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Founding of Jamestown
Jamestown was the first successful settlements in the new world. It was in what would eventually become the colony of Virginia. Jamestown was only successful a few months into the creation of the settlement. Before this, the town was just barely keeping afloat with more than eighty percent of the population dying. -
Mayflower Compact
The Mayflower Compact was signed the day the Pilgrims landed. It was one of the first ever documents made in American history. It was a message to the world that anyone could settle in America. The Pilgrims would then create a settlement and defend it, celebrating the first thanksgiving after their victory over the Native Americans. -
Rhode Island Founding
Roger Williams was exiled out of his settlement after he spoke out against civil rights inequalities. He also spoke out against Native exploitation. He was banished and expected to die in the wilderness. Roger Williams created the Colony of Rhode Island instead of dying. He made a colony that allowed people to believe what they wanted to and accepted all kinds of people in the Colony. This colony would become the Rhode Island Colony. -
Salem Witch Trials
Salem was a heavily religious town. The people there lived a very strict lifestyle, not even being allowed to dance or sing. There was hardly any self expression, which caused people to go mad and, subsequently, have episodes of bizarre behavior. This inevitably caused fear, leading some people to suspect witches were at work. The fearful people started accusing all sorts of people in the town and soon there were 200 people accused of witchcraft. The Witch trials ended up killing 20 people. -
Great Awakening
The great awakening was a rise in religious values. The people of this time would talk about their gods, with people even traveling to spread sermons, such as sinners in the hands of an angry god. These sermons would inspire people to become closer to their god, awakening a new sense of religious belief in the colonies. These rise in values caused churches to expand and for people to develop communities around these churches. -
Washington kills a French Ambassador.
French and English colonists were expanding their territories in the new world. The time would eventually arise to where the two sides would have disputed territory, the land of Ohio. Both sides went to negotiate who the territory would belong to. Washington accidentally kills a French ambassador, starting a 9 year long war, later called the Seven Years war, which ends with England officially becoming the leading world power. -
Boston Massacre
Tensions were rising in Boston. The crown had sent troops to Boston harbor to lower the rising tensions and discontent in the city. The people, already were annoyed with the several acts, were infuriated. Protesters began protesting in front of the British soldiers. The protesters began to throw snowballs at the troops, the troops stood still. They began to then throw rocks and oyster shells. Eventually, a British soldier was wounded, causing the others to shoot at the crowd in self defense. -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea party was not an organised event by any means. The sons of liberty were a group of rebels hellbent on removing the British presence from Boston. The group was lead by Samuel Adams, a person that was very radical in his ways, as opposed to his more quiet brother. Samuel and the sons of liberty were drunk one night. These drunk men decided to dress themselves in Indian attire and then dump tea into the sea from the Dutch East India company. The British lost over 1.7 million dollars. -
Intolerable Acts
The British got involved with the affairs of the Colonists and began to tax and control the colonies. The colonist rebelled. After the Tea party in Boston, the crown put its foot down and decided to enact many acts. These were called the intolerable acts, which would limit colonist freedoms. The quartering act was one such, which required colonists to house soldiers. This enraged the colonists to an immeasurable degree. -
Midnight Ride of Paul Revere
Anti British sentiment was growing in Massachusetts. The people began to collect and store weapons in a weapons depot in Concord. The British found out about this and began marching towards the country side. Paul Revere and two others rode on horseback to warn the people of the incoming British forces. The warning was successful as the local militia was ready and gathering in Lexington, waiting for the strongest empire. -
Lexington and Concord
The battle of Lexington was a one sided fight, heavily in favor of the British. The British had many times more men and stood above the militia men in Lexington. The militia men stood firm, until the British made them face reality. The militia men decided to go home, until someone shot. In the battle, the militia men were forced to retreat, causing them to regroup at Lexington, picking up more men. They then beat the British at Lexington, and chased them all the way to Boston. -
Capture of Fort Ticonderoga
The green mountain boys were a group of rebels that would give people back land that was stolen from them by the crown. These boys decided to take fort Ticonderoga. The boys were accompanied by a certain Benedict Arnold. He and the green mountain boys took the base from the British successfully. They took the food and weapons and had a feast. The weapons would later go on to be driven to Boston on the backs of Oxen by Henry Knox. These weapons allowed Washington to lay siege to the city. -
Second Continental Congress
The second continental congress was a meeting of delegates from all the thirteen colonies to discuss what to do after the actions of Lexington and Concord. It was here where George Washington became the leader of the American army. They established the new country and named it, United Colonies. The new country wasn't officially created until 1776 when the deceleration of independence was signed. -
Battle of Bunker Hill
The battle of Bunker hill was one of the most iconic battles of the American Revolution. The British were surrounded on all sided by Massachusetts militia. They were trapped in Boston with them engaging in skirmishes with Washington's forces. One such battle was the battle of bunker hill. The Americans were able to set up defensive positions on the hill and keep the British at bay until they ran out of ammo. It was a British victory, but they suffered four times the causalities as the Americans. -
Declaration of Independence is signed.
Thomas Jefferson was tasked with writing the Declaration of Independence. He spend days writing drafts for the document until he eventually was able to come up with one. This documents signing would be seen as treason by the crown and could result in the entirety of congress being hung. The document was signed in Philadelphia and enacted on July 4th, 1776, giving us our independence day. This would lead to the war to escalate and changed the course of history forever. -
Washington Crosses the Delaware
Washington has been leading the US army ever since the siege at Boston. He is now set up for the winter, with his men trying their best to survive the winter. The British had recently called on Hessian mercenaries to help quell the United States military presence. Washington knew that the soldiers would be resting during the winter and planned an attack. On Christmas Eve, he crossed the Delaware River and took over town after town in a desperate effort to prove the war wasn't over. -
Battle of Saratoga
The battle of Saratoga was the next major turning point after Washington's crossing of the Delaware. The battle saw two US armies surround a British Army that had recently called reinforcements. The lack of reinforcements caused the British to have to surrender, causing a major shift in how this war would turn out. The United States now had as many armies as the British with six armies total on the continent. The Americans now knew they had more than a chance for victory. -
Articles of Confederation are ratified
With the war nearing its end, the new country now needed to figure out how this country would be governed. A new issue arose. How should the spread of power be like? The country decided to give the states almost all the power. There was only a congress, which would represent each state. The country was more like a league of friendship. The country had no formal military either. The articles did allow for the Northwest Ordinance, creating the set of states that now make up the Midwest. -
Cornwallis Surrenders
After the battle of Saratoga, the US decides to push the British further. The French also joined the war against the British, giving the US naval support. Cornwallis was now trapped in Yorktown, with Washington laying siege to the city. Cornwallis decides to retreat into the British ships in the harbor, but is now surrounded by Americans on land, and the French Navy by sea. He surrenders, ending the American war for Independence. -
Shays' Rebellion
Shay's rebellion was the first test of the Articles of confederation, and it couldn't have gone any worse. The articles made it so there would be no formal military, so no one could stop the rebellion. Even if they had a military, the US had no one to lead it to stop the Rebellion. The Elites of the country resorted to hiring soldiers to protect themselves. Eventually the Rebellion was quelled, but now it was clear as day. The Articles of Confederation would have to be replaced. -
Northwest Ordinance
The new country gained massive amounts of land from the British. These territories were knows as the North West territories at the time. This area is now known as the Midwest. The country decided that, instead of having just territories, they could make certain areas become states if the areas had a big enough population. The states of the Midwest and later the rest of the country were entered into the union by this method. -
Constitution is ratified
The articles of confederation were almost a complete failure. The only success for it was the Northwest ordinance. The country needed a powerful leader, but ways to make sure they didn't become a tyrant. A checks and balances system was implemented. Congress would be made up of representatives from the states. This is the Legislative branch. The Judicial branch was the head of federal courts which got to interpret the constitution. There was the Executive branch that would lead the country. -
Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin
Slavery was surprisingly on its way out as cotton was previously very difficult to refine. Eli Whitney's cotton gin changed that. The Cotton Gin allowed southern slave owners to produce Cotton easily, making the crop profitable. This made slavery more prominent and important in harvesting the cotton. This was terrible for the Union as it meant the divide in the Union would grow and grow until the Civil War broke out in 1861. -
Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey rebellion was the rebellion against the tax on Whiskey. They tax was being used to pay off the war debt from the Revolution. The Whiskey Rebellion was the first test for the constitution, and it worked. Washington led troops to the Rebels and forced a surrender with his military might. The Constitution proved it could work as America's official document. To protect the rights of the people, the constitution had the first then amendments to it, becoming the bill of rights. -
George Washington's Farewell Adress
George Washington was the perfect president to become the first of the country. He set many precedents for the president. One of these included a Cabinet, made up of advisors for each part of the country called secretaries. Washington also set up the precedent of the president serving only two terms. Washington's farewell address warned the country of many things including political parties and foreign affairs. This warning was sadly ignored. -
Election of 1800
The world before the 19th century saw civil wars in every kind of country whenever there was a change in power. This was about to be changes, as the Election of 1800 saw the Antifederalists win the election when the last two presidents were Federalists. The whole world watched as John Adams gave the presidency to Thomas Jefferson. In a spectacular turn of events, there were no riots or fights. The passing of power was peaceful for the first time in world history. It forever changed the world. -
Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson was faced with a dilemma. He needed America to have access to the Mississippi, so he was given an offer to purchase the Louisiana territory from France. Jefferson was torn as he knew it wasn't said the president was allowed to buy territory for the country. He did end up buying the territory, which doubled the size of the country. It allowed America to expand west, creating the idea of manifest destiny. -
Lewis and Clark Expditions
Jefferson had just recently bought the Louisiana territory and now needed to explore it. He sent two explorers to survey the land and hopefully find a way to the pacific. Lewis and Clark were the two explorers and they traveled west, picking up samples of agriculture products to boost Jefferson's agrarian plan. The two eventually reached the pacific, but they knew that reaching it would be the biggest challenge the country would have to face in its expansion west. -
War of 1812 begins
America is beginning to grow into a young nation, but it has a disadvantage compared to Europe. America has existed for less than a lifetime at this point while European countries have existed in some way or another for centuries. America has yet to prove it's worth on the world stage, and, with rising tensions with the British, they decide to start another war with them. America was not ready for this war, but it didn't care. They wanted to prove they could sit at the grownups' table. -
British burn the White House
The British invade the continent by land while the US forces rampaged through southern Canada. James Madison, the current president, was eating dinner with his family when he was alerted of the incoming British forces. His wife was the one who got the previous three presidents' portraits out of the white house. When the British arrived, the food was still warm. The British celebrated and then burned the white house to the ground. James Madison now had to lead a war without the country's capital. -
Battle of New Orleans
The War of 1812 was formally ended by this time. Unlike other wars, this war wasn't ended by a surrender or destruction of an empire, but was ended by a mutual understanding and desire to end a meaningless war. Sadly news couldn't reach fast enough and the British prepared to battle the US army at New Orleans. Andrew Jackson asked all sorts of people to help join the fight and together, with clever tactics, defeated the British soundly. -
Missouri Compromise
The issue of slavery was the driving force of American politics of the time. The people then were evenly split on the issue with both sides having equal representation in congress. The north opposed slavery while the south supported it. To ease tensions, the country created the Missouri compromise to once again, kick the can down the road. -
Monroe Doctrine
The US had decent foreign relations with the European powers. This was until the creation of the Monroe Doctrine, warning Europe that America would not accept further colonizers and puppet monarchs. America would not interfere with foreign affairs anymore. America would also not interfere with other colonies in America. This promoted America's self isolationist idea, an idea that would weaken at the break of WW1, but still be present to the 21st century. -
Election of 1824
America had a problem. A presidential election didn't result in a majority wins. This was back when there were more than two candidates. A candidate would have to get more than half of the electoral votes. The senate now had to decide. Henry Clay had a lot of power in the Senate and was vital to the election. The two candidates left were John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. Henry Clay gave the vote to Adams, who had fewer votes than Jackson. This was a big scandal at the time of this event. -
Battle of the Alamo
Mexico owned land that they needed to make profitable. They allowed Americans to settle the land if they became citizens. The Americans began to revolt after a while and soon began a war against the rest of Mexico. One battle in the war was the battle of the Alamo, in which a senator from the US congress was killed along with everyone else in the building. This sparked hatred and resentment in America against Mexico and prompted America to intervene, annexing Texas and ending the war. -
Gold Rush
Europe began to colonize America on the prospect of finding gold. A miner eventually found gold in California, starting the California gold rush. This brought people from all over to California on the prospect of gold. All the easy gold was found by people using pans in a river to collect the floating sediments. The gold rush brought many new people to America and allowed California to grow to where it is today. -
Seneca Falls convention
The Seneca Falls convention was one of the first women's rights conventions in America. The women's' rights movement began through discrimination in civil rights activist conventions. It was ironic to say the least. The people in the Seneca Falls convention signed the Declaration of Sentiments. The news hit the newspapers soon and there was a public outcry. The public began to shame and ridicule those that signed the document. It got so bad some removed their signatures from the document. -
Compromise of 1850
Tensions in America were once again rising and the Missouri compromise was beginning to loose its power. In a last effort to keep the country together, Henry Clay made one last compromise, allowing slave holders to capture slaves in the north, ending the slave trade in DC, and allowing territories to vote on slavery themselves instead of using the Missouri Compromise line to dictate slave and free states. This compromise would be the last thing Henry Clay would do. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book written to spread awareness of the issue of slavery to the rest of the world. The book was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The book gave way to more people wanting to end slavery. America's blood was boiling, ready to decide what would be the outcome of one of the largest civil rights issues to this day. Uncle Tom's Cabin was just one of the many books and papers written to fuel the issue of slavery and to force history's hand. -
John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry
With the issue of slavery rising, radicals and extremists began to act. One such extremist was John Brown who had been planning a way to stop slavery. He planned to take an arms facility from the government and then march from plantation to plantation, causing slave revolts and taking down the institution of Slavery. His plan failed as he was then surrounded by General Lee's forces. He was captured and then later executed. The United States was at the brink of war. -
South Carolina secedes, Civil war begins
South Carolina had been fed up with the Union for a while now. The state had always been the one to divide itself from the rest of the Union all the way back from before the Revolution. Many of the states saw themselves as independent and through they could leave the union if they so please. South Carolina seceded from the union. Much of the South did as well. The civil war was, at this point, inevitable. -
Homestead Act
America now had land all the way to the Pacific. This land was empty and needed to be used. The Government decided to give people land out west for free if they make a permanent residence and farm on it for five years. This was the Homestead Act, and it gave way to the new states out west. Mining soon began out west as well and eventually would begin to mine iron. This Iron would allow factories in the north to turn it into steel. This lead to America creating bigger and stronger structures. -
Emancipation Proclamation is signed
Lincoln was desperate. The European powers were looking like as if they were going to intervene. Lincoln needed a victory to secure the idea that this war was winnable for the Union. Then came the battle of Antietam which resulted in the Union pushing Lee's invasion of DC back behind confederate lines. This gave Lincoln the ability to sign the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing the slaves of America and giving the war a new meaning, keeping Europe out of the war. -
Transcontinental Railroad
The United States was expanding west and needed to connect its coasts together. Right now, the United States was split in half by the great plains. Lincoln decided to hire two companies to build railroads to each other until they meet, paying them by the amount of tracks they laid and what land they had to deal with. The railroad was eventually completed, uniting the coasts of the country, increasing efficiency for the materials. -
Gettysburg Address
The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle in American history, which resulted in a Union victory. The tide of the war has changed. The battle saw some of the most deaths in American history. Lincoln arrived in Gettysburg after the battle and gave his famous Gettysburg address in which he stated that this civil war would test whether this country can endure such a conflict and if they can be healed from it. -
Sherman's March to the Sea
The Union's victory was guaranteed, but Grant felt like rubbing some salt in the confederacy's continent sized wound. Grant had quite a modern concept for the time. He knew the military's morale relied on the people they fight to protect. If you take care of the people, then the military will crumble. Grant ordered his second in command, Sherman, to march all the way to the sea and live off the land. He would free slaves and destroy farms on the way, steamrolling through the countryside. -
Thirteenth Amendment is ratified
The 13th amendment was ratified to protect the rights of freed slaves, which were now all people that were slaves before the civil war. This amendment was a legendary accomplishment as there were not many amendments made post the creation of the bill of rights before this amendment. The amendment being ratified was also a requirement for confederate states to join the union again. This amendment was followed by the 14th and 15th amendments that furthered the protection of African-Americans. -
General Lee's Surrender
Grant had been chasing Lee from city to city in Virginia. Grant had several times more men than Lee, but Lee was persistent. He desperately tried to fight his way to survival. He was headed to an arms storage unit to restock on supplies. Grant decides to split his army. One would chase Lee while the other half would go directly to the storage unit to surround Lee. Grant engaged Lee's army to buy time and when Lee made it to the storage unit, he gave up. He and Grant negotiated terms. -
President Lincoln is assassinated
The war was over. Lincoln was happy to be able to serve as president during a time of peace in America. He had lost his son, but kept his head up to his future. Lincoln decided to go watch a play at ford's theater. He went with his wife and his friend's family. The crowd was having fun, with Lincoln enjoying himself for the first time in a long time. In a bar, John Wilkes Booth was plotting. He sneaks past the guards and to Lincoln's both. He then fires his gun while the laughter is loudest. -
Yellowstone was established
The government had large amounts of land left over from westward expansion. This would become federal land, owned directly by the government instead of the states even if the land is in state borders. The government decided to create it's first national park, in an effort to protect the environment but still allow people to experience the area. This park was called Yellowstone National Park, named after the dormant volcano resting in its borders. -
The Haymarket Riot
During the first few months of 1886, workers began attacking the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company in Chicago. This then led to protests outside the company which led to the company closing their doors to the workers outside, in an attempt to get them to disperse. On May 4th, protesters gathered in Haymarket Square. The police eventually showed up, causing mass hysteria, leading to the Haymarket Riot. A bomb was detonated in the square, leading to several deaths and later executions. -
The Founding of the Anti Saloon League
The women's temperance movement began to slow due to the parents of the men never teaching their sons essential life skills. This caused women to have to reoccupy their duty of being the mother of the house. The Anti Saloon League formed in its place, taking their movement in front of the federal government. Their sole purpose was to completely eradicate alcohol from society. This organization was formed by Wayne Wheeler, who used the public's fears to gain support, creating the 18th amendment. -
Blame the Maine on Spain
The United States had run out of destiny to manifest, so it decided to take some from the Europeans in the name of freedom. The United States decided on helping save Cuba from Spain due to the several revolts in Cuba. When Spain denied, the US sailed the USS Maine down to Cuba. It blew up and the US blamed the Maine on Spain and went to war. The war lasted for less than 8 months before the US won and gained several former Spanish territories. -
Battle of San Juan Hill
During the Spanish-American War, Theodore Roosevelt sought combat on the frontlines, but was dismissed due to his high ranking in the Navy. He resigned from the Navy promptly and headed out west in search of an army. Roosevelt assembled an unconventional army full of men that lived in the west. These people were tougher than nails and twice as sharp. On the day of The Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba. Roosevelt charged up the mountain under heavy fire with his men, taking the hill. -
Carrie Nation in Topeka Kansas
Due to the increase in the Temperance movement, many states began to independently in act and implement dry laws that prohibited saloons. Although Kansas was one of these states, there were several illegal saloons open, with the authorities doing nothing to stop them. A sweet old lady named Carrie Nation brought a hatchet and began to destroy saloon after saloon before eventually arriving at one in Topeka Kansas. She was eventually arrested, set free, and repeat. -
Inaguration of Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt had been a loose cannon to the American Republican Party. He was one of those individuals that, despite what his politics were, did what he wanted to, not listening to many others. It was for this reason the Republican Party placed him as the vice-president of William McKinley should he become president. What the Republican Party didn't expect is for McKinley to die in office, therefor, letting Theodore Roosevelt become the president of the United States. -
The Airplane
Blimps were the only flying machine you could ride before the 1900's. While they were able to fly, they took up vast amounts of resources and were essentially a glorified balloon. This all changed when the Wright brothers successfully created the first ever plane that would properly fly. This new technology was then brought to the world stage, where countries would begin building several planes for combat, creating a new way to fight wars. -
The Treaty of Portsmouth
The Russians and Japanese had been in a war for the land of Manchuria, an area of northern China. The Japanese had invaded the Korean Peninsula and had weakened the Chinese, which the European powers exploited for their own conquests. This caused Russia and Japan to go to war for the contested territories. Roosevelt had enough of this conflict and sailed the navy across the pacific to show the American might and settle a treaty between the two nations. It was the end of American Isolationism. -
The Publication of the Jungle
The Jungle was a book published by Upton Sinclair. This book was published to unravel the atrocities in the American meatpacking industry. This was not only an attempt to warn the customers and the American population as a whole, but also to unravel the horrible conditions of the factories for the workers, with injuries and disease prevalent in the factory. This caught the attention of Theodore Roosevelt, the president of the time, and lead to new policies regarding meat packing industries. -
The Titanic and Iceberg
The Titanic was the largest ship of it's time. It was thought to be unsinkable, and was meant to take it's first voyage across the Atlantic from Southampton to New York City. Sadly, the great ship never completed its voyage as it hit an iceberg. The ships nearby came to help, but it was too late. With almost 1700 deaths, the doomed ship was now at the bottom of the Atlantic. New codes for shipbuilding were placed to ensure the safety of the passengers. It was a tragedy that shook the world. -
The sinking of the Lusitania
The world was in the largest scale war that the world had ever seen, but the Americas were largely isolated. This lead the United States to declare neutrality in the war. Even so, they still supplied weaponry to the allies in Europe, which cause great trouble for Germany. On May 7th, 1915, a German U-Boat attacked the Lusitania, killing 128 Americans on board. Although this enraged the American public, the United States would not join the war for almost two more years. -
The First Red Scare
The First Red Scare was fueled by the idea of Communism and the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. The idea of Communism had not yet been implemented on a country as large and prominent as Russia. These ideas were typically associated with far left ideologies and the American public would begin to fear these ideologies as they were in stark contrast to their ideas of democracy, republicanism, and their idea of their capitalistic economy. -
The United States Joins the Great War.
The United States had been supplying the allies with weapons and food for the duration of the war. The Germans were halted in a stalemate on two fronts and needed a way out. They also needed to get America off their backs. This lead to the Zimmerman telegram, a message to Mexico to launch an attack against the US to aid the Germans. This was intercepted by the British, brought to the Americans, and on April 4, 1917, congress voted for America to go to war in Europe. -
The Ratification of the 18th Ammendment
America during the nineteenth century had a huge drinking problem, with the citizens drinking over three times the amount of liquor than their modern day counterparts. The issue was becoming mainstream in many Christian women groups. They believed alcohol was ruining their husbands and decided to band together to form a movement to ban alcohol, leading to the women's temperance movement which saw the creation of the 18th Amendment in January 17, 1919 -
Treaty of Versailles
World War 1 was drawing to a close, as all European nations involved were slowly degrading. They were unable to support their populations as well as their economies. The entire continent seemed on the brink of poverty. The United States made a deal with Germany, promising to give them peace in exchange for their surrender. This lead to the Treaty of Versailles, in which France and Great Britain made the agreement harsher on Germany, creating the issues that lead to the second world war. -
The League of Nations!
In a post world war 1 era, the world decided to address the problems and factors that lead to the war in the first place. One of the most useless of these was the creation of the League of Nations, which was created by Woodrow Wilson and yet he did not join it. The League prevented any hidden pacts or treaties from existing as well as keeping all countries in Europe in good relations with one another. This League would be replaced with the United Nations after World War Two. -
The Ratification of the 19th Amendment
The Women in America began with only having a small influence in the household. Ove the nineteenth century, this began to grow steadily, with the second great awakening and then the women's temperance movement. The women of America began to grow more prominent in society and soon began working jobs. The women's movement began to surge when men in power also fought for the women in America to have the power to vote. In 1920, following prohibition, women were now allowed to vote. -
The Publication of The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby was published during the roaring twenties, a time glorified by its enormous wealth and jazz music. This is shown in the novel as the entirety of the novel is dedicated to a rich neighborhood in New York City. The book reflects the lifestyle of the upper-class, as they enjoyed nights out partying. The people would drown themselves in debt to have fun and wouldn't give a care about prohibition and get drunk all night will engaging in nefarious activities... Like manslaughter. -
The Stock Market Crash
The United States had been enjoying a period of unprecedented time of both peace and prosperity. The stock market was something new to the global economy, and it kept growing as people kept buying. People would plunge themselves into extreme amounts of debt to enjoy their lives. This façade couldn't be held up for forever and after a decade of this, the stock market crashed, leading America into a decade of depression, which would only be fixed due to the outbreak of the second World War. -
The Dust Bowl Begins
The great plains had grass that had roots several inches deep. Since the grass was the only plant for miles at a time, they evolved to keep the dirt in place. This changed when Americans began cultivating the land into farm land. The dirt would begin to become loose. Loose dirt and wind create dust storms, which would ravage the great plains. Entire houses would be buried under the now sand like dirt. Crop failure was common, which only further dragged down the depressed economy. -
Inauguration of Franklin D Roosevelt
President Hoover, the president during the first four years of the great depression, had been seen doing nothing to stop the growing poverty in America. Solley for this reason, the American public rallied behind Franklin D. Roosevelt due to him not being Hoover. Hoover had been so useless in the eyes of the American people that poor makeshift communities began to be called Hooverville's, where people without jobs would live in makeshift homes, just trying to survive in this depressed country, -
The New Deal
President Roosevelt set the precedent of presidents being judged by in their performance by their ability to influence the country in the first one-hundred days. This is due to Roosevelt's New Deal. The New Deal was designed to relieve, recover, and reform America to stop a depression on this scale from occurring ever again. The banks were closed, reformed, and reopened. The New Deal also put people back to work. These workers worked on infrastructure to save the country economically. -
The Ratification of the Twenty-First Amendment.
The eighteenth amendment made alcohol illegal in the United States, which had caused many issues to arise. The American people still wanted alcohol, so now groups would smuggle in alcohol and sell it in large prices. The crime rate in large cities like Chicago skyrocketed. This also saw the creation of gangs, which after prohibition would go on to invest in the underground drug trade. FDR decided approve the 21st amendment, which would essentially reverse the effects of the 18th amendment. -
Pearl Harbor
The second world war had been raging in Europe for a few months at this point. The Japanese had also been spreading their sphere of influence across the Asian pacific. The only think that could stop the Japanese advance was the United States navy, so on December seventh, 353 Japanese aircraft descended onto Pearl Harbor, attacking several vessels, sinking them and several parts of their crews. The Pacific fleet was severely damaged. Repairs began immediately following this. -
America Joins World War II
The European allies were, at this point, just the United Kingdom. France had fallen and the USSR and Nazi Germany were allied. The only thing left was the UK's overseas colonies. Churchill desperately needed the support of the United States. When the attack on Pearl Harbor reached the ears of the world, America had already joined the war, promising to aid in liberation Europe with the British, but also to engage in a campaign in the Pacific to liberate it from the Japanese. -
The Navajo
War in the 20th century was as much about guns and speed as it was information. The axis powers frequently intercepted allied communications. This was an issue as it was not too terribly difficult to grab a translator to help decipher the messages. The Navajo were a tribe of people in America that were isolated from the world for years. As such, their ability to transfer information was valuable as they only could understand their language and there was no translation guide to their language. -
Battle of Midway
The Japanese had been defeating the Americans in the Pacific consistently since the Pacific showdown had begun. This all changed with the Battle of Midway, one of the most important naval battles in history and a turning point for the Pacific showdown. The Americans had destroyed many of the Japanese forces on the island, including four Japanese Carriers. This prevented any attacks on any territory that the US navy had already liberated from the Japanese. -
The Manhattan Project
War always brings about new technologies. This sense of competition fuels humanity to grow. This time, we would acquire a new energy source, nuclear energy. Nuclear energy requires splitting nuclei in two, generating energy. When this is used with Uranium in an explosive, it creates the most destructive synthetic impact possible. The Atomic bomb was the creation through the Manhattan Project, in which it's sole job was to turn a city to dust, and a nation to its knees. -
D-Day
American soldiers had been gathering in the British Isles for the last three years planning and preparing for an invasion of Europe the likes of which hadn't been seen before. The plan was to attack Normandy. The allies sent paratroopers into the bases in Normandy, followed by waves of ground soldiers storming the Beaches, pushing the Germans out of Eastern Europe. The Allies pushed into Germany with the USSR, ending the Nazi Regime. -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The War however was not yet done. The Pacific fleet had been engaging the Japanese on island skirmishes. The Americans had hard-fought battle after hard-fought battle, climbing closer and closer to the Japanese mainland. The Americans eventually pushed the Japanese out of the Pacific and chocked them out of Asia. The US now had to decide if they should invade Japan, or coerce them to surrender. The US eventually decided to nuke the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending the second world war. -
Creation of the United Nations
The League of Nations was a colossal failure. Wilson, who created the organization, didn't even join it. It was unable to prevent the outbreak of the second world war and it was unable to get countries to at least attempt to communicate and agree on topics. It was a disaster. The United Nations was formed after WWII to replace the League of Nations. The UN was able to gain prominence in the world, even kicking Russia out of Iran. The UN still has prominence today, tackling global conflicts. -
Baby Boom
When a population is going through economic struggles, the people tend to not have children as to not have another mouth to feed. This was the case for the great depression, which lasted for a little over a decade. Following this was the second world war, which while bringing up the economy, meant that the men would be shipped out to war. When the men returned to a recovered country, the couples instantly began families due to benefits from the GI bill, which gave veterans much needed benefits. -
The Truman Doctrine
The biggest war in human history was finally over. With almost every prominent country involved, and with up to 60 million deaths, only the USA and USSR remained as the global superpowers. It wouldn't be long though until they would be at odds. With opposing economic systems, the world would now be in a constant tug of war between capitalism and communism. This was made known with the Truman Doctrine, which gave 400 million to defense in Greece and turkey to combat USSR supported revolutions. -
The Marshall Plan
It's a known fact that communism grows and thrives in poverty, like an infestation. The only way to kill it is by disinfecting the ground in which it grows. This is what the US did to stop the spread of communism into
Western Europe. The Marshall Plan gave 12 billion dollars into the restoration of Western Europe, thereby acting as the cleansing medicine for the soil in which communism could no longer grow from. The west was safe for now, until the USSR would create their own bomb. -
Berlin Airlift
The USSR and the US had been fighting an economic war in the city of Berlin, which was several miles inside east Germany. The USSR decided to starve the west berlin population by cutting off the west from it. The west was not allowed to step even one foot into east Germany. Truman's solution? Fly the supplies in! Truman sent several flights that would airdrop supplies into west berlin, which aided the population and made sure they wouldn't starve or lack certain necessities. -
The Soviet Atomic Weapon
Spies are the single most dangerous entity in the world. They can spill large amounts of information of their enemies to their homelands. These people were everywhere in the Manhattan project, with several of them turning traitor to the US and gave nuclear secrets to the USSR. This was a game changer as if all out war were to break out between the two superpowers, it would mean all out nuclear war and quite possibly the end of the world. -
Korean Invasion Begins
After Japan was pushed back into Japan, the Korean Peninsula was divided, with a communist regime in the north, and a capitalist one in the south. With the aid of the USSR, North Korea invaded the south, capturing almost the entire country in a matter of days. The US made an army from twenty two countries to push the North Koreans back. The Chinese then got involved and pushed the allies back, causing a stalemate at the 38th parallel, which went on for decades until a peace settlement in 2018. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Rosa Parks boarded a bus in Montgomery Alabama, knowing she would end up in jail. A white man came up to her, asking for a seat. Rosa refused and was arrested as it was against the state's policy. The black community immediately sprung to action, boycotting the bus system in a nonviolent way, which was preached by Martin Luther King Jr. This went on for over a year before eventually the state had to concede and reformed their bus policies. This was only the start of what was yet to come. -
Highway Act
The United States had, at this point, grown to the size it is today. Spanning from one ocean to another, and with large mountains and open fields and deserts in the land, it was difficult to traverse without any infrastructure. Dwight D. Eisenhower decided to change that. He knew a highway system wouldn't just allow Americans to traverse through their country, but also would allow for their function as emergency runways for aircraft. This was only thought possible due to Eisenhower's experience. -
The Berlin Wall
The eastern block was suffering through the horrors of communism. The people were poor and unhappy. They couldn't express themselves nor their frustrations without persecution. Millions of citizens would use Berlin as a way to escape communism. Berliners woke up on August 13th, 1961, to find a wall splitting their city in two. JFK even said "Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us." -
Checkpoint Charlie
The Berlin Wall was not just a way to keep people in, it was also proof of the failure of the communist system. American Diplomats were also consistently being denied into east berlin. JFK was having none of this and on October 27th, 1961, US tanks rolled up at Checkpoint Charlie. Soviet tanks did the same and the world braced for nuclear war. Calling it tense was a disrespect. Eventually the countries began to slowly back off their tanks, as the world breathed a sigh of relief. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
Cuba had a communist revolution and cut ties with the US. They made an alliance with the USSR, allowing them to have soviet missiles that could easily strike the entire continental united states. One slip up could lead to human extinction. One USSR Submarine thought war had begun and gave the go ahead to launch except for the third senior officer, who essentially saved the world. The US and USSR eventually agreed to pull their missiles from Cuba and Turkey, ending the Cuban Missile crisis. -
Church Bombing
On the 15th of September, 1963, a small children's choir was practicing in Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham. A racist was planning to bomb the same church, thinking no one would be inside the building. The church was a black church, and soon it was non existent. Four innocent young girls were killed, sparking outrage in the Black Community. Support for civil rights and integration in the south began to burn more and more after the bombing until it got to Washington D.C. -
John F. Kennedy's Assasination
This assasination sank the hearts of Americans. On a ride in an open top car, JFK is shot and killed infront of millions of Americans. JFK could have possibly been one of the best presidents in history, but it wasn't meant to be. This death was also the source of major conspiracy with parallels between his and Lincoln's death. Lincoln died in Ford's theater. JFK died in a Ford car. Both were also concerned with civil rights between different races. -
The Civil Rights Act
Ever since the country's founding, racism had been a prominent part of the southern culture. It had been over 100 years since the end of the Civil war and that emancipation had taken place, but there was still not true legal equality in the country. This would all change when Lyndon B. Johnson would sign the Civil Rights Act, making it law for people to be treated equally despite difference of skin color -
Moon Landing
The USSR had been beating the US in the space race for some time. They had sent the first satalite (sputnik) and later the first person into space. If the Soviets gained full access to space, then the US would have been done for. A nuclear arsenals orbiting the planet would mean doom for us all. Nasa scientists had been working on something game changing, something that would change the world. Neil Armstrong would become the first man to set foot on the moon, wining the space race for the US. -
American Troops return from Vietnam
The United States had to fight a war it was not ready for to stop the spread of communism in southeast Asia. The US feared the domino effect in Asia, which is why it intervened in the Vietnam war. The issue was that the US was fighting against guerilla war tactics, by people who knew the land better than the Americans. The US economy was suffering from having to fund the war, so when the US said it was going to pull its troops, the people rejoiced, knowing it was over for them. -
Camp David Accords
The US was now fully out of its isolationism and was dealing with world affairs left and right. One such issue was a war between Israel and Egypt. President Carter decided to hold a peace settlement in Camp David in the hopes of ending the war. This initially did not go well and both sides were lacking in the desire to end it peacefully, disagreeing on the terms of surrender. Carter then pulled on the leaders' emotions and desires for peace to get them to sign the Camp David Accords. -
Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty
Ronald Reagan was the next president and the 40th president of the US and came in guns blazing, putting pressure on the Soviet Union and all other enemies of the US. This was proven the night of his inauguration in which his reputation granted the release of 52 hostages held in Iran. Following this, in 1987, he put pressure on Gorbachev to end the cold war. This did indeed happen with the signing of the IRNF Treaty, which cut down on Nuclear Weapons and limited their production world wide. -
Dissolution of the USSR
Reagan knew the USSR was spending too much of its money on the military and that their budget was much lower. He also knew they would try to meet the US' military spending, so he raised it, essentially bankrupting the country, with it soon dissolving into thirteen separate countries. With the destruction of the Soviet Union, the head of communism, the eastern block fell. The Cold War was now over, and a new era of reconstruction and rehabilitation was needed, which would last for twenty years.