us history 1877-2008 By Davis key Period: 1776 to 1860 early American history Period: 1860 to 1877 civil war/ reconstruction Period: 1877 to 1900 the gilded age Period: 1890 to 1920 The progressive era Period: 1898 to 1910 Imperialism Period: 1914 to 1918 world war 1 Period: 1920 to 1929 roaring twenties Period: 1929 to 1939 great depression Period: 1939 to 1945 world war 2 Period: 1945 to 1960 early cold war Period: 1950 to 1970 civil rights era Period: 1954 to 1976 Vietnam war Period: 1955 to 1975 Vietnam war 1962 Cuban missile crisis 1964 gulf of Tonkin resolution 1965 medicare and medicade establishment 1968 tet offensive Period: 1970 to 1991 end of cold war 1971 pentagon papers locked 1973 war powers act 1975 fall of saigon Period: 1990 to 2008 1990s-21 century