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Early Settlement
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Jamestown Settlement
The first successful English settlement on mainland America. It paved the way for the future establishment of English colonies in America. -
Mayflower Landing
The Mayflower landing established the first colony in Massachussetts, a colony that set up a basic form of government which included majority rulings and general cooperation. It sets the precedence for the governments of surrounding colonies. -
Puritan Migration
John Winthrop lead a group of Puritans to Massachusetts and founded the Massachusetts Bay colony. Also established was the town of Boston, which served as the base for Winthrop's government. -
King Philip's War
A war in New England errupts between colonists and Native Americans in regard to the colonists' continuous expansion. The fighting took place along the Connecticut River valley and in the Massachusetts, Plymouth, and Rhode Island colonies. The war lasted about a year and a half and resulted in casualties on both sides, but more so for the Native Americans. -
Colony Consolidation and Ruling
King James II consolodated the colonies of New England and declared full power over them, taking away the colonist's local political rights and independence, and assuming full power over all aspects of judicial and legislative power. -
First Instance of Slavery
The first group of black slaves is brought to Louisiana. From this initial act, slavery grows in popularity and the numbers of imported black slaves increases at an outrageous rate. -
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Revolutionary Era
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The French and Indian War
Disputes of the Ohio River Valley initiate the war. Fighting takes place between unorganized English (the colonists) forces and French forces originating from parts of Canada. George Washington establishes himself as an adamant leader throughout the fighting. -
Treaty of Paris
The treaty officially ends The French and Indian War. Outlined in the treaty are the conditions that France give England all French owned territory east of the Mississippi River, excluding New Orleans, and the Spanish give up east and west Florida to the English in return for Cuba. -
The Stamp Act and Congress
The first direct tax on the American colonies to offset costs of British military organization in America. Colonists expected to pay the British government directly. It established taxation on printed materials which included; newspapers, pamphlets, bills, legal documents, and licenses.The congress wrote a resolution for Great Britain to request the repeal of the Stamp Act. The resolution also asserted the idea that only colonial legislatures could tax colonial residents. -
Townshend Acts
English Parliament passed the acts to collect further taxes in order to offset the cost of administering and protecting the colonies. Taxes were placed on a variety of imports such as paper, tea, glass, lead and paints. The acts were met with dissent by the colonists and many stopped buying luxury items to boycott the legislation. -
First Continental Congress
In response to the increasing Coercive and Intolerable Acts set forth by Great Britain, 56 delegates with representatatives from each colony, met in Philadelphia to draft a Declaration and Resolves that stated the legislation put forth by Great Britain undermined self-rule. -
Lexington and Concorde
The Revolutionary War starts with the first battle at Lexington and Concorde. -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris is ratified, bringing an official end to the revolutionary war. Great Britain promises to stop all hostility toward the colonies. -
First Constitutional Convention
Delegates meet to create a new form of national government separated into three branches (legislative, executive, judicial) that use checks and balances to protect the nation against a controlling majority. They draft and sign the final draft of the Constitution on September 17th. Congress proposed constitutional amendments to the states for ratification on September 25th, 1789, and the first ten are ratified and added to the Constitution in 1791 as the Bill of Rights. -
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Reform and Development
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Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney's invention transformed the southern economy. It facilitated cotton processing and increased output materials. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
The Naturalization Act, the Alien Act, the Sedition Act, and the Alien Enemies Act, are passed in the midst of an undeclared war with France in order to promote national security, but overall increased public criticism of foreign policy. -
Marbury v. Madison
A major supreme court case in which the executive and judicial branches of the government were defined as seperate from one another, and it formed the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under the Constitution. -
War of 1812
Dispute between the US and Great Britain, focused mainly on trade restrictions, the previous American War of Independence, british support of Indians over American expansion, and a variety of other factors. The war ended in a military stalemate in February 1815 and was the last major dispute between the US and Great Britain. -
Missouri Compromise
A compromise between pro and anti-slavery members of congress that probibited slavery in the Louisiana Purchase. The Kansas Nebraska Act, however, somewhat undermined this compromise by allowing territories to determie thier position on slavery through popular soverignty. -
Indian Removal Act
Passed under the presidency of Andrew Jackson, this act allowed presidential negotiation with Indians regarding land disputes. Ideally, the act was meant to move Indians to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their homelands. This was an act widely supported by expansionists because it allowed for the growth of the US. -
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The Civil War Outbreak
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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
The treatey ended the Mexican War, granting the United States with what is now middle and western America, and initiated long-term political unrest within the peoples of the nation in regards to the question of extending slavery into the newly aquired territories. In the end, popular soverignty decided the fates of the territories. -
Dredd Scott Decision
This supreme court decision stated that African Americans, whether slave or free, could not be American citizens, and so could not stand in federal court. -
Lincoln Douglas Debates
The debates provided insight into the future opinions and ideas that would be questioned during the upcoming Civil War, and established Lincoln as a major political and moral leader, which aided him in winning the election of 1860. -
Confederate States of America
Seven southern states secede from the Union and call themselves the Conferderate States of America.The southern states, run by Democrats, were angered by Lincoln's victory as president due to his opposition of many things they supported like, for example, the Lecompton Constitution for Kansas. -
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Reconstruction and Growth
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Emancipation Proclimation
Ratified by Lincoln, this piece of legislation freed all slaves in all confederate states, and initiated the idea that the Civil War was not being fought to preserve the Union but was an "abolition war". -
Lincoln's Assasination
Lincoln's death had a great impact on reconstruction. His previously announced "10 percent" plan was not passed, and Johnson instead issued the Reconstruction proclamation which was similar to Lincoln's plan, but not identical. It allowed for Confederate pardons and required all southern states to ratify the 13th Amendment. -
Lee Surrenders to Grant at Appomattox
Robert E. Lee, general for the Confederacy, surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant of the Union at Apomattox, VA. This formally ends the Civil War and pushes the nation into a long period of reconstruction. -
National Labor Union
The organization of various labor unions increased during the late 1860s and early 1870s. Groups such as the American Federation of Labor and the Knights of Labor were established at this time. -
Compromise of 1877
The compromise ended reconstruction in the US. Northern troops were pulled out of former confederate states, a transcontinental railroad starting in the south was promised, and legislation to aid the economic growth of the south was also promised. -
Pendleton Act
This act enforced the merit and judicial systems by setting up the Civil Service Commission, which worked to ensure federal government jobs weren awarded based on merit rather than by personal or political affiliation. -
Plessy v. Ferguson
This supreme court case established the idea of "seperate but equal" and legitimizes its use as a form of segregation. -
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The Progressive Era
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Roosevelt's Square Deal
Theodore Roosevelt's victory in the presidential election of 1904 established the public's support of his Square Deal, which aimed for broad reformas and regulations at the national level. Roosevelt's ideas tried to establish equality between workers and their employers, and contributed to consumer protection, railroad regulation, and conservation. -
Roosevelt Corollary
The addition to the Monroe Doctine by Roosevelt stated that the US has the power to intervene in Latin American disputes as a way to keep peace and order, while still preventing European intervention. -
NAACP Establishment
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is a civil rights organization that has the mission "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination". -
World War I
World War I begins in Europe. The US do not get involved until 1917 after Germany expresses agression in the form of continuous unrestricted submarine warfare. An armistice in 1918 ends WWI, but the US does not sign the Versailles Treaty, drafted post war, because of its lack of inclusion of Woodrow Wilson's 14 Points, namely, the League of Nations. -
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The Roaring 20s
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The Red Scare
The continuous talk of communist invasions spread largely anti-communist feelings throughout the nation. A major factor in this event was Senator Joseph McCarthy. His nonstop accusations regarding communists within the US created a frenzy and heightened citizens' dissent with communism. -
Teapot Dome Scandal
One of the most well-known scandals of the federal government, members of Warren G. Harding's administration were accused of taking bribes from major companies. This scandal further diminished the public's faith in the Harding administration. -
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The Great Depression and The New Deal
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World War II
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Stock Market Crash
A result of increased spending and a desertion of foreign investors, the stock market crash ended the prosperous 1920s and started the Great Depression. -
Roosevelt's New Deal
FDR creates the New Deal to combat the Great Depression. It focused on immediate relief, recovery, and long term reform to boost the economy and lessen the negative impacts the public felt in the face of the depression. -
Neutrality Acts
Neutrality Acts were passed in 1935, 1936, ans 1937. Each act became progressively less isolationist, and the final neutrality act of 1939 provided munitions and supplies to european democracies as long as they transported them on their own ships. These Neutrality Acts did not entirely keep the US neutral. -
Pearl Harbor
Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii through a bomb raid. This act devastated the US and was the final push toward full American involvement in the the war. -
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The Cold War Era
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Atomic Bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima
The US dropped two atomic bombs in Japan, one on Nagasaki and the other on Hiroshima, in hopes of ending the war with a Japanese surrender. Due to the power and devastation caused by the bombs, Japan surrenders. -
Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan
Officially ended the US policy of isolationism. The Truman Doctrine promised US aid to ay nation in danger of possible subjugation by outside pressures. The Marshall plan promised money to nations if they made political reforms and allowed outside control. -
NATO Establishment
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization promised mutual aid and defense in response to an attack by an outside party. This was the first organization of this kind in which the US participated. NATO permanently transformed the foreign policy of America. -
Berlin Crisis
The Soviet Union prevented the US and other western allies from accessing Berlin with its "iron curtain". The US responded by continuing to provide for the citizens of Berlin through airlifts. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka Kansas
This supreme court decision repealed the ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson. It ruled that the segregation in public schools was unconstitutional ans that "seperate but equal" facilities were also unconstitutional and desegregation should be started quickly. -
Baby Boom
An extreme spike in birthrates in the US occurs as a result of returning soldiers. -
Moon Landing
Astronauts land on the moon, a major scientific achievement for Americans. -
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New Global Era
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SDI PLan (Star Wars)
President Reagan proposes the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) which would use ground and space-based systems to protect the US from nuclear missiles attacks. -
Europe Throws off Communism
Eastern Europe rids itself from communist regimes. The Berlin Wall topples, and the Cold War finally comes to an end.