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Declaration of Independence
Members of the new United States of America drafted and signed a document declaring their independence from Britain and their ability to conduct their own trade and government as such. -
Jay Treaty
US makes treaty with Britain that averts war and opens 10 years of peaceful trade with Britain. -
Louisiana Purchase
Thomas Jefferson buys 800,000 square miles of land from the French, stretching from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains. -
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War of 1812
Britain refused to stop seizing American ships that traded with France. -
Treaty of Wanghiya
China-America treaty, American merchnats permitted Canton and Amoy -
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Mexican-American War
The Mexican-American War marked the first U.S. armed conflict chiefly fought on foreign soil. Politically divided and militarily unprepared Mexico pitted against the expansionist-minded administration of U.S. President James K. Polk. -
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Spanish-American War
U.S. declared war on Spain following the sinking of the Maine. -
Panama Canal
Panama Canal connects 160 countries and 1,700 ports around the world as a sea-level lock canal through the bottom of the country of Panama in Central America. -
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WWI
Serbian nationalists assassinated the Archduke of Austria, resulting in Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. -
Zimmerman Telegram
A secret communication issued from the German Foreign office -
Battle of Hamel
the successful attack by Australia and US army with British tanks against Germany by the town of Le Hamel. -
Kellogg-Briand Pact
Pact that sought to outlaw war. Ultimately proved incabable of being enforced. -
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Great Depression
The worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world that began with a stock market crash in October 1929. -
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WWII
Germany invades Poland, and Britain & France declare war on Germany. -
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Battle of Monte Cassino
series of attacks by Allies during Italian campaign, attempting to break through to Rome -
United Nations is Born
The United Nations was born as a means of better arbitrating international conflict and negotiating peace than was provided for by the old League of Nations. -
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Cold War
Soviets and Americans went through a period of tension in which we made a race for space and testing weapons. No real fighting between the countries actually happened. -
Rio Pact
Agreement binding the republics of the Western Hemisphere. -
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Berlin Blockade
Attempt by Soviet Union to limit ability of France, Great Britain, and the United States to travel to their sectors of Berlin, which lay within Russian-occupied East Germany. -
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Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was designed to rebuild Western European economies in the wake of WWII. -
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization; founded to keep the spread of Communism out of the governments of the US and her Allies. -
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Korean War
The spread of Communism in Korea led to a battle between the North and South Koreas that was brief yet bloody. A national divide exists to this day. -
SEATO
Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, designed to unify the region against percieved Communist threat -
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Vietnam War
US allies with South Vietnam against the communist North Vietnam. -
Launch of Sputnik
The Soviet Union launched earth's first artificial satellite. -
Bay of Pigs
CIA launched an invasion to push Castro out of power and they failed. -
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Berlin Wall (Rise & Fall)
Communist government of East Germany began building barbed wire and concrete wall between East and West Germany to keep Western "fascists" from entering East Germany. -
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Cuban Missile Crisis
Leaders of the U.S. and the Soviet Union engaged in a tense, 13-day political and military standoff over the installation of nuclear-armed Soviet missiles on Cuba. -
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Détente
Period of improved relations between US andSoviet Union. Ended with election of Pres. Reagan. -
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SALT I & II
Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. most far-reaching attempts to control nuclear weapons ever at the time. -
Camp David Accords Signed
At the White House, Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign Camp David Accords, laying groundwork for a permanent peace agreement between Egypt and Israel after three decades of hostilities. Accords negotiated during 12 days of talks at President Jimmy Carter’s Camp David retreat in Maryland. -
Olympic Boycott
United States led a boycott of the Summer Olympic Games in Moscow to protest the late 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. 65 nations refused to participate in the games; 80 countries sent athletes to compete. -
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Iraq War
War between the neighboring countries of Iraq and Iran. -
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Persian Gulf War
Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait setting off a brief but consequential conflict involving an international coalition of forces led by the United States. -
"2+4" Talks // Reunification of Germany
One of the final events of the Cold War in Europe, East Germany officially joined the Federal Republic of Germany in the West, ending 45 years of division and dissolving the communist German Democratic Republic. -
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Bosnian Genocide
Government of Yugoslav republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina declared its independence from Yugoslavia. Over the next several years, Bosnian Serb forces, with the backing of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav army, targeted both Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) and Croatian civilians for atrocious crimes resulting in the deaths of some 100,000 people (80 percent Bosniak).
Worst genocide since 6 million Jews of WWII. -
NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement signed into law by President Bill Clinton. -
Haiti
The US uses threats of force to oust a military dictatorship in Haiti. -
9/11
Four passenger planes were hijacked by terrorists, three of which were intentionally crashed into World Trade Center Towers and the Pentagon. -
War on Terror
Bush declared a worldwide "War on Terror" involving open military options.
