U.S History timeline 2022-2023

  • Aug 3, 1492

    Columbus voyage start

    Columbus voyage start
    "The explorer Christopher Columbus made four trips across the Atlantic Ocean from Spain: in 1492, 1493, 1498 and 1502. He was determined to find a direct water route west from Europe to Asia, but he never did. Instead, he stumbled upon the Americas."
  • Period: to

    John Smith's Voyage

    Jon Smith's voyage to the new world
  • Period: to

    William Bradford

    Williams Bradford's voyage from England to the new world
  • Bacons rebellion

    Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion held by Virginia settlers that took place from 1676 to 1677. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon against Colonial Governor William Berkeley, after Berkeley refused Bacon's request to drive Native Americans out of Virginia.
  • Glorious Revolution

    Glorious Revolution
    "The Glorious Revolution, also called “The Revolution of 1688” and “The Bloodless Revolution,” took place from 1688 to 1689 in England. It involved the overthrow of the Catholic king James II, who was replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange."
  • Salem Witch Trials

    Salem Witch Trials
    "The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. The trials resulted in the executions of 20 people."
  • Industrial revolution

    Industrial revolution
    "The Industrial Revolution was the transition from creating goods by hand to using machines. Its start and end are widely debated by scholars, but the period generally spanned from about 1760 to 1840."
  • Biological warfare Britain

    Biological warfare Britain
    "The British give smallpox-contaminated blankets to Shawnee and Lenape (Delaware) communities—an action sanctioned by the British officers Sir Jeffery Amherst and his replacement, General Thomas Gage"
  • Proclamation of 1763

    Proclamation of 1763
    "The Proclamation Line of 1763 was a British-produced boundary marked in the Appalachian Mountains at the Eastern Continental Divide. Decreed on October 7, 1763, the Proclamation Line prohibited Anglo-American colonists from settling on lands acquired from the French following the French and Indian War."
  • Sugar act

    Sugar act
    "Enacted on April 5, 1764, to take effect on September 29, the new Sugar Act cut the duty on foreign molasses from 6 to 3 pence per gallon, retained a high duty on foreign refined sugar, and prohibited the importation of all foreign rum."
  • Stamp act

    Stamp act
    "On March 22, 1765, the British Parliament passed the “Stamp Act” to help pay for British troops stationed in the colonies during the Seven Years' War. The act required the colonists to pay a tax, represented by a stamp, on various forms of papers, documents, and playing cards."
  • American Revolution

    American Revolution
    "The American Revolution was an epic political and military struggle waged between 1765 and 1783 when 13 of Britain's North American colonies rejected its imperial rule. The protest began in opposition to taxes levied without colonial representation by the British monarchy and Parliament."
  • Letter in newspaper in 1765

    Letter in newspaper in 1765
    My Dear Countrymen,
    AWAKE! Awake, my Countrymen and defeat those who want to enslave us. Do not be cowards. You were
    born in Britain, the Land of Light, and you were raised in America, the Land of Liberty. It is your duty to
    fight this tax. Future generations will bless your efforts and honor the memory of the saviors of their
    country.
    I urge you to tell your representatives that you do not support this terrible and burdensome law. Let them
    know what you think....
  • Bos tan "Massacre"

    Bos tan "Massacre"
    "Late in the afternoon of March 5, 1770, British sentries guarding the Boston Customs House shot into a crowd of civilians, killing three men and injuring eight, two of them mortally."
  • Tea Act

    Tea Act
    "In an effort to save the troubled enterprise, the British Parliament passed the Tea Act in 1773. The act granted the company the right to ship its tea directly to the colonies without first landing it in England, and to commission agents who would have the sole right to sell tea in the colonies."
  • Battle of Lexington and concord

    Battle of Lexington and concord
    The first battle of the Revolutionary war was fought in Massachusetts on April 19, 1775. British troops moved from Boston toward Lexington and Concord to seize the colonist's military supplies
    and arrest their revolutionaries.
  • Battle Of Bunker Hill

    Battle Of Bunker Hill
    The real first “battle” of the Revolutionary War; It was fought near Boston. The British drove the Americans from their fort at Breed's Hill to Bunker Hill. Before retreating, the Americans killed many British troops
  • Common sense is published

    Common sense is published
    "Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine marshaled moral and political arguments to encourage common people in the Colonies to fight for egalitarian government. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution and became an immediate sensation."
  • Declaration of independence is published

    Declaration of independence is published
    By issuing the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain. The Declaration summarized the colonists' motivations for seeking independence.
  • Battle of Trenton

    Battle of Trenton
    General Washington led a winter attack through delaware river and
    attacked british camps at trenton after he defeated them he headed to new jersey
  • Battle Of Saratoga

    Battle Of Saratoga
    General Burgoyne headed toward Albany with Iroquois.
    The British lost and retreated to Saratoga. This was a big turning point in the war
  • blacks and indians join the revolution

    blacks and indians join the revolution
    "The Rhode Island Regiment needed men. The state's assembly decided to recruit enslaved African Americans, offering them freedom in return for their service. The 225-man regiment eventually included 140 black soldiers, the highest proportion of any Continental Army unit."
  • Battle of Kings Mountain

    Battle of Kings Mountain
    “The fierce firefight at Kings Mountain pitted Loyalist militia elements under the command of British major Patrick Ferguson against 900 patriots. The British effort to secure Loyalist support in the South was a failure. Thomas Jefferson called the battle "The turn of the tide of success."
  • Battle of Yorktown

    Battle of Yorktown
    "The Battle of Yorktown proved to be the decisive engagement of the American Revolution. The British surrender forecast the end of British rule in the colonies and the birth of a new nation—the United States of America."
  • The treaty of paris

    The treaty of paris
    This treaty, signed on September 3, 1783, between the American colonies and Great Britain, ended the American Revolution and formally recognized the United States as an independent nation.
  • shays rebellion

    shays rebellion
    "Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. The fight took place mostly in and around Springfield during 1786 and 1787."
  • virginia plan is proposed

    virginia plan is proposed
    "Introduced to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, James Madison's Virginia Plan outlined a strong national government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The plan called for a legislature divided into two bodies (the Senate and the House of Representatives) with proportional representation."
  • The United States Constitutional Convention

    The United States Constitutional Convention
    "The Constitutional Convention took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The point of the event was to decide how America was going to be governed. Although the Convention had been officially called to revise the existing Articles of Confederation, many delegates had much bigger plans."
  • New Jersey Plan is proposed

    New Jersey Plan is proposed
    "The document was a response to the Virginia Plan, which would have given proportional power to the states based on their number of citizens."
  • The Great Compromise

    The Great Compromise
    "It provided a dual system of congressional representation. In the House of Representatives, each state would be assigned a number of seats in proportion to its population"
  • Constitution is written

    Constitution is written
    "At the Constitutional Convention on September 17, 1787, Founding Father James Madison drafted what we know as the United States Constitution. 39 of the 55 delegates signed it, giving their unyielding approval."
  • George Washington Becomes president

    George Washington Becomes president
    "Under Washington's leadership, the states ratified the Bill of Rights, and five new states entered the union: North Carolina (1789), Rhode Island (1790), Vermont (1791), Kentucky (1792) and Tennessee (1796)."
  • John Adams becomes president

    John Adams becomes president
    "Adams signed the controversial Alien and Sedition Acts, and built up the Army and Navy in the undeclared naval war (called the "Quasi-War") with France. During his term, he became the first president to reside in the executive mansion now known as the White House."
  • Thomas Jefferson Becomes President

    Thomas Jefferson Becomes President
    When Jefferson assumed the Presidency, the crisis in France had passed. He slashed Army and Navy expenditures, cut the budget, eliminated the tax on whiskey so unpopular in the West, yet reduced the national debt by a third.
  • Louisiana Purchase

    Louisiana Purchase
    "In this transaction with France, signed on April 30, 1803, the United States purchased 828,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. For roughly 4 cents an acre, the United States doubled its size, expanding the nation westward."
  • Alexander Hamilton Dies

    Alexander Hamilton Dies
    Vice President Burr ran for governor of New York State in 1804, and Hamilton campaigned against him as unworthy. Taking offense, Burr challenged him to a duel on July 11, 1804, in which Burr shot and mortally wounded Hamilton, who died the following day.
  • Speech to the Osage

    Speech to the Osage
    "The speech to the Osages by Tecumseh illustrates the dangers of the white men to the Indian tribes, and why the tribes should unite together against the white man. Tecumseh wants to create a harmonious environment in this speech between his tribe, and the tribe of the Osages."
  • James Madison becomes president

    James Madison becomes president
    ":James Madison, America's fourth President (1809-1817), made a major contribution to the ratification of the Constitution by writing The Federalist Papers, along with Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. In later years, he was referred to as the “Father of the Constitution.”'
  • Felix Grundy, Battle Cry of the War Hawks is written

    Felix Grundy, Battle Cry of the War Hawks is written
    Written to push for war against Britain. Britain's interference with American ships
  • War of 1812

    War of 1812
    War of 1812, (June 18, 1812–February 17, 1815), conflict fought between the United States and Great Britain over British violations of U.S. maritime rights. It ended with the exchange of ratifications of the Treaty of Ghent.
  • James Monroe Becomes President

    James Monroe Becomes President
    "Elected President of the United States in 1816 and in 1820, James Monroe resolved long-standing grievances with the British, acquired Florida from Spain in 1819, and proclaimed the “Monroe Doctrine” in 1823."
  • Missouri Comprimise

    Missouri Comprimise
    This legislation admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a non-slave state at the same time, so as not to upset the balance between slave and free states in the nation. It also outlawed slavery above the 36º 30' latitude line in the remainder of the Louisiana Territory.
  • Indian removal act

    Indian removal act
    "The Indian Removal Act was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on May 28, 1830, authorizing the president to grant lands west of the Mississippi in exchange for Indian lands within existing state borders. A few tribes went peacefully, but many resisted the relocation policy."
  • Abe Lincoln is elected

    Abe Lincoln is elected
    He took advantage of the split in the Democratic Party and won a plurality of the vote.
  • The First Battle of Bull Run

    The First Battle of Bull Run
    "The First Battle of Bull Run (called First Manassas in the South) cost some 3,000 Union casualties, compared with 1,750 for the Confederates. Its outcome sent northerners who had expected a quick, decisive victory reeling, and gave rejoicing southerners a false hope that they themselves could pull off a swift victory."
  • Peninsula campaign

    Peninsula campaign
    "The operation, commanded by Major General George B. McClellan, was an amphibious turning movement against the Confederate States Army in Northern Virginia, intended to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond."
  • The Battle of Antietam

    The Battle of Antietam
    The Battle of Antietam was a Union victory. The Union lost approximately 12,400 men to the Confederate's 10,700, but the Union had driven the Confederates from the field and ended the Confederate invasion. The battle was Ohioan George McClellan's greatest success during the American Civil War.
  • Battle of stones river

    Battle of stones river
    "The Battle of Stones River, also known as the Second Battle of Murfreesboro, was a battle fought from December 31, 1862, to January 2, 1863, in Middle Tennessee."
  • emancipation proclamation is issued

    emancipation proclamation is issued
    "President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free"
  • Shermans march

    Shermans march
    "Sherman's March to the Sea was an American Civil War campaign lasting from November 15 to December 21, 1864, in which Union Major General William Tecumseh Sherman led troops through the Confederate state of Georgia, pillaging the countryside and destroying both military outposts and civilian properties."
  • Lee Surrenders

    Lee Surrenders
    "In Appomattox, Virginia, on April 9, 1865, Robert E. Lee surrenders his 28,000 Confederate troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War."
  • Industrial Revolution begins

    Industrial Revolution begins
    "It began in the 1870s and continued through World War II. The era saw the mechanization of agriculture and manufacturing and the introduction of new modes of transportations.'
  • More Westward Expansion

    More Westward Expansion
    "The idea of having land out west, owing one's own land, and working in safer conditions became appealing to many American and immigrant-born families in the United States. New technology, which grew out of industrialization, made expansion easier through inventions such as the railroad, conestoga wagons, and canals."
  • Sioux defeats us

    Sioux defeats us
    "On June 25, 1876, they encountered a large village on the west bank of the Little Bighorn. The US troops were seriously beaten in the Battle of the Little Bighorn and nearly 270 men were killed, including Custer."
  • Frederick Douglas Death

    Frederick Douglas Death
    Frederick Douglass was a formerly enslaved man who became a prominent activist, author and public speaker. He became a leader in the abolitionist movement, which sought to end the practice of slavery, before and during the Civil War.
  • Spanish-American war

    Spanish-American war
    "On April 25, 1898 the United States declared war on Spain following the sinking of the Battleship Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. The war ended with the signing of the Treaty of Paris on December 10, 1898."
  • Anglo-Saxonisms

    Anglo-Saxonisms
    Advocates of imperialism believed that the Anglo-Saxon race were naturally superior to other racial groups. Thus, Americans and other Anglo-Saxon nations had a duty to spread their power through military and economic means over ''inferior'' nations in Africa and Asia
  • The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

    The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
    The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) is a labor union founded in 1905 that advocated for the overthrow of capitalism and the establishment of a worker-controlled society. It was significant as it challenged traditional unionism and sought to unite all workers, regardless of race or skill, in a common struggle for better working conditions.
  • Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire

    Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire
    "The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, on Saturday, March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city, and one of the deadliest in U.S. history. "
  • Archduke Franz Ferdinand is shot.

    Archduke Franz Ferdinand is shot.
    "The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and his wife Sophie in Sarajevo (the capital of the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia-Herzegovina) on 28 June 1914 eventually led to the outbreak of the First World War."
  • Second Battle of Ypres

    Second Battle of Ypres
    The Second Battle of Ypres, where the Germans use poison gas for the first time.
  • Tulsa race massacre

    Tulsa race massacre
    "The Tulsa Race Massacre was a tragic event that occurred in the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma, on May 31 and June 1, 1921. It began when a black man was accused of assaulting a white woman and was subsequently arrested. A white mob then attacked and burned down the thriving black community of Greenwood, resulting in the deaths of at least 300 African Americans and the displacement of thousands more."
  • Dust Bowl

    Dust Bowl
    Dust Bowl conditions fomented an exodus of the displaced from the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma Panhandle, and the surrounding Great Plains to adjacent regions. More than 500,000 Americans were left homeless. More than 350 houses had to be torn down after one storm alone.
  • Dust Bowl

    Dust Bowl
    "The Dust Bowl was the name given to the drought-stricken southern plains region of the United States, which suffered severe dust storms during a drought in the 1930s. As high winds and choking dust swept the region from Texas to Nebraska, people and livestock were killed and crops failed across the entire region."
  • WW2 Begins

    WW2 Begins
    In September 1939, Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, launched a surprise invasion of Poland, marking the beginning of World War II. The invasion was preceded by months of escalating tensions between Germany and Poland, The invasion of Poland prompted France and Britain to declare war on Germany, marking the start of the global conflict that would rage for six years and claim the lives of millions of people.
  • Pearl Harbor

    Pearl Harbor
    The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. The attack was a major catalyst for the United States' entry into World War II.The next day, President Franklin D. Roosevelt addressed Congress and asked for a declaration of war against Japan, which was approved, beginning America's involvement in the Second World
  • Love Canal

    Love Canal
    Subsequently, between 1942 and 1953, the Hooker Electrochemical Company (now Occidental Chemical Corporation, or OXY) used the abandoned Love Canal to dispose over 21,000 tons of hazardous chemicals. The drums leaked and contaminated soil and groundwater.
  • D-day

    D-day
    June 6, 1944 - D-Day: Allied forces, led by the United States, invade Normandy, France in the largest amphibious invasion in history. This event marked a turning point in the war and helped pave the way for Allied victory in Europe.
  • Yalta Conference

    Yalta Conference
    "While a number of important agreements were reached at the conference, tensions over European issues—particularly the fate of Poland—foreshadowed the crumbling of the Grand Alliance that had developed between the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union during World War II and hinted at the Cold War to come."
  • V-E Day

    V-E Day
    Germany unconditionally surrendered its military forces to the Allies, including the United States. On May 8, 1945 known as Victory in Europe Day celebrations erupted around the world to mark the end of World War II in Europe
  • Truman Doctrine

    Truman Doctrine
    "The Truman Doctrine, also known as the policy of containment, was President Harry Truman's foreign policy that the US would provide political, military, and economic aid to democratic countries under the threat of communist influences in order to prevent the expansion of communism."
  • The Supreme Court Declares Bus Segregation Unconstitutional

    The Supreme Court Declares Bus Segregation Unconstitutional
    ":On November 13, 1956, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the lower court's ruling that bus segregation violated the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, which led to the successful end of the bus boycott on December 20, 1956."
  • Bay of Pigs Invasion

     Bay of Pigs Invasion
    "The biggest mistake in JFK's presidency, this failed invasion strengthened the position of Castro's administration, which proceeded to openly proclaim its intention to adopt socialism and pursue closer ties with the Soviet Union."
  • Cuban Missile Crises

    Cuban Missile Crises
    "In 1962 the Soviet Union began to secretly install missiles in Cuba to launch attacks on U.S. cities. The confrontation that followed, known as the Cuban missile crisis, brought the two superpowers to the brink of war before an agreement was reached to withdraw the missiles."
  • March on Washinton

    March on Washinton
    "The March on Washington was a massive civil rights demonstration organized by a coalition of civil rights, labor, and religious organizations. The most famous speech of the day was delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who gave his now-iconic "I Have a Dream" speech, calling for racial equality and an end to discrimination. The March on Washington was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement, bringing national attention to the struggle for racial justice and paving the way for the pa.."
  • jfk is assassinated

    jfk is assassinated
    On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. He was fatally shot while riding in a car with his wife and Texas Governor John Connally. The president was pronounced dead at 1:00 p.m. at Parkland Memorial Hospital. Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the assassination, but was himself shot and killed by Jack Ruby two days later while being transferred to the county jail.
  • civil rights act of 1964

    "In 1964, Congress passed Public Law 88-352 (78 Stat. 241). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Provisions of this civil rights act forbade discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as, race in hiring, promoting, and firing."
  • Clean Air Act

    "The Clean Air Act is a comprehensive Federal law that regulates all sources of air emissions. The 1970 CAA authorized the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards to protect public health and the environment."
  • DDT is created!

    DDT is created!
    "High amounts of DDT exposure can lead to problems with the nervous system and liver. Animal studies conducted with DDT indicate very high doses may cause effects on the nervous system, kidney, liver and immune system, but it is not known if humans are affected in the same way as animals."
  • Watergate scandal

    Watergate scandal
    The scandal stemmed from the Nixon administration's persistent attempts to cover up its involvement in the June 17, 1972 break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Washington, D.C., Watergate Office Building.
  • INF Treaty

    INF Treaty
    The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, or INF Treaty, was crucial to Euro-Atlantic security for decades. It eliminated a whole category of nuclear weapons that threatened Europe in the 1980s.
  • 911

    911
    "The events of September 11, 2001 are described. Over 2,600 people died at the World Trade Center that morning; another 125 died at the Pentagon and 256 died on the 4, planes. "
  • Iraq War

    Iraq War
    The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011 that began with the invasion of Iraq by the United States-led coalition that overthrew the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein.
  • Bin Laden is dead

    Bin Laden is dead
    On May 2, 2011, Osama bin Laden, the founder and first leader of the Islamist militant group al-Qaeda, was shot and killed at his compound in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, by United States Navy SEALs of SEAL Team Six (also known as DEVGRU).