American History By NivaLaurent Mar 4, 1789 US Constitution is ratified Period: Mar 4, 1789 to Jan 1, 2015 US History Dec 15, 1789 Bill of Rights, are ratified Feb 24, 1803 Marbury v. Madison May 14, 1804 Lewis and Clark set out from St. Louis, Mo., on expedition to explore the West and find a route to the Pacific Ocean May 13, 1838 Trail of Tears Jan 13, 1861 Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana secede Apr 12, 1861 Civil War starts Jan 1, 1863 Emancipation Proclamation is issued Nov 19, 1863 President Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address Apr 14, 1865 Lincoln is assassinated May 13, 1865 Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, prohibiting slavery Mar 30, 1867 Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, prohibiting slavery Jul 9, 1868 Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, defining citizenship Feb 3, 1870 Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, giving blacks the right to vote Nov 18, 1882 U.S. adopts standard time Oct 28, 1886 Statue of Liberty is dedicated to USA Jan 1, 1892 Ellis Island becomes chief immigration station of the U.S. May 18, 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson Jul 17, 1898 U.S. annexes Hawaii Dec 17, 1903 Wright brothers make the first controlled, sustained flight Aug 15, 1914 Panama Canal opens to traffic Aug 18, 1919 Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, granting women the right to vote Oct 29, 1929 The Great Depression occurs Mar 3, 1931 The Star-Spangled Banner is adopted as the national anthem May 21, 1932 Amelia Earhart completes first solo nonstop transatlantic flight by a woman Apr 4, 1949 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is established Feb 27, 1951 Twenty-Second Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, limiting the president to two terms Jan 3, 1959 Alaska becomes the 49th state May 13, 1959 Hawaii becomes the 50th Aug 28, 1963 Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech Jun 13, 1966 Miranda v. Arizona Apr 4, 1968 Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., is assassinated Jul 20, 1969 Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr., become the first men to land on the Moon Jul 1, 1971 The Twenty-Sixth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 Jan 28, 1986 Space shuttle Challenger explodes Sep 11, 2001 Two hijacked jetliners ram twin towers of World Trade Center in worst terrorist attack against U.S. Nov 25, 2002 President Bush signs legislation creating a new cabinet department of Homeland Security Feb 1, 2003 Space shuttle Columbia explodes upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts on board May 28, 2003 President Bush signs $350 billion tax-cut bill Oct 17, 2006 The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the population of the United States has reached 300 million Nov 4, 2008 Barack Obama becomes the first African-American to be elected President