U.S. History: 1877-2008

By Shelby.Heisler
  • Period: to

    Early American History

  • Declaration of Independence Signed

  • Constitution Written

  • Bill of Rights Ratified

  • Period: to

    Civil War/Reconstruction

  • Homestead Act

    Provided 160 acres to anyone willing to settle on land in the west.

  • 13th Amendment

    Abolished slavery

  • 14th Amendment

    Citizenship and Due Process

  • Transcontinental Railroad Completed

  • 15th Amendment

    Voting for all male citizens

  • Telephone Invented by Alexander Graham Bell

  • Period: to

    The Gilded Age

    1-Rockefeller/Carnegie:Captains of Industry or Robber Barons were the two kinds of industrialist leaders(goodvsbad)
    2-Philanthropy:Desire to promote the welfare of others;generous, gives back to the community
    3-Monopoly:One business controls the supply of or trade in a commodity;too much power to one company
    4-Jane Addams:American activist who made the Hull House for immigrants to support them
    5-Laissez-Faire:A hands-off policy practiced in free enterprise economies; free-reign

  • Chinese Exclusion Act

    Prohibited immigration of skilled or unskilled Chinese laborers, first US national immigration act

  • Pendleton Civil Service Act

    Awarded government jobs based on merit

  • Interstate Commerce Act

    Ensure railroad set "reasonable and just" rate and the first time government stepped in to regulate business

  • Dawes act

    Gave individual ownership of land to Native Americans instead of the tribe owning things collectively

  • Hull House Founded, First of many Settlement Houses

  • Sherman Antitrust Act

    Outlawed business monopolies

  • Sherman Anti-Trust Act

    Outlawed trusts to promote economic fairness
  • Period: to

    The Progressive Era

    1-Muckrakers:Journalists who exposed corrupt business in order to reform them
    2-Initiative,Referendum,Recall:Propose/change new law,pass it w/ legislature to people,can remove official thru voting(powertothepeople)
    3-The Great Migration:African Americans relocated to west for more opportunities
    4-NAACP:Civil rights group for equality amongst colored people
    5-Immigration Issues(Assimilation and Nativism):Loss of individual culture to fit in/protection of native one(against immigrants)

  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Legalized segregation, established "separate but equal" motto.

  • Klondike Gold Rush (Alaska)

    1896-1899

  • Hawaii is Annexed as a Territory of the United States

  • USS Maine Explodes Off the Coast of Cuba, Starting the Spanish-American War

  • Period: to

    Imperialism

    1-Theodore Roosevelt:Conservationist and President who made the "Square Deal", did trust-busting(nomoremonopolies)
    2-Rough Riders:Volunteer Cavalry under Roosevelt who fought in Cuba(Spanish-AmericanWar)
    3-Foreign Policy:Standards pursued by a nation in regards to other nations based on desired goals
    4-Immigration Quotas: Limitations on immigrant access into country for sake of nativism
    5-Yellow Journalism:Sensationalized news to incite passion over facts and gather enthusiasm/support

  • Open Door Policy

    Initiated free trade with China

  • Panama Canal Built

    1904-1914

  • Roosevelt Corollary

    An addition to the Monroe Doctrine

  • The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is Published

  • Meat Inspection Act

    Law that makes it illegal to adulterate or misbrand meat

  • Pure Food and Drug Act

    Regulation of the preparation of foods and the sale of medicines

  • The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Founded

  • Dollar Diplomacy

    Taft's policy of paying for peace in Latin America

  • 16th Amendment

    Established the federal income tax

  • 17th Amendment

    Direct election of U.S. Senators

  • Federal Reserve Act

    Established the Federal Reserve, which helped stabilize the banking industry

  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand is Assassinated, Starts World War I

  • Period: to

    World War I

    1-Alvin York:A soldier who earned the Medal of Honor due to his achievements against Germany
    2-Homefront:The domestic and social change the role of women underwent helping the war effort
    3-M.A.I.N.:Militarism-strong military Alliances-allies Imperialism-conquering nations Nationalism-pride in nation
    4-Sussex Pledge:A promise made by Germany to not sink ships
    5-American Expeditionary Forces:Troops sent to Europe by the US

  • Sinking of the Lusitania

  • National Parks System Created

  • Zimmerman Telegram Intercepted by the British, Warned the U.S. of a Proposed Ally between Mexico and Germany

  • The United States Enters WWI on the Allied Side

  • Bolshevik Revolution in Russia Begins, Causing Russian Troops to Exit the War

  • Battle of Argonne Forest, Considered the Turning Point of the War

  • Germany Surrenders to the Allied Powers

  • President Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points

    Statement of principles for peace after World War I, included no colonialism, freedom of the seas, and a League of Nations

  • Treaty of Versailles

    Peace treaty that ended World War I, required Germany to accept full blame and pay war reparations as well as demilitarize

  • 18th Amendment

    Prohibition is enacted and alcohol is illegal

  • 19th Amendment

    Women are given the right to vote
  • Period: to

    Roaring Twenties

    1-Social Darwinism:Theory that humans are subject to the laws of natural selection just like plants and animals
    2-The Red Scare:Promotion of widespread fear of communism rising up or anarchy
    3-Assembly Line:Series of workers and machines putting items together in a successive way passed along
    4-Return to Normalcy:A policy to return society back to the usual after war
    5-Harlem Renaissance:Movement in African-American culture that influenced literature, philosophy, and music

  • Teapot Dome Scandal uncovered by the Wall Street Journal

  • American Indian Citizenship Act

    Granted citizenship to any Native Americans born within the United States

  • Scopes Monkey Trial

  • Charles Lindbergh makes history by making a nonstop solo flight from New York to Paris

  • Stock Market Crash

  • Period: to

    Great Depression

    1-Hoovervilles:shantytowns built by the homeless and unemployed
    2-The New Deal:Series of programs used to try to solved the problems caused by the Great Depression
    3-Causes of the Great Depression:Overproduction, over-speculation, overuse of credit, droughts, and the stock market crash
    4-Court Packing:Appointing more judges b/c supreme court angered Roosevelt by denying his "unconstitutional" programs
    5-Eleanor Roosevelt:Political figure, advocate for women and immigrants

  • Dust Bowl

    1930-1936

  • Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Established

  • Franklin D. Roosevelt Elected

  • 20th Amendment

    Adjusted the dates of the presidential terms

  • 21st Amendment

    Repeals the 18th Amendment and prohibition ends

  • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Established

  • Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Established

  • Works Progress Administration (WPA) Established

  • Social Security Act

    Established the Social Security Administration, which provides unemployment insurance, aid to the disabled, old age pensions, and insurance for families

  • Adolf Hitler invades Poland, starting WWII

  • Period: to

    World War II

    1-Island Hopping:Military Strat
    2-Liberation of Concentration Camps:Allies release prisoners
    3-D. Eisenhower:Pres invasion ofNormandy=NaziDefeat
    4-Douglas MacArthur:General involved with PacificTheater
    5-Chester Nimitz:Navy leader in Pacific
    6-Navajo Code Talkers:Native soldiers' language for messages
    7-Tuskegee Airmen:FirstBlack aviators
    8-Flying Tigers:FirstAmerican volunteer group vsChina
    9-The Manhattan Project:Research onNuclearWeapons
    10-Rosie the Riveter:Fictional icon for women

  • Attack on Pearl Harbor

  • Battle of Midway

  • Bataan Death March

  • Executive Order 9066

    Incarceration of Japanese Americans for the duration of WWII

  • "D-Day" - Invasion of Normandy

  • G.I. Bill

    Gives military veterans financial and educational benefits

  • United Nations Formed

  • The atomic bomb, "Little Boy" is dropped in Hiroshima, Japan (August 6)

  • The atomic bomb, "Fat Man" is dropped in Nagasaki, Japan, ending World War II (August 9)

  • Period: to

    Early Cold War

    1-Containment-a policy that prevents the spread of communism.
    2-Arms Race/Space Race-a competition between USSR and USA on who could make the better weapons or who could get to space first-technological advancements.
    3-The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics-a federal socialist state.
    4-Communism-a political view that supported a no-class society and gave power to the government in order to distribute the power.
    5-Domino Theory-a concept that countries would fall to communism-fear.

  • Truman Doctrine

    A U.S. policy that gave military and economic aid to countries threatened by communism.

  • Berlin Airlift

  • Marshall Plan

    A program to help European countries rebuild after World War II.

  • NATO Established

  • Korean War

    1950-1953

  • Sweatt v. Painter

    Ruled the separate law school at the University of Texas failed to qualify as "separate but equal"
  • Period: to

    Civil Rights Era

  • Rosenbergs Trial

  • 22nd Amendment

    Prohibits anyone who has been elected president twice from being elected again.

  • First H-Bomb Detonated by the United States

  • Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

    Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and mandated desegregation

  • Hernandez v. Texas

    Mexican Americans and all other races provided equal protection under the 14th Amendment
  • Period: to

    Vietnam War

  • Jonas Salk Invents the Polio Vaccine

  • Montgomery Bus Boycott after Rosa Parks' Arrest

    1955-1956

  • Interstate Highway Act

    Authorized the building of a national highway system

  • USSR Launches Sputnik

  • Little Rock Nine integrated into an all-white school in Little Rock, AK

  • Bay of Pigs Invasion in Cuba

  • Berlin Wall built to prevent people from leaving communist East Berlin

  • Cuban Missile Crisis

  • Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream Speech" at the March on Washington

  • John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, TX

  • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

    Begins undeclared war in Vietnam

  • 24th Amendment

    Abolishes the poll tax

  • Civil Rights Act

    Made discrimination based on race, religion, or national origin in public places illegal and required employers to hire on an equal opportunity basis.

  • Medicare and Medicaid Established

  • Voting Rights Act

    Eliminated literacy tests for voters

  • Tet Offensive

  • Martin Luther King is assassinated

  • Civil Rights Act

    Prohibited discrimination in the sale or rental of housing

  • First Man on the Moon

  • Tinker v. Des Moines

    Defined the First Amendment rights for students in the United States Public Schools

  • Kent State University Shooting

  • Period: to

    End of the Cold War

  • Pentagon Papers Leaked

  • 26th Amendment

    Moving the voting age from 21 years old to 18 years old

  • Title IX

    Protects people from discrimination based on gender in education programs

  • War Powers Act

    Law limited the President's right to send troops to battle without Congressional approval

  • Watergate Scandal, which Leads to Nixon's Resignation

  • Fall of Saigon, Marks the End of the Vietnam War

  • Camp David Accords

  • Iran Hostage Crisis

    1979-1981

  • Three Mile Island Disaster

  • Iran Contra Affair

    1985-1987

  • Persian Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm)

    1990-1991
  • Period: to

    1990s-21st Century

    1-Barack Obama:First Black President(44)2-al-Qaeda:terrorist group who bombed the twin towers(9/11)3-No Child Left Behind Act:federal education programs are administered by the states to check students' progress4-President Clinton's Impeachment:for high crimes and misdemeanors(perjury and obstruction of justice5-Presidential Election of 2000 was between Al Gore and George W. Bush was an extremely close voting time

  • Fall of the USSR-Official end of the Cold War

  • NAFTA created free trade between Mexico, the United States, and Canada

  • Attack on World Trade Center and the Pentagon

  • USA PATRIOT Act

    Tightened the national security, particularly as it was related to foreign terrorism.

  • Hurricane Katrina