-
1215
Magna Carta
Moved from rule of man to rule of law -
Declaration of independence was signed
The Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. It was engrossed on parchment and on August 2, 1776, delegates began signing it. -
articles of confederation are adopted
he Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States. It established a loose confederation of 13 sovereign states, each with one vote in Congress. The Articles granted most of the power to the states, and gave Congress limited power to regulate foreign affairs, war, and the postal service. -
articles of confederation ratified
The Articles of Confederation established a weak central government that preserved state power and independence. The Articles gave Congress limited power, and it required unanimous consent from all 13 states to amend the Articles. The Articles of Confederation were in effect until 1789, when the Constitution went into effect. -
treaty of paris ends the revolutionary war
The Treaty of Paris was signed by U.S. and British Representatives on September 3, 1783, ending the War of the American Revolution. Based on a1782 preliminary treaty, the agreement recognized U.S. independence and granted the U.S. significant western territory. The 1783 Treaty was one of a series of treaties signed at Paris in 1783 that also established peace between Great Britain and the allied nations of France, Spain, and the Netherlands. -
constitutional convention is held in philadelphia
he Constitutional Convention was called to revise the Articles of Confederation, the first system of government for the United States. However, many delegates, including Alexander Hamilton and James Madison, intended to create a new government instead. The delegates debated and redrafted the new Constitution in secret sessions throughout the summer. The Constitution was signed on September 17, 1787. -
us constitution is ratified
The process of ratifying the Constitution was long and difficult. Before the Constitution was ratified, the country was governed by the Articles of Confederation, which was designed for a new nation of states that were more like independent countries. Some leaders, including Alexander Hamilton, believed that the country needed a stronger, more centralized government. -
George washington is inaugurated as the first president
President Washington's Inauguration. George Washington's inauguration ceremony in New York City was a grand historical event, attended by hundreds. -
The First Amendment
The First Amendment provides that Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. -
The Fourth Amendment
The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government -
The Second Amendment
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the right of Americans to bear arms and keep them for self-defense, the protection of their rights, and their property. -
The Third Amendment
The Third Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private homes without the owner's consent, except in a manner prescribed by law during wartime. -
The Fifth Amendment
The Fifth Amendment creates a number of rights relevant to both criminal and civil legal proceedings. In criminal cases, the Fifth Amendment guarantees the right to a grand jury, forbids “double jeopardy,” and protects against self-incrimination. -
bill of rights is ratified
The U.S. Bill of Rights. Note: The following text is a transcription of the first ten amendments to the Constitution in their original form. These amendments were ratified December 15, 1791, and form what is known as the "Bill of Rights. -
louisiana purchase is made
The Louisiana Purchase encompassed 530,000,000 acres of territory in North America that the United States purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million. -
Lewis and Clark Expedition begins
The Lewis and Clark Expedition began in 1804, when President Thomas Jefferson tasked Meriwether Lewis with exploring the lands west of the Mississippi River that comprised the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis chose William Clark as his co-leader for the mission. -
war of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States declared war on Britain on 18 June 1812. -
War of 1812 ends
The War of 1812 officially ended on February 17, 1815 when the Treaty of Ghent was ratified by the United States Senate, marking the conclusion of the war with Great Britain through a peace treaty signed in Ghent, Belgium on December 24, 1814. -
Missouri compromise is enacted
The Missouri Compromise was enacted by Congress on March 3, 1820. The compromise admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state, while also outlawing slavery north of the 36°30' parallel. -
indian removal act
The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was a law that allowed President Andrew Jackson to negotiate treaties with Native American tribes to relocate them from their homelands in existing states to unsettled land west of the Mississippi River. -
texas is annexed
On December 27, 1845, U.S. President James K. Polk signed the annexation bill into law and formally recognized Texas as the 28th state of the Union. -
the treaty of guadalupe hidalgo ended the mexican american war
he Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the Mexican-American War, signed on February 2, 1848, where Mexico ceded a large portion of its territory to the United States, including land that would become parts of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. -
abraham lincoln is elected president
Lincoln took office following the 1860 presidential election, in which he won a plurality of the popular vote in a four-candidate field. Almost all of Lincoln's votes came from the Northern United States, as the Republicans held little appeal to voters in the Southern United States. -
Civil war begins
Confederate forces fire upon Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The Civil War formally begins. April 15, 1861- President Lincoln issues a public declaration that an insurrection exists and calls for 75,000 militia to stop the rebellion. -
emancipation proclamation is issued
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. -
Lincoln is assassinated
On the evening of April 14, 1865, while attending a special performance of the comedy, "Our American Cousin," President Abraham Lincoln was shot. Accompanying him at Ford's Theatre that night were his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln, a twenty-eight year-old officer named Major Henry R. -
Civil war ends
The American Civil War ended on August 20, 1866, when President Andrew Johnson officially proclaimed the war over. However, the war's end was marked by several significant events that took place over a period of months -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution grants citizenship and equal rights to all people, including formerly enslaved people, and was adopted in 1868 -
15th Amendment
Passed by Congress February 26, 1869, and ratified February 3, 1870, the 15th Amendment granted African American men the right to vote. -
Cold War ended
In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev rose to leader of the USSR and expanded political freedoms in his country, which led to the fall of the communist regimes of the Eastern Bloc in 1989 and the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. -
Sherman antitrust act is passed
The Sherman Anti-Trust Act passed the Senate by a vote of 51–1 on April 8, 1890, and the House by a unanimous vote of 242–0 on June 20, 1890. President Benjamin Harrison signed the bill into law on July 2, 1890. -
Spanish-American War Begins
America's support the ongoing struggle by Cubans and Filipinos against Spanish rule, and the mysterious explosion of the battleship U.S.S. Maine in Havana Harbor. -
16th Amendment
Amendment Sixteen to the Constitution was ratified on February 3, 1913. It grants Congress the authority to issue an income tax without having to determine it based on population. -
18th Amendment
he 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited the production, sale, and transportation of alcohol for consumption in the United States. It was ratified on January 16, 1919, and led to the Prohibition Era. The amendment was proposed by Congress on December 18, 1917. -
19th Amendment
Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote. 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. -
21th Amendment
The 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the 18th Amendment, which had prohibited the production, sale, and transportation of alcohol in the United States. The 21st Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation regarding the new amendment. -
u.s. enters world war ll
The US entry into World War II helped the economy recover from the Great Depression, creating 17 million new jobs. However, the war also led to the internment of tens of thousands of Japanese Americans, as well as some German Americans, Italian Americans, Hungarians, Romanians, and Bulgarians. -
World War ll ends
Truman announced Japan's surrender and the end of World War II. The news spread quickly and celebrations erupted across the United States. On September 2, 1945, formal surrender documents were signed aboard the USS Missouri, designating the day as the official Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day). -
National Security Act is signed
Exactly seventy years ago, on July 26, 1947, President Harry S. Truman signed into law the National Security Act. -
Brown v. Board of Education decision
The 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision was a landmark civil rights case that ruled that separating children in public schools based on race was unconstitutional -
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
March on Washington or the Great March on Washington, was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans. At the march, final speaker Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech in which he called for an end to racism and racial segregation. -
Apollo 11 lands on the moon
When did Apollo 11 land on the Moon? The lunar module Eagle of the Apollo 11 mission landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first people to land on the Moon and walk on the lunar surface. -
richard nixon resigns
On August 8, 1974, U.S. President Richard Nixon delivered a nationally-televised speech to the American public from the Oval Office announcing his intention to resign the presidency the following day due to the Watergate scandal. -
when was spongebob made
SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg that first aired on Nickelodeon as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, 1999, and officially premiered on July 17, 1999. -
September 11th
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. -
Barack Obama is elected
When Barack Obama was elected president in 2008, he became the first African American to hold the office. The framers of the Constitution always hoped that our leadership would not be limited to Americans of wealth or family connections. -
Affordable Care Act is signed
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. -
Obergefell v. Hodges
Obergefell v. Hodges was a landmark 2015 Supreme Court case that legalized same-sex marriage in the United States -
Donald Trump is elected
Trump, a Republican from New York, took office following his electoral college victory over Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election, in which he lost the popular vote to Clinton by nearly three million votes. -
Joe Biden is elected
Biden, a member of the Democratic Party who previously served as vice president for two terms under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017, took office after his victory in the 2020 presidential election over the incumbent president, Donald Trump of the Republican Party. -
COVID-19 pandemic impacts the U.S.
The COVID-19 pandemic produced a dramatic rise in mortality, leading to 1.4 million additional deaths in 2020, 2021, and 2022. These deaths are the pandemic's most immediate demographic consequence, but not the only one. -
south carolina vs clemson
17 - 14