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2000 BCE
American Cultures
North American Indian cultures flourish -
Oct 12, 1492
Christopher Colombus
Christopher Colombus, financed by Spain, makes the first of four voyages to the New World. He lands in the Bahamas -
African slaves in Jamestown
The House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly in America, meets for the first time in Virginia. The first African slaves are brought to Jamestown. -
New Amsterdam renamed New York
English seize New Amsterdam (city and colony) from the Dutch and rename it New York -
Treaty of Paris
With the Treaty of Paris, the British formally gain control of Canada and all the French possessions east of the Mississippi -
American Revolution
American Revolution: War of Independence fought between Great Britain and the 13 British colonies on the eastern seabord of North America, Battles of Lexington and Concord, Mass., between the British Army and colonial minutemen, mark the beginning of the war. -
Declaration of Independence
Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia -
President of the United States!
George Washington is unanimously elected president of the United States in a vote by state electors. -
U.S. Constitution
U.S. Constitution goes into effect, having been ratified by nine stars -
Third President of Washington DC.
Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated as the Third President of Washington DC. -
Louisiana Territory Sold
Louisiana Purchase: United States agrees to pay France $15 million for the Louisiana Territory, wich extends west from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains And compromises about 830,000 sq mi. As a result, the U.S. nearly double size. -
Florida is ceded to the U.S.
Spain Agrees to cede Florida to the United States -
Women's rights convention
Women's rights convention is held at Seneca Falls, in New York -
A new president called Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is elected president -
Lincoln is Assassinated
Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Washington, DC, and he is succeeded by his vice president, Andrew Johnson -
Prohibiting Slavery
Thirtheenth Amendement to the Constitution is ratified prohibiting slavery -
Blacks vote!
Fifteenth Amendement to the Constitution is ratified, giving blacks the right to vote. -
Statue of Liberty
Statue of Liberty is dedicated -
Roosevelt President
Theodor Roosevelt is President -
U.S WWl
U.S enters World War I, declaring war on Germany and Austria-Hungary three years after the conflit began in 1914 -
Market crash
Stock market crash precipates the Great Depression -
Japan attacks Hawaii
Japan attacks Hawaii, Guam, and the Philippines. U.S. Declares war on Japan. -
" I have a dream "
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers his " I have a dream " speech before a crowd of 200,000 during the civil rights march on Washington, DC. -
Kennedy Assassinated
President Kennedy is assasinated in Dallas, Tex. He is succeded in office by his vice president, Lyndon B Johnson -
Martin Luther King assassinated
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated in Memphis, Tenn -
First Man on the Moon!
Astonauts Neil Amstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr., become the first men to land on the Moon -
Abortion Legalized
Landmark Supreme Court decision legalizes abortion in first trimester of pregnancy -
War against Iraq begins
War waged by the U.S. and Britain against iraq begins -
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina wearks catastrophic damage on Mississippi and Louisiana; 80% of New Orleans is flooded. All levels of government are criticized for the delayed and inadequate response to the disaster -
Barack Obama elected
Democrats perform well across the board in the November elections. Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to be elected President, with 52.8% of the vote. In Congress, Democrats retain majorities in both the House and the Senate, with 57 Senators and 178 Representatives