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Early American History
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Declaration of Independence
13 Colonies declare independence from Britin. -
Constitution written
The Constitution of the United States was written which lays the foundation of our government. -
Bill of Rights ratified
The Bill of Rights guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion. It sets rules for due process of law and reserves all powers not delegated to the Federal Government to the people or the States. -
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Civil War/Reconstruction
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Homestead Act
Gave citizens or future citizens up to 160 acres of public land provided they live on it, improve it, and pay a small registration fee. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
Antitrust law of 1890 as a "comprehensive charter of economic liberty aimed at preserving free and unfettered competition as the rule of trade." -
13th Amendment
abolished slavery in the United States and provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States. -
14th Amendment
abolished slavery in the United States and provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States. -
15th Amendment
“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, or by any State, on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.” -
Transcontinental Railroad Completed
Central Pacific and the Union Pacific Railroad Companies, build a transcontinental railroad that links the United States from east to west. -
Telephone invented by Alexander Graham Bell
Scottish-born American inventor, scientist, and teacher of the deaf whose foremost accomplishments were the invention of the telephone (1876) and the refinement of the phonograph. -
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The Gilded Age
1-Rockefeller/Carnegie (Captains of Industry vs. Robber Barons): Leaders that amassed wealth, contributed positively to the country vs. leaders using questionable practices to amass their wealth.
2-Philanthropy: Promotion of the welfare of others.
3-Monopoly: An entity that has total or near-total control of a market.
4-Jane Addams: A social reformer and activist involved with the settlement house movement.
5-Laissez-Faire: Lack of interference by governments in the workings of the free market. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
It prohibited immigration of skilled or unskilled Chinese laborers and was the first US immigration act. -
Pendleton Civil Service Act
It awarded government jobs based on merit. -
Interstate Commerce Act
It ensured that railroads set reasonable and just rates. It was the first time the government stepped in to regulate business. -
Dawes Act
It gave individual ownership of land to Native Americans instead of the tribe owning land collectively. -
Hull House founded, first of many settlement houses.
Its purpose was to provide social and educational opportunities for working class people (many of them recent European immigrants) in the surrounding neighborhood. -
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The Progressive Era
1-Muckrakers: Journalists who exposed institutions and leaders as corrupt.
2-Initiative, Referendum, Recall: Means by which the people may bring their will to bear.
3-Great Migration: Movement of Black Americans from south to north, midwest and west.
4-NAACP: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.NAACP
5-Immigration Issues (assimilation and Nativism): Difficulties of adapting and native-born Americans having superior rights to the foreign-born. -
Sherman Anti-Trust Act
Outlawed trusts to promote economic fairness. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality. -
Klondike Gold Rush (Alaska)
A migration by an estimated 100,000 prospectors to the Klondike region of the Yukon, in north-western Canada where gold was discovered. It helping the United States out of a depression but had a horrific impact on the Native people and local environment. -
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Imperialism
1-Theodore Roosevelt: 26th president of the US, considered one of the five best presidents for his successes while in office.
2-Rough Riders: Nickname given to the 1st US Volunteer Cavalry which fought in the Spanish–American War.
3-Foreign Policy: Self-interest strategies of the state concerning national interests.
4-Immigration Quotas: Limit set covering how many immigrants will be allowed into the US.
5-Yellow Journalism: Journalism that is based upon sensationalism and crude exaggeration. -
USS Maine explodes off the coast of Cuba, starting the Spanish-American War
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Hawaii is annexed as a territory of the United States
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Open Door Policy
Initiated free trade with China. -
Roosevelt Corollary
Addition of warning in the Monroe Doctrine to European powers to not to interfere in the affairs of the western hemisphere. -
"The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair is published
The novel portrays the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the United States in Chicago and similar industrialized cities. -
Meat Inspection Act
Law that makes it illegal to adulterate or misbrand meat. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
Regulates the preparation of foods and the sale of medicines. 1906 -
NAACP Founded
Founded in 1909 in response to the ongoing violence against Black people around the country, the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is the largest and most pre-eminent civil rights organization in the nation. -
Dollar Diplomacy
President Taft's policy of paying for peace in Latin America. -
16th Amendment
Establishment of the Federal Income Tax. -
17th Amendment
Established direct election of US Senators in and by each state. -
Federal Reserve Act
Established the Federal Reserve, which helped stabilize the banking industry.
1914 -
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World War I
1-Alvin York: Most decorated United States Army soldiers of World War I.
2-Homefront: The people who stay in a country and work while that country's soldiers are fighting in a war.
3-M.A.I.N. (Causes of WW I): Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria and allegiances.
4-Sussex Pledge: Promise made by Germany to not torpedo passenger ships without warning.
5-American Expeditionary Forces: Formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. -
Archduke Franz Ferdinand is assassinated, starting World War I
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Panama Canal Built
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Sinking of the Lusitania
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National Parks System created
The National Park System is responsible for maintaining national parks and monuments that were managed by the Department of the Interior. -
Zimmerman Telegram intercepted by the British, warned the US of a proposed ally between Mexico and Germany.
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Bolshevik Revolution in Russia begins, causing Russian troops to exit the war.
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The United States enters WW I on the Allied side
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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. -
Battle of Argonne Forest, considered the turning point of the war
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Germany surrenders to the Allied Powers
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18th Amendment
Prohibition is enacted and alcohol becomes illegal. -
Treaty of Versailles
Peace treaty that ended World War I, required Germany to accept full blame and pay war reparations as well as demilitarize. -
Period: to
Roaring Twenties
1- Social Darwinism: Theory that individuals and peoples are subject to the same laws of natural selection as plants and animals.
2- Red Scare: Promotion of a widespread fear of a potential rise of communism.
3- Assembly Line: Series of workers and machines in a factory by which identical items are progressively assembled.
4-Return to Normalcy: Warren G. Harding's campaign slogan for election of 1920.
5-Harlem Renaissance: Development of the Harlem neighborhood in NYC as a black cultural mecca. -
19th Amendment
Women are given the right to vote. -
Teapot Dome Scandal uncovered by the Wall Street Journal
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American Indian Citizenship Act
Granted citizenship to any Native Americans born within the United States. -
Scopes Monkey Trial
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Charles Lindbergh makes history by making a nonstop solo flight from New York to Paris
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Period: to
Great Depression
1-Hoovervilles: Shantytowns built by unemployed and destitute people during the Depression.
2-New Deal: Series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by Franklin D. Roosevelt.
3-Cause of Great Depression: Stock market crash, overproduction, ill-timed tariffs and inexperienced Federal Reserve.
4-Court Packing: Plan to expand the Supreme Court to as many as 15 judges.
5-Eleanore Roosevelt: Wife of FDR, American political figure, diplomat and activist. -
Stock Market Crash
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Dust Bowl
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Franklin D. Roosevelt elected
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20th Amendment
Date of the terms of the president are adjusted. -
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) established
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Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) established
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21st Amendment
18th Amendment is repealed and Prohibition ends. -
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) established
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Works Progress Administration (WPA) established
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Social Security Act
Established the Social Security Administration, which provides unemployment insurance, aid to the disabled, old age pensions and insurance for families. -
Period: to
World War II - Part One
1-Island Hopping:(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leapfrogging_(strategy))
2-Liberation of Concentration Camps: American forces liberated largest killing center and concentration camp complex—in January 1945.
3-Dwight Eisenhower:(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower)
4-Douglas MacArthur:(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_MacArthur)
5-Chester W. Nimitz:(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chester_W._Nimitz) -
Period: to
World War II - Part Two
6-Navajo Code Talkers:(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_talker)
7-Tuskegee Airmen:(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuskegee_Airmen)
8-Flying Tigers:(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Tigers)
9-Manhattan Project:(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Project#:~:text=The%20Manhattan%20Project%20was%20a,Tube%20Alloys%20project)%20and%20Canada.)
10-Rosie the Riveter:(https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/rosie-the-riveter) -
Adolf Hitler invades Poland starting WWII
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Attack on Peral Harbor
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Executive Order 9066
Incarceration of Japanese Americans for the duration of WWII. -
Bataan Death March
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Battle of Midway
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"D-Day" Invasion of Normandy
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G.I. Bill
Provides military veterans financial and educational benefits. -
Period: to
Early Cold War
1-CONTAINMENT: US strategies to prevent the spread of communism. 2-ARMS RACE/SPACE RACE: Competition between USSR and US to achieve firsts in spaceflight capability. 3-UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS: A communist country which included other republics. 4-COMMUNISM: Political and economic system seeking to create a classless society. 5-DOMINO THEORY: Theory prominent in the US that if one country in a region becomes communist then the surrounding countries would follow in a domino effect. -
The atomic bomb "Little Boy" is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan
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The atomic bomb "Fat Man" is dropped on Nagasaki, Japan ending WW II
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United Nations formed
An intergovernmental organization formed after WW II with one central mission which is to maintain international peace and security. -
Truman Doctrine (1947)
U.S. policy that gave military and economic aid to countries threatened by communism. -
Marshall Plan (1948)
U.S. program to help European countries rebuild after World War II. -
Berlin Airlift
In response to the Soviet blockade of land routes into West Berlin the United States begins a massive airlift of food, water, and medicine to the citizens of West Berlin. -
NATO established
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 European and North American countries. -
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Civil Rights Era
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Korean War
The Korean War was North Korea and South Korea. The war began when North Korea invaded South Korea and ended unofficially on 27 July 1953 in an armistice. -
22nd Amendment
Defines the length of time and number of terms a US President can be elected for and serve. It limits terms to two and maximum time served to ten years. -
Rosenberg Trial
Julius Rosenberg and Ethel Rosenberg were American citizens who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. Convicted of espionage in 1951, they were executed by the federal government of the United States in 1953. -
First H-Bomb detonated by the United States
First full-scale test of a thermonuclear device, in which part of the explosive yield comes from nuclear fusion was a Hydrogen bomb detonated by the United States in the now independent island nation of the Marshall Islands. It was the first full test of a staged fusion device. -
Period: to
Vietnam War
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Jonas Salk invents the Polio Vaccine
Jonas Salk was an American virologist and medical researcher who developed one of the first successful polio vaccines. Polio was considered one of the most serious public health problems in the world, and epidemics were increasingly devastating in the post-war United States. -
Interstate Highway Act
Authorized the building of a national highway system. -
USSR launches Sputnik
Tracking and studying Sputnik 1 from Earth provided scientists with valuable information about the atmosphere and the ionosphere. The feat proved the Soviet Union's technological capabilities and spurred the United States into stepping up its game in space. -
Period: to
End of the Cold War
1-OPEC: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries with the objective to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies. 2-SANDRA DAY O'CONNOR: First woman justice of US Supreme Court. 3-COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT 1977: Law to reduce discriminatory credit practices against low-income communities. 4-AIDS EPIDEMIC: HIV, leading cause of death for Americans ages 25 to 44. 5-SATR WARS: A US missile defense program that presented the USSR with a technological challenge it could not meet. -
Kent State Shooting
Known as the Kent State massacre it was the killing of four and wounding of nine other unarmed Kent State University students by the National Guard during a peace rally opposing the expanding involvement of the Vietnam War. -
Watergate Scandal leads to Nixon Resignation
A political scandal in the United States involving the administration of US President Nixon leading to his resignation in 1974. The scandal stemmed from Nixon’s continuous and failed attempts to cover up involvement in the June 17, 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Washington, D.C. Watergate Office Building. -
Camp David Accords
The Camp David Accords were a pair of political agreements signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on 17 September 1978, following twelve days of secret negotiations at Camp David, the country retreat of the President of the United States in Maryland. -
Three Mile Island Disaster
Unit 2 reactor partially melted down. This was the most serious accident in U.S. commercial nuclear power plant operating history. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
On November 4, 1979, Iranian students seized the embassy and detained more than 50 Americans, ranging from the Chargé d'Affaires to the most junior members of the staff, as hostages. The Iranians held the American diplomats hostage for 444 days. -
Iran Contra Affair
The Regan administration secretly sold arms to Iran, which was under an arms embargo. Proceeds of the sale were to fund the Contras in Nicaragua.
Justification for the sale was that they were part of an operation to free American hostages.
Israel was to ship weapons to Iran, the United States to resupply Israel, and Israel to pay the United States.
The plan changed and some proceeds where diverted to fund the Contras in their insurgency against the government of Nicaragua. -
Period: to
1990s-21st Century
