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Jamestown Settlement
Jamestown was one of the first colonies in North America. It was populated by mostly wealthy men looking for gold. The settlers were completely unprepared for the harsh winter and ended up in a starving time where two-thirds of the colonists died from the conditions. -
Salem Witch Trials
Several young girls accused a slave woman and two poor women of being witches claiming they were worshipping the devil. These accusations sparked mass hysteria of witch accusations. These accusations resulted in the execution of 19 accused witches. The hysteria caused the people of Salem to constantly be worried that they could be accused, or they could accuse someone they don't like. Both of these possibilities only added to the hysteria. -
Stamp Act
The stamp act was one of the first taxes in the colonies that had to be directly paid by the colonists. It added taxes on paper documents and playing cards. This tax was combated by organized boycotts of some of these products. These boycotts were made possible by The Sons of Liberty, an influential group formed in part because of the stamp act. The stamp act left people angry that they were being taxed by Britain without being represented in parliament. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was the result of a mob of colonists harassing British soldiers and throwing objects such as snowballs with rocks in them at the soldiers. After one of the soldiers was hit by an object they opened fire into the crowd killing five men. The event was used by the patriots to make people think the British were evil and killing people in the streets. -
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Underground Railroad
the Underground Railroad was a system of outposts and houses that gave refuge to slaves trying to escape to the north in America. This was led by freed slaves like Harriet Tubman and other abolitionists. The Underground Railroad gave hope to enslaved people that they could one day escape slavery and live their lives as free people. -
Trail of Tears
Andrew Jackson had been removing Native Americans with the Indian Removal Act which sent them west so that America could expand its territory. Cherokee Indians were forced to leave their land near the Mississippi River and were moved to Oklahoma on the harsh and unforgiving Trail of Tears. Not only had the Americans gone back on their promise to let them keep their land, but now nearly 4,000 of the Cherokee had died as a result of the Indian Removal Act. -
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Reconstruction
After the Civil War Abraham Lincoln sought to reunite the South with the North quickly and easily, without setting harsh punishments on them. This also included freeing the slaves and rebuilding infrastructure. Although everyone was now in one country tensions were still extremely high. Much of the South still wanted independence and Northerners were angry that the South hadn't been punished for the damage they caused -
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Prohibiton
Due to a revival in religion, many people fought for the ban of alcohol as it was seen to be unreligious. Much of this movement was led by mothers who felt that alcohol was stealing their husbands from them. In 1920 all manufacturing, sale, and transportation of alcohol was banned. this led to many people turning to illegal ways of obtaining alcohol as well as the rise of the mafia being a major provider of alcohol. Prohibition left some satisfied and others angry about the decision. -
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The Great Depression
The Great Depression was the world's greatest economic depression. It was caused by reckless spending in the twenty due to the creation of credit and then sparked by the stock market crash in 1929. The Great Depression left many people without money or a job creating a sense of despair in the American people. -
September 11, 2001
on September 11, 2001, the twin towers, as well as the Pentagon, were hit by airplanes in a terrorist attack caused by the Afghani terrorist group al-Qaeda. This attack resulted in the death of 2,977 Americans sparking a war with Afghanistan. the attacks on 9/11 left the country feeling defeated, but it also caused the American people to unite in support of the victims of the attacks.