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The English Establish a Foothold at Jamestown, 1606-1610
Would-be colonists arrived in Chesapeake Bay from England in April 1607. On board were 105 men, including 40 soldiers, 35 "gentlemen," and various artisans and laborers. -
Virginia's Early Relations with Native Americans
Those living in the area where Jamestown was settled must have had mixed feelings about the arrival of the English in 1607. One of their first reactions was hostility based on their previous experience with Spanish explorers along their coastline. -
Establishing the Georgia Colony, 1732-1750
In the 1730s, England founded the last of its colonies in North America. The project was the brain child of James Oglethorpe, a former army officer. -
Revolutionary War: Northern Front, 1775
In the first eighteen months of armed conflict with the British (the conflict would not become a "war for independence" until July 4, 1776), Washington had begun to create an army and forced the British army in Boston to evacuate that city in March 1776. -
Revolutionary War: Southern Phase, 1778-1781
The Continental victory at Saratoga in 1777 and the Treaty with the French in 1778 transformed the war, especially for the British. -
The United States Constitution
In May 1787, 55 men from twelve states met in Philadelphia to revise the Articles of Confederation. -
Immigration to the United States, 1851
In the late 1800s, people in many parts of the world decided to leave their homes and immigrate to the United States. -
Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861
In 1861, the United States faced its greatest crisis to that time. -
Railroads in the Late 19th Century
Beginning in the early 1870s, railroad construction in the United States increased dramatically. -
African-American Soldiers During the Civil War
In 1862, President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation opened the door for African Americans to enlist in the Union Army. Although many had wanted to join the war effort earlier, they were prohibited from enlisting by a federal law dating back to 1792. -
Rise of Industrial America, 1876
In the decades following the Civil War, the United States emerged as an industrial giant. -
Cities During the Progressive Era
In the early 1900s, the United States entered a period of peace, prosperity, and progress. In the nation's growing cities, factory output grew, small businesses flourished, and incomes rose. -
U.S. Participation in the Great War (World War I)
War broke out in Europe in the summer of 1914, with the Central Powers led by Germany and Austria-Hungary on one side and the Allied countries led by Britain, France, and Russia on the other. -
Automobiles in the Progressive and New Eras
The automobile transformed the lives of people living in the United States. -
Great Depression and World War II, 1929
The widespread prosperity of the 1920s ended abruptly with the stock market crash in October 1929 and the great economic depression that followed. -
Art and Entertainment in the 1930s
Even during "Hard Times" and wartime, people need to be entertained. The American people in the 1930s and 1940s were no exception. -
The Dust Bowl
Between 1930 and 1940, the southwestern Great Plains region of the United States suffered a severe drought. -
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal
In the summer of 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Governor of New York, was nominated as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. -
World War II
On December 7, 1941, following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, the United States declared war on Japan. Three days later, after Germany and Italy declared war on it, the United States became fully engaged in the Second World War. -
The Post War United States, 1945
The entry of the United States into World War II caused vast changes in virtually every aspect of American life. -
The Presidential Election of 1960
John F. Kennedy, a wealthy Democratic senator from Massachusetts, was elected president in 1960, defeating Vice President Richard Nixon. -
The Twenty-Fifth Amendment
Twenty-Fifth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, outlining the procedures for filling vacancies in the
presidency and vice presidency. -
To The Moon
Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr.,
become the first men to land on the Moon -
Jimmy Carter as President
Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as the 39th president -
A Hold in the US Space Race
Space shuttle Challenger explodes 73 seconds after liftoff, killing all seven crew members. It is the worst accident in the history of the U.S. space program. U.S. -
911
Two hijacked jetliners ram twin towers of World Trade Center in worst terrorist attack against U.S. A third hijacked plane flies into the Pentagon, and a fourth crashes in rural Pennsylvania. More than 3,000 people die in the attacks. U.S. and Britain launch air attacks against targets in Afghanistan after Taliban government fails to hand over Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks. -
SS Columbia Event
Space shuttle Columbia explodes upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts on board -
President Obama
After months of campaigning and primary races, Barack Obama and John McCain are finally chosen as the presidential nominees for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively