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On July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence, declaring the 13 American colonies free from British rule. -
The Constitution, a result of long debate and back and forth, was written with the design to replace the weaker Articles of Confederation and establish a stronger federal government with three branches. -
The Louisiana Purchase was a landmark land deal in 1803 in which the United States bought approximately 828,000 square miles of territory from France, effectively doubling the size of the new US nation. -
When James W. Marshall discovered gold at Sutter’s Mill in Coloma, California, rapid spread of this news brought people from all over the country and even the world in seeking after gold and wealth for themselves and their families. -
The 13th Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, interestingly, except as punishment for a crime. It legally ended slavery in the US. -
This time period brought significant advancements in the economy, wealth, politics, immigration, and culture.
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This amendment prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote “on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude," guaranteeing voting rights to African American men after the Civil War. -
The Spanish-American War was a short but significant conflict fought in 1898 between the United States and Spain, initiated by Cuba's struggle for independence from Spain. -
World War I—also known as the Great War—was a massive global conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and reshaped the modern world, but the immediate spark was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in June 1914, and other causes included militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism.
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The Roaring Twenties—also known as the Jazz Age—was a vibrant and transformative decade in the 1920s, especially in the United States and Western Europe, including changes in culture, economics, and politics. -
The amendment prohibits denying the right to vote “on account of sex,” effectively granting women the right to vote. -
The Dust Bowl was a devastating environmental and agricultural disaster that struck the Great Plains region of the United States during the 1930s, overlapping with the Great Depression. -
Following the election of Herbert Hoover, the Great Depression was the most severe and prolonged economic downturn in modern history, caused by the stock market crash.
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Roosevelt, then the Democratic governor of New York, campaigned on a promise of bold action, famously offering the American people a "New Deal." -
Focus on what became known as the “Three R’s”: Relief for the unemployed and poor, Recovery of the economy, and Reform of the financial system to prevent future crises. -
This war was fought across Europe, North Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. It saw the rise of total war, with entire economies and populations mobilized.
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This war was not directly fought on battlefields, but it played out through proxy wars, espionage, nuclear arms races, space competition, and intense ideological rivalry: capitalism versus communism.
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The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. -
The law banned discriminatory practices such as literacy tests and allowed the federal government to oversee voter registration and election procedures in areas with a history of voter suppression. -
Investigative reporting uncovered a broad pattern of political espionage, sabotage, and a cover-up orchestrated by members of the Nixon administration.