US History - Important Dates By yerffoegvt May 7, 1607 Jamestown First permanent English settlement. Nov 9, 1620 Mayflower Lands The First Thanksgiving - Mayflower Period: Jan 1, 1861 to Apr 9, 1865 Civil War The Civil War - PBS The Civil War, known as the War of Northern Aggression in the south, begins, effectively, After Abraham Lincoln is elected and South Carolina secedes from the Union.