Historical eras in US History

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    The Gilded Age – Post Reconstruction [1877] - 1900

    A period of expansion, industrialization, immigration and urbanization with significant effects on
    Native Americans, workers, immigrants, and the rise of big business in the late 19th century.
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    Age of Imperialism and Reform – 1898 - 1919

    During the early 20th century the U.S. entered a new historical era: an Age of Expansionism
    beyond our natural borders as the country moved from isolationism. U.S. imperialism led to
    involvement in the Spanish-American War, changing policies in Latin America and Asia and
    eventually to World War I. At home, reformers made efforts to correct economic and social
    abuses of the Gilded Age.
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    World War I – 1914 – 1918

    This was an era in which the global conflict of World War I and its effects had an impact on all
    Americans.
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    The Roaring 20s

    This was also an era of significant prosperity and social change as Americans became more
    isolationist and responded to significant change in social norms, consumerism, technological
    advances and artistic achievement.
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    Great Depression: 1930s

    Beginning with the Stock Market Crash in 1929, this era is marked by severe depression and
    the increasing role of the Federal government to improve the economy.
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    Rise of Dictators and World War II – 1930s and 1940s

    The rise of totalitarian governments in Europe and East Asia led to World War II and
    involvement of the United States in that conflict.
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    Cold War – Post WWII through the 1980s

    This post-war era is marked by issues of communism vs. democracy in Europe and America
    after World War II. It includes the United States and the Soviet Union as competing
    superpowers in the balance of power. The escalation of the Cold War from containment to the
    outbreak of the Korean War and foreign policies of the Kennedy / Johnson years including the
    growing conflict in Vietnam as well as the ending of the Cold War in the 1980s.
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    Civil Rights – 1950s, 1960s and beyond

  • Cesar Chavez

    Cesar Chavez
    Formed the Farmers working union. Fought for civil rights for Mexican Americans.
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    Late 20th Contemporary Issues 1980s – 2000

    An era of change as the U.S. experienced the end of the Cold War, new conflicts in the Middle
    East, the impeachment of a President and a controversial election to begin a new century.
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    21st Century

    Early in this century America dealt with a new threat of terrorism at home with the attacks on the
    World Trade Center on 9/11 and a decade of the “War Against Terror”. This era also marked the
    election of the first African-American President of the United States in 2008.