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1492
Columbus lands in the americas
Columbus set sail from the Spanish port of Palos on August 3rd, 1492, leading his three ships, the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. His goal was to sail West until he hit land in east Asia, but he wound up accidentally discovering the Americas. -
Jamestown
Jamestown, Virginia was founded on May 14th, 1607 by 104 English men and boys. The name "Jamestown" was chosen after King James I. -
Pilgrims Land
After a voyage of 66 days, the Mayflower missed its target of the Hudson river in New York, and hit land at cape cod. The pilgrims settled here, creating the region now known as New England. -
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French and Indian War
During the french and Indian war, the British colonies fought the french colonies, each side was supported by their native american allies and from their home country. The British colonies won the war, but the Native Americans were left unsatisfied, because a lot of them died and they didn't get much in return. -
(Story) Innovation of the Steam Engine
James Watt filed a patent for an improvement on a device originally intended to draw steam out of mines, invented by Thomas Newcomen. This improvement created what we now know as the steam engine, and laid the groundwork for the industrial revolution and lots of other future inventions and innovations. -
Lexington and Concord
The battles of Lexington and Concord kicked off the american revolutionary war. The battles were fought between American colonies and the British authorities. -
Declaration of Independence
The declaration of independence was signed at the Pennsylvanian state house independence hall. It declared independence from British rule, and made the United States of America it's own country. -
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Constitutional Convention
The Constitutional convention took place in order to discuss the problem of the weak central government under the rules of confederation. -
(Story) Invention of Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1794, revolutionizing the cotton industry, and creating a much higher demand for slaves, and causing more cotton plantations to be created. This invention was crucial to the industrial revolution and the slave trade. -
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Jefferson Presidency
Thomas Jefferson was the third president of the united states, and the principal author of the declaration of independence, and one of Americas main founding fathers. He was a large proponent of individual rights, which is why he eventually freed america from British rule. -
Louisiana Purchase
In 1803, the United States paid the equivalent of $15,000,000 to France in exchange for the Louisiana territory. Thomas Jefferson was president at the time and is credited with acquiring the land. -
Missouri compromise
The Missouri compromise was enacted in order to maintain the balance between slave states and free states in 1820 when Missouri requested to join the Union as a slave state. In order to keep an equal number of slave states and free states, the Missouri compromise allowed Missouri into the union as a slave state, and also brought in Maine as a free state. -
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Jackson Presidency
Andrew Jackson was a general in the army and he served in both houses of congress before becoming the seventh president of the united states. He began the relocation of Native Americans known as the "trail of tears". -
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was signed by Thomas Jefferson in 1830. It was a law that allowed Jefferson to kick out southern Native Americans from their home land and move them west of the Mississippi River. -
(Story) Invention of Steel Plow
John Deere invented the steel plow out of necessity in 1837 when the Midwest was being settled. The soil was too harsh for wooden plows, so he decided to start making them out of steel and selling them to farmers and settlers. -
(Story) First Message sent on Telegraph
In 1844, the first telegraphic message was sent by inventor Samuel F.B. Morse on a line from Washington D.C. to Baltimore. It read "What hath God wrought?". This was a huge step forward for communication, and laid the groundwork for the spread of information in the following years. -
(Story) Invention of the Bessemer Process
The Bessemer process was invented by Sir Henry Bessemer in 1856. It was the first inexpensive method of producing steel, and it lurched the industrial revolution forward, allowing for the cheap, sturdy construction of roads, bridges, and skyscrapers. -
Dred Scott v.- Sanford
The Dred Scott v. Sanford decision ruled that all Americans with African heritage, free or slave, are not U.S. Citizens. Dred Scott had tried to sue because his owner was trying to re-acquire him, but the supreme court ruled that he was not a U.S. Citizen, and therefore could not sue in court. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The emancipation proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln, and it stated that "all persons held as slaves are, and henceforth shall be free." -
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Lincoln Presidency
Lincoln was an american statesman and a lawyer who became the 16th president of the united states. He was the leader of the united states through the American Civil War, and he passed the thirteenth amendment, abolishing slavery. -
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Attack on Fort Sumter (start of Civil War)
During the attack on Fort Sumter, the confederate army completely bombarded Fort Sumter, leading to the surrender of the united states army, and the beginning of the civil war. -
Surrender at Appomattox (end of Civil War)
On April 9th of 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered his confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant, thus ending the Civil War. -
Lincoln Assassinated
President Abraham Lincoln was shot in the back of the head by John Wilkes Booth at Ford's Theater in Washington D.C. on the night of April 14th 1865. He died the next morning. -
Thirteenth Amendment Ratified
The thirteenth amendment to the declaration of independence was ratified on December 6th of 1865. It abolished slavery in all of the United States. -
(Story) Invention of the Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell perfected the idea of the telephone in 1876, revolutionizing communication across the United States. In 1915, telephones were very widely owned and used, and the transcontinental telephone line opened for use, allowing for calls across oceans. -
(Story) Invention of Lightbulb
Thomas Edison filed a patent for the incandescent light bulb in November of 1879 after testing more than 3,000 designs with his team in his laboratory. -
Chinese Exclusion Act
The Chinese exclusion act was passed in 1882 and signed by president Chester A. Arthur. It restricted the immigration of Chinese people to the United States, and it was the first law to do something like that. -
Sherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act was passed in 1890. It prohibited trusts, and outlawed monopolistic business practices. Some states had already passed laws like this, but they were limited to intrastate businesses. -
Plessy v Ferguson
Plessy v Ferguson was important because it ruled segregation of facilities to be constitutional, as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality, leading to the "separate but equal" doctrine. -
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Spanish American War
The Spanish American war was fought between Spain and America after the sinking of the USS Maine. The war led to the united states intervening with the fight for Cuban independence. -
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Theodore Roosevelt Presidency
Theodore Roosevelt was the 26th United States President, and he was the youngest president at the time. He was known for his robust masculine cowboy persona, he was a leader of the progressive movement, and promised Americans fairness, breaking of trusts, regulation of railroads, and pure food and drugs. -
(Story) First Flight
The first ever flight by a heavier-than-air aircraft took place near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and was by Orville and Wilbur Wright. The plane was a gasoline powered, propeller driven biplane, and it flew for twelve seconds, flying 120 feet. -
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Wilson Presidency
Woodrow Wilson was the 28th president of the United States. He oversaw the passage of very progressive policies, and he led america through most of World War one. He came up with the fourteen points, and some of them were passed by the league of nations. -
WWI Begins
The beginning of the first world war was triggered by the assassination of the Austrian archduke Ferdinand and his wife on June 28th of 1914 by Gavrilo Princip. The war was likely to start anyway, because of tension between countries, but the assassination tipped it over the edge. -
Panama Canal
President Theodore Roosevelt is credited with negotiating with panama and getting a canal built, allowing for much faster and safer shipping of goods from east America to Asia, and dozens of other routes. -
Wilson’s 14 Points
The fourteen points were fourteen principles that president Woodrow Wilson believed could restore peace to the world and put an end to WW1. Some of them were later implemented by the League of Nations, without america. -
WWI Ends
Germany signed an armistice on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918, agreeing to withdraw soldiers, stop fighting, and end the war. This day became a holiday known as armistice day or veterans day. -
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Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem renaissance was a social movement that affected music, art, and way of life in the 1920s. It got its name because it took place in Harlem, and it spawned new forms of art showing what it was like to be African American, and new forms of music called scat and jazz. -
Eighteenth Amendment
The eighteenth amendment stated that one year after its ratification, no more alcohol was to be made, sold, or transported within the united states. People took advantage of the wording of the amendment, and stocked up on alcohol for a year. This amendment is credited with creating the mafia because of the illegal sales of alcohol that was made in the following years. -
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Treaty of Versailles
The treaty of Versailles was a peace treaty that ended the state war between the United States and Germany. It was the most important peace treaty that brought WWI to an end. -
Rise of the K.K.K.
After WW1, KKK membership shot up from only a few thousand members to over 100,000 in just 10 months. It had become a national organization, no longer just in the south. It consisted of mainly middle class white men. -
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Prohibition
Prohibition was the ban on making, selling, or transporting alcohol in the united states. It's responsible for the rise in power of the mafia, because of speakeasies. -
Nineteenth Amendment
The nineteenth amendment allowed women to vote. After fighting for years for such a seemingly basic civil right, this was a huge victory for feminists and progressives in America. -
Gitlow v New York
In Gitlow v New York, the supreme court ruled that the constitutions first amendment for free speech stating that no government shall make a law abridging freedom of speech was to be applied to state governments. -
Scopes Trial
During the scopes trial, Thomas Scopes was accused of breaking violating Tennessee's Butler Act, which made it illegal to teach human evolution in any state funded school. He was found guilty and fined $100. -
(Story) Invention of Penicillin
In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the first true antibiotic. This discovery saved many lives and made an enormous impact on history, along with being a massive step forward in medical science. -
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Stock Market Crash
The stock market crash was what led to the great depression. It caused the loss of Billions of dollars in stocks and banks. The majority of American citizens had lost most of, if not all of, their money. -
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1st Election
FDR won the electoral votes from all but 6 of the united states, a landslide victory. He brought america out of the great depression, and introduced the CCC, the civilian conservation corps, which paid citizens a dollar a day along with food and shelter to work on fixing the dust bowl and planting trees and restoring forests and rivers. He was elected for four terms, which many considered to be too many. This led to the creation of the 22nd amendment, limiting presidencies to only 2 terms. -
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CCC
The Civilian Conservation Corps is one of the main things that brought america out of the great depression in the 1930s. It provided jobs for more than half a million Americans, paying a dollar a day, as well as providing food, vaccinations, clothes, and shelter. each man in the camp sent $25 back home per month, while keeping $5 for himself. This influx of money helped the economy recover from the horrible crash just a few years earlier. -
Social Security Act
The social security act created social security, giving benefits to old people, people who were injured at work, unemployment insurance, and aid for the handicapped and blind. -
FDR Court Packing Scandal
This controversial plan was a legislation initiative enacted by FDR to add more justices to the supreme court. Far too many of the supreme court justices were appointed by FDR, and the government was becoming too much in his favor. -
(Important to me) Invention of Microchip
Jack Kilby and Robert Noyce are credited with the invention of microchip technology, with Jack Kilby receiving a patent in 1959 for miniaturized electronic circuits, and Robert Noyce receiving a patent for silicon-based integrated circuit. Microchip technology led to far more efficient and fast computers, and is a big part of computer developmental history. -
(Important to me) First American in Space
On May 5th of 1961, Alan B Shepard spent 15 minutes in sub-orbital flight, making him the first american in space. This happened less than a month after the first man went to space, a cosmonaut. -
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(Important to me) Apollo 11
Apollo 11 was the mission that sent Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong to the moon. This was a big victory for America in the space race, and it truly was a giant leap for mankind. It expanded the horizons of space travel, and it was an excellent presentation of the technology available at the time. -
(Important to me) Launch of Voyager 1
Voyager 1 was launched in 1977 to study the outer solar system. It is currently the furthest man made object from earth, at around 13,500,000 miles and counting -
(Important to me) Invention of the Internet
On January 1st 1983, researchers began assembling what they called the "network of networks" or, the internet. In 1990, the world wide web was invented, which is more what we recognize as the internet today. -
(Important to me) Launch of Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble space telescope was launched in 1990 along with the Space Shuttle Discovery. It has been taking and transmitting high resolution images of the solar system ever since. It runs on solar power. -
(Important to me) Invention of the Solid State Drive
Solid state drives are a massive improvement over hard disk drives, allowing for faster write speeds, smaller form factors, and greater data longevity. They are slowly becoming more and more affordable, and it's estimated that they will be cheaper per gigabyte than hard disk drives in the next 2-3 years. -
(Important to me) Sojourner rover on Mars
The Sojourner rover landing on mars was a huge step forward for space travel. It was a small solar paneled robot that didn't really have much purpose other than proving that the technology existed. -
(Important to me) First Contact with Extraterrestrial Life
On August 8th 2044, During the Janus 4 mission, after being the first man on mars, US astronaut Isaac Stoltz was greeted by a group of three extraterrestrial beings on his second day on mars. This was a huge discovery in the history of space travel. The beings were "about a meter long, a deep purple, and Spider like, with dozens of pulsating holes in their flesh" and they "moved like a snake" through the martian soil.
