-
The Founding of Jamestown
England wanted land, and they needed resources. They saw the potential in the newly discovered North American coast, and their campaign for those to colonize it was a success. In 1607, the desire for profit, opportunity, and an escape from England led 104 English men and boys to arrive in North America to start a settlement. On May 13, they picked Jamestown, Virginia, named after their King, James I. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America. -
Lord Baltimore Founds Maryland
Although initially part of Virginia, Maryland became a separate colony under a charter granted to Lord Baltimore. His was revolutionary in that it allowed the establishment of churches of all religions. It was a success amongst the growing population in the eastern settlements- within coming years, the Virginia and Maryland area and the people it drew in by this charter had established a solid economic and social structure, setting the stage for revolution. -
Bacon's Rebellion
Bacon's Rebellion was an armed rebellion held by Virginia settlers from 1676 to 1677. Nathaniel Bacon led it against Colonial Governor William Berkeley. This was the first true American Rebellion, and it set the first stone in a long road of American Rebellion and revolution. These colonial rebels were trailblazers, and their impact on American history is incomprehensible. -
John Peter Zenger Case
John Peter Zenger was a German printer and journalist in New York City. Zenger printed The New York Weekly Journal. He was accused of libel in 1734 by William Cosby, the royal governor of New York, but the jury acquitted Zenger, who became a symbol for freedom of the press. Zenger's lawyers, Andrew Hamilton and William Smith, Sr., successfully argued that truth is a defense against charges of libel. -
Hendrick Peters Theyanoguin - Chief of the Mohawks- Speaks to Albany Congress Urging War
Hendrick Theyanoguin was a Mohawk leader and member of the Bear Clan. A speaker for the Mohawk Council, he resided in New York. His speech at the Albany Congress of 1754 urged Great Britain toward war, and its reporting in newspapers in Britain and the Colonies made him a transatlantic celebrity. He died at the Battle of Lake George in 1775, leaving behind records of the alliance Britain and the Iroquois Confederacy had and leading the colonies to eliminate their native adversaries. -
Founding of Pennsylvania Hospital, Philadelphia
On the eleventh of February, the Pennsylvania Hospital admitted its first patients. This founding of the Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia used public funds and private donations to construct this symbol of Enlightenment philanthropy. Then, in the 1760s, news of Pennsylvania's infrastructure in health and education made it the center of the American Enlightenment. This symbol of knowledge and public strength reflected many other. -
Britain gains control of territory up to the Mississippi river
Britain gains control of territory up to the Mississippi river following victory over France in the Seven Years' War. The Treaty of Paris gave Great Britain significant territorial gains, including all French territory east of the Mississippi river. This was a blow to the American's, who wanted this land for themselves. -
The Cotton Gin Invention
Eli Whitney's invention of the Cotton Gin changed the course of American industry. It led the way for a revolution in industrialization, growing cities and giving factory jobs to those who had not previously held them, such as women and children. But, of course, the need for cotton increased the need for the unethical means these factories obtained it, making slavery an even bigger issue, and intertwining it with the women's rights movement, growing with their working status. -
The Signing of the Declaration of Independence
Congress approved the Declaration of Independence after mass inspiration by Paine’s arguments to the colonists led to growing dissatisfaction with British rule and the final claim of self-governance. This marked a new era for the new country. -
Shay's Rebellion
Shay's Rebellion was a direct result of the new policies of the infant nation. Farmers wanted to change, and they did what Americans did best- they revolted. The rebels tested the power of the new government. Shays's Rebellion exposed the government's weakness under the Articles of Confederation and led many—including George Washington—to call for strengthening the federal government to put down future uprisings. It set a precedence that America would stand against Rebellion. -
Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia
The official goal of this convention, made up of many recognizable founders of our nation, was to revise the existing articles of confederation after the power of these were tested by the governed. However, many of these members had much bigger plans- plans of an official constitution that would assert the country's strength and cut all the cords that tied them to Britain. -
The Bill of Rights is Ratified
The ratification of the Bill of Rights marked an important landmark in US history. It came at a time of reinvention, the new Bank of the United States had just been chartered, and the financial and political factors, alongside the social advocacy for an improved and unified government, across states and political divides. These first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, worded by James Madison, put the nation's foot forward into governmental strength. -
Jefferson's Election
Democratic-Republican Thomas Jefferson defeated Federalist John Adams by seventy-three to sixty-five electoral votes in the presidential election of 1800. He represented one of the first significant transitions of power to an opposing group and peace. This marked what America had been striving for and was a considerable achievement for the legacy of presidential succession. -
France sells Louisiana territories
The Louisiana Purchase encompassed 530,000,000 acres of North America that the United States purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million. It was a massive landmark in the progression of the United States as a powerful nation with enormous territory. It meant a great deal to Jefferson and the American people. -
Atlantic Slave Trade Abolished
The end of the slave trade did not mean the end of slavery. While the cruelty of slave transportation and exchange in the Atlantic ended, America only turned to those enslaved in our current territory. The local trade and purchase of slaves were still heavily relied on, and many slaves were being born into slavery at this point. While this act did some good, slavery was still having a detrimental effect on millions of people and destroying lives. -
War of 1812 - Declared by James Madison
British restrictions on U.S. trade and America's desire to expand its territory led to a nation angry with the British once again. Sick of being taken advantage of, the United States took on the most significant naval power in the world. The British defeat continues to echo across history, as our victory in 1812 established our place as a world power, and our military strength entered the planet's political stage. -
Jackson's Indian Removal Act
Congress enacted Jackson’s Indian Removal Act in 1830. We enter an era of natives fighting for their lives as they compress into smaller and smaller reservations. Simultaneously, minstrel shows and pro-slavery rhetoric take hold, influencing these racist ideas of white supremacy in government and socio-political dynamics. The systematic removal and silencing of racial minorities aided in the colonization of the coast-to-coast land we have today. -
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was technically a period of several years- but a key point in it was in 1838 when the most native people were killed and transported. The Trail of Tears was part of the Indian removal act the American government supported, and it was made up of a series of forced displacements and ethnic cleansing of approximately 60,000 Native Americans of the Five Civilized Tribes. -
Commonwealth v. Hunt
Commonwealth v. Hunt was a Supreme Court case that led to an impressive victory of laborers' rights advocates. It legitimized trade unions and granted worker protection rights that have lasted to the modern-day. Prior to Hunt- the legality of labor combinations in America was uncertain. -
Texas is Admitted into the Union
The acquisition of Texas resulted from Polk's appetite for Mexican lands between Texas and the Pacific Ocean. He was willing to go to war with them for that land. What he and other Democrats consciously ignored, though, was the domestic crisis that a conflict of conquest to expand slavery would unleash. Polk would, indeed, go to war with Mexico. Annexing Texas only helped him gain territory to the next coast- California. -
Gold is found in California!
The rush to the west is on! The finding of gold in California leads scores of people to colonize the west, all hoping for quick and easy money and land. Population and business boomed, and we see the true development of a bi-coastal nation during this movement. -
Seneca Falls Convention Proposes Women’s Equality
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott organized this gathering of women's rights activists- made up of seventy women and thirty men, issuing a rousing manifesto from Stanton herself that all men and women are created equal. By staking claims for equality in public life, the reformers repudiated both the natural inferiority of women and the ideology of the separate spheres. It is at this time that we see a few churches begin to use their organizations for social justice. -
Publishing of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was an anti-slavery book by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward slavery in the United States and helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War. -
Republican Party Established
Opponents of slavery, or abolitionists, set up Republican Party. Six years later, Lincoln, a Republican himself, was elected president. This party helped perpetuate many of the represented beliefs in the North. -
Morrill Act Establishes Public State Universities
While largely created for the benefit of agriculture and mechanics, the Morrill Act was the first federal aid to higher education and marked an impressive accomplishment of educational enlightenment to the American people. -
The Emancipation Proclamation is Signed
The Civil War rages on, mass casualties consume the minds of the American people, and Lincoln knows he has to take a stand against slavery. Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, and as the Union wins battles at Gettysburg and Vicksburg, and we initiate a draft that spark riots in New York City, Union victory is more and more assured. -
The Wade-Davis Bill and the 10% Plan proposed
The Wade-Davis Bill required that 50 percent of a state's white males take a loyalty oath to readmit to the Union. Congress passed the Wade-Davis Bill, but President Lincoln chose not to sign it, killing the bill with a pocket veto. After Lincoln's death, Johnson combined Wade-Davis Bill with his idea of the 10% plan. Johnson chose a plan that disenfranchised southerners who were former confederacy leaders and owned more than 20,000 in the taxable property (the plantation class). -
Lincoln is Assassinated, turning the tide of physical and political war
Lincoln is assassinated days after Rober E Lee’s surrender and the veto of the Wade-Davis Bill, highly controversial and placing Lincoln in an already precarious situation. He died right before the thirteenth amendment is ratified, not ending his influence completely, but taking his voice out of the equation. -
Lincoln Delivers his Second Inaugural Address
Lincon's second inaugural address comes before the war Civil War had come to an end. The North had secured the win as the country was looking towards the end of the war. LIncoln's newly defined goal was to bind the country's wounds and care for the newly united states. Cities were in rubble, economic life was at a halt, and banks and businesses had failed. South was still resistant to the change. It would take ten years before the south had a stable cotton crop again. -
Freedmen's Bureau is Founded
This government section helped newly freed blacks transition to a life of freedom by starting schools, negotiating labor contracts, securing loans, helping find and purchase land, and providing legal aid. But, unfortunately, it only lasted two years. Nevertheless, they were effective at providing education and could have done much more in a long time. -
The Reconstruction Act is Passed
The Reconstruction Acts, or the Military Reconstruction Acts, were four statutes passed during the Reconstruction Era by the 40th United States Congress addressing the requirement for the Southern States to be readmitted to the Union. -
The Fourteenth Amendment Passes
When it came to the issue of integrating former slaves into society, they formed the Joint Committee on Reconstruction. There were 15 men there to write it. Just as the thirteenth amendment outlawed slavery, the fourteenth amendment guaranteed their protection under the protection of the American laws. This included slaves, a monumentous victory for them, and suppressed groups throughout the country. -
The End of Johnson's Presidency
Johnson could have had success as a president, but he largely failed at his job of reconstructing the nation. He grew more corrupt as his presidency went on. His corruption is attributed to his right to personal pardons. He used that to secure his political direction, which made him unpopular. While Johnson pursued power, Lincoln sought a complete unification- even if that meant relaxing punishment on the treacherous south. They differed on many things regarding the nation. -
The Transcontinental Railroad Completion
The Central Pacific Railroad started in the west met the Union Pacific Railroad in Omaha, NE. They met at Promontory Point, Utah. The meeting of these two companies marked one of the most significant accomplishments of the United States- perhaps one of the most technological achievements in humanity until that point. When the Pacific Railway Act passed in 1862, the United States had told them that if it were not completed by 1872, the companies would forfeit all land and payments. -
The Panic of 1873
Immediately following a period of rapid economic growth, the panic of 1873 as a result of over-expansion in the industry and the railroads and a drop in European demand for American farm products. -
Minor v. Happersett Sets Back Women's Rights
This Supreme Court case held that, while women are no less citizens than men are, citizenship does not confer a right to vote. Therefore state laws barring women from voting are constitutionally valid. This ignited a newfound dedication to the suffrage movement and sparked new writings and conventions demanding women's votes. -
Woman's Christian Temperance Union Forms
The temperance movement essentially represented how intertwined religion was to social justice and women's movements. Alcohol was, in their eyes, the source of all societal evil, and banning it would solve or diminish massive flaws in society. They were among the first women organizations devoted to social reform with a program that "linked the religious and the secular through concerted and far-reaching reform strategies based on applied Christianity." -
Formation of Baseball's National League
One of the few sports that the United States was near-universally invested in at the time was baseball. For many, it was an escape from the controversy in the political sphere. In Manhattan, New York, when six of the strongest teams of the National Association withdrew from that organization (effectively killing it) to form a new league with more substantial executive authority, the newspapers grabbed hold of it- and didn't let go as the drama enthralled the masses. -
The Battle of Little Bighorn
Also called Custer's last stand, this battle was fought at Big Horn in a stand-off between American troops and the Plains Indian resistance. -
The Official End of Reconstruction
The reconstruction was largely seen as a failure. For the freed people, their rights had been given and taken away in the political game. For the classic liberals and republicans, their political infighting had failed to provide a solution, and the confederates never changed their fundamental views. -
Nez Perces Forcibly removed from ancestral homelands in Northwest
In direct violation of the 1855 Treaty of Walla Walla, the Nez Perce were moved from their 7.5 million-acre homeland to a 750,000-acre reservation in Idaho. The removal of these people was a direct result of Western expansion- filed by cheap land and promises of wealth, the government, influenced by the people, were slowly colonizing further and further into their new land. -
The Dawes Act
The Dawes Act of 1887 regulated land rights on tribal territories within the United States. It authorized the President of the United States to subdivide Native American tribal communal landholdings into allotments for Native American heads of families and individuals. Many saw this as a humane good for the Natives, but instead, it disintegrated their tribal life and was yet again an action by the government to dismantle their established communities. -
Plessy v Ferguson Supreme Court Case
With seven votes for Ferguson and one vote against, the Supreme Court ruled mandatory racial segregation wasn't in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. This ensured that segregation was constitutional, so long as facilities were separate and equal. The Plessy case began Jim Crow laws, which didn't get repealed for years. It impacted the daily lives of African-Americans in the South, as they were now barred from anything from movie theaters to restaurants to laundromats. -
Roosevelt Forms Rough Riders
Theodore Roosevelt was a political boxing cowboy taming the wild west and advocating war with Spain. After pushing for war for longer than anyone, he resigned his post to go and fight when war looked inevitable. He forms a cavalry troop of cowboys named 'The Rough Riders.' These rough riders were extremely popular in newspapers and promoted the growing myth of Teddy Roosevelt. Roosevelt helped take the Spanish-held high ground of Kettle Hill. -
Battle of San Juan Hill
The Battle of San Juan Hill was a major battle of the Spanish–American War. Credited with this American victory was Theodore Roosevelt, an icon of the nation, half fact and half fiction. He claimed that it was the greatest day of his life - and indeed it was- San Juan Hill was the most prominent and fortified, and they had success. -
US Gains New Territory
In 1898, the United States underwent impressive changes regarding its controlled territory. The US gains Puerto Rico, Guam, the Philippines, and Cuba during this period following the Spanish-American war. The US annexes Hawaii. -
JP Morgan Creates US Steel - The First Billion Dollar American Corporation
US Steel was tangent with some of America's most legendary businesspeople, including Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, and Charles Schwab. It represented the industrialization of the united states and our financial strength internationally, laying the groundwork for successful corporations to take off with significant success in the united states for years to come. -
The Rolling Mill Mine disaster in Johnstown, Pennsylvania kills 112 miners
This powerful explosion occurred in the Klondike section of the mine, and ultimately 112 miners, 84 of whom were immigrants, lost their lives. The explosion was attributed to what miners refer to as firedamp, a methane gas mixture. It sparked advocates for workers' rights. -
Pure Food and Drug Act
A monumental act in the improvement of American health, the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906 prohibited the sale of misbranded or adulterated food and drugs in interstate commerce and laid a foundation for the nation's first consumer protection agency, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). These actions taken still heavily influence us and the food we eat today, and have led the groundwork for many food and drug protections still in use. -
World War One Begins
The spark that ignited World War I was struck in Sarajevo, Bosnia, where Archduke Franz Ferdinand—heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire—was shot to death along with his wife, Sophie, by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914. A month later, the world war has broken out. -
Sinking of the Lusitania
When a German submarine sinks the passenger liner Lusitania during the crossing from New York to Liverpool, England, killing 1,195 people, including 128 Americans, the disaster set off a chain of events that led to the U.S. entering World War I. The death of so many innocent civilians at the hands of the Germans galvanized American support for entering the war, which eventually turned the tide in favor of the Allies. -
National Park System Created
The United States National Park System was a trailblazer and one of the best things the country has done to preserve and protect nature and our wildlife. It showed sophistication and recreational infrastructure, which had only been seeds until this point. National investment in this was monumental. -
US Victory in Battle of Cantigny
United States forces are victorious in the Battle of Cantigny, the first independent American operation of the First World War. The U.S. 1st Division, the most experienced of the five American divisions then in France and in reserve for the French Army near the village of Cantigny, was selected for the attack. It was a huge success for the Allies and gave a lot of people hope. -
Germany signs the Armistice at Compiègne, ending World War I.
World War I was known as the “war to end all wars” because of the great slaughter and destruction it caused. When Germany signed, the world had a sigh of relief, as many believed it would bring stability and normalcy back to their lives. In the destruction, many celebrated. -
Allied forces begin the attack at Meusse-Argonne
It was the final offense of the war, led by the Allied Powers. At 5:30 on the morning of September 26, 1918, after a six-hour-long bombardment over the previous night, more than 700 Allied tanks, followed closely by infantry troops, advanced against German positions in the Argonne Forest and along the Meuse River. -
Prohibition Passes
Prohibition was a movement pushed mainly by women- and it was in this year of 1920, they both got the vote and the law that they had been trying for, primarily with religious organizations. However, it in many ways backfired. When the sale and manufacture of alcoholic liquor were outlawed, the Prohibition era sees a mushrooming of illegal drinking joints, home-produced alcohol, and gangsterism. -
Women given the right to vote under the Nineteenth Amendment
This victory for women's rights was a direct result of many of the social justice organizations working for years. Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment guarantees all American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and complex struggle; victory took decades of agitation and protest. -
Congress gives indigenous people right to citizenship
On June 2, 1924, Congress enacted the Indian Citizenship Act, which granted all Native Americans born in the U.S. However, the right to vote was governed by state law; until 1957, some states barred Native Americans from voting. -
Franklin D. Roosevelt Dies
After four momentous terms in office, FDR passes away, leaving Vice President Harry S. Truman in charge of a country still fighting WW2 and in possession of a weapon of unprecedented and terrifying power. He left Truman with the difficult decision of whether or not to continue to develop and, ultimately, use the atomic bomb. FDR had kept his vice president in the dark about the bomb’s development. It was not until Roosevelt died that Truman learned of the Manhattan Project. -
he Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act is signed by President Herbert Hoover
This act's effective rate hikes would slash world trade. It was purposed and gone through to provide revenue, regulate commerce with foreign countries, encourage the industries of the United States, protect American labor, and other purposes. However, it was widely unpopular, and it was another strike against Hoover and his controversial presidency. -
Hoover Proposes Public Works Plan to Congress
In order to combat the growing depression, President Herbert Hoover asks the U.S. Congress to pass a $150 million public works project to increase employment and economic activity. The President's aim was to order federal departments to speed up their construction projects and asked all governors to expand public works projects in their states. -
The Star-Spangled Banner Approved as Official National Anthem
The Star-Spangled Banner, by Francis Scott Key, is approved by President Hoover and Congress as the national anthem. The lyrics of the anthem were inspired during the bombing of Fort McHenry by British ships at the head of Baltimore harbor in September of 1814. -
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation is Established
The Reconstruction Finance Corporation is established to stimulate banking and business. Unemployment in 1932 reached twelve million workers. The political climate is thick with the idea that the desperation of the people is not being properly met by those in power. -
A Nation Recovering - Roosevelt's Reform
It's 1933, and the country is in turmoil. President Franklin D Roosevelt launches the "New Deal" recovery program which includes major public works. The sale of alcohol resumes, ending the prohibition era. It's sparking hope amongst the people, and progress is in the air. -
Germany Invades Poland
Germany invades Poland, initiating World War II in Europe. German forces broke through Polish defenses along the border and quickly advanced on Warsaw, the Polish capital. -
US Enacts Draft Bill
On September 16, 1940, the United States instituted the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940, which required all men between the ages of 21 and 45 to register for the draft. This was the first peacetime draft in United States' history, and it was in anticipation of entering the second world war. It was signed by Franklin D. Roosevelt. -
Bombing of Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, just before 08:00 a.m., on Sunday, December 7, 1941. They anticipated the entering of the United States into the war and gambled on them negotiating peace. However, the casualties only angered the US and led them to join the Allies in the fight. -
Founding of CORE
The Congress of Racial Equality, established in 1942, is a civil rights organization that focuses on peaceful racial equality. Although still present today, the first decades of the organization were the most notable. During the height of the civil rights movement, it had 53 chapters. They organized several different protests, court cases, marches, and other protests to shed light on inequality and discrimination. -
Churchill and Roosevelt Plan
Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt meet in Casablanca in North Africa to plan attacks on all fronts, to invade Sicily and Italy, to send forces to the Pacific, and to better aid the Soviet Union in the fight against the Nazis. -
GI Bill of Rights Passes
The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, commonly known as the G.I. Bill, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans. It offered Federal aid to help veterans adjust to civilian life in the areas of hospitalization, purchase of homes and businesses, and especially, education. This act provided tuition, subsistence, books and supplies, equipment, and counseling services for veterans to continue their education in school or college. -
D-Day
Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D-Day, it was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The operation began the liberation of France and the end of the war. The success of these landings in Normandy turned the tide into the Allies favor. -
The Atomic Bombs and The End of WW2
The Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ended the second world war with an unprecedented act of violence and destruction. But in the following days, the bomb brought world war two to a close, and fighting ceased with surrender. -
Hitler Commits Suicide
On April 30, 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces, ending Hitler’s dreams of a “1,000-year” Reich. -
Taft Harley Act
The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 prohibited certain union practices and requires that they disclose their financial and political activities. This act is also known as the Labor-Management Relations Act (LMRA) and it was an amendment to the 1935 Wagner Act. -
The First Levittown
The first Levittown sprang to life on former potato fields on Long Island. To speed production and cut costs, Levitt offered just two basic house types. The scale of the project attracted national attention and made Levitt and Sons a household name. New homes could start at $8,000, allowing many families to easily move out of apartments or older buildings in the inner cities- transforming American life towards the suburbs. -
Jackie Robinson Joins Brooklyn Dodgers
Jackie Robinson became the first black player in the major leagues. he was spiked, beaned, threatened, players refused to play with or against him, and denied service while on the road. Yet, he never retaliated, and his courage, discipline, and success were an inspiration to millions. -
Conclusion of Brown v. Topeka Board of Education
Plessy determined that schools could be segregated if they were equal. Still, they were not similar, and many of the schools designated as "Colored" offered less quality education. This inequality prompted a landmark supreme court case that affected millions in the segregated south. The Brown v Topeka Board of education case ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segregated schools are otherwise equal in quality. -
Death of Emmitt Till
Visiting family in Mississippi, 14-year-old Emmitt Till is kidnapped, beaten, and shot for allegedly whistling at a white woman. Two men were arrested for the crime but were then acquitted by an all-white jury. The men later bragged about the crime in a magazine article. -
The Eisenhower Interstate Highway Act
The modernization of America's roadways connected the country. The new interstate highway system reduced manufacturing and distribution costs in the large domestic market, which, in turn, made U.S. products more competitive in world markets. In addition, it played on cold war fears to gain traction and funding as it allowed easy evacuation and potential runways for planes should they be needed. -
Little Rock Nine Enroll
When the Little Rock 9 enrolled in the high school, Governor Orval Faubus ordered the Arkansas National Guard to deny their entrance. Whites picketed & protested, threatened lynchings & threatened not to let their kids to school. Eisenhower called the school open and ordered the troops of the 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock to make sure the Little Rock Nine made it to school. This was a crucial moment in the civil rights fight for education with presidential support. -
Founding of SCLC
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was created when sixty black ministers and civil rights leaders met in Atlanta, Georgia, to replicate the successful strategy and tactics of the recently concluded Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott. With direct ties to founder Martin Luther King Jr, the organization was at the forefront of the civil rights movement and helped many other organizations and leaders. -
The Election of 1960
The Presidential election of 1960 was one of the closest in American history. John F. Kennedy won the popular vote by a slim margin of approximately 100,000 votes. Richard Nixon won more individual states than Kennedy, but it was Kennedy who prevailed by winning key states. The first televised election favored Kennedy more than Nixon in a key debate because of appearances on screen. -
Ruby Bridges Enters Elementary
In 1960, Ruby Bridges was the first black student to attend an all-white elementary school in the south. She is escorted to and from school by armed federal marshals while community members, parents, and students shout insults, protest, and throw food. She became a youthful symbol of what civil rights activists were fighting for, and she gained a crowd of support and empathy. -
Founding of SNCC
SNCC, or Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, was a crucial step for youth wanting to join in the fight for equal rights. Very few organizations had the great support and leadership of the youth as SNCC did. Martin Luther King Jr supported their cause, and their radical approach to civil rights got things done and inspired many teens and young adults to join the fight in an organization that represented them and their cause. -
James Meredith Denied Admittance to University of Mississippi
In 1962 James Meredith applies and is denied admittance to the University of Mississippi. He appeals the decision all the way to the Supreme Court and wins. The governor of Mississippi tries to block his entrance. Students riot in response to his arrival, and 500 US Marshals and National Guard troops are called in to enforce the ruling and keep peace on the campus. -
Freedom Rides Begin
It was the summer of 1962. Over 1,000 student volunteers, both black and white, organized by CORE and SNCC, began taking rides through the south to test new laws outlawing segregation in bus and railway stations. Several groups of riders are attacked, and mobs of angry white racists attack, some with bombs. Eugene ‘Bull’ Connor knows the mobs are waiting and intentionally arrives with the police 15 minutes late, giving the crowd more than enough time to do severe damage. -
King Jailed
While protesting in Birmingham, Alabama, Martin Luther King Junior is arrested. While in jail, he writes his famous open letter, “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” The letter argues that individuals have a moral duty to disobey unjust laws, inspiring millions. -
Children's Crusade
Hundreds of school kids stage a school walk-out to participate in a march in downtown Birmingham. Many are arrested, only to be set free and repeat the next day. ‘Bull’ Connor stops the demonstrations by ordering the crowds to be sprayed with fire hoses and releasing dogs on them. The media televised the march, displaying the brutality to the entire country. The most crucial support it gained was JFK, who went forward to support civil rights publicly. -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
This was a massive win in the fight for civil rights. The Voting Rights Act of 1965, Signed into law by Lyndon B. Johnson, banned discrimination in local, state, and national elections and polling places. That wasn't all, though. It came with solid enforcement and a complete outlaw of literacy tests, intimidation, and physical violence. -
US Enters Vietnam War
President Johnson launches a three-year campaign of sustained bombing of targets in North Vietnam and the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Operation Rolling Thunder. The same month, U.S. Marines landed on beaches near Da Nang, South Vietnam as the first American combat troops to enter Vietnam. -
Woodstock
In 1969, the country was deep into the controversial Vietnam War, a conflict that many young people vehemently opposed. It was also the era of the civil rights movement, a period of great unrest and protest. Woodstock was an opportunity for people to escape into music and spread a message of unity and peace. -
Watergate Scandal
The Watergate Scandal started in 1972 and continued until Nixon's resignation in 1974. The illegal actions by the president and the lack of transparency to the American people led to a distrust that created effects still felt to this day. It impacted journalism and the information we trust from politicians. -
End of the Vietnam War
The United States had a long and complicated contested history in the Vietnam war, and its controversy didn't end with the end of the war. Still, it certainly was a sigh of relief felt by the nation. Despite the loss, many Americans were glad to see an end to the conflict. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
On November 4, 1979, 52 United States diplomats and citizens were held hostage after a group of militarized Iranian college students belonging to the Muslim Student Followers of the Imam's Line, who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and seized hostages. It was a significant factor in the downfall of Carter's presidency. The hostages were back in United States custody the day after signing the Algiers Accords, minutes after Reagan became president. -
OJ Simpson Trial
Opening statements were made on January 24, 1995, and Simpson was acquitted of both counts of murder on October 3 of the same year. The trial is often characterized as the trial of the century because of its international publicity and has been described as the "most publicized" criminal trial in history. From the car chase to the closing of the trial, it was a dividing and uniquely entertaining event in American History. -
The Challenger Space Shuttle Failure
The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster was a fatal accident in the United States space program that occurred on January 28, 1986, when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds into its flight. Aboard was Christa McAuliffe, who would have been the first teacher in space. The disaster halted the space program in many ways during the next couple of years, and multiple programs were scraped in an overabundance of safety precaustions. -
Columbine Shooting
The Columbine High School massacre was a school shooting and attempted bombing that occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, Colorado, United States. The perpetrators, twelfth-grade students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, murdered 12 students and one teacher. The scale of the shooting sent the nation into a shock, as debates on how to prevent such a tragedy were sparked. -
9/11 Attacks
A series of four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks were carried out by the militant Islamic extremist network al-Qaeda against the United States, changing the view most Americans had about their safety from acts of terror.