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An estimated 18,000,000 Native Americans lived in North America before settlers arrived from Europe. A tidal wave of disease reduced the native population by 90%. Among the diseases introduced to the Native American population were smallpox, bubonic plague, chickenpox, malaria, measles, scarlet fever, typhoid, tuberculosis, yellow fever and many more -
The White Lion Arrived in point comfort, now Virginia, bearing human cargo for the first time. The ship had stolen the “cargo” from the San Juan Bautista, a Portuguese merchant ship. -
Roger Williams was an advocate of religious toleration and separation of church and state. He founded Rhode Island and he and his fellow Rhode Islanders framed a colony government devoted to protecting “individual liberty of conscience.” -
communities of European immigrants dotted the Eastern seaboard, including the Spanish in Florida, the British in New England and Virginia, the Dutch in New York, and the Swedes -
The First Indian War was the Native Americans' last-ditch effort to avoid recognizing English authority and stop English settlement on their native lands. The war is named after the Wampanoag chief Metacom, later known as Philip or King Philip, who led the fourteen-month bloody rebellion. -
The Zenger Trial occurred because Zenger described William S. Cosby as a corrupt official. Zenger’ s Article illustrated in detail how William S. Cosby was rigging elections in addition to allowing the French enemy to explore New York harbor. Hamilton came to Zenger's rescue and helped him win the trial. The pilgrims saw them as heros standing up for their rights. -
The Boston Tea Party was a political protest that occurred on December 16, 1773, at Griffin's Wharf in Boston, Massachusetts. American colonists, frustrated and angry at Britain for imposing “taxation without representation,” dumped 342 chests of tea, imported by the British East India Company into the harbor. -
By issuing the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain. -
The Battle of Saratoga occurred in September and October, 1777, during the second year of the American Revolution. It included two crucial battles, fought eighteen days apart, and was a decisive victory for the Continental Army and a crucial turning point in the Revolutionary War. -
Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. The fight took place mostly in and around Springfield during 1786 and 1787. -
Samuel Slater was an early English-American industrialist known as the "Father of the American Industrial Revolution”. He brought British textile technology to America, creating the first large scale textile factories in America. In the UK he was known as “Slater the traitor.” At the time it was illegal to bring industrial plans to colonized nations. -
George Washington relinquished his power as president and handed it over to John Adams. This was the first peaceful transfer of power in American history which shaped the presidential house into what it is today. -
The U.S. Supreme Court case Marbury v. Madison (1803) established the principle of judicial review—the power of the federal courts to declare legislative and executive acts unconstitutional. -
The transportation revolution produced the growth of towns and cities across the U.S. In 1820, 6.1% of Americans lived in places with populations of greater than 2,500 people, and only New York City and Philadelphia had more than 100,000 people. By 1860, nearly 20 percent of the population lived in places of 2,500 or more, and New York City's population had climbed from 124,000 to 800,000. -
Sanders, the U.S. The Supreme Court declared equality of voting. Every man's vote is counted the same which allows for every voice to be heard. -
The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century. To spread their views the Protestant priest carried out emotional preachings which sparked numerous reform movements. -
Abolitionists viewed slavery as unjust and unconstitutional in the United States, making it their goal to eradicate slave ownership. To complete their mission abolistionists sent petitions to Congress, ran for political office and inundated people of the South with anti-slavery literature. -
Communication over long distances improved during the industrial revolution. The invention of the electrical telegraph by Samuel Morse kickstarted the Communication revolution in 1844. -
Baseball was initially invented in Britain. However, the U.S adopted it ass their primary form of entertainment and made it their own. -
America took 55% of Mexico's territory during the Mexican War, including parts of present-day Arizona, California, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, and Utah, to the United States. -
Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act encouraged Western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. -
Antietam enabled the Union to repel the first Confederate invasion of the North in addition to allowing Abraham Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation. -
The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including former enslaved persons. It guarantees all citizens “equal protection of the laws.” However this Amendment was to enforced until much later. The 14 Amendment was one of three amendments passed during the reconstruction era to abolish i slavery. -
National parks were created in fear of natural resources and nature being exhausted. The Yellowstone national park was made to preserve the natural environment. -
The compromise of 1876 ended the reconstruction era. Southern Democrats promised to protect civil and political rights of African Americans. When the north pulled out of southern affairs their promises were not held and black votes were rarely if ever counted. -
The United States and Mexico sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ending the Mexican–American War. The agreement results in the cession of nearly all of the present-day Southwest, including California, to the U.S., as well as the designation of the Rio Grande as the boundary between Texas and Mexico. -
Terry's plan was for Custer to attack the Lakota and Cheyenne from the south, forcing them toward a smaller force that he intended to deploy farther upstream on the Little Bighorn River. ... Custer intended to move the 7th Cavalry to a position that would allow his force to attack the village at dawn the next day. -
The Haymarket Riot was a violent confrontation between police and labor protesters in Chicago. The Haymarket Riot became a symbol of the international struggle for workers rights. -
War with Spain began because America supported Cuba and the Philippines' push against Spanish rule. In addition to America's support against the Spanish government, the U.S.S Maine in Havana Harbor exploded, presumed to be because of the Spanish. The war officially ended four months later. The U.S. and Spanish governments signed the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898. The treaty guaranteed the independence of Cuba and forced Spain to cede Guam and Puerto Rico to the United States. -
African Americans relocated from the rural South to the cities in the North, Midwest, and West. While the reconstruction era gave African Americans rights, they were still mistreated and discriminated against. They took advantage of the industrial revolution and the need for work in the north. -
The creation of the first automobile was the start of the second transportation revolution. Europe was the hearth for the first automobiles powered by steam and could reach speeds as high as 15 miles per hour. The Locomobile Company was the leading American manufacturer of affordable small steam cars until 1903. -
Hookworms slowed development throughout the region and bred stereotypes about lazy, moronic Southerners. -
The 19th amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle—victory took decades of agitation and protest. -
During 1919 eight mail bombs where sent to prominent figures as part of the anarchist bombings. -
The New Deal was a series of programs and projects instituted during the Great Depression by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that aimed to restore prosperity to Americans -
Leó Szilárd wrote a letter for Einstein sent to the United States President, Franklin D. Roosevelt. It pushed for the creation of Atomic bombs and the creation of the Manhattan Project. -
The U.S Navy had a decisive victory over Japan. The U.S successfully defended the major base located at Midway Island. The Battle of Midway turned the tide of World War II in the Pacific. -
Shortly after World War II, suburbanization began to occur. Soldiers were returning from the war waged to live in houses outside the city. -
The Berlin Blockade was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies railway, road, and canal access to the sectors of Berlin under Western control. -
Television changed the cultural landscape in America. The 1950s were the Golden Age of Television. Many Broadway plays writes began writing plays specifically for TV. -
The introduction of birth control pills gave women the choice to deter pregnancy. The consequences of sexual relations between women and men simply were not fair. Many states in the early 1960s prohibited the sale of contraceptives. -
More than 1000 African American schoolchildren marching for civil rights were sprayed with high-pressure fire hoses, attacked by police dogs, and clubbed by the police. -
The 1969 oil spill also had a big impact on the oil industry. In the three years after the disaster, California placed a moratorium on all new offshore drilling in its waters. The federal government enacted regulations to require oil platform operators to pay for cleanup costs — as well as new penalties for accidents. Congress passed a law that effectively banned all new offshore drilling in California, though still leaving 23 oil and gas leases in state waters. -
Although a military loss, the Tet Offensive was a stunning propaganda victory for the communists. In fact, it is often credited with turning the war in their favor. The South Vietnamese began to lose influence as Viet Cong guerrillas infiltrated rural areas formerly held by the South Vietnamese government. -
The Continuous attempts to cover up Nixon's involvement in the June 17, 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at Washington is known today as Watergate. -
The Digital Revolution was the change from mechanical and analogue electronics to digital electronics. -
The collapse of the Berlin Wall was the culminating point of the revolutionary changes sweeping East Central Europe in 1989. Throughout the Soviet bloc, reformers assumed power and ended over 40 years of dictatorial Communist rule. -
Following 9/11, researchers found heightened levels of posttraumatic stress across the country, especially close to the New York attacks, as well as increases in individuals' trust in government and conservative political attitudes.
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