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1429
EARLY CONTACT
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1430
Portuguese begin exploring west coast of Africa
Prince Henry the Navigator was a Portuguese prince, soldier, and explorer. Henry sent many sailing expeditions down the west coast of Africa. These expeditions began to create maps of the West African coast, to defeat Muslims, spread religion, and for trade. Prince Henry helped begin the Great Age of Discovery that lasted from the 1400's to the early 1500's. -
Oct 12, 1492
Columbus
Christopher Columbus arrives in Western Hemisphere in 1492 when looking for a faster route to Asia. -
1509
Henry VIII rules England
King Henry VIII was best known for marrying six times and splitting the Church of England from the Catholic Church. -
1558
Reign of Queen Elizabeth I
Her reign as the last of the Tudor monarchs lasted 44 years and brought stability and economic growth to England. -
Jamestown founded
Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in North America. The colony was a organized by the Virginia Company of London. -
THE ATLANTIC WORLD
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First group of blacks brought to Virginia
The first group of Africans brought to North America were forcibly landed in Virginia in late August of 1619. -
House of Burgesses
The first legislative assembly of elected representatives meets in Virginia. -
Beginning of Pequot War
The primary cause of the Pequot War was the struggle to control trade. English efforts were to break the Dutch-Pequot control of the fur trade, while the Pequot attempted to maintain their political and economic dominance in the region. -
End of Pequot War
The war was between New England settlers and the Pequot Indians over control of southern New England. The English won a complete victory. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Nathanial Bacon grouped together an angry mob to Jamestown to the ground. Bacon's sudden illness and death ended the rebellion and his followers were then hanged. -
Glorious Revolution in England
The Glorious Revolution was when the reigning king, James II, was replaced with the joint monarchy of his daughter Mary and her husband, William. It was significant to the Whig history of Britain. -
Salem Witch Trials
The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts. -
250,000 settlers in English colonies
In 1700, there were about 250,000 European and African settlers in North America's thirteen English colonies (pictured) -
First colonial newspaper
Publick Occurrences was the first newspaper published in America. It contained three printed pages and one blank. -
Great Awakening
The Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival that occurred Europe and America at this time. It left a permanent impact on American Protestantism. -
THE NEW NATION
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French and Indian War
Fought between Britain and France in North America, also known as Seven Years War. -
Start of American Revolution
The American Patriots in the Thirteen Colonies won independence from Great Britain, becoming the United States of America. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre occurred on March 5, 1770. British troops fired into a rioting mob killing five American civilians. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a protest by the American Colonists against the British government for putting high taxes on goods. -
Declaration of Independence
The Continental Congress chose five leaders, called the Committee of Five, to write a document explaining why they were declaring their independence. The five members were Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Robert Livingston, Roger Sherman, and Thomas Jefferson. -
Battles of Saratoga
The Battles of Saratoga and the surrender of the British army under General Burgoyne was one of the major turning points of the American Revolution. The American morale was boosted and the country felt it could win the war. -
Articles of Confederation Adopted
The Continental Congress wrote the Articles of Confederation during the American Revolution. The articles were written to give settlers some sense of a unified government. -
Battle of Yorktown
The Battle of Yorktown was the last great battle of the American Revolutionary War. It is where the British Army surrendered and the British government began to consider a peace treaty. -
End of American Revolution
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Shays Rebellion
Shays Rebellion caused many to criticize the Articles of Confederation and admit the weak central government was not working. It was led by Daniel Shays in an effort to prevent foreclosing on the farms of those who could not pay the taxes. -
French Revolution
The French Revolution was a period of time in France when the people overthrew the monarchy and took control of the government. -
Jefferson elected
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THE MARKET REVOLUTION
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Louisiana Purchase
The United States acquired a large area of land from the French. It doubled the size of the country and was the single largest purchase of land ever by the United States. -
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought between the United States and the United Kingdom. It is sometimes called the "Second War of Independence." -
Missouri Compromise
In an effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, the Missouri Compromise was passed admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. -
Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine had two major points. 1) That the United States would not allow European countries to start new colonies or to interfere with independent countries in the continents of North America or South America. 2) That the United States would not interfere with existing European colonies nor get involved with conflicts between European countries. -
Andrew Jackson elected
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Texas Revolution
Republic of Texas established -
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was when the United States government forced Native Americans to move from their homelands in the South to Oklahoma. People from the Cherokee, Muscogee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Seminole tribes were marched at gunpoint across hundreds of miles to reservations. -
Mexican War begins
The Mexican-American War was fought between the United States and Mexico. It was primarily over the territory of Texas. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention. It advertised itself as "a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman". -
Treaty of Guadeloupe Hidalgo ended Mexican War
With the United States in control of their capital city and much of the country divided, the Mexicans agreed to a peace treaty called the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. In the treaty, Mexico agreed to the border of Texas at the Rio Grande. They also agreed to sell a large area of land to the United States for $15 million. Today this land makes up the states of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona. Portions of Wyoming, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Colorado were also included. -
Compromise of 1850
Senator Henry Clay introduced a series of resolutions in an attempt to seek a compromise and avert a crisis between North and South. The Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington D.C. was abolished. -
THE CIVIL WAR
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Kansas-Nebraska Act
It allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. -
Abraham Lincoln elected 16th President of the United States
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Confederate States of America formed
SOUTH SUCCEEDS IN 1860 -
Civil War begins
at Fort Sumter -
Battle of Antietam
Bloodiest one day battle -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was an order given on January 1, 1863 by Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves. -
Battle of Gettysburg
This battle was one of the most important battles of the Civil War for the North. Robert E. Lee had invaded the North and was trying to defeat the Union Army once and for all. However, the Union Army held him off and sent him retreating. This was a major turning point in the war. -
KKK formed
The Ku Klux Klan commonly called the KKK, is three distinct movements in the United States that have advocated extremist reactionary positions such as white supremacy, white nationalism, anti-immigration and more. -
THE GILDED AGE
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Battle of Little Big Horn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn is a \battle fought between the U.S. Army and an alliance of Indian tribes. -
Standard Oil Trust formed
The Standard Oil Trust was formed by John D. Rockefeller. He built up the company to become the largest oil refinery firm in the world. -
Samuel Gompers
Gompers founded the AFL (American Federation of Labor)
The AFL union worked to improve wages, working conditions and working hours for its members. -
Fifteen million "new" immigrants
immigration wave from southern and eastern europe -
Massacre at Wounded Knee
Resulted in the deaths of around 300 Sioux men, women, and children. The massacre at Wounded Knee was the last major "battle" of the Indian Wars of the late 19th century. -
CREATION OF A MASS CULTURE
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World War 1 begins
The real causes of World War I included politics, secret alliances, imperialism, and nationalistic pride. However, there was one single event, the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, which started a chain of events leading to war. -
U.S. enters WW1
Although World War I began in 1914, the United States did not join the war until 1917. The impact of the United States joining the war was significant. The additional firepower, resources, and soldiers of the U.S. helped to tip the balance of the war in favor of the Allies. -
Eighteenth Amendment
prohibits alcoholic beverages -
Red Scare
The term Red Scare is used to describe periods of extreme anti-communism in the United States. There were two Red Scare periods. The first occurred after World War I and the Russian Revolution. The second occurred during the Cold War after World War II. -
Nineteenth Amendment
gives women the right to vote -
World War 2 begins
World War II was fought between the Axis Powers and the Allied Powers. Most of the countries in the world were involved in some way. It was the deadliest war in all of human history with around 70 million people killed. -
PROSPERITY AND GLOBAL RESPONSIBILITY
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Brown v. Board of Education
Supreme Court strikes down "separate but equal." -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was one of the most important civil rights laws in the history of the United States. It outlawed discrimination, ended racial segregation, and protected the voting rights of minorities and women. -
Freedom rides
The Freedom Riders protest by riding buses into the segregated southern states challenging their Jim Crow laws. -
Construction of the Berlin Wall
To stop refugees from attempting to leave East Berlin, the communist government of East Germany began building the Berlin Wall to divide East and West Berlin. East Berlin was then communist, while West Berlin was free. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
In May 1960, the Soviet Premier began to ship missiles to Cuba. He believed that President Kennedy was weak and would not react to the Soviet move. But Kennedy blockaded Cuba. The two sides stood on the brink of nuclear war, but then the Soviet Premier surrendered a few days later and the missiles were dismantled. This was the most confrontational period between the US and the Soviet Union since World War II. -
Great Society
Johnson wanted his presidency to usher in of a new way of life for America. He called it the Great Society where everyone would be treated equally and have equal opportunity. He used his popularity to pass legislation to help fight crime, prevent poverty, protect the voting rights of minorities, improve education, and conserve the environment. -
Watergate
The Watergate scandal was one of the worst political scandals in the history of the United States. The scandal began when five men were arrested for breaking into the Democratic Party offices on June 17, 1972 and ended with the resignation of President Richard Nixon on August 9, 1974. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
American Embassy in Iran occupied -
MODERN AMERICA
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Iran-Contra Affairs
CIA Organizes contra war against Nicaragua's Sandinista government -
Strategic Defense Initiative
Reagan proposes Strategic Defense Initiative (Star Wars) -
Berlin Wall is opened
Berlin wall is torn down by soldiers. -
Gulf War
The Gulf War was fought between Iraq and a coalition of nations that included Kuwait, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Saudi Arabia, and more. It began when Iraq invaded Kuwait. -
Supreme Court upholds Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade is a decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of the constitutionality of laws that criminalized or restricted access to abortions. -
Terrorist Attacks
On September 11, 2001 the United States was attacked by an Islamic terrorist group called al-Qaeda. They hijacked four passenger planes and used them as weapons to crash into buildings. Two of the planes crashed into the Twin Towers in New York City while another plane hit the Pentagon. The fourth plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania after the passengers attempted to retake control of the plane.
