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1565
First permanent European settlement in North America
St Augustine, present-day Florida - founded by the Spanish. North America is already inhabited by several distinct groups people, who go into decline following the arrival of settlers. -
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Hundreds of thousands of Africans brought over and sold into slavery to work on cotton and tobacco plantations.
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Jamestown, Virginia, founded by English settlers, who begin growing tobacco.
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Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony, near Cape Cod, is founded by the Pilgrim Fathers, whose example is followed by other English Puritans in New England. -
Britain gains control of territory up to the Mississippi river following victory over France in Seven Years' War.
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Colonists form First Continental Congress
Colonists form First Continental Congress as Britain closes down Boston harbour and deploys troops in Massachusetts. -
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War of Independence
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American Revolution
American Revolution: George Washington leads colonist Continental Army to fight against British rule. -
Thomas Jefferson's American Declaration of Independence
Thomas Jefferson's American Declaration of Independence endorsed by Congress; colonies declare independence. -
Rebel states form loose confederation
Rebel states form loose confederation, codified in Articles of Confederation, after defeating the British at the Battle of Yorktown. -
Britain accepts loss of colonies by virtue of Treaty of Paris.
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George Washington elected first president of USA.
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Bill of Rights guarantees individual freedom.
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Residual resistance
Residual resistance by indigenous people crushed as immigration from Europe assumes mass proportions, with settlers moving westwards and claiming "manifest destiny" to control North America; number of states in the union rises from 17 to 45. -
France sells Louisiana territories to USA.
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Atlantic slave trade abolished.
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War of 1812 between the US and Britain
War of 1812 between the US and Britain, partly over the effects of British restrictions on US trade during the Napoleonic Wars. -
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US acquires vast tracts of Mexican territory
US acquires vast tracts of Mexican territory in wake of Mexican War including California and New Mexico. -
Opponents of slavery
Opponents of slavery, or abolitionists, set up Republican Party. -
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Civil War
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Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln elected president.
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Eleven pro-slavery southern states secede from Union
Eleven pro-slavery southern states secede from Union and form Confederate States of America under leadership of Jefferson Davis, triggering civil war with abolitionist northern states. -
Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln issues Emancipation Proclamation, declaring slaves in Confederate states to be free. -
Confederates defeated
Confederates defeated; slavery abolished under Thirteenth Amendment. Lincoln is assassinated. -
Sioux Indians defeat US troops at Little Big Horn.
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US troops defeat Sioux Indians at Wounded Knee.
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US gains Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines and Cuba following the Spanish-American war. US annexes Hawaii.
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WW1
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US intervenes in World War I, rejects membership of League of Nations.
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Women given the right to vote under the Nineteenth Amendment.
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Sale and manufacture of alcoholic liquors outlawed. The Prohibition era sees a mushrooming of illegal drinking joints, home-produced alcohol and gangsterism.
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Congress gives indigenous people right to citizenship.
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13 million people become unemployed
13 million people become unemployed after the Wall Street stock market crash of 1929 triggers what becomes known as the Great Depression. President Herbert Hoover rejects direct federal relief. -
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The Great Depression
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President Franklin D Roosevelt launches "New Deal" recovery programme which includes major public works. Sale of alcohol resumes.