US History timeline

  • Oct 12, 1492

    Columbus Arrives

    Columbus discovers americas
  • Salem Witch Trials

    Women hung for being "associating with the devil as a witch"
  • November 28, 1745 - French raid Saratoga NY

    French raid Saratoga leading to the event in August 19-20, 1746
  • Currency Act

    June 10, 1751 - British Parliament creates the Currency Act to control the use of paper money in the New England colonies and plantations by taxing them.
  • Proclamation of 1763

    A law was placed onto colonists that said they could not expand west of the Appalachian Mountains
  • Sugar Act

    British wanted to end the smuggling of sugars and molasses. Increased a tax on those two resources
  • Stamp Act

    Increased/created taxes for almost every printed material
  • Townsend Acts

    Colonists continued to deny Parliament's advances on taxes
  • Tea Act

    British soldiers were seen as "tyrants" to the protesters and cause a fight in which soldiers killed people and people through objects at soldiers.
  • Coercive Acts

    A law was placed which declared that any British soldier in need of shelter is allowed into any home. No matter the situation
  • Battle of Lexington and Concord

    A shot was fired during a standoff between British soldiers and American revolutionists. Started the battle.
  • Bunker Hill

    Inexperienced Colonial soldiers were able to fend off the British for 2 hours. They lost the battle but inspired many people along as heavily damaged British troops
  • Loyalists to Britain Flee

    Loyalists flee because they were outcasted by the new society.
    State govs. would sometimes take their land.
    Started fleeing in 1775/6
  • Declaration of Independence

    2nd continental congress declares the Dec. of Indep. Starts the chain reaction of breaking away from the British
  • Battle of Trenton

    Washington pushed into Trenton on Christmas night. He ambushed British and german soldiers causing them to retreat.
    This victory created a spot where the soldiers could rest, restock/resupply, strategize, and unify a stronger force.
  • Fall of Philadelphia

    Philadelphia was apart of the colonies for 9 months but 15,000 British troops attacked which forced the people to leave.
  • Articles of Confederation

    The Articles of Confederation were adopted by the Continental Congress on November 15, 1777
    After finally gaining freedom from the British, States did not want it to repeat with the forming government so each year the states would elect a delegation to send to the capital.
  • Valley Forge

    Colonial troops take Valley Forge and use it as a base camp.
  • French Alliance

    French joins the Americans and provide them with financial funds as well as ammunition, troops, guns, and uniforms. This ensured the victory against British
  • The Battle of Yorktown

    Sep 28, 1781 – Oct 19, 1781
    The Siege of Yorktown was a joint Franco-American land and sea campaign that entrapped a major British army on a peninsula at Yorktown, Virginia, and forced its surrender.
  • End of the battle of Yorktown

    The siege virtually ended military operations in the American Revolution.
  • Shays Rebellion

    Shays' Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. The fight took place mostly in and around Springfield during 1786 and 1787.
  • Virginia Plan

    Introduced to the Constitutional Convention in 1787, James Madison's Virginia Plan outlined a strong national government with three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The plan called for a legislature divided into two bodies (the Senate and the House of Representatives) with proportional representation.
    The number of representatives for each state depended on the population.
    This was more beneficial larger states.
  • Constitutional Convention

    The Constitutional Convention took place from May 14 to September 17, 1787, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The event was to decide how America was going to be governed. Although the Convention had been officially called to revise the existing Articles of Confederation, many delegates had much bigger plans.
  • New State Constitutions

    The new state constitutions increased the size of state legislatures and state representatives were elected yearly.
    constitutions strengthened the powers of the legislatures and weakened the powers of governors. June 21, 1788
  • The Bill of Rights

    Ratified: December 15, 1791
    The Bill of Rights is the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. It spells out Americans' rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion.
  • Jay's Treaty

    Britain, agreed to evacuate the Northwest Territory by June 1, 1796; to compensate for its depredations against American shipping; to end discrimination against American commerce; and to grant the U.S. trading privileges in England and the British East Indies
  • Alien and Sedition Acts

    Federalist-controlled Congress passed four laws, the Alien and Sedition Acts. These laws raised the time period for citizenship from 5 to 14 years, authorized the president to deport "aliens," and permitted their arrest, imprisonment, and deportation during wartime. The House passed the Sedition Act, permitting the deportation, fine, or imprisonment of anyone deemed a threat or publishing “false, scandalous, or malicious writing” against the government of the United States.
  • The Quasi-War

    Because of Jay's Treaty, French were stopping American ships enroute to Britain and taking the supplies. The actions made federalists want to declare war. John Adams was hesitant to go to war. In the end, the two nations signed the convention of 1800 and the americans dropped all all claims on the French. many Republican crowds, who were opposed to Jay's Treaty, were now arguing with Federalists
  • SEMESTER 2!!!!!

  • Wilmot Proviso

    proposal that any gained land from the war will not have slavery.
  • Taylor wins election

    (I think 1848)
  • Election of 1848

    Democrat lewis Cass- Supporter of Pop. Sovereignty; Promised to Veto Wilmot proviso Former Pres. Martin Van Buren- Leader of Free-soil;Supporter of anti-slavery and wilmot proviso General Zachary Taylor- Whig candidate, avoided whole issue
  • Period: to

    Free soil

    opposed slavery on western territory
  • Period: to

    Forty Niners go to california for gold

    about 80,000 go
    Congress has to decide if california is a free state or not
  • Search for compromise

  • Spread of Slavery into new territory raised eyebrows

  • Popular sovereignty

    Senator Lewis Cass suggested citizens of new territory should vote on having slavery. Many liked it
  • Compromise of 1850

    Clay's Proposal- concessions intended to reassure south after California joins Union. North would not use control of senate to abolish slavery. Huge debate Washington abolishes Slave trading
    Mexico vs Texas border dispute is resolved
  • Nomination of Zachary Taylor

    Many Conscience Whigs quit party because of his nomination and joined antislavery
  • Lincoln's Election

    Abraham Lincoln is elected for president
  • Secession Begins

    South Carolina becomes first of eleven southern states to secede from the Union
  • First Confiscation Act

    Congress passed the first Confiscation Act Claims of Slave Owners to escaped slaves who had been used on behalf of the confederacy was no longer valid. Lincoln Signed into law
  • TimeZones

    American Railway Association made timezones to make travel safer
  • Period: to

    Northern Railroad

    Railroad created to go through Wisconsin, Minnesota then Washington. Very successful because it could spread a lot of goods
  • Period: to

    WW1

    Was known as the Great War and was a global war that started in Europe and eventually consumed many nations throughout the world. America did not enter the war until 1917. The drafting and training of a large force was the largest undertaking of the federal government since the Civil War.
  • Andrew Carnegie

    -born in Dunfermline, Scotland, in 1835.
    -One of the captains of industry of 19th century America
    -helped build the formidable American steel industry
  • Long bull market

    Because prices of securities rise and fall essentially continuously during trading, the term "bull market" is typically reserved for extended periods in which a large portion of security prices are rising. Bull markets tend to last for months or even years.
  • election of 1928

    Hoover won a third straight Republican landslide and made substantial inroads in the traditionally-Democratic Solid South by winning several states that had not voted for a Republican since the end of Reconstruction.
  • Period: to

    Great Depression

    The Great Depression was one of, if not the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world. It began after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors.
  • Stock Market crash

    Dow Jones Industrial Average declined nearly 13%
    Federal Reserve leaders differed on how to respond to the event and support the financial system.
  • Election of 1932

    On November 8, 1932, Franklin Roosevelt became the first Democrat in 80 years to win the presidency by a majority vote, rather than a plurality.
    Represented a dramatic shift in the political alignment of the country.
    FDR won the election with 472 votes.
  • FDR's New Deal

    The New Deal restored a sense of security as it put people back to work.
  • Rockerfeller

    -founder of the Standard Oil Company
    -one of the world's wealthiest men and a major philanthropist
    -entered the then-fledgling oil business in 1863 by investing in a Cleveland, Ohio refinery.
  • Neutrality Act

    Congress passed the Neutrality Act ending the munitions embargo on a "cash and carry" basis
  • Period: to

    WW2

    Hitler invaded Poland and drove Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany, marking the beginning of WW2. Hitler tried to spread communism
  • Fall of france/Phony War

    German invasion of France and the Low Countries which ended the Phony War. Germans used battle tactics that caught france and britain allies off guard.
  • Dunkirk

    the rescue of more than 338,000 British and French soldiers from the French port of Dunkirk.
    Significant because German soldiers had enclosed British and French Allies and were slowly closing in by cutting off their access to ports. Dunkirk was the only port opened/Germany did not take and resulted in the allies being able to escapr
  • Pearl Harbour

    Japan staged a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, decimating the US Pacific Fleet.
  • Germany calls war

    Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S.
  • Civil Rights Act

    prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin
  • Period: to

    Cold War

    United States, the Soviet Union, and their allies were locked in a long, tense, political conflict known as the Cold War. Main battle tactic was through proxy wars.
  • Truman Doctrine

    United States would provide political, military and economic assistance to all democratic nations under threat from external or internal authoritarian forces.
  • Election of 1948

    Harry S. Truman wins Presidential Election
  • Marshall Plan

    Marshall Plan provided markets for American goods, created reliable trading partners, and supported the development of stable democratic governments in Western Europe.
  • Birth of Mc.Donalds

    First McDonalds was created in San Bernardino CA
  • jfk assassination

    On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in an car in Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was charged with the crime but was himself assassinated before he could stand trial.
  • Civil Rights act of 1964

    Prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
  • Fair Voting Act of 1965

    Made voting polls in the south stop requiring literacy tests.
  • Water gate scandal

    The Watergate scandal was a political scandal in the United States during the early 1970s that involved the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex and the subsequent cover-up by the Nixon administration, which ultimately led to the resignation of President Nixon.
  • First Gulf War

    The First Gulf War was a military conflict fought between Iraq and a coalition of 35 nations led by the United States between 1990 and 1991. The war began after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and involved intense military operations, including air strikes and ground combat, which resulted in the liberation of Kuwait. The war also had significant results, like the addition of no-fly zones over Iraq, the imposition of economic sanctions.
  • Collapse of the Soviet Union

    The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought an end to the Cold War and the world's first communist state. The dissolution of the Soviet Union resulted in the emergence of the United States as the sole superpower, ushering in a new era of international relations. However, the transition to a market economy led to widespread economic hardship and social dislocation, affecting millions of people.
  • World Trade Center Bombing

    The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack in which a group of terrorists detonated a truck bomb in the underground parking garage, killing six people and injuring over 1,000. It served as a wake-up call for US law enforcement and intelligence agencies, who had not considered the possibility of a terrorist attack on US soil. The attack foreshadowed the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center that resulted in nearly 3,000 deaths.
  • 9/11

    The 9/11 attacks were carried out by al-Qaeda on September 11, 2001. Four planes were hijacked, and two crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and one into a Pennsylvania field. Nearly 3,000 people died, and the US launched the War on Terror, which included military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq and significant changes in national security policy.