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Apr 30, 1492
Unit 1 - Colombian Exchange
As European colonists explored the New World, they brought stuff over from the Old World and back. This process was called the Colombian Exchange where goods, people, diseases, crops, and animals were passed between Africa, Europe, and the New World. -
Apr 30, 1500
Unit 1 - Disease
When Europeans first contacted the Native Americans, they also brought deadly diseases to them due to the fact they weren't immune. Smallpox, typhus, and the Spanish influenza wiped out most of Native American civilizations. -
May 2, 1521
Unit 1 - Native American Civilizations
Before European contact, Native Americans crossed the Bering Strait and settled into present-day North America. Upon settling onto the land, different Native American groups dispersed and settled into places that had different climate and geography. Some groups went up north where it was cold and some went south where the soil was good for agriculture and the warm weather. -
Unit 2 - Spanish Contact
Spanish Europeans were the first to establish a settlement in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1610. With the Native American Pueblo tribe there, the Spanish took over and forced them to convert to Catholicism. However, this led to a revolt and 400 colonists were killed in the process. -
Unit 2 - British Colonization
Because of the rapid increase of the population, the British economy was not stable. To fix this, the lower classes were offered freedom to own land in the New World if they performed several years of indentured servitiude. -
Unit 2 - Gold. God, and Glory
Gold, God, and Glory were three main reasons for colonists to move to the New World. Colonists who wanted gold or money established cash crops to send back to Britian to help the economy. Tobacco was the most profitable crop plantation at the time. -
Unit 3 - The Great Compromise
When establishing the government, the delegates argued over how the states should be represented with two plans. The Virginia Plan favored population while the New Jersey plan favored equal representation. A compromise was issued that made Congress split into equal representation in the Senate and votes based on population in the House of Representatives. -
Unit 3 - Three-Fifths Compromise
Even though they weren't seen as people, candidates running for office wanted slaves' votes to get more support. The 3/5 Compromise was then issued that counted three slaves for each person or 3/5 of one person. -
Unit 4 - The Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney created the cotton gin that helped slaves to produce cotton a lot faster than regular cotton picking. The slave population increased as well as slave owners imported more slaves to produce more cotton in the South. -
Unit 3 - Alien Act
When John Adams was President and was running up against Thomas Jefferson, he passed the Alien Act which increased citizenship requirements that limited a lot of immigrants coming in which affected the population and the support for Jefferson's campaign. -
Unit 4 - The Lousiana Purchase
The purhcase of the Lousiana Purchase allowed the colonists to expand into Western territories. and settle in more places. The US was also doubled in size due to the addition of territory. -
Unit 4 - Transportation
The railroad and the steam engine helped to move goods and people closer to big cities. Smaller cities were connected, which allowed easier travel. -
Unit 5 - Esacped Slaves
Knowing that they'd get freedom in the northern states, large numbers of slaves escaped through unknown paths. The Underground Railroad is the most famous road for getting slaves to freedom conducted by Harriet Tubman. -
Unit 5 - North vs. South
During the Civil War, the North and South were very different. Out of the whole American population, the South only occupied 29% while the North occupied 71% due to the industrial impact of manufactures goods and railroads. The South only had agricultural advancements that didn't help them as much during the war. -
Unit 5 - Civil War Deaths and Casualities
Approximately 2% or 620,000 people men lost their lives due to the battles of the Civil War. -
Unit 6 - Native American Interaction
The construction of the Transcontinental Railroad impacted the Native Americans as well. The government forced them out of their territories and moved them to reservations. -
Unit 6 - Urbanization
New technological advancements like the lightbulb and electricity and big business contributed to the growth of citites.The industries of steel and railroads contributed to the construction of more rail-lines which helped people to move to larger citires. With more factories being built and more people moving to these cities, more people were able to find jobs. -
Unit 6 - Second Wave of Immigration
In the US, jobs, opportunities for women, and education for children deemed as prosperity for people in other countries. Many immigrants from Italy, Russia, and Poland to seize these opportunities and lived in low-cost, urban family houses. -
Unit 7 - The Great Migration
To escape discrimination of the Jim Crow South, many African Americans moved to northern citites such as Chicago or New York City. They searched for new jobs and faced less racism than the South. -
Unit 7 - Immigrant Quotas
Due to the scare of communism entering the country, the government put restrictions on the amount of immigrants that came into the United States. The immigration quota for the Chinese, for example, was 0 Chinese allowed in the United State. -
Unit 7 - The Great Depression
After the stock market crashed in 1929, the whole economy went into a panic. The people lost their homes, jobs, and were forced to move to Hoovervilles, makeshift towns of tents and huts. People in the Great Plains lost money and had to move to urban communities due to overproduction of crops, the drought, and severe climate changes. The Okies were a group of people who were the most common to move because of the effects of the Great Depression. -
Unit 8 - Baby Boom
After World War II, many American soldiers returned home to their wives and made babies. The population splurged with 4.3 million babies (7 babies per second) bering born in the first year. The population growth made families move to the suburbs to live with their families in Levittown. -
Unit 8 - Air Conditioning
Due to the extreme measures of heat in the Sunbelt, air conditining was invented. Many people moved to big citites like Los Angeles, Miami, and Atlanta. -
Unit 8 - Berlin Wall
Because of President Kennedy's actions to not remove troops from Berlin, Khrushchev began the construction of the Berlin Wall around West Berlin. Many people who lived in the East lost their jobs in the West and became poor. People that tried to escape were shot on sight. -
Unit 9 - Immigration Increase
Due to the invention of the Internet and mass communication, many immigrants move to the United States between 1965 and 2000. The population increased and contributed to nativism and created their own lives and culture. -
Unit 9 - Baby Boomer Influence
Because of better healthcare, the baby boomers' life expectancy increased. One-fourth of the American population will be over 65 by the year of 2030. -
Unit 9 - 9/11
3,000 Americans were killed in the World Trade Center of the Twin Tower attacks on September 11, 2001. This event brought the nation together against the fight of terrorism.
