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George Washington - Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion was a group of Pennsylvania farmers marching on Philadelphia to protest tax placed on whiskey by Alexander Hamilton. The farmers disbanded and Washington, by his actions, indicated when a tax was imposed through legislative action it had to be paid it was the law. LEGISLATIVE -
Thomas Jefferson - Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson made a decision to double the size of the US (Union), by buying land from the France to support their war. Jefferson paid $60 million dollars for 828,000 square miles, this was DIPLOMATIC. -
James Madison - War of 1812
The United States declared war on Britain. Americans wanted Britain to stop arming the Indians. This was a MILITARY power. -
James Monroe - Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine, was an attempt by president James Monroe in 1823 to prevent other European powers (outside of those already present) from establishing colonies or any new presence in the Western Hemisphere. It essentially stated that the United States would consider such attempts as an act of aggression. (Executive) -
Andrew Jackson - Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830, authorizing the president to grant unsettled lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. During the fall and winter of 1838 and 1839, the Cherokees were forcibly moved west by the United States government. 4,000 Cherokees died on this forced march, which became known as the Trail of Tears.(Legislative) -
James Polk - Mexican American War
A war between the United States and Mexico stemming from the United States’ annexation of Texas in 1845 and from a dispute over whether Texas ended at the Nueces River or the Rio Grande. The war—in which U.S. forces were consistently victorious—resulted in the United States’ acquisition of more than 500,000 square miles. (Military) -
Abraham Lincoln - Civil War
Lincoln declared South Carolina's secession illegal and pledged to go to war to protect the federal union in 1861. During the four years of the American Civil War, the president steered the North to victory and authored the Emancipation Proclamation. -
William McKinley - Spanish American War
The Spanish-American War of 1898 ended Spain’s colonial empire in the Western Hemisphere and secured the position of the United States as a Pacific power. U.S. victory in the war produced a peace treaty that compelled the Spanish to relinquish claims on Cuba, and to cede sovereignty over Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines to the United States. (Military/Diplomatic) -
Woodrow Wilson - WW1
Wilson tried to keep the United States neutral during World War I but ultimately called on Congress to declare war on Germany in 1917. After the war, he helped negotiate a peace treaty. (Legislative) -
Woodrow Wilson - Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the most important of the peace treaties that brought World War I to an end. The Treaty ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.(Diplomatic) -
Franklin Roosevelt - New Deal Legislation
The New Deal was a series of programs and policies of Relief, Recovery, and Reform to combat the effects of the Great Depression. The New Deal produced a political realignment, making the Democratic Party the majority. (Executive) -
Franklin Roosevelt World War II
Roosevelt supported the allies with funds and effectively halting the progression for the axis powers. (Diplomatic/Military) -
Franklin Roosevelt - Executive Order 9066
Executive Order 9066 was a United States presidential executive order signed and issued during World War II by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. This order authorized the Secretary of War to prescribe certain areas as military zones, clearing the way for the internment of Japanese Americans, German Americans, and Italian Americans to concentration camps in the United States. (Executive) -
Harry Truman—Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Military)
the US administration decided to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The United States wanted to force Japan's surrender as quickly as possible to minimize American casualties.
The United States needed to use the atomic bomb before the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan to establish US dominance afterwards
The United States wanted to use the world's first atomic bomb for an actual attack and observe its effect. () -
Harry Truman—Executive Order 9981
Executive Order 9981 was an executive order issued on July 26, 1948, by President Harry S. Truman. It abolished racial discrimination in the United States Armed Forces and eventually led to the end of segregation in the services. (Executive) -
Harry Truman—Korean War
Fearing that the Soviets intended to seize the entire peninsula from their position in the north, the United States quickly moved its own troops into southern Korea. Japanese troops surrendered to the Russians in the north and to the Americans in the south. In an effort to avoid a long-term decision regarding Korea's future, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed to divide Korea temporarily along the 38th parallel, a latitudinal line that bisected the country. (Military) -
Dwight Eisenhower—Federal Highway Act
With an original authorization of US$25 billion for the construction of 41,000 miles (66,000 km) of the Interstate Highway System supposedly over a 10-year period, it was the largest public works project in American history through that time. (legislative) -
Dwight Eisenhower—Little Rock Nine
9 African kids were admitted into a school, known as the little rock nine and riots followed. Eisenhower knew he had to act boldly. He placed the Arkansas National Guard under federal control and sent 1,000 U.S. Army paratroopers from the 101st Airborne Division to assist them in restoring order in Little Rock. (Executive) -
John Kennedy—Cuban Missile Crisis
In October 1962, an American U-2 spy plane secretly photographed nuclear missile sites being built by the Soviet Union on the island of Cuba. President Kennedy did not want the Soviet Union and Cuba to know that he had discovered the missiles. He met in secret with his advisors for several days to discuss the problem. Kennedy decided to place a naval blockade, or a ring of ships, around Cuba. (Military) -
John Kennedy—Limited Test Ban Treaty
The Test Ban Treaty of 1963 prohibits nuclear weapons tests "or any other nuclear explosion" in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater. While not banning tests underground, the Treaty does prohibit nuclear explosions in this environment if they cause "radioactive debris to be present outside the territorial limits of the State under whose jurisdiction or control" the explosions were conducted. (Legislative) -
Lyndon Johnson—Civil Rights Act
On June 2, 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, which was the most sweeping civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. The Act prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, in public places, provided for the integration of schools and other public facilities, and made employment discrimination illegal.(Legislative/Judiciary) -
Lyndon Johnson—Great Society Programs
The Great Society was a set of domestic programs in the United States launched by Democratic President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964–65. The main goal was the elimination of poverty and racial injustice. President Johnson first used the term "Great Society" during a speech at Ohio University, then unveiled the program in greater detail at an appearance at University of Michigan. (Legislative) -
Richard Nixon—Visits China
U.S. President Richard Nixon's 1972 visit to the People's Republic of China was an important step in formally normalizing relations between the United States and China. It marked the first time a U.S. president had visited the PRC, which at that time considered the U.S. one of its foes, and the visit ended 25 years of separation between the two sides. (Diplomatic) -
Richard Nixon—Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty
The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT) were two rounds of bilateral conferences and corresponding international treaties involving the United States and the Soviet Union—the Cold War superpowers—on the issue of armament control. The two rounds of talks and agreements were SALT I and SALT II.(Diplomatic/Legislative) -
Gerald Ford—Pardons Richard Nixon
A presidential Pardon of Richard Nixon was issued on September 8, 1974, by President of the United States Gerald Ford, which granted former president Richard Nixon a full and unconditional pardon for any crimes he might have committed against the United States while president.In a televised broadcast to the nation, Ford explained that he felt the pardon was in the best interests of the country, and that the Nixon family's situation was "a tragedy in which we all have played a part. (Executive) -
Jimmy Carter—Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were peace making talks held by US President Jimmy Carter between Israel and Egypt and to make a larger peace in the Mideast between Israel and the Arabs. They were held at the Presidential retreat of Camp David in the US and the leaders of Israel and Egypt attended with Jimmy Carter as host. They resulted in the written accords where Israel and Egypt agreed to work toward peace along a certain framework of principles.(Diplomatic) -
Ronald Reagan—Appoints Sandra Day O’Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Reagan on August 19, 1981, thus fulfilling his 1980 campaign promise to appoint the first woman to the highest court in the United States. At the time of her nomination, the fifty-one-year-old O'Connor was a judge in the Arizona Court of Appeals and had a distinguished career to her credit. (Executive) -
George HW Bush—Persian Gulf War
US President George H. W. Bush deployed US forces into Saudi Arabia, and urged other countries to send their own forces to the scene. An array of nations joined the coalition, the largest military alliance since World War II. The great majority of the coalition's military forces were from the US, with Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom, and Egypt as leading contributors, in that order. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia paid around US$32 billion of the US$60 billion cost. (Military) -
Bill Clinton—North American Free Trade Agreement
An agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Canada. (Diplomacy/Legislative) -
Bill Clinton—Appoints Madeline Albright
She is the first woman to have become the United States Secretary of State. She was nominated by U.S. President Bill Clinton on December 5, 1996, and was unanimously confirmed by a U.S. Senate vote of 99–0. She was sworn in on January 23, 1997. (Legislative)
