America 1430137183

Important dates in U.S. History

By nschwalm

  • regulate waste disposal and water pollution

    Philadelphia committee led by Benjamin Franklin attempts to regulate waste disposal and water pollution.
  • Declaration of Independence

    Declaration of Independence

    The 13 British colonies that made up America declared independence from Great Britain starting the Revolutionary War.
  • Constitution written

    Constitution written

    After the Articles of Confederation failed to properly run the new nation, a new Constitution was written in order to properly outline the rights of citizens and the government.
  • Louisiana Purchase

    Louisiana Purchase

    The 800,000 square mile plot of land called the Louisiana Territory was sold to Thomas Jefferson from Napoleon for $27 million.

  • Henry David Thoreau publishes Walden

  • Emancipation Proclamation

    Emancipation Proclamation

    It was written when the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free."
  • The Battle of Gettysburg

    The Battle of Gettysburg

    In the small Pennsylvania crossroads town of Gettysburg, Robert E. Lee’s invading Army of Northern Virginia sustained a defeat so devastating that it sealed the fate of the Confederacy. 2 years later the confederacy would fall.

  • term ecology coined

    The term ecology is coined in German as Oekologie by Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel

  • Term acid rain coined

    The term acid rain is coined by Robert Angus Smith in the book Air and Rain

  • Term smog coined

    The term smog is coined by Henry Antoine Des Voeux in a London meeting to express concern over air pollution

  • US Congress created the National Park Service

  • When the U.S. entered WWI

    When the U.S. entered WWI

    Even though President Woodrow Wilson claimed America would remain neutral, we entered World War I on April 6, 1917.
  • Stock Market Crash

    Stock Market Crash

    The stock market crashed and the Great Depression began. People lost everything and poverty was prevalent all across the globe as well as in America.
  • Bombing of Pearl Harbor

    Bombing of Pearl Harbor

    Even though America remained neutral up until this point, Japan decided to bomb the Pearl Harbor Navy base in Hawaii which led to America entering WWII.

  • Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring

  • The Apollo 8 picture of Earthrise

  • First Earth day

    First Earth Day – April 22. Millions of people gather in the United States for the first Earth Day. US Environmental Protection Agency established

  • Montreal Protocol enforced

    Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer entered into force

  • The Kyoto Protocol

    The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan in December. Countries commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide

  • U.S. rejects the Kyoto Protocol

  • 9/11

    9/11

    Two planes hit both the World Trade Center towers in New York City. The planes were hijacked by members of Al Qaeda led by Osama Bin Laden. Led to the US invasions in the Middle East
  • Inauguration of First Black U.S. President

    Inauguration of First Black U.S. President

    Throughout the 233 years of American history up until this point, Barack Obama was elected and then inaugurated as the first black president of the United States.

  • US leaves Paris Agreement

    U.S. announces it will cease participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation

  • US rejoins Paris Agreement

    U.S. announces it will rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation