to vote. It also prevented any state from denying voting privileges to anyone based on gender.
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    Roaring '20s

  • Tulsa Race Massacre

    Tulsa Race Massacre
    A two-day-long white supremacist terrorist massacre took place in the Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma between May 31 and June 1, 1921, when mobs of white residents, some of whom had been appointed as deputies and armed by city government officials, attacked black residents and destroyed homes and businesses.
  • Introduction of the ERA

    Introduction of the ERA
    The ERA (Equal Rights Amendment) was introduced in 1923 to ensure that women have the same rights as men. Unfortunately, this isn't followed by every state, with 38 of 50 ratifying the amendment.
  • Calvin Coolidge

    Calvin Coolidge
    30th President of the US, 1923-1929
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    Great Depression

  • Herbert Hoover

    Herbert Hoover
    31st President of the US, 1929-1933
  • Great Depression

    Great Depression
    The Great Depression is known as a period of poor financial decisions and situations in the US.
  • The Dust Bowl

    The Dust Bowl
    A series of dust storms that devastated farmland in the Midwest.
  • The New Deal

    The New Deal
    The New Deal was created to deal with the woes of the Great Depression. It was put in place by FDR.
  • Franklin D. Roosevelt

    Franklin D. Roosevelt
    32nd President of the US, 1933-1945
  • WWII

    WWII
    A war fought in Europe and Asia against Japan, Germany, and Italy. The US was allies with GB and FR but the US joined in 1942 due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
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    Zoot Suit Riots

    The Zoot Suit Riots were a series of riots that took place June 3–8, 1943, in Los Angeles, California, United States, involving American servicemen stationed in Southern California and young Latino and Mexican American city residents.
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    Chicano Movement

    The Chicano Movement, was a social and political movement in the United States that worked to embrace a Chicano/a identity and worldview that combated structural racism, encouraged cultural revitalization, and achieved community empowerment by rejecting assimilation.
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    WWII

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    Japanese Internment

    During World War II, the United States forcibly relocated and incarcerated about 120,000 people of Japanese descent in ten concentration camps operated by the War Relocation Authority, mostly in the western interior of the country. About two-thirds were U.S. citizens.
  • Harry S. Truman

    Harry S. Truman
    33rd President of the US, 1945-1953
  • Cold War

    Cold War
    The Cold War was between the US and Russia. It wasn't a normal war as no shots were fired. It was mostly over nuclear power and the space race.
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    Cold War

  • Korean War

    Korean War
    A war fought between North Korea and South Korea over mostly communism. The US joined the war to help prevent the spread of communism.
  • Dwight D. Eisenhower

    Dwight D. Eisenhower
    34th President of the US, 1953-1961
  • Vietnam War

    Vietnam War
    The Vietnam War was a war fought between North and South Vietnam over their governments. The North was Communist while the South was something. The US came over to help prevent the spread of communism to the South. This was basically pointless because millions of lives were lost and communism still spread to the South.
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    Red Power Movement

    The Red Power movement was a social movement which was led by Native American youth who demanded self-determination for Native Americans in the United States. Organizations that were part of the Red Power Movement include the American Indian Movement and the National Indian Youth Council.
  • John F. Kennedy

    John F. Kennedy
    35th President of the US, 1961-1963
  • Lyndon B. Johnson

    Lyndon B. Johnson
    36th President of the US, 1963-1969
  • The Civil Rights Act

    The Civil Rights Act
    The Civil Rights Act lays out laws against discrimination based on color, race, ethnicity, religion, gender or origin. It was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 2nd, 1964.
  • Richard Nixon

    Richard Nixon
    37th President of the US, 1969-1974
  • Stonewall Movements

    Stonewall Movements
    A series of riots in NYC protesting a police riot that occurred a few days prior.
  • Gerald Ford

    Gerald Ford
    38th President of the US, 1974-1977
  • Jimmy Carter

    Jimmy Carter
    39th President of the US, 1977-1981
  • Ronald Reagan

    Ronald Reagan
    40th President of the US, 1981-1989
  • Second National March on Washington

    Second National March on Washington
    A large protest of ~750,000 people fighting for gay and lesbian rights.
  • George H.W. Bush

    George H.W. Bush
    41st President of the US, 1989-1993
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    Contemporary History

  • Bill Clinton

    Bill Clinton
    42nd President of the US, 1993-2001
  • George W. Bush

    George W. Bush
    43rd President of the US, 2001-2009
  • 9/11

    9/11
    9/11 was a terrorist attack against the US by Al-Qaeda, a terrorist group in the middle east. 2 planes were flown into the Twin Towers in NYC and 1 was flown into the Pentagon in DC. Approximately 3,000 people were killed in the attacks.
  • The Great Recession

    The Great Recession
    In late 2007, there was a major recession caused by lackluster mortgage and loan practices by the US. It was felt the worst in 2008 and technically ended in 2009. The effects of this are still felt today.
  • Barack Obama

    Barack Obama
    44th President of the US, 2009-2017
  • Donald Trump

    Donald Trump
    45th President of the US, 2017-2021
  • Joe Biden

    Joe Biden
    46th President of the US, 2021-2025
  • Donald Trump (Again)

    Donald Trump (Again)
    47th President of the US, 2025-Present