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Early American History
The Civil War in the United States began in 1861, after decades of simmering tensions between northern and southern states over slavery, states' rights and westward expansion. ... The War Between the States, as the Civil War was also known, ended in Confederate surrender in 1865. -
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Civil War/Reconstruction
The Reconstruction era was the period after the American Civil War from 1865 to 1877, during which the United States grappled with the challenges of reintegrating into the Union the states that had seceded and determining the legal status of African Americans. -
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The Gilded Age
The Gilded Age was a period of transformation in the economy, technology, government, and social customs of America. ... The wealth of the period is highlighted by the American upper class's opulence, along with the rise of American philanthropy, which Andrew Carnegie referred to as the “Gospel of Wealth.” -
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The Progressive Era
The Progressive Era (1896–1916) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States of America that spanned the 1890s to the 1920s. Progressive reformers were typically middle-class society women or Christian ministers. -
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Imperialism
Imperialism is a policy (way of governing) in which large or powerful countries seek to extend their authority beyond their own borders. The policy of imperialism aims at the creation of an empire. ... They may simply establish economic and/or political control over the other country. -
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World War 1
World War I, also known as the Great War, began in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. ... By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead. -
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Roaring Twenties
Have you ever heard the phrase “the roaring twenties?” Also known as the Jazz Age, the decade of the 1920s featured economic prosperity and carefree living for many. The decade began with a roar and ended with a crash. ... Prosperity was on the rise in cities and towns, and social change flavored the air. -
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Great Depression
The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world, lasting from 1929 to 1939. ... By 1933, when the Great Depression reached its lowest point, some 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half the country's banks had failed. -
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World War II
World War II started in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. Great Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany. The war in Europe ended with Germany's surrender on May 7, 1945. The war in the Pacific ended when Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945. -
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Early Cold War
• 1949: NATO established
• 1950-1953: Korean War
• 1951: Rosenbergs trial
• 1952: First H-Bomb detonated by the United States
• 1955: Jonas Salk invents the Polio Vaccine
• 1957: USSR launches Sputnik
• 22nd Amendment: prohibits anyone who has
been elected president twice from being
elected again
• Truman Doctrine (1947): U.S. policy that gave
military and economic aid to countries
threatened by communism
• Marshall Plan (1948): program to help
European countries rebuild after World War II