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Jamestown Settled
King James I grants land to the Virginia Company of London. 104 settlers leave England for this new land. They landed in the Chesapeake Bay. They settled Jamestown in 1607 and it became the first permanent settlement in North America. -
The Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was the first "government" document in American history. It was written as a form of self-government by the Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower. It was signed by 41 adult male colonists. -
The Albany Congress
This Congress, called forth by Ben Franklin, signified the first time in American history that the colonies recognized that they were stronger united than apart. The Congress was called during the French-Indian War and delegates from most of the colonies were present. The colonies recognized that the British were not fighting to protect the colonists, but rather to protect their money. While the Congress did not vote to unite, it was the seed that started the idea of unification. -
The Battle of Fort Necessity
Future President George Washington started the French-Indian War (also called the 7-Years War) when he attacked a Frech force at Jumonville Glen. This conflict arose because of English settlers pushing West into French traders' lands. -
Boston Tea Party
American colonists were angry at the British for imposing taxes like the Sugar Act, Stamp Act, Quartering Act, and Coersive Act, also called the Intolerable Acts. They raided Boston Harbor and dumped $5 million worth of tea into the harbor before the ship landed so it couldn't be taxed. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
Tensions between the colonists and the British had gotten so bad that the colonists had begun to store ammunition in a town called Concord. The British's plan was to seize the weapons and John Hancock and Sam Adams, two key figures in the Revolution. Paul Revere road ahead of the British and warned the colonists that "The Redcoats are coming!" and when the British reached Concord all the weapons were gone. The British fought the local militia in Lexington and won but were ultimately defeated. -
Declaration of Independence
The 2nd Continental Congress asked Thomas Jefferson of Virgina to write the Declaration of Independence, a list of reasons and explanations of why the colonies were now an independent nation. This was the first step in the colonies becoming the United States of America -
Battle of Saratoga
The Battle of Saratoga was the turning point of the Revolution. Until this point, the Continental Army had been losing but when 2 British armies were delayed on the way to Saratoga, the one that arrived on time was outnumbered and defeated. No other army in the world had ever defeated an entire British army, and this evened the playing field (3 British armies, 3 Continental Armies). -
Valley Forge
During the winter of 1777-1778, Washington's army camped at Valley Forge, PA. The army was cold, hungry, and out of money. Most soldiers lacked proper clothing and bedding, exposing them to the cold. They also had very little food and would sometimes go days without meat. Disease swept through the camp as well, but despite this Washington proved his strengh and in the following years the tide of the war flipped due to this winter. -
Battle of Yorktown
The French had joined the Revolution at this point, and on his way to retreat at Yorktown British General Cornwallis found himself with the French Navy behind him and the Continental Army closing in on him. All winter Yorktown was attacked from all sides until Cornwallis sends someone to surrender in his place. Soon after, the Treaty of Paris was signed and the war was officially over. -
Shays' Rebellion
Farmer Daniel Shays led a group of local leaders to the Supreme Court meeting in Springfield and forced them to adjourn in protest of the Articles of Confederation, the ruling document at the time. This rebellion showed the weaknesses of the Articles and how they failed to withstand opposition. They would soon be replaced by the U.S. Constituion that is still our country's law to this day. -
Washington's Inauguration
George Washington was asked to become the first president of the United States. He set many precedents that other presidents after him followed, such as choosing a presidential cabinent, appointing Supreme Court judges, and only serving as President for 2 terms (8 years). He served as president with John Adams as his Vice President. -
Whiskey Rebellion
Farmers in Pennsylvania refused to pay taxes on whiskey. George Washington led the army to put down the rebellion and the rebels realized they were outnumbered and fled without a single shot. This showed the power of the new federal government and the Constitution. The Constitution was able to withstand a rebellion, unlike the Articles of Confederation which collapsed after Shay's Rebellion -
Jefferson's Inauguration
The election of 1800, often called the "Revolution of 1800", marked the first peaceful transition of power between a party and its adversary. Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence and Secretary of State to George Washington, was elected as the third President of the United States following Anti-Federalist John Adams. He was the first president to be inaugurated in the new capital city that he helped build, Washington DC. -
Louisiana Purchase
Pres. Jefferson sent James Monroe to negotiate the purchase of New Orleans for $3 million. Napoleon only agrees if the United States also buys the whole Louisiana Territory for $15 million. The purchase not only secured New Orleans' port but also the Mississippi River, along with doubling the sides of the nation. -
Marbury v. Madison
Before Jefferson was elected, John Adams filled federal courts with loyal federalists. One of the men appointed was William Marbury, but he never got his letter. Jefferson's vice president James Madison found the letter and on orders from Jefferson, withheld the letter. This led to a Supreme Court case where the Supreme Court rules in favor of Madison-based on the fact that part of the Judiciary Act was unconstitutional. This gave the Supreme Court the power to deem things consitutional or not. -
Lewis and Clark Explore the West
President Jefferson commissions Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to go on an expedition to explore the new territory, begin a trading expedition with Natives, and find a water route to the Pacific Ocean. The two explorers also wished to undergo the journey to study the area's plants, animals, and geography. The information they brought back after three years exploring the west helped the rest of the country to understand the West just a little bit better. -
Embargo of 1807
Great Britain and France were at war again. The U.S. had a good trading relationship with both countries and Jefferson didn't want to get in the way, so he imposes an embrago, or ban, on all foreign trade. The embargo damaged the economy and was unpopular among merchants, traders, and the business community. However, it encouraged the growth of domestic manufacturing. -
Battle of Thames
The War of 1812 began when British soldiers began taking American sailors and training Natives to fight Americans. In the Battle of the Thames, American forces led by William Henry Harrison in Canada defeated British and Native American forces led by Tecumseh. The death of Tecumseh ends the Native American resistance in the Ohio River Valley. -
Star Spangled Banner is Written
Francis Scott Key, an American prisoner on a British barge, witnessed the bombardment on Fort McHenry for 12 hours. In the morning he observed that the American flag was still flying over the fort. Later it became the United States' national anthem. -
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent was written and signed in Ghent, Belgium, ending the War of 1812. The war was considered a "status quo ante bellum" or a war that no one loses. Land lines taken over during the war were returned to how they were, however Americans counted it as a win especially after the Battle of New Orleans. The British tried to take New Orleans but General Andrew Jackson stopped their navy, severely wounding the British with hardly any American deaths. -
Election of 1824
3 candidates ran in the Election of 1824: Henry Clay, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson. After the votes were counted Jackson had the most votes but no one had a majority. The election fell into the hands of the House of Representatives (12th Amendment). Clay steps out of the race, but he and Adams meet behind closed doors and no one knows what they discussed. Clay then publicly supports Adams and Adams was elected as President with Clay as his Secretary of State. -
Jackson's Inauguration
This election, Jackson won by a landslide. He wanted to recreate old Jeffersonian Era ideas and he also introduced the spoils system, where he fired many government employees and replaced them with his supporters whether or not they were fit to fill that spot. After his inauguration Jackson invited the country to the White House and a mob appeared at his doorstep. -
Indian Removal Act
This law, authorized Jackson to grant lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Native American lands. Two influential court cases came from this Act, the first was Cherokee Nation v. Georgia (1831) where the court ruled that Native Americans were a "domestic dependent nation" and the second one was Worcester v. Georgia (1832) where the Court deemed it unconstitutional to force the removal of Natives to which Jackson said "Marshall has made his decision, now let him enforce it." -
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was the forced migration of Native Americans to lands west of the Mississippi. The trail wasn't just one trail, but rather a series of paths leading west. Jackson started this when he signed the Indian Removal Act, but Martin Van Buren finished Jackson's work when he left office. The trail was harsh on the Natives and over 40% of them died on the journey, not including the many more that died later due to infertile farming lands or other tribes already in the area. -
"The Liberator"
"The Liberator", published by William Lloyd Garrison, was a newspaper to encourage abolitionism. Abolitionism was a rising movement due to the 2nd Great Awakening happening in America, and people began to question if slavery was truely right and had ideas to abolish it. Boston was the heart of the abolitionism movement. -
The Alamo
During Texas' war with Mexico for independence, some Americans who helped fight for Texas fought the Mexicans at the Alamo. After a 13 day siege, the Mexicans took over the building and killed every Texan/American soldier there, including Davy Crockett, a famous U.S. representative fron TN. When word got out to Americans they were outraged and joined the war. "Remember the Alamo!" became a popular slogan during that time. -
Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War. It gave Texas to the United States, and it was decided that the Rio Grande would be the new border between Mexico and America. Mexico also was forced to give up the would-be states of Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and California. These new territories gave the U.S. their first access to the Pacific Ocean. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention. It was held in Seneca Falls, New York and people like Elizabeth Katy Stanton, Lucrecia Mott, and Susan B. Anthony attended to spread the word about Women's Sufferage, another movement born from the 2nd Great Awakening. -
Fugitive Slave Act
After the U.S. gained new western territories from the Mexican-American War there was conflict over whether or not CA would be a slave state since it was so large that it fit in both the north and south. The North eventually got CA as a free state, but to balance things out the South passed the Fugitive Slave Act, a law stating that any fugitive slave in the north or south could be seized and returned to their owner. For runaway slaves, this meant that they had to escape to Canada for freedom. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott and his wives were slaved to a planter who moved from a state which allowed slavery to a free state. Scott claimed that since slavery was outlawed in the new state, him and his wife were free people. This went to the Supreme Court and it was eventually decided that Congress couldn't abolish slavery in any of the territories and that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional;. -
Lincoln's Inauguration
The election of 1860 was key to the Civil War. The country was already split, but when Lincoln was elected the south feared it wouldn't be allowed to continue slavery, and this pushed them to secede. Lincoln, however, had no intention of freeing the slaves, as he didn't think that the president alone had the power to do so. -
The Battle of Fort Sumter
The attack on Fort Sumter marked the official beginning of the Civil War. South Carolina militia bombarded the fort just off the Charleston Harbor, causing the U.S. Army to surrender and hand over ammunition. This also caused other southern states to secede as well. -
Homestead Act
In the West, land equaled opportunity and there was lots of it. The Homestead Act created lands in the west for easterners to move to. These lands were made available for all landowners, not just white males. This opened up farming in the plains, ranching in the south, and mining in the mountains -
Pacific Railway Act
The government wanted a railroad that ran from the Atlantic to the Pacific, so the Pacific Railroad Act was passed, granting the Union Pacific Railroad Company and the Central Pacific Railroad Company to start on opposite sides of the country and build towards each other to create the railroad. If the railroad wasn't completed in 10 years, the companies had to pay back all the money granted to them. The 2 companies met in Utah where the railroads were connected. -
Morrill Land Grant Act
The Morrill Land Grant Act allowed land-grant colleges to be made from sales of federal lands. These colleges were built to help educate people (usually white men) to do better work in factories and with farming. Many of these schools are still running today. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation didn't end the Civil War, but it was a step to victory. The Proclamation freed all slaves. Many newly freed blacks joined the Union Army. The famous 54th Mass. was an all-black regiment of the union army. Still, there was segregation; African American soldiers were paid less and did mostly manual labor instead of fighting, but they were still free. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Southern Gen. Robert E. Lee marched his troops north into Gettysburg, PA on his second invasion of the north. After 3 days of fighting, the North won. This victory followed a string of losses for the North so it helped boost morale and nationalism. Historians consider it the turning point of the war. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
Northern Gen. William T. Sherman marched from Atlanta, Georgia to Savannah, burning farms and killing people in his path. Often they found towns deserted as people fled when they heard Sherman and his men were coming. This essentially ended the Civil War; it ruined the South's economy and hurt its morale so badly that they could not recover. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery. Southern states were required to add the 13th Amendment to their state constitutions in order to re-join the union, according to Pres. Johnson's reconstruction plan. Still, many southern states did not grant voting rights to freed African Americans. -
Lincoln is Assassinated
While watching a play at Ford's Theatre, Pres. Lincoln was assassinated by actor John Wilkes Booth. His assassination prevented Lincoln from aiding in the reconstruction of the south, which his Vice President, Johnson, carried on. His death was just one way the south showed its defiance against northern and federal government after the Civil War -
Ku Klux Klan formed
Following the Civil War, many southern whites turned violent against newly freed African Americans. They wanted to intimidate freed blacks and Republicans who supported them from voting. One of these groups was the Ku Klux Klan, a terrorist group who killed and impacted hundreds of southern blacks. Their ideas centered around "redemption" and the end of the reconstruction era. -
Reconstruction Act of 1867
The Reconstruction Act enforced Johnson's plan for reconstruction by dividing the south into 5 territories and placing the U.S. army in each territory to enforce reconstruction laws. Southern states were stripped of their power and were forced to rewrite their state constitutions to ratify the new 14th Amendment, which said that all people born in the U.S. were citizens and that the U.S. was required to protect citizens with legal processes. -
Johnson Impeached
In the late 1860's Congress' majority were Republicans who diagreed with what Pres. Johnson was doing. Congress would propose a bill, Johnson would veto it, but since Congress had a supermajority, they could override the veto. This angered Johnson so he removed anyone who disagreed with him. Congress passed a bill after overriding the President's veto that Congress-appointed officials couldn't be reomoved except by Congress, which Johnson ignores so the House of Representatives impeached him. -
Election of 1876
When the original vote was counted, it seemed as though 100% of the south voted for Samuel Tilden, which caused the north to question the validity of the results. 3 states recounted their votes- SC, LA, and FL- and all 3 states switched to Hayes which caused the south to question it. An election commission of 5 Democrats, 5 Republicans, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court were chosen to elect the president and Hayes won. -
Jim Crow Laws
Jim Crow Laws were a system of laws that ensured segregation in transportation, accommodations, schools, courts, and much more. These laws were present in every southern state and were named after Jim Crow, a fictional character made to make fun of freedmen. The laws stayed active in the south until the 1950's. -
Plessy v. Fergusen
A black man bought a first-class ticket on a train but was told to move to the car designated for blacks-only. This eventually made it to the Supreme Court where it was decided in a 7-1 ruling that 'separate but equal' accommodations on railroad cars conformed to the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection. This ruling was used to justify segregation of all public facilities later on. -
U.S.S. Maine Explodes
Following conflict between Cubans and Spain, the United States parked a new military boat, the U.S.S. Maine, in Havana Harbor to threaten the Spanish. The ship exploded, killing over 200 U.S. soldiers. Many Americans thought the Spanish were responsible and the explosion helped lead the U.S. to go to war with Spain to help Cuba become independent. -
Battle of Kettle Hill
During the Spanish-American War, future President Theodore Roosevelt gathered cowboys from the west to form a calvary unit to fight in Spain. His most famous battle was the Battle of Kettle Hill, where Roosevelt and his men, called the "Rough Riders", took over the Spanish and led them to begin a siege on Santiago de Cuba. -
"The Jungle" Published
Journalists called muckrakers arose in the Progressive Era to expose the terrible living conditions that most of the lower class was living and working in. Among these journalists was writer Upton Sinclair who wrote "The Jungle", a book that exposed the horrors of the meat packaging industry, eventually leading to new laws ensuring workers' safety in meat factories. -
Panama Canal Completed
President Roosevelt wanted a way to link the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans without having to go all the way around the tip of South America, so he purchased land from the new nation of Panama to build a canal. The canal took 8 years to build and about 25,000 workers lost their lives to malaria and yellow fever. But when the canal opened, there was finally an easier way to trade between oceans. -
United States joins World War 1
Germany's practice of submarine warfare around England at the beginning of World War 1 antagonized the US, but until the Zimmerman Telegram was discovered the US kept their isolationist policy. The Zimmerman Telegram, a telegram from Germany to Mexico asking them to start a war with the US to keep them out of WW1, was considered an act of war and prompted Pres. Wilson to join WW1 on Britain and France's side. -
Houston Riot
The Houston Riot was a mutiny and riot of black soldiers in the 24th Regiment of the Army. World War 1 allowed lots of black men the chance to fight for their country, but in the segregated south (especially Houston) tensions between black soldiers and their white counterparts were high. The soldiers were forced to use segregated facilities, prompting them to commit mutiny. The practice of segregation in the army was just a small fraction of the segregation taking place all over the south. -
Armistice
Right up until the last minute, fighting continued in WW2 but on Nov 11 at 11 am Germany signed an armistice agreement and fighting stopped. This signified the end of the deadliest war at the time.In signing amristice, Germany had to agree to pay massive war debts, agree to not have a large military, and agree to not invade other countires. This severely hurt Germany's economy and directly caused WW2. -
Palmer Raids Start
After WW1 a rising concern for many Americans were communists. They feared communism in Europe and were suspicious of anyone they believed to be a communist. Immigration laws were passed to try to weed out communists, but Palmer raids-or mass arrests of anyone believed to be an anarchist, communist, or radical- were what the public really wanted. One famous case was the Sacco and Vanzetti case, where 2 men believed to be anarchists were unfairly accused of murder and sentenced to death. -
Harlem Renaissance
While blacks in America still faced huge amounts of prejudice, but in the Harlem district of New York City, black artists began to change and shape art and music in what was called the Harlem Renaissance. Jazz and blues were born in this era, as well as many poems such as Harlem and I, Too, both by Langston Hughes. -
Prohibition
For decades before, people (mostly women) had been protesting in favor of prohibition-the banning of alcohol-and on Jan 17, 1920, it finally happened. However, prohibition seemed to have the opposite effect it was supposed to. People began to drink more during Prohibition than ever before, and speakeasies, bootlegging, and organized crime became very common. Eventually, a new amendment repealing Prohibition was added to the Constitution, but it still had a huge influence on culture in the 20's. -
Scopes Monkey Trial
In March of 1925, the state of Tennessee banned teaching evolution. Substitute teacher John Scopes decided to teach it anyway and was taken to court for this decision. During the trial Scopes was found guilty, but his trial sparked a debate still relevant today about where the line between church and state should be drawn and whether it was okay to ban certain topics based on certain religious beliefs. -
KKK Marches on Washington
In the 1920's the KKK rose again, this time with over 5 million members. Their violence was again mostly aimed at African Americans, but also Jews, immigrants, and Catholics. In 1926, the Klan marched in front of the Capitol in Washington, DC. Over 30,000 unmasked, proud Klan members marched that day and no one stopped them, since at the time so many high ranking officials were part of the Klan themselves. -
Stock Market Crashes
During the 20's, the stock market surged and people began buying on margin, which means buying a stock for a fraction of the price with an agreement that the rest would be payed back in time. This proved to be a huge issue for many Americans when in September and October of 1929, the stock market crashed. The crash was just a symptom of other factors contributing to the inevitable depression about to hit the nation, but it marked the defining point where the depression began for many people. -
Election of 1932
Herbert Hoover was president when the Great Depression first hit, and had a very hands-off approach to handling the depression. The people didn't like this approach at all, even naming homeless communities "Hoovervilles" after him. So in the election of 1932, President Roosevelt was quickly elected. He promised to relieve the people of the depression by relief, recovery, and reform. He started the New Deal, which created jobs for many people but changed the role of government significantly. -
Court-Packing Scandal
While the people liked that FDR was active in trying to stop the depression, some people (mainly conservatives) were concerned that FDR was doing more than was constitutional. The Supreme Court supported this claim by declaring 22 of FDR's New Deal provisions to be unconstitutional. In response, FDR threatened to expand the Supreme Court to 15 people, meaning he would get to nominate 6 new people. While FDR did not end up doing this, it became known as the court-packing scandal. -
Executive Order 8802
Executive Order 8802 ended prejudice in hiring African Americans in government positions and in any company that wanted government contracts (which during the war was a huge deal considering most large companies were producing for the military). During the war, black employment doubled, and on top of that blacks were also allowed to join the military. -
Pearl Harbor
At this time, Europe was already in WW2. Japan had occupied China and Indonesia, which the US asked them not to do so in response, the US put an oil embargo on Japan which they saw as a threat to their economy. In response, Japan planned a 5-phase attack on the US navy base at Pearl Harbor. This signified both the beginning of Japanese expansion and the start of the US's involvement in WW2 the next day when FDR made a speech announcing what happened. -
D-Day
Europe became the focal point at the beginning of the war, with the promise that the Allies would aid the US when the time came to attack Japan. The Allies needed a MAJOR attack to retake the French coast and get off the British Isles and D-Day was the solution. D-Day took 18 months to prepare and build up supplies, but it ended up being the largest seaborne invasion in history and it was successful. D-Day also marked the turning point of WW2 as Germany had no more major wins from then on. -
G.I. Bill of Rights
To avoid another depression like in the 30s, the US abandoned the idea of paying soldiers back later in life and instead formed the G.I. Bill of Rights. The bill thanked soldiers by paying for a college education, providing low-interest home loans, and low-interest business loans. Because of this, more people were college-educated and got better jobs, and suburbs were created because more people could afford single-family homes. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a conference between the "Big Three", FDR, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. While the conference occurred before the end of WW2, the Allied forces never retreated once Normandy was invaded and the Axel loss was imminent. The Yalta Conference was held to discuss how to reorganize Germany and Europe after the war. It was determined that Germany would be divided into 4 zones, and the United Nations was created from this conference. -
First United Nations Meeting
The Yalta Conference created the United Nations, and only a few months after the conference the first United Nations meeting was held in San Fransisco, CA. Delegates from 50 nations all met to discuss foreign affairs. Unlike the failed League of Nations, the US decided to join the UN and it is still meeting to this day and influencing world affairs. -
V-E Day
V-E Day stands for Victory in Europe Day and marks the day that Germany unconditionally surrendered its military to the Allied forces. While Japan still had not surrendered, V-E day was the day that fighting stopped in Europe and was marked a national holiday by Winston Churchill. All throughout Europe the streets and cities were filled with people dancing and celebrating the victory. -
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference, another conference held between the new Big Three, Churchill, Stalin, and Truman who replaced FDR, after V-E day to again decide what happens in Germany and Japan. While the conference helped establish treaties with Germany, it failed to settle other important issues that ended up setting the stage for the Cold War to happen. -
Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
After V-E day, as promised the Allied forces turned their attention to Japan. When it became clear that Japanese Emperor Hirohito would not surrender unconditionally unless his country was completely devastated, President Truman agreed to detonate two atomic bombs over the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in a 3 day span. The US was the first to create the atomic bomb which was (and still is) the most deadly weapon ever used. This immediately led to a Japanese surrended (V-J Day) -
Truman Doctrine
President Truman created the Truman Doctrine as a foreign policy to help countries in need so they wouldn't fall to communism, which was a huge threat to many countries. In his speech to congress, Truman said that Communism rises when there's no hope left and that it was the US's job to keep that hope alive. To do this, Truman asked for $400 million to aid Turkey and Greece, 2 countries right on the edge of the "iron curtain". Because of the doctrine, Turkey and Greece never fall to communism. -
The Hollywood 10
Much like when the US feared communism in the 20s, the Cold War sparked a second Red Scare. This time, lots of people in the media were targeted as accused communists, and one notable group was the Hollywood 10. The group of 10 tv writers, directors, producers, and actors were arrested when they refused to answer questions (as was their right) and sparked controversy. Even after they were released from jail, they were blacklisted which was very common during the second Red Scare. -
Berlin Blockade and Airlift
In 1948 the USSR imposed a complete blockade on railway, road, and canal traffic leading to West Berlin. He wanted to starve West Berlin into joining East Berlin and becoming communist. The US's response was to begin an airlift to drop supplies into Germany via airplane, and made it clear that if Russia shot down even 1 plane that it would be seen as an act of war. The airlift went on for a year until Russia ended the blockade and was a demonstration of the Truman Doctrine. -
Alger Hiss captured
Adding fuel to the Red Scare was the capture of Russian spy Alger Hiss. Hiss was high up in the State Department but was spying for Russia in the 30s. He was put on trial and found guilty of spying. This just added to the hysteria and paranoia of the 1940s and 50s and the communist accusations that were piling up. -
NATO is formed
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was formed as an alliance that brought together free and sovereign countries in order to create a collective security system. An attack against one country in NATO was an attack against all and every country in NATO would rush to defend the one that had been attacked. Future President Dwight D. Eisenhower was the first leader of NATO. -
McCarthy's List & McCarthyism
Adding yet another level to the Red Scare was Senator Joseph McCarthy's announcement that he had a list of 205 government workers who were communists. This marked the beginning of many many trials of government workers on all levels. President Nixon and McCarthy led these trials and this era became known as McCarthyism due to his influence on it. He eventually lost public approval when he wanted to investigate communists in the Army. -
Stalin's Death and Khrushchev's Rise
USSR leader Joseph Stalin died after suffering a stroke, and Nikita Khrushchev took his place. The US was hopeful about the new leader, as he advocated "peaceful coexistence" but at his first speech to the UN Khrushchev stated that "we [USSR] will bury you [UN]" which crushed those hopes. It was under him that Russia produced the first ICBM's which made no place on Earth safe anymore. -
Rosenbergs Arrested
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were Russian spies. Julius worked with the US Government, and because of this was able to use other communist spies working directly on the Manhattan to make the Atomic Bomb to get information to Russia. He and his wife, Ethel, who mainly typed up papers her husband asked (though more recently historians have wondered if Ethel was the reason her husband spied), led a ring of Soviet spies who worked in government. They were arrested and executed for their crimes. -
Brown v. Board
In Plessy v. Fergusen, the Supreme Court determined that segregation was legal under the "separate but equal" statement. Brown v. Board Challenged that by pointing out that things in the south were separate but were in no way equal. Blacks had out-of-date and low-level schools with less qualified teachers, fewer services, and more run-down public services. Brown won the case, but the Supreme Court never set a date for when schools especially had to be desegregated, so it took a long time. -
Rosa Parks and the Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks was chosen by the NAACP to be the leader of desegregation within the public transport system. She refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man, and was arrested for it. This sparked a year long boycott on the bus company, and the company lost 75% of its customers. Eventually, the bus companies joined in asking for desegregation so they could have their customers back, and it ended up working. -
Allen Ginsberg writes "Howl"
Although Allen Ginsberg was a particularly popular beatnik, a group of baby boomers that rejected traditional styles and experimented with music, poetry, clothing, sex, and drugs, his work "Howl" is more famous than him because it explained what the beatniks "stood for" or how their minds worked. This was a stark contrast from their parents and the WW2 generation who valued conformity and normalcy, and created great generational rifts. -
Elvis appears on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Elvis Presley's appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was influential for two reasons- one, it marked a huge difference between the younger, freedom-loving generation (baby boomers) and their strict conformist parents, and two, it was a huge advancement for media and tv. It was a new way to get people of all generations interested in tv and changed many Americans' home lives as they incorporated the tv into it. -
Little Rock 9
The first group of students to desegregate the schools was the Little Rock 9. Nine students were chosen to attend Little Rock High School- an all-white school. On their way to the school, they were met with protests and mobs and were turned away at the door. President Eisenhower himself had to step in and send US troops to ensure the Little Rock 9 made it to school safely and stayed with them for the rest of the year. Ruby Bridges and James Meredith would also desegregate other school levels. -
The Space Race
The Space Race started when Russia successfully launched Sputnik, and it became the first satellite to orbit around the Earth. Many Americans feared that if Russia figured out how to weaponize space, that they- along with their ICBMs- would be able to attack the US from space and that we wouldn't be able to attack back. So, in response, the US raced to compete against the Soviets for advancements in space travel, creating the Space Race. -
Lunch Counter Sit-Ins
4 black college students went to a segregated lunch counter in Greensboro and asked to be served. When they were refused service, they simply stayed there until they would be served. They came back every day for 6 months, with many more joining them to sit in at various segregated lunch counters across the South until finally they were served. -
Election of 1960
The outcome of the election of 1960 is another attribute to the influence of television in the 1950s and 60s. For the first time ever, the presidential debates were televised and across America, people could watch them in real-time. If people had read the transcripts of the debates, Nixon would have probably won but Kennedy's screen presence was better so those watching on tv thought he answered better. Kennedy went on to win the election, thanks to the help of television. -
Freedom Rides
Over 1,000 student volunteers, both black and white, took rides through the South to test new laws outlawing segregation in bus/railway stations. At one stop, Commissioner of Public Safety "Bull" Conner knew about mobs that had started to meet the Freedom Riders and intentionally got there 15 minutes late and gaee the mobs time to beat the students. There was a televised press conference for the victims of the incident so America could see the violence blacks faced. -
Cuban Missile Crisis.
In 1959, Cuba fell to a communist uprising, making it the first communist country in the Western Hemisphere and it worried the US. The US sent U-2 spy planes to make sure no ICBMs were in Cuba, but one day a U-2 took a picture of what looked like a missile launch pad. Another spy plane in Russia confirmed that a fleet of ships was headed towards Cuba with an ICBM on the main ship. JFK imposed a naval blockade around Cuba and forced Russia to turn around, avoiding a crisis. -
"Letter From a Birmingham Jail"
MLK was a leader of the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) and was well known in the civil rights fight for this approach to peaceful protesting. He was jailed, and in jail, he wrote "Letter From a Birmingham Jail" where he argues that people have a moral duty to disobey unjust laws. His letter inspired millions to fight for civil rights. -
Children's Crusade
100's of school kids arranged a walk-out in Birmingham, but many were arrested and held at the state fairgrounds in the livestock pens. When they were released, they went right back to protesting. To stop what began as walk-outs but ended up as full-on marches, Bull Conner sprayed fire hoses and released police dogs on the people, many of whom were children. The event was televised, and President JFK saw it and became the first president to openly support the civil rights movement. -
March on Washington
Civil rights organizations such as SCLC, SNCC, CORE, and NAACP organized a huge march on the Washington Mall. The federal government supported the march, so any protestors and mobs were kept back. Additionally, it was held in the north where more people were supportive of the civil rights cause. Over 250,000 people attended to hear many speakers throughout the day, the most important being MLK who delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. -
JFK assassinated
President Kennedy was riding in a car through Dallas from the airport on his way to deliver speeches for the upcoming election when he was shot. Another person in the car with him was also shot and died before him, but Kennedy was taken to a hospital still alive where he died shortly. His assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, was also assassinated for his crime of killing the president. Johnson took over Kennedy's term in office. -
Civil Rights Act
After over a decade of the civil rights movement, President Johnson finally signed the Civil Rights Act. The Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. Many people thought that this was the end of the Civil Rights movement, and in most ways it was since segregation was now officially outlawed, but the black community wasn't done fighting until they had voting rights as well. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
The Vietnam War started with Eisenhower but was mainly overseen by President Kennedy until his assassination when Johnson took over. Johnson asked Congress to declare war on Vietnam after an incident seen as an act of violence in the Gulf of Tonkin, but instead Congress offered the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving Johnson permission to use whatever he needed to end the war. It ended up being a huge fail and the Vietnam War was a huge loss for America. -
Selma to Montgomery
600 marchers protested the lack of voting rights and attempted to march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery. They were brutally attacked by the police and racist mobs on "Bloody Sunday". They tried again with 2,500 people, only to be stopped again at Pettus Bridge. The third attempt gathered 25,000 protestors and 2,000 troops, and were finally successful in marching to Montgomery -
Voting Rights Act
The Selma marches were successful in drawing national attention to the voting rights cause, and in 1965 President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. It banned discrimination in local, state, and national elections and polling places. More than that, it also banned literacy tests, intimidation, physical violence, and any other way of inhibiting eligible voters from voting. The Voting Rights Act was seen as the culmination of the civil rights movement. -
Woodstock
By the late 60's, beatniks had evolved into hippies. They were very anti-war and pro-peace and free love. In 1969, four men came up with the idea of Woodstock, a three-day music festival with lots of the biggest bands of the time. While only 186,000 tickets were sold originally, over 400,000 people ended up coming. Artists like Janis Joplin, The Who, and the Grateful Dead performed and Woodstock became one of the most influential pop culture icons of the decade. -
Kent State Shootings
Many younger people, especially students, strongly disliked the Vietnam War. A crowd had gathered at Kent State to protest the war when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on the crowd, killing 4 people and injuring 9 more. In response to this, a student-led strike forced the temporary closure of colleges and universities across th country. It is believed that the Kent State shootings helped turn public opinion against the war and against Nixon. -
Watergate
Some people broke into the Democratic Party HQ at the Watergate Hotel to bug phones and steal documents. The people got arrested and it wasn't a big deal until people started wondering who was behind it. Nixon wasn't in charge, but he did know about it and he tried to cover it up. He grew paranoid and recorded everything said in the Oval Office, but when asked for the tapes a 7-minute section was missing. Eventually because of his involvement with the scandal, Nixon was forced to resign.
