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Revolutionary War
The war began on April 19, when British regulars fired on the minutemen of Lexington, Massachusetts. The fighting ended with the surrender of the British at Yorktown on October 19, 1781. In 1783 Great Britain signed a formal treaty recognizing the independence of the colonies. -
Signing of the Declaration of Independece
Congress had voted to declare the 13 American colonies to be “free and independent states,” with no ties to Great Britain. -
American Civil War
The Civil War came as a climax to a long series of quarrels between the North and South over the interpretation of the United States Constitution. In general, the North favored a loose interpretation that would grant the federal government expanded powers. The South wanted to reserve all undefined powers to the individual states. -
Sinking of the Titanic
Although it was considered “unsinkable” by its builders and the general public, the British ocean liner Titanic of the White Star Line sank on her maiden voyage in 1912, resulting in the death of more than 1,500 men, women, and children—more casualties than in any other marine disaster in peacetime history (since the original passenger and crew lists were inaccurate, there has never been universal agreement over the number of lives lost in the sinking of the Titanic). -
World War I Begins
A major international conflict fought from 1914 to 1918, World War I was the most deadly and destructive war the world had ever seen to that time. More than 25 countries eventually participated, aligned with either the Allied or the Central powers. The Allies—who won the war—included primarily France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and, from 1917, the United States. The Central Powers consisted mainly of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). -
United States Enters World War I
President Wilson tried hard during his first term in office to keep the United States out of the war. He also tried to get the warring nations to negotiate a peace. Germany continued its unrestricted submarine warfare. On March 4, 1917, Wilson was inaugurated for a second term. On April 2 he read to Congress a message stating that war had already begun with the acts of Germany. He stated that the aim of the United States in entering the war was to make a “world safe for democracy.” -
Spanish Flu Epidemic
Spanish flu of 1918, one of the most destructive outbreaks of disease ever recorded, killing 20 million persons in a few months -
World War I Ends
The terms of the armistice were hard. President Wilson had warned the Germans that they would be. The German army was required to move all its forces to a line about 6 miles (10 kilometers) east of the Rhine River. Allied troops occupied the evacuated territory as well as the cities of Mainz, Cologne, and Coblenz. -
Prohibition Ratified
The manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages was illegal in the United States. The 18th, or Prohibition, Amendment to the Constitution was passed by Congress and submitted to the states in 1917. -
The Great Depression
On Oct. 24, 1929, the complete collapse of the stock market began. By 1932 United States industrial output had been cut in half. One fourth of the labor force—about 15 million people—was out of work, and there was no such thing as unemployment insurance. Hourly wages had dropped by about 50 percent. Hundreds of banks had failed. Prices for agricultural products dropped to their lowest level since the Civil War. More than 90,000 businesses failed completely. -
World War II Begins
Some 20 years after the end of World War I, lingering disputes erupted in an even larger and bloodier conflict—World War II. The war began in Europe in 1939, but by its end in 1945 it had involved nearly every part of the world.
