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Appomattox
The civil war was ended at Appomattox courthouse. General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the Union here. -
Period: to
1865-2003
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Reconstruction
After the CIvil War, the Union wanted to "reconstruct" the south. It did this by giving rights to former slaves like allowing them to vote. -
Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution was a time when there were many great advances in industry, technology, and agriculture. Many steam and coal run machines were created -
Imperialism: Spanish-American War
The United States sought to intervene in Cuba's war for independance form Spain. The U.S. won the war and aquired many territories only three months after the war began. -
Imperialism: Acquisition of Hawaii
Hawaii was an ally of the United States for a long time before it bcame annexed. During the Spanish American War, the U.S. annexed Hawaii because of its prime naval location -
Imperialism: Construction of the Panama Canal
The French originally started building a canal that connected the Atlantic and Pacific that ran through Colombia. After the French failed, the U.S. wanted to continue the project, but the Colombians would not let them. The U.S. then told the Panamanians, who were then part of Colombia, that they would support them if they revolted, which they did. The U.S. supported Panama in its revolution, and when they became independent, the U.S. continued and later finished the canal. -
U.S. Enters World War I
The Lusittania, an American merchant vessel, was sunk by German submarines in 1915. This caused the public opinion of Germany to fall greatly in the U.S. A telegram from Germany to Mexico that said that Germany would help Mexico take back territory if Mexico attacked the U.S. was intercepted by Great Britain. It was passed along to the U.S., and caused the U.S. to declare war on Germany and the other Central Powers. -
Prohibition
Prohibition was a ban on the sale and comsumption of alcohol. This caused many organized crime groups to form in major cities, to illegally manufacture and sell alcohol. -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression was a time of economic turmoil. It was caused by a huge crash of the stock market. It was attempted to be solved by the New Deal, but it did not. -
Pearl Harbor
The Japanese launched a suprise air raid on the U.S. naval base of Pearl Harbor. Nearly the entire American fleet was destroyed, with minimal casualties to the Japanese. This attack forced the U.S. into World War II. -
U.S. Enters World War II
The United States entered in to World War II when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. After fighting in North Africa for several years, the United States launched "Operation Overlord" on June 6 1944, which was an invasion of Nazi-held France. Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945. -
The Cold War
After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union were constantly competing against each other for some sort of power, either scientific or political. Although no direct war broke out, there were many times that tensions between the two nations were high. -
Korean War
The Korean penninsula was split into two halves after the Japanese surrendered. The northern half, a communist ruled country, invaded the southern half, a republic. The United Nations helped the Republic of Korea, and almost captured the capital of North Korea. The Chinese aided North Korea, and quickly drove back the United Nations' forces, while the Soviet Union was giving weapons to North Korea. -
Vietnam War
Like in Korea, Vietnam was split into two halves, a communist, northern half, and a capitalist, southern half. Although the French originally started the war, the U.S. intervened after the French left. The war was fought in the dense jungles of VIetnam,which concelaed most enemy movements. North Vietnam, with support from the Soviets, eventually forced South Vietnam to surrender on April 30, 1975 -
Gulf War
The First Gulf War was started when Iraq, led by Saddam HUssein, invaded their wealthy neighbor Kuwait. The United Nations, led by the U.S., defended Kuwait and sought to drive out the Iraqis back. It was ended by a cease-fire agreement. -
9/11
On September eleventh, 4 planes were hijacked by Al-Qaeda. Two of them crashed into the world trade center, one crashed into the Pentagon, and one crashed in a field near pennsylvania. -
Operation Enduring Freedom
In response to the 9/11 attacks, The U.S. invaded Afghanistan to remove the Taliban, the group governing Afghanistan, from power and to eliminate Al-Qaeda. There are many links from Al-Qaeda to the Taliban. This war is still in effect -
Invasion of Iraq
The United States of America invaded Iraq in an attempt to drive out the dictator Saddam Hussein from Iraq. He was responsible for invading Kuwait, and was also accused of having weapons of mass destruction.
