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Battle of Fort Sumter
The Confederates bombarded the fort from artillery batteries surrounding the harbor. Although the Union garrison returned fire, they were significantly outgunned and, after 34 hours, Major Anderson agreed to evacuate. There was no loss of life on either side as a direct result of this engagement. Following the battle, there was widespread support from both North and South for further military action which began the American Civil War -
Battle of Mill Springs
The Confederate force under Crittenden attacked Thomas at Logan's Crossroads at dawn. The Confederates achieved early success, but Union resistance rallied and General Felix Zollicoffer was killed. A second Confederate attack was repulsed. Union counterattacks on the Confederate right and left were successful, forcing them from the field in a retreat that ended in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Mill Springs was the first significant Union victory of the war. -
Battle of Antietam
Was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. It is the bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with a combined tally of dead, wounded, and missing at 22,717.In spite of crippling casualties, General Lee continued to skirmish with McClellan throughout September 18, while removing his battered army south of the Potomac River. Despite having superiority of numbers, McClellan's attacks failed to achieve force concentration and the union won the battle. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The battle involved the largest number of casualties of the entire warand is often described as the war's turning point.Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Potomac defeated attacks by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia, ending Lee's attempt to invade the North. Lee led his army on a torturous retreat back to Virginia. Between 46,000 and 51,000 soldiers from both armies were casualties in the three-day battle. -
The Great War began
a global war that centered in Europe between 1914 and 1918. The war was between the Allies (Great Britain, France, and Russia) and the central powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, paving the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. During the Paris Peace conference of 1919, The Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties and The League of Nations was formed to help prevent conflicts. -
Sinking of The RMS Lusitania
The Lusitania was a British ocean liner, holder of the Blue Riband, and briefly the world's largest passenger ship. She was launched by the Cunard Line in 1906, at a time of fierce competition for the North Atlantic trade. On 7 May 1915, she was torpedoed and sunk by a German U-boat, causing the deaths of 1,198 passengers and crew. The ship's sinking provided Britain with a propaganda opportunity, which helped shift public opinion in the United States against Germany. -
Zimmerman Telegram
a 1917 diplomatic proposal from the German Empire offering a military alliance with Mexico, in the event of the United States entering World War I against Germany. The proposal was intercepted and decoded by British intelligence. Revelation of the contents outraged American public opinion, and helped generate support for the United States declaration of war on Germany in April of that year. -
United States Declared War on Germany
President Woodrow Wilson called a special joint session of congress to declare the United States at war with Germany. The U.S. government, under Wilson's firm control, called for neutrality "in thought and deed". Wilson made all the key decisions and kept the economy on a peacetime basis, while allowing large loans to Britain/France. Wilson asked Congress for "a war to end all wars" that would "make the world safe for democracy", and Congress voted to declare war on Germany on April 6, 1917 -
Neutrality Acts of the 1930s
They were passed by the United States Congress in the 1930s, in response to the growing turmoil in Europe and Asia that eventually led to World War II. They were spurred by the growth in isolationism and non-interventionism in the US following its costly involvement in World War I, and sought to ensure that the US would not become entangled again in foreign conflicts. -
German Invasion of Poland
a joint invasion of Poland by Germany, the Soviet Union, and It was a small Slovak contingent that marked the beginning of World War II in Europe. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939. The campaign ended on 6 October with Germany and the Soviet Union dividing and annexing the whole of Poland. The success of the invasion marked the end of the Second Polish Republic, though Poland never formally surrendered. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
It was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, in the United States Territory of Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II. The attack was intended as a preventive action in order to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with military actions the Empire of Japan was planning in Southeast Asia against overseas territories. -
Invasion of Normandy
The invasion by and establishment of Western Allied forces in Normandy, during Operation Overlord in 1944 during World War II; the largest amphibious invasion to ever take place. The Normandy landings were the first successful opposed landings across the English Channel in over eight centuries. They were costly in terms of men, but the defeat inflicted on the Germans was one of the largest of the war. Strategically, the campaign led to the loss of the German position in most of France. -
Potsdam Conference
Representatives were Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill, and president Harry Truman. Thy met to decide how to administer punishment to the defeated Nazi Germany, which had agreed to unconditional surrender, establish post-war order, peace treaty issues, and countering the effects of the war -
Truman Doctrine
Stated that the United States would provide economic, political, and military assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces and was created to stop soviet expansion and confine communism in Europe -
Marshall Plan
An American initiative named for Secretary of State George Marshall to aid Europe where the United States gave 17 billion in economic support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War I -
Berlin Wall was built
The wall was erected to protect East Germany’s population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people". It completely cut off West Berlin from East Germany and had gruard towers placed along large concrete walls separating Germany.
