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American Revolution
The American Revolution was a war involving England and the American colonies. The colonies were fighting for their independence from King George III. After many battles, boycotts, and deaths, the colonies won their freedom in 1783. -
Washington's Farwell Address
The first president of the United States, George Washington, wrote a letter near the end of his term. This letter warned Americans of the dangers of political parties. -
Barbary Wars
The Barbary Wars were many naval conflicts between the United States and many of the North African nations which committed many piracy crimes. These African pirates would hold American merchant ships captive on their shores until the U.S. would pay money to get their ships and crew back. So, President Thomas Jefferson declared war against Tripoli and sent troops in to the Barbary coast. This was America's first foreign war and it lasted until 1815. -
Embargo Act
The Embargo Act of 1807 was a law passed by Thomas Jefferson that banned all export of goods from American ports. It was passed to force Britain to abolish its restrictions on American trade, but it failed. It was repealed in 1909. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a war between the United States and Great Britian. The cause of this war was because the of the British's attempts to restrict U.S. trade. The war officially ended on December 24, 1814 with the signing of thepeace Treaty of Ghent that resolved tensions between the two nations. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine was a United States foreign policy, stating that if any European countries tried to colonize North or South American land the United States would intervene. The reason behind this doctrine was to free the newly independent colonies from European control. -
Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny was the belief of American pioneers that they were supposed to expand westward. Many Americans believed that God had given them a divine obligation to stretch their land to the Pacific Ocean. -
U.S. Mexican War
The Mexican-American war was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico. They fought over who should have Texas and what the boundaries should be. The war ended in 1848 with the surrender of the Mexicans and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The result was that the U.S. gained Texas land. -
Spanish-American-Cuban War
This war was between Spain and America and it was over Cuba's independence. The Spanish ruled over the revolting Cuba and Americans did not approve of this so they intervened and helped Cuba win their independence on August 12, 1898. -
Annexation of Hawaii
The people of Hawaii overthrew their kingdom in 1893 and President William McKinely signed an annexation document. This made the islands of Hawaii part of the United States. -
Roosevelt Corollary
The Roosevelt Corollary followed the Monroe Doctrine and was issued by President Theodore Roosevelt. This corollary came to be known as the "Big Stick". While the Monroe Doctrine was very passive, the Roosevelt Corollary threatened Europe, saying they would use military weapons to protect Latin American nations from European colonization. -
World War I
World War 1 was a global war fought in Europe between the Allies (France, Britain, and Russia) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Later other countries joined sides including the U.S. This war started with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary by some Serbians. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia and alliances came into play until it became a global war. This war lasted four years but ended on November 11, 1918 when the Allies won. -
Isolationism
Isolationism is a policy in which one country or nation basically isolates themselves from other countries by refusing to trade or have alliances and agreements with other countries. American opinion and policy pushed towards isolationism during the 1930s when the Great Depression and WW1 took place. Although the U.S. tried to stay out of conflicts, they did intervene in some. -
World War II
WWII was the deadliest war ever. It was a global war between the Allied Powers (mainly the Soviet Union, U.S., Britain, and France) and the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan). The war started when Germany invaded Poland and France and Britain declared war on Germany. Alliances were made and war started. Some important events that took place were the Holocaust, when Germany's dictator, Adolf Hitler, killed 6 million Jews and the U.S. bombing on Japan. The Allies won the war in 1945. -
The Cold War
Even though in WWII the U.S. fought together as allies with the Soviet Union, the U.S. did not like the Soviet's communism or their leader Joseph Stalin, so a war developed between the U.S. and the USSR (Russia). These two nations were distrustful of each other, which lead to the development of very destructive weapons. They threatened each other with mutual assured destruction (MAD) but they did not meet in military combat. The war ended in 1991 when the U.S. stopped the USSR and communism. -
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a policy announced by President Harry S. Truman stating that the U.S. would give political, economical and military aid to Greece and Turkey so they wouldn't fall to the Soviet communists. This doctrine is known as the start of the Cold War and the start of the containment policy of Soviet expansion. -
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was an American program designed by George Marshall that gave monetary support to Europe after the devastating effects of World War II. This plan was intended to rebuild the economies of western Europe. It lasted for 3 years until December 1951. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was fought between communist North Vietnam and anti-communist South Vietnam allied with the U.S. The United States assisted South Vietnam because they wanted to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam, but they were unsuccessful in doing so. North Vietnam ended up taking over South Vietnam in 1975 and later unifying it as one communist coutry. -
Détente
Détente was a policy that lessened the tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. This was supposed to improve relations between these two nations. -
Carter's emphasis on foreign policy
President Jimmy Carter believed that the nation's foreign policy should reflect its highest moral principles by stopping the ideas of Nixon administration. The Nixon Administration wanted an honorable exit in the Vietnam War and wanted peace with the Soviet Union. Carter did not want any of these things Nixon wanted. -
Engagement
Engagement was the policy of the Reagan Administration that encouraged South African countries to move away from their system of racial segregation. This policy was enforced until 1994. -
War in Iraq/ Afghanistan/ Global War on Terror
The Iraq War was an armed conflict in 2003 between U.S. forces and the Iraqi government. War on Terror is a result of the 9/11 attacks. It is an international military campaign started in 2001 by President Bush to eliminate al-Qaeda organizations. -
September 11, 2001
9/11 is a day all Americans remember. This is the day when al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked planes and intended to have a suicide attack on New York and Washington D.C. The World Trade Center and the Pentagon were destroyed during this terrorist attack.
