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Period: Apr 26, 1492 to
Colonial America
The first colony was founded at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. Many of the people who settled in the New World came to escape religious persecution. The Pilgrims, founders of Plymouth, Massachusetts, arrived in 1620. -
John Smith
John Smith, Admiral of New England, was an English soldier, explorer, and author. He was knighted for his services to Sigismund Bathory, Prince of Transylvania, and his friend Mózes Székely -
John Winthrop
John Winthrop was a wealthy English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the first major settlement in what is now New England after Plymouth Colony. -
Bacons Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion in 1676 by Virginia settlers led by Nathaniel Bacon against the rule of Governor William Berkeley. -
Massachusetts Bay Company
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century. The settlement was located in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. -
Mercantilism
the economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances, which a government should encourage by means of protectionism. -
George Washington
George Washington was the first President of the United States, the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. -
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was an American Founding Father who was principal author of the Declaration of Independence. He was elected the second Vice President of the United States, serving under John Adams and in 1800 was elected third President. -
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French Indian War
A war from 1754-1763 that pitted the British and their colonial allies against the French and Indians over control of the Ohio River Valley -
Albany Congress
advocated for a union of the British colonies in North America for their security and defense against the French. Seven colonies—Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island—sent delegates to the conference, which to work out plans for joint defense measures and to help cement the loyalty of the Iroquois Confederacy, which was wavering between the French and the British in the early phases of the French and Indian War. -
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American Revolutioin, Constitution, Confederation
the foundation of universal human rights in American history -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre, known as the Incident on King Street by the British, was an incident on March 5, 1770, in which British Army soldiers killed five male civilians and injured six others. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is the statement adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies and made them offically independent. -
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Early National Period
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Ratification of the Constitution
When a bill of rights was proposed in Congress in 1789, North Carolina ratified the Constitution. Finally, Rhode Island, which had rejected the Constitution in March 1788 by popular referendum, called a ratifying convention in 1790 as specified by the Constitutional Convention. -
Federalist Papers
The Federalist is a collection of 85 articles and essays written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay promoting the ratification of the United States Constitution. -
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A renowned polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. -
Whiskey Rebellion
was a tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791, during the presidency of George Washington. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed federal government. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
A series of laws known collectively as the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by the Federalist Congress in 1798 and signed into law by President Adams. These laws included new powers to deport foreigners as well as making it harder for new immigrants to vote. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (1803) was a land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. -
Marbury v. Madison
Marbury v. Madison, was a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court formed the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under Article III of the Constitution -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an effort by Congress to defuse the sectional and political rivalries triggered by the request of Missouri late in 1819 for admission as a state in which slavery would be permitted. At the time, the United States contained twenty-two states, evenly divided between slave and free. -
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival movement during the early 19th century in the United States. The movement began around 1790, gained momentum by 1800 and, after 1820, membership rose rapidly among Baptist and Methodist congregations whose preachers led the movement. -
Monroe Doctrine
a U.S. foreign policy regarding domination of the Americas in 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression, requiring U.S. intervention. -
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Age of Jackson
A time in American history that saw to the expansion of suffrage to all adult white males, the Nullification Crisis, Indian Removal and the War on the Bank. -
The Gag Rule
Representatives passed a series of gag rules to prevent discussion of such petitions. Representative and former President John Quincy Adams of Massachusetts worked for years to overturn the gag rule, which the House finally repealed in 1844. -
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller Sr. was an American industrialist and philanthropist. He was a co-founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. -
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First Industrial Revolution
The First Industrial Revolution evolved into the Second Industrial Revolution in the transition years between 1840 and 1870, when technological and economic progress continued with the increasing adoption of steam transport. -
"54/40 or Fight"
Polk called for expansion that included Texas, California, and the entire Oregon territory. The northern boundary of Oregon was the latitude line of 54 degrees, 40 minutes. "Fifty-four forty or fight!" was the popular slogan that led Polk to victory against all odds. -
Mexican–American War
A war between the U.S. and Mexico spanned the period from Spring 1846 to Fall 1847, resulting in the defeat of Mexico and the loss of approximately half of its national territory in the north. -
Seneca Falls
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first women's rights convention. It advertised itself as "a convention to discuss the social, civil, and religious condition and rights of woman" -
John C. Calhoun
John Caldwell Calhoun was an American statesman and political theorist from South Carolina, who now is best remembered for his strong defense of slavery. -
Henry Clay
Henry Clay, Sr. was an American lawyer and planter, politician, and skilled orator who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate and House of Representatives. -
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson, known as Woodrow Wilson, was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th President of the United States from 1913 to 1921 -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The Court also ruled that Congress lacked power to ban slavery in the U.S. territories. -
Lincoln Douglas Debates
The Lincoln–Douglas Debates of 1858 were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. -
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Civil War and Reconstruction
The Union victory in the Civil War in 1865 may have given some 4 million slaves their freedom, but the process of rebuilding the South during the Reconstruction period (1865-1877) introduced a new set of significant challenges. -
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865 -
The Liberator
The Liberator was an abolitionist newspaper founded by William Lloyd Garrison and Isaac Knapp in 1831. Garrison co-published weekly issues of The Liberator from Boston continuously for 35 years, from January 1, 1831, to the final issue of December 29, 1865. -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on July 9, 1868, and granted citizenship to “all persons born or naturalized in the United States,” which included former slaves recently freed. -
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Second Industrial Revolution
was a phase of the larger Industrial Revolution corresponding to the latter half of the 19th century until World War I. It is considered to have begun with Bessemer steel in the 1860s and culminated in mass production and the production line. -
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Gilded Age
The Gilded Age in United States history is the late 19th century, from the 1870s to about 1900. The term for this period came into use in the 1920s and 30s and was derived from writer Mark Twain's 1873 The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today, which satirized an era of serious social problems masked by a thin gold gilding. -
Free Silver
denoting a US political movement for the free coinage of silver, especially that of the last quarter of the nineteenth century. -
Compromise of 1877
The Compromise of 1877 was a purported informal, unwritten deal that settled the intensely disputed 1876 U.S. presidential election, pulled federal troops out of state politics in the South, and ended the Reconstruction Era. -
FDR
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, commonly known as FDR, was an American statesman and political leader who served as the President of the United States from 1933 to 1945. Considered one of the best Presidents ever. -
Harry Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States, an American politician of the Democratic Party. -
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Progressive Era
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Sherman Anit-Trust Acts
The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 was the first measure passed by the U.S. Congress to prohibit trusts. It was named for Senator John Sherman of Ohio. -
Earl Warren
Earl Warren was an American jurist and politician, who served as the 30th Governor of California and later the 14th Chief Justice of the United States. -
Homestead Strike
The Homestead Strike, was an industrial lockout and strike which began on June 30, 1892, culminating in a battle between strikers and private security agents on July 6, 1892. -
Social Darwinism
Social Darwinism, term coined in the late 19th century to describe the idea that humans, like animals and plants, compete in a struggle for existence in which natural selection results in "survival of the fittest." -
Platt Amendment
On March 2, 1901, the Platt Amendment was passed as part of the 1901 Army Appropriations Bill. It stipulated seven conditions for the withdrawal of United States troops remaining in Cuba at the end of the Spanish–American War, and an eighth condition that Cuba sign a treaty accepting these seven conditions. -
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Square Deal
The Square Deal was President Theodore Roosevelt's domestic program formed upon three basic ideas: conservation of natural resources, control of corporations, and consumer protection. These three demands are often referred to as the "three C's" of Roosevelt's Square Deal. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
For preventing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors, and for regulating traffic therein, and for other purposes. -
Lusitania
RMS Lusitania was a British ocean liner, holder of the Blue Riband, and briefly the world's largest passenger ship until the completion of her running mate Mauretania. -
Gentleman's Agreement
It was an informal agreement between the United States and the Empire of Japan whereby the United States of America would not impose restriction on Japanese immigration, and Japan would not allow further emigration to the U.S. -
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson, often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States from 1963 to 1969, assuming the office after serving as the 37th Vice President of the United States under President John F. Kennedy, from 1961 to 1963 -
Dollar Diplomacy
Dollar Diplomacy of the United States—particularly during President William Howard Taft's term— was a form of American foreign policy to further its aims in Latin America and East Asia through use of its economic power by guaranteeing loans made to foreign countries. -
Fourteen Points
The Fourteen Points was a statement of principles for world peace that was to be used for peace negotiations in order to end World War I. -
World War I
World War I, also known as the First World War, or the Great War, was a global war originating in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. -
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was an American statesman, author, explorer, soldier, naturalist, and reformer who served as the 26th President of the United States from 1901 to 1909. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919 -
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American Baptist minister, activist, humanitarian, and leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement. -
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Great Depression
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Great Depression
The Great Depression (1929-39) was the deepest and longest-lasting economic downturn in the history of the Western industrialized world. In the United States, the Great Depression began soon after the stock market crash of October 1929, which sent Wall Street into a panic and wiped out millions of investors. -
Neutrality Act
The Neutrality Acts were laws passed in 1935, 1936, 1937, and 1939 to limit U.S. involvement in future wars. They were based on the widespread disillusionment with World War I in the early 1930s and the belief that the United States had been drawn into the war through loans and trade with the Allies. -
National Recovery Act
A law passed by the United States Congress in 1933 to authorize the President to regulate industry in an attempt to raise prices after severe deflation and stimulate economic recovery. -
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New Deal
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NLRA/Wagner Act
this bill was signed into law by President Franklin Roosevelt on July 5, 1935. It established the National Labor Relations Board and addressed relations between unions and employers in the private sector. -
Red Scare
A "Red Scare" is the promotion of fear of a potential rise of communism or radical leftism. In the United States, the First Red Scare was about worker (socialist) revolution and political radicalism. -
Lend-Lease Act
Military aid to Britain was greatly facilitated by the Lend-Lease Act of March 11, 1941, in which Congress authorized the sale, lease, transfer, or exchange of arms and supplies to 'any country whose defense the president deems vital to the defense of the United States. -
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Fair Deal
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World War II
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. -
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Cold War
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Berlin Airlift
In response to the Berlin Blockade the Western Allies organised the Berlin airlift to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin. Aircrews from the United States Air Force, the British Royal Air Force, the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Australian Air Force, the Royal New Zealand Air Force, and the South African Air Force flew over 200,000 flights in one year, providing up to 4700 tons of necessities daily, such as fuel and food, to the Berliners -
Massive Retaliation
Massive retaliation, also known as a massive response or massive deterrence, is a military doctrine and nuclear strategy in which a state commits itself to retaliate in much greater force in the event of an attack. -
Brown v. School Board of Topeka
a landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a long, costly armed conflict that pitted the communist regime of North Vietnam and its southern allies, known as the Viet Cong, against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. -
Sputnik
Sputnik 1 was the first artificial Earth satellite. The Soviet Union launched it into an elliptical low Earth orbit on October 4, 1957. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resoltuion
On August 7, 1964, Congress passed the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, authorizing President Johnson to take any measures he believed were necessary to retaliate and to promote the maintenance of international peace and security in southeast Asia. -
Medicare
A program added to the Social Security system in 1965 that provides hospitalization insurance for the elderly and permits older Americans to purchase inexpensive coverage for doctor fees and other health expenses. -
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113, is a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of abortion. It was decided simultaneously with a companion case, Doe v. Bolton -
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson, was a landmark United States Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal" -
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974 when he became the only U.S. president to resign the office.