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1492
Christopher Columbus discovers America
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1497
John Cabot claims North America for England
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1501
Amerigo Vespucci explores the coast of South America
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1519
Ferdinand Magellan is the first to go around the world Alonzo de Pineda explores gulf Coast of America
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1524
Giovanni Verrazano discovers New York Bay
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1528
Panfilo de Narvaez conquers Cuba and explores Florida Alvar Cabeza de Vaca explores Texas, Arizona and New Mexico
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1534
Jacques Cartier explores the Great Lakes and the the St. Lawrence River
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1539
Hernando de Soto explores south-eastern North America
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1540
Francisco Vázquez de Coronado explores south-western North America Discovery of the Grand Canyon by Garcia Lopez de Cardenas
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1541
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado explores Kansas
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1542
Cabrillo explores and discovers the Californian coast Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo discovers San Diego Bay, California
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1559
Tristan de Luna explores North America
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1563
Francisco de Ibarra explores New Mexico
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1576
Sir Martin Frobisher explores Baffin Bay and the Hudson Strait
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1577
Sir Francis Drake circumnavigates the world - December 13 1577 to September 26 1580
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Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe (both in the service of Sir Walter Raleigh) explore the coast of North Carolina
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Walter Raleigh's fleet of seven vessels under Richard Grenville and Ralph Lane, with 108 men, reach Roanoke Island
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March 25: Walter Raleigh receives the patent to explore and settle in North America
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June 4: Virginia colony of Roanoke Island established by Walter Raleigh
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Juan de Archuleta explores Colorado
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Captain John Smith explorer and founder of Jamestown
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Henry Hudson explores North eastern North America including the Hudson River
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The House of Burgesses, the first representative assembly in America, meets for the first time in Virginia
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The Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts is established by Pilgrims from England. The Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts is established by Pilgrims from England
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English seize New Amsterdam (city and colony) from the Dutch and rename it New York
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The Glorious Revolution in England leads to a constitutional monarchy and passing of the Bill of Rights
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French and Indian War: Final conflict in the ongoing struggle between the British and French for control of eastern North America. The British win a decisive victory over the French on the Plains of Abraham (1759) and, by the Treaty of Paris.
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February 10: Treaty of Paris ends French and Indian War (1754-1763). Canada east of the Mississippi River added to the British empire. Pontiac's Rebellion against the British
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October 7: The Proclamation of 1763 issued by King George III after the end of the French and Indian War / Seven Years' War to organize the new North American empire and stabilize relations with Native Americans. ins.
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No British settlements allowed west of the Appalachian mountains. Settlers already in these areas required to return east
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February: James Otis urges a united response to the recent acts imposed by England. The phrase "Taxation without Representation is Tyranny" is usually attributed to James Otis
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July: James Otis publishes "The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved." August: Boston merchants begin a boycott of British luxury goods
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March 22: The Stamp Act was passed by the British Parliament. March 24: The Quartering Act required American colonists to house British troops and supply them with food. July: The Sons of Liberty is formed - a secret organization opposed to the Stamp Act
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December: Over 200 Boston merchants refuse to pay the Stamp Tax
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1766 March 18. Stamp Act repealed January: New York assembly refuses to fully enforce the Quartering Act. August: Violence breaks out in New York between British soldiers and members of the Sons of Liberty.
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July: Merchants in Boston and New York boycott British goods September: English warships sail into Boston Harbor leaving two regiments of English troops to keep order.
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March: "The Boston Massacre" - Four workers shot by British troops in Boston
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December 16: The Boston Tea Party - Massachusetts patriots dressed as Mohawk Indians protest against the British Tea Act by dumping crates of tea into Boston Harbor.
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March: The Coercive Acts (called Intolerable Acts by Americans)
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The American Revolution, the American War of Independence, led by George Washington was fought between Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.
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July 6: Declaration on the Causes and Necessity of Taking Up Arms stating that Americans are "resolved to die free men rather than live as slaves."
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June 15: George Washington appointed general and commander-in-chief of the new Continental Army.
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April 19 Shots fired at Lexington and Concord where weapons depot destroyed. "Minute Men" force British troops back to Boston. George Washington takes command of the Continental Army.
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February 9: English Parliament declares Massachusetts to be in a state of rebellion
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May 2: The American revolution gains support from King Louis XVI of France 1776 July 4. Thomas Jefferson presents the United States Declaration of Independence
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November 15: Articles of Confederation - Congress is made sole authority of the new national government.
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February 6: France signs a treaty of alliance with the United States and the American Revolution soon becomes a world war.
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September 14: Benjamin Franklin appointed American representative in France.
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September 27: John Adams is appointed to negotiate peace with England.
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September 23: Plans discovered indicating Benedict Arnold intends to turn traitor and surrender West Point. Benedict Arnold joins the British
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October 17: American victory at Yorktown terms discussed for the British surrender. October 19: The British army surrenders at Yorktown - a devastating effect on the British
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February 27: English Parliament votes against further war in America.
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November 10: The final battle of the Revolutionary War when Americans retaliate by attacking a Shawnee village in Ohio
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November 30: Preliminary peace treaty signed in Paris recognising American independence and the British withdrawal from America.
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February 4: England officially declares an end to hostilities in America September 3: The Treaty of Paris is signed by the United States and Great Britain
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January 14: The Treaty of Paris is ratified by Congress and the American Revolutionary War officially ends
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First President of the US is George Washington 1789-1797
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The first thirteen states were Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island
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Judiciary Act of 1789
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Bill of Rights ratified
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Fugitive Slave Act passed
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Whiskey Rebellion
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Second President of the US is John Adams 1797-1801
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Logan Act
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Library of Congress founded
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Third President of the US is Thomas Jefferson 1801-1809
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Louisiana Purchase Treaty
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Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explore the Louisiana Territory
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Barbary Wars
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Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves
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U.S. slave trade with Africa ends
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Fourth President of the US is James Madison 1809-1817
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Battle of Tippecanoe
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War of 1812 begins
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Treaty of Fort Jackson ends Creek War
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Fifth President of the US is James Monroe 1817-1825
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Jackson Purchase in Kentucky 1818 Five more states were admitted to the US - Tennessee, Ohio, Louisiana, Indiana, and Mississippi
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Adams-Onis Treaty, including acquisition of Florida Illinois admission to the US
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Sixth President of the US is John Quincy Adams 1825-1829
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Seventh President of the US is Andrew Jackson 1829-1837
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Indian Removal Act Oregon Trail opens
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Nat Turner's revolt
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Black Hawk War Seminole War begins Department of Indian Affairs established
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Texas War for Independence begins
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Battle of the Alamo Panic of 1837 Michigan admission to the US
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1838-1839: The Trail of Tears
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Tenth President of the US is John Tyler 1841-1845
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Ninth President of the US is William Henry Harrison 1841
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Eleventh President of the US is James Knox Polk 1845-1849
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Mexican-American War begins and ends in 1848
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Treaty of Cahuenga ends Mexican-American War Iowa admission to the US
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Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican-American War
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Gold discovered in California Wisconsin admission to the US
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Twelfth President of the US is Zachary Taylor 1849-1850
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Thirteenth President of the US is Millard Fillmore 1850-1853
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California admission to the US
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Fourteenth President of the US is Franklin Pierce 1853-1857 Gadsden Purchase
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Sack of Lawrence, Kansas Pottawatomie Massacre
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Fifteenth President of the US is James Buchanan 1857-1861
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Minnesota admission to the US
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Oregon admission to the US Harper's Ferry Raid
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Pony Express begins
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Confederate States of America (the Confederacy) established under President Jefferson Davis
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Sixteenth President of the US is Abraham Lincoln 1861-1865
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Kansas admission to the US
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American Civil War begins at Fort Sumter.
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Battle of Gettysburg West Virginia admission to the US
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Sand Creek Massacre
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Abraham Lincoln assassinated
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Seventeenth President of the US is Andrew Johnson 1865-1869
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United States Civil War ends
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Civil Rights Act of 1866
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Ku Klux Klan founded
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Nebraska admission to the US
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Alaska Purchase from Russia
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Eighteenth President of the US is Ulysses Simpson Grant 1869-1877
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Great Chicago Fire
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Treaty of Washington with Great Britain regarding the Dominion of Canada
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Yellowstone National Park established
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Red River Wars
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Civil Rights Act of 1875
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Battle of the Little Bighorn
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Nineteenth Rutherford Birchard Hayes 1877-1881
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Colorado admission to the US
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Nez Perce War
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Twentieth President of the US is James Abram Garfield 1881
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Chinese Exclusion Act and European Restriction Act
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Twenty-Second President of the US is Grover Cleveland 1885-1889
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Washington monument completed
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Wounded Knee Massacre
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Yosemite National Park created
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North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Washington, and Idaho admission to the US
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Wyoming admission to the US
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Twenty - Fourth President of the US is Grover Cleveland 1893-1897
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Utah admission to the US
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Gold discovered in the Yukon's Klondike
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Twenty - Fifth President of the US is William McKinley 1897-1901
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Spanish-American War
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Boxer Rebellion in China
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Twenty - Sixth President of the US is Theodore Roosevelt 1901-1909
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Ford Motor Company formed
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1903 - First World Series
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Panama Canal Zone acquired
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Oklahoma admission to the US
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Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) established
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Twenty - Seventh President of the US is William Howard Taft 1909-1913
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Titanic sinks
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Arizona, Alaska and New Mexico admission to the US
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Twenty - Eighth President of the US is Woodrow Wilson 1913-1921
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WWI started 28 July 1914 - 11 November 1918
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The Birth of a Nation movie directed by D.W. Griffith opens
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US enters World War I
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U.S. Virgin Islands purchased from Denmark
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Treaty of Versailles
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First radio broadcast in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Twenty- Ninth President of the US is Warren Gamaliel Harding 1921-1923
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Thirtieth President of the US is Calvin Coolidge 1923-1929
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Indian Reorganization Act
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The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson is the first "talkie" to be released
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Charles Lindbergh makes first trans-Atlantic flight
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Thirty- First President of the US is Herbert Clark Hoover 1929-1933
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Immigration Act
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Great Depression begins
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Empire State Building opens
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Amelia Earhart flies across Atlantic Ocean
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Thirty - Second President of the US is Franklin Delano Roosevelt 1933-1945
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Japan and Germany withdraw from League of Nations
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Dust Bowl begins
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Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act
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John Dillinger killed
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Indian Reorganization Act
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Social Security Act
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London Conference on disarmament
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Hindenburg disaster
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Germany invades Poland; World War II begins
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Attack on Pearl Harbor U.S. enters World War II
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D-Day Battle of the Bulge
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Thirty - Third President of the US is Harry S. Truman 1945-1953
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U.S. takes Okinawa
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U.S. joins the United Nations
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Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
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Germany and Japan surrender, ending World War II
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The Cold War began between the United States and the Soviet Union
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Atomic Energy Act
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Nuremberg trials
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Berlin Blockade
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NATO formed
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Germany divided into East and West
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Senator Joseph McCarthy gains power and start Communist witch hunts (1950-1954)
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Korean War begins
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Thirty - Fourth President of the US is Dwight David Eisenhower 1953-1961
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Armistice in Korea
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SEATO alliance
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Warsaw Pact
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US installs Diem as leader of South Vietnam
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Civil Rights Act of 1957
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Russians launch Sputnik
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NASA formed
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Cuban Revolution
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Hawaii, the last state was admitted giving the American flag 50 stars
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Civil Rights Act of 1960
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Thirty - Fifth President of the US is John Fitzgerald Kennedy 1961-1963
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Peace Corps
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Vietnam War officially begins with 900 military advisors landing in Saigon
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OPEC formed
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Cuban Missile Crisis
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President J Kennedy assassinated
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Thirty - Sixth President of the US is Lyndon Baines Johnson 1963-1969
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March on Washington; Martin Luther King, Jr. "I have a dream" speech
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Civil Rights Act of 1964
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Detroit race riot
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Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy assassinated
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Civil Rights Act of 1968
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Thirty - Seventh President of the US is Richard Milhous Nixon 1969-1974
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Neil Armstrong walks on the moon
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Kent State shootings
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Watergate burglary
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Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with USSR
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Vietnam War ends with US pulling out in 1973
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Watergate Scandal breaks in 1973
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Skylab first space station launched
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Richard Nixon resigns Presidency over Watergate
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Thirty - Eighth President of the US is Gerald Rudolph Ford 1974-1977
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Thirty - Ninth President of the US is Jimmy Carter 1977-1981
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Three Mile Island nuclear accident
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1979 - Iran hostage crisis begins
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Fortieth President of the US is Ronald Wilson Reagan 1981-1989
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Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan by John Hinckley
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Iran-Contra scandal breaks
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Space Shuttle Challenger accident
Space Shuttle Challenger accident -
Forty - First President of the US is George Herbert Walker Bush 1989-1993
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Hubble Space Telescope placed in orbit
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Iraq invades Kuwait leading to 1991 Gulf War
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Gulf War
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Hurricane Andrew causes devastation in Florida and Louisiana
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Los Angeles riots
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Forty - Second President of the US is William Jefferson Clinton 1993-2001
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World Trade Center bombing
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Oklahoma City bombing
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President Clinton is acquitted in impeachment trial by U.S. Senate
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Forty - Third President of the US is George Walker Bush
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September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon
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Invasion of Afghanistan Operation "Enduring Freedom"
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Occupation of Iraq, 2003-2004
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Hurricane Katrina
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Forty - Fourth President of the US is Barack Obama