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Jamestown is Established
Jamestown was the first place to be settled in after the British government gave acres of land to people who moved to Jamestown. People who were desperate left everything for the opportunity to make a profit. The death rate was very high and the first 5 years had lots of death and failure. Tobacco became the #1 cash crop and was best grown in Virginia. Mercantilism was a huge economic theory that helped with the growth of many colonies including Jamestown. -
Pilgrims (Separatists) Arrive at Plymouth
The separatists, who had strict religious views, wanted a fresh break from the church. They boarded the Mayflower and landed at Plymouth. Around this time in 1630 the Puritans who saw corruption and wanted to purify the church, landed in Boston. The Separatists struggled to attract new converts and settlers and were soon overshadowed by the Puritans who got thousands of new converts with the help of John Winthrop and his City on a Hill sermon. In 1691 the Puritans absorbed the separatists. -
The Great Awakening (1730-1740)
Colonists started to share a national religious experience. The Great Awakening happened because people felt religion was dry. Preachers focused on motivation vs emotion. People began to learn to read and were able to interpret the Bible in different ways. Important people are George Whitefield and Johnathan Edwards. They were able to motivate people to religion in different ways. Because of the Great Awakening new churches were built and the idea of equality and challenging authority began. -
French and Indian War (1754 – 1763)
Started over competition for land. The French lost and were forced to sign the Treaty of Paris which forced them out of the “new world”. The colonists believed that they had contributed greatly to the victory and saw this as an opportunity to be treated as equals. On the other hand the British thought that the colonists were cowards in the battlefield and they would never be equals with them. This war also caused lots of debt which meant the colonies needed to be more profitable. -
Proclamation of 1763
The colonies had become self-sufficient because the British and the government hadn’t been paying much attention to them. Benign neglect which was good for the colonies. Soon the British started to realize this neglect and wanted to gain control of the colonies. In doing so they set up a bunch of proclamations and acts to gain control of the colonies. The first one was the Proclamation of 1763, it stated that no British citizen could go past the Appalachian Mountains. -
The Sugar Act
Another Act the British put in place to control the colonies was the Sugar Act. This was an act taxing molasses and Sugar. This act didn’t do the job that the British hoped that it would though, it didn’t bring in money like they thought it would. Instead the colonists started to smuggle these instead of spending the extra money. So they lowered the tax enough so that they would stop smuggling but they still smuggled to save their money and stand up against government control. -
The Quartering Act
The British still felt like they didn’t have control over the colonies and wanted a way to keep control and have a better watch over them. So they decided that they would create an act that allowed the troops to have to live with the colonists. The colonists had to house the troops and feed them. This also didn’t work out how they had planned because it instead affected the wealthy because the troops decided to stay in nicer homes. -
The Stamp Act
The next way the British tried to make more money was through the stamp act. Any official documentation had to have a stamp on it for it to mean anything. This included documents such as diplomas, birth certificates, contracts, death certificates, billing, and more! This affected everyone but especially the rich. It angered the rich and the newspaper writers/editors which isn’t a great thing to do because they hold a lot of influence. -
Boston Massacre
The British placed five trained British soldiers in front of the customs building. They were not to engage with the protesters, even when the colonists insulted them. The colonists would throw snowballs at the soldiers and one of those snowballs had a rock in it. The rock gashed one of the soldiers' heads which caused the soldiers to open fire on the colonists. five people died. One of those people to die was an African American named Crispus Attucks. -
Boston Tea Party
Led by Samuel Adams, a political activist who made people feel motivated, with the Sons of Liberty, a group that he organized. They met at the Green Dragon in the middle of the day. Basically a bunch of dudes went to a bar, ripped their shirts off, painted their faces to look like the Native Americans (not well done disguise), and then they trew 1.8 million dollars of tea into the harbor. So the tea they threw in was not just a small amount of tea. -
Shot Heard Around The World
The colonists were secretly planning for war by gathering weapons and gunpowder.The British find out about this.They also found out where the leaders were heading and decided that they could kill 2 birds with 1 stone.They planned to arrest the leaders and get the weapons.The colonists knew the British plan and were able to meet the British.They decided to leave and no one would do anything but then a shot was fired. The first shot of the American Revolution. Not sure which side it came from. -
Saratoga
Turning point of the war. The colonists have an advantage because it is home territory. The British army (led by John Burgoyne) tried to surround the forces but they didn't know the land so some of the British troops ran into a swamp. Burgoyne and the troops are forced to surrender. This was the first major win for the colonists and caused a HUGE moral boost. They were able to capture the Britishs’ weapons and materials. The colonists also take an army off the battlefield (3v3). -
Yorktown
Cornwallis leads the British troops in this battle. His plan is to retreat to the Coast of Yorktown for the winter where the Royal Navy should be to give them protection. He wants to get Washington and the colonist troop stuck in the winter again. Cornwallis was unaware that the French Navy had defeated the British fleet in the Battle of the Capes though. Knowledge is power and Washington knew this info. Cornwallis expecting the Royal Navy is met with cannonballs and he surrenders. -
Treaty of Paris
This ends the Revolutionary War. The newly created United States of America is granted all British lands between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mississippi River and north to British Canada. Now the colonists had to create a government and start their lives free from the British. They write the Articles of Confederation which is basically a mirror of all of our fears and trauma the colonists faced in the Revolutionary War. Such as no executives, no standing army, no tax authority and more. -
Shays’ Rebellion
Highlights all the problems in the government. After coming back from war the farmers across west Massachusetts were having their land taken away. They were all in debt and in order to get out of debt they had to sell their land. Shay and the farmers were very infuriated by this and decided to create a mob. They would go to the courthouse and stop the proceedings going on. The government didn't have an army or executives to stop this rebellion because of the articles of confederation. -
George Washington is Elected President
George Washington wasn’t really elected, he was more selected to be the first president. This is because he didn’t show bias towards one political side. Nobody else ran against him because they knew they wouldn’t be able to beat him. So on April 30th, 1789 he was sworn in as president and John Adams became his vice president. During his time as president Washington established many government presidents (a way that something is done that becomes a standard practice.) -
French Revolution (Neutrality) (1789-1793)
The French citizens decided that they wanted freedom so they attempted to overthrow the French Monarchy. They planned to accomplish this by the execution of King Louis XVI. George Washington had to decide if they would help or not. Technically the U.S. signed a friendship treaty but on the other hand the U.S. was just starting to rebuild itself and a war could hurt them. So they went with neutrality and said the U.S. wouldn’t side with any European country in wartime. -
Federal Judiciary Act
During Washington’s presidency he was able to accomplish many different tasks. He got congress to pass an independent federal court system with the supreme court and they also lowered level courts. The U.S. The Supreme Court is to have a chief Justice and 5 associate justices. Washington appointed John Jay as Chief Justice. After this Washington also established the presidential cabinet. This led to Hamilton’s financial plan and the creation of a national bank. -
Whiskey Rebellion
One of the major events that happened during Washington’s presidency was the Whiskey Rebellion. This is where farmers refused to pay the tax that was put on making and selling whiskey. They were not going to pay it until the American Army enforced it. This upholds the power of the new federal government. We can compare this to Shay’s Rebellion but instead of exposing the weaknesses in the government the Whiskey Rebellion exposed the strength that the new federal government and American Army had. -
Pinckney’s Treaty
Spain gave the Americans the right to freely travel on the Mississippi River and use part of New Orleans. This was a 20 year solution to the problem of not being able to use the Mississippi River. This wasn’t a permanent solution though as we have seen in the French Revolution contracts can easily be broken. Jefferson saw this as not a permanent solution and knew that something had to be done to create a more permanent solution instead of just a piece of paper. -
John Adams is Elected President
Washigton decides to retire after having a two term presidency. This is one of the precedents that he creates. It was never written during this time that a president could only serve two terms but Washington wanted to make sure that he didn’t become corrupt so he stepped down after two terms. (two term max presidency became the 22nd amendment in 1951) Washington told people that they should vote for John Adams and so everyone did and John Adams became the next president. -
Alien and Sedition Acts
John Adams did many things during his presidency such as the xyz affair and the creation of the U.S. Navy. One of the major things that he did though was the creation of the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Alien Act allowed the president to deport any alien considered dangerous. The sedition act made it illegal for newspapers to print any material that is critical of the president or congress. He created these because he was afraid of him and his party losing power in the government. -
Louisiana Purchase
Jefferson purchased this land from Napoleon. This doubles the size of the country. The United States was able to secure New Orleans and the Mississippi River. 828,000 square miles of land were bought and came out to approximately 4 cents per acre. After this purchase Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark on an expedition from 1804-1806 to explore this new territory. Their jobs were to begin a trading relationship with Native Americans and to find a water route that lead to the Pacific Ocean. -
Embargo of 1807
During this time Great Britain and France are at war again. The United States trades with both Great Britain and France, but the problem is Great Britain is telling the United States to not trade with France and France is telling the United States to not trade with Great Britain. Because of this Jefferson imposes an embargo on all foreign trade. This ends up ruining America’s economy, is very unpopular, but it did encourage the growth of domestic manufacturing. -
Battle of Thames
One of the battles in The War of 1812 was the Battle of Thames which took place on October 5th, 1813. In the War of 1812 the Americans had many shortcomings compared to the British who are also being helped by some of the Native Americans. In the Battle of Thames these shortcomings didn’t affect the battle because the British and Indian forces were defeated by the American forces in Canada. The death of Tecumseh ends the Indian resistance in the Ohio River Valley. -
British Burn Down the Capital
The British burned down the capital in August of 1814. They burnt the capital down during the War of 1812. The British army invaded the United States and marched to Washington D.C. After a brief fight the city surrenders and nearly all government buildings are razed. Dolly Madison becomes a national hero because they were able to save lots of important artifacts, documents, and other things that we still have to this day. -
Bombardment of Fort McHenry
Fransis Scott Key, who was a prisoner on a British barge, witnessed the British’s bombardment of Fort McHenry. Fort McHenry is near Baltimore and the British’s bombardment lasted for 12 hours. When he woke up in the morning to his surprise the American flag was still standing which was a sign of victory. He decided he would write a poem about that event which he ended up calling “The Defense of Fort McHenry”. This poem written by Francis Scott Key later became our national anthem. -
Treaty of Ghent
Before the Treaty of Ghent the Hartford Convention took place. The Hartford convention was several New England states who feared that the war was lost and they talked about becoming their own country out of fear of losing the war. To their surprise on December 24th, 1814 the Treaty of Ghent was signed and it ended the war. They declared the war to be mostly a draw because both sides had major victories. The Treaty of Ghent declared that the war is considered status quo ante bellum. -
Battle of New Orleans
The American forces were a band of experienced soldiers and warriors, while the British were a trained army. The Americans were led by general Andrew Jackson. The Americans were very successful and hid behind earthworks and cannons and caused more British casualties than American ones. This battle could've been avoided because the Treaty of Ghent had already been signed but the news hadn’t gotten to them yet. Andrew Jackson is looked at as the person who ended the war because of this battle. -
Election of 1824
During this election no candidate received a majority of the electoral votes. Amendment 12 says that vote goes to the House of Representatives, which was Henry Clay. Henry Clay dropped out of the running since he had to pick the next president and he wanted it to be fair. This is where the corrupt bargain happens. Adams and Clay go into a room together and after that Clay has his mind set on voting for Adams over Jackson. Later Adams appoints Clay as his Secretary of State. -
The Liberator
To create change you need to have two things. Organizations and writings. The Liberator is a great example of writings that came out to help create change. The Liberator written in 1831 by William Lloyd Garrison was a collection of articles over abolition. This sparked change and interest in the movement of abolition. As the years go on there are more writings that go along with this movement such as Frederick Douglas’ North Star (1831) and Harriet Beecher’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1851). -
The Schism
The Schism was a conference that was held to share ideas about awareness for abolition. Elizabeth Cody Stanton and Lucretia Mott decided to attend but they were stopped at the door and told they weren’t allowed to participate and sent to the balcony. The speaker for this conference was William Lloyd Garrison but to everyone's surprise he was in the balcony talking to all the women who were up there. This is where women realized that they couldn’t create change without having their rights. -
Mexican-American War
Mexico wanted to move people to Texas so that way the US wouldn’t take it over. In order to do so they invited people to move by giving free land if they would renounce US citizenship and convert to Catholicism. The Mexican government started to put taxes on them but the Texans didn’t like this so they decided to become an independent nation. This causes tension and the U.S. offers to take Texas back and provide them safety from the Mexican government. -
Seneca Falls
Women were passionate about abolition, but they knew that they couldn’t cause change if they didn’t have any rights themselves. They decided that the best way to help was to get their rights so that they could use those to help others. After the Schism Elizabeth and Lucretia decided to hold their own convention for women’s suffrage called Seneca Falls. At this they wrote the Declaration of Sentiments. “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men and women are created equal…” -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Mexico was defeated fairly quickly during the Mexican-American War. Their border is pushed all the way to Mexico City. We think that defeating them is a good thing but soon all their problems become our own problems so we sign the Treaty of Guadalupe. This stated that the Texas Border is the Rio Grande and that Mexico had to give up the area. That area that the U.S. got from Mexico later became 5 western states. -
Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay proposed the Compromise of 1850 after tensions were running high over what to do with the new territories. It stated that California would enter the union as a free state, the slave trade would be abolished in Washington D.C., strict fugitive slave laws are enacted nationwide, and territories applying for statehood will now be governed by the concept of popular sovereignty. Also stated that from now on the Missouri compromise doesn't work anymore and popular sovereignty would be used -
Bleeding Kansas
A decision was needed on if Kasas would be a free or slave state. Because of the Compromise of 1850 which stated popular sovereignty so both the North and South tried to persuade people to go to Kansas and vote for their beliefs. The north raised money and bought land to persuade people to move and live there. On the day of the vote the ‘border ruffians’ create a mob to prevent the north from voting. They then filled the box with fake pro-slavery votes and it was declared a slave state. -
Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter marks the beginning of the American Civil War. Fort Sumter was in the confederate territory and so it was hard to get supplies to the people in the fort. They sent vehicles with food and supplies to the fort but the confederates, not knowing what was going to happen or if they were going to get weapons to fight, started to open fire on Fort Sumter which then ultimately started the American Civil War. Fort Sumter is located in Charleston, South Carolina. -
Pacific Railroad Act
Establishes the creation and construction of a transcontinental railroad. This is a very expensive project especially during a war. They knew they could only fund 15% of the project so they were going to have to come up with a plan to pay for it. They decided to make a deal with the railroad companies. They would pay a fixed price per mile they laid and they would also give 10 miles of land for each mile laid. But if the project wasn’t complete before 1875 they would lose the land given to them. -
Homestead Act
This stated that people who moved to the west would receive 160 acres of land. In order to claim the land you had to farm it for 5 years, live on it, and improve the land. The homestead act helped to solve the problem of the west being idle and very unproductive but it also solved the problem of overcrowding in the north. It was also helpful to giving opportunities to those who needed them rather than to those who already had opportunities. This land was open to everyone. -
Battle of Antietam
The battle of Antietam is known as the single bloodiest day in American history. It isn’t the bloodiest battle but it is definitely the bloodiest battle. The union count this as a victory for themselves which was very vital for moral but also for the chance for Lincoln to announce the Emancipation Proclamation because others had advised him to wait for a union victory to announce and share the Emancipation Proclamation and the union victory during the Battle of Antietam was the perfect time. -
Battle of Vicksburg
“Vicksburg is the key, the war can never be brought to a close until that key is in our pocket” (Lincoln) Vicksburg was a very important battle in the war because if the union won they would sever the Trans-Mississippi confederacy from the east of the Mississippi River and it would then open the river to northern traffic. The union with the help of general Ulysses S. Grant won the battle and it also secured Grant's spot to command all union armies. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg is the single most bloodiest battle in American history and had a lot of casualties. It was the turning point of the American Civil War. The union won the Battle of Gettysburg and it was a crushing defeat for the confederacy. This is also the time where Lincoln gave his Gettysburg Address, where Lincoln talked about all men being created equal and to commemorate a national cemetery at Gettysburg. Highlighted the sacrifices that had been made during the war. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Antietam was a deadly battle where we aren’t exactly sure who won but each side says they did. Lincoln got advice that he shouldn't release the Emancipation Proclamation until the union had a win. Unlike what many have been taught the Emancipation Proclamation does not end slavery because the confederate states said they are not apart of the union so their laws are not made by the union. This says that confederate states are slavery free while the boarder states allow slavery. -
The Final Virginia Campaign
Grant meets Lee in the Battle called the wilderness. Lee is defeated and he retreats back, Grant keeps forcing him to keep retreating back. This keeps going until Grant splits his army in half; one doesn’t stop for anything; they keep going and try to beat Lee to where he is retreating to while the other half keeps battling Lee. Lee is then defeated. This led to the surrender at Appomattox on April 9th, 1865. This event shows the respect that Lee and Grant have for each other. -
Wade-Davis Bill
Most Republicans in congress didn’t agree with Lincoln’s 10% plan and thought that it was too lenient. Since they didn't fully agree with it they decided to make their own. Their plan was that 50% of the state's voters had to swear oaths and only non-confederates could vote and hold office. Lincoln refused to sign this bill saying it was too harsh. Soon after this Lincoln was assassinated. They also believed that Johnson would side with them but the plan he created was similar to Lincolns. -
Sand Creek
During the Indian Wars tribes that resisted or used violence were attacked and slaughtered but in the massacure even a peaceful tribe was attacked. After years of conflict, high tension, racism, and unclear expectations lead to many massacres, one of the being Sand Creek. There were peaceful tribes who were supposedly under the protection of the United States military. One day they were massacred, The people who were attacked and killed consisted of women, children, and elderly. -
Johnson’s Impeachment
Congress passed the Tenure of office act which stated that the president couldn’t remove military officials without congressional approval. Even though Johnson knew this he still decided to go ahead and remove the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton. Since this went against the Tenure of Office Act the house was able to impeach Johnson and the senate was not able to save Johnson because they fell a vote short and Johnson then became powerless. -
Little Big Horn
Some tribes resisted or used violence which after years of conflict, high tension, racism, and unclear expectations lead to many massacres, one of them being Little Big Horn also goes with Custer’s last land). The United States tried to attack them from both sides except one of the groups of troops were slowed down because of the unfamiliar terrain. This hurt the United States and it ended up becoming a Native American victory. -
The Dawes Act
Gave 160 acres of land to each Native American family. They were expected to farm the land, which they were not used to doing. This completely alters their lives because they are used to living in tribes and hunting and doing other activities but now they will be spread out and farming their land. Many thought that this was a good thing that the government was doing but in reality they saw it as a great way to break tribal ties and gain access to Indian lands. -
Plessy V. Ferguson
This is considered the start of the Civil Rights Movement. Plessy bought a first class train ticket but the railroad told him he had to move to the black car even though he paid for a first class one. He refused to move and was arrested. This case established separate but equal. While it was ruled that places and things could be separate but they had to be equal, during this time things weren’t very equal. Places for whites were in way better conditions than places for blacks. -
Battle of San Juan and Kettle Hill
United States forces took control of San Juan and Kettle Hill on July 1st. Roosevelt led this effort when his “rough riders” (group of cowboys or the cavalry troop) took control of San Juan. “San Juan was the greatest day of my life.” Teddy had resigned from his post to help with the war efforts because he had always supported going to war. This was a major victory for the United States and for Roosevelt who never had to prove himself again because of his leadership during the war. -
Maine exploded
While the De Lome letter put America on edge with Spain and caused us to want to go to war, the exploding of the Maine really sparked it. The United States Maine exploded, now we know it was a malfunction, but during then they saw it as an attack from Spain. So this was the pivot point that started and made the United States more furious and caused the United States to start war with Spain to help Cuba gain independence. “Remember the Maine, to hell with Spain!” -
The De Lome Letter
The Spanish ambassador wrote this letter which insulted our president, McKinley, saying he was weak and only went with what the crowd wanted. This letter was intercepted and the government thought that they were the only ones to have it but it spread and got published in a newspaper. This angered the American people because someone else insulting the American president was unacceptable. This pushed Americans to want to go to war with Spain and grew the tensions between them. -
Ford creates Model T
Henry Ford introduced the Model T for a low price of $280. This is because he used scientific management to create a moving assembly line so he was able to reduce the time it took to produce a car. Because of this low price owning a car wasn’t a luxury item and everyone could own a car. Along with creating this Ford was very loyal and kind to his employees. He gave better wages, shorter hours, and weekends off which really kicked off the fight for workers rights. -
Lusitania sunk
Lusitania was a passenger ship the Germany sank. They sank it on May 7, 1915 and there were many Americans aboard this passenger ship and 128 of them died. This really caused an uproar in America and was a step toward entering World War I. Many Americans believe that this caused the United States to enter the war but they did not enter until about 2 years later in 1917. So while it wasn’t the direct reason it did lead them closer to entering World War I in 1917. -
Zimmerman note
A telegram was intercepted by the United States and it was deciphered. This telegram was sent from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmerman to the German Minister to Mexico. The telegram said Mexico would gain or be given United States territory (Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico) if they joined forces with Germany in secretly attacking the United States. Knowing this information was key for the United States to enter World War I. -
Wilson’s 14 points
Wilson’s points were used to get or negotiate and agree on peace to help end World War I. On January 8th President Woodrow Wilson gave a speech about these points and his perspectives and thoughts on how to achieve peace and end World War I. These points were very restrictive on Germany because of the actions they took during that war and starting the war. After the War ended, in Germany, Hitler and Germans hated this which would lead into the start of World War II. -
Armistice
World War I had been going on for over four years and there seemed to be no end in sight. Millions of lives had been lost and all sides were tired but knew they couldn’t give up. This was until the German citizens started to rebel because they were exhausted and were going hungry from the war efforts and what they had to do for the war. So on November 11th the fighting stopped because Germany wanted an Armistice. -
Volstead Act
The Volstead Act, also known as the 8th Amendment, outlawed the manufacture, sale, distribution, or importation of alcohol nationwide. This was the start of prohibition (1920s). This leads to more illegal activity such as bootlegging, organized crimes, speakeasies, and more. Prohibition ended around 1932, or at least that is when believers of prohibition admitted that it didn’t solve the problems they thought it would and only caused more crime and bad things to happen -
Treaty of Versailles
This officially ended World War one. It was signed by Germany and the Allied Nations. Before this there had been armistice but this officially negotiated and ended the war. The Treaty stated that Germany had to pay for damage, lose territory they had gained, and they had to be disarmed and limited for what resources they had and could use. This limited Germany so that another World War could not happen. However many Germans, especially Hitler, hated this document. -
Immigration Act
The Immigration Act, which was passed by President Calvin Coolidge limited the number of immigrants that could come to the United States. It limited the number to only two percent of the number of people from that country in the year 1890 could come to the United States. This means whatever the immigrant country, only 2% of that country's population in 1890 was allowed to enter the United States. This immigration Act really limited the number of immigrants to come to the United States. -
Butler Act
Before this a law went into place that banned the teaching of evolution in schools in Tennessee. John Scopes, who was a teacher, went against this law and because of that he was charged and brought to trial. William Jennings Bryan was the prosecutor who was a firm believer in the Bible. The defense was Clarence Darrow. Scopes was inevitably found guilty and the laws that separate religion and state were put into place and is even still a huge debate to this day. -
Stock Market crash
The stock market crash was the beginning of the Great Depression. Banks lacked money and people lost their life savings and have no money. Sixty percent of all the banks had to close because they had no money and debts from others were not being paid off. People lost their jobs because many lost their life savings which caused them to stop buying things and supporting businesses who also were losing money. Production stopped, profits weren't being made, and consumption declined. -
The Dust Bowl
This happened in places like Oklahoma, Texas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Kansas. The dust bowl was caused by overproduction from single crop farming and not rotating what crops they planted. They also would plow up grasses for farms to meet the needs of a booming wheat market. All of these caused soil exhaustion which led to soil erosion, drought, strong winds, crops turned to dust, no food to be sent out, homes buried, and fields to be blown away. Food is now scarce during this time of depression. -
The Bonus Army/ March
World War 1 veterans had been promised a bonus for their service, but they weren’t due to receive it until 1945. With the depression and many of them losing all their life savings in the bank they were asking to receive the bonus now. Thousands marched on Washington, their request was denied by the senate, so many congregated around White House in their own Hooverville. After months, Hoover called out the army to disperse them and the military evicted them from D.C. and burned the camp -
New Deal Financial System
Roosevelt wanted to reform the banking system. He followed his 3 Rs to do so. He closed the banks for a national holiday in order to go and check in on banks. He then created the Federal Deposit Insurance corporation (FDIC) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) which helped to reform the banking system. He also created the Emergency banking relief act to create federal funds for state’s operating relief programs. For recovery he created the National Industrial Recovery Act (NRA). -
Court Packing Order
This was created by President Roosevelt and was one of the last thing he does because it is seen as a major violation of his presidential power. His new ideas and plans were getting turned down by the Supreme Courts so he decided that he would put into law the Court Packing Order that would allow the president to put more people into the court. This would allow the President to fill it with people who would vote for him and it would also create too many positions within the court. -
Pearl Harbor
The U.S. demanded that Japan withdraw themselves from China and Indochina. Japan thought that attacking the U.S. would provide them an easy win and a new territory that had abundant resources to rule once they were victorious. Japan dealt a seemingly crippling blow to the U.S. The Pacific fleet and Japan began their quest for a Pacific empire. This forced the U.S. to join World War II. According to Churchill, “The Sleeping Giant was awakened” -
C.O.R.E
One thing that is needed during a movement of change is organizations. For the Civil Rights Movement the Congress of racial Equity (CORE) was established. This Civil Rights organization focused on peaceful racial equality because they knew they couldn’t get change in a hostile violent way. They organized many different protests, court cases, marches, and more to help shed light on the racial inequality and discrimination in the United States and to try to find a solution to fix it. -
G.I. Bill of Rights
The government wanted to do something for all of the men who put their lives on hold and risked them for the United States. So they passed the G.I. Bill of Rights which had three components, it paid for education (college or trade school), gave low interest home loans (didn’t guarantee the loan but if you could get one it would be low), and provided low interest business loans (this helped lots of new businesses start up which ultimately led to more jobs and helped the economy). -
Operation D-Day
During World War II, the allied forces came together to do a combined invasion attack on beaches in France. They had been planning this for months in secret, making sure that their attack would be a surprise and catch the other side off guard, causing an easier victory. They had men parachute, run off boats, and fly to these beaches and do their best to figure out where they were and where they needed to be. This was not an easy task because there were obstacles on the shores. -
Yalta Conference
The big three allied leaders, Franklin D. Roosevelt (United States), Churchill (United Kingdom) and Stalin (Soviet Union), meet in a Russian resort town to discuss the future of Europe after World War II. They discussed world organization and created the United Nations. The United Nations met for the first time in 1945 . They also discussed the dismemberment of Germany, Russia’s entry into war against Japan, and Poland. -
Potsdam
Franklin D. Roosevelt died April 12th, 1945 so his Vice President, Harry S. Truman took over as President of the United States. In July Harry S. Truman, Churchill (United Kingdom), and Stalin (Soviet Union) meet again to talk about what to do and how they should deal with Germany and Japan. They came up with ways to go with the “5 D’s” (demilitarization, de-nazification, democratization, decentralization, and de-industrialization) which were established at the Yalta Conference earlier that year. -
V-E day
V-E day is the day that marked the official end of World War II against Germany. This was a celebration for the United States and the allied forces because it marks the acceptance and the time when Germany finally surrendered and admitted defeat. Which meant the gruesome fighting that costed millions of lives could stop and the war efforts were over and victory was achieved. This was also the day that the last shot was fired. The president at the time is President Harry S. Truman. -
Hiroshima
Hiroshima was the first atomic weapon to ever be deployed in the world during World War II. The United States bombed both Hiroshima and Nagasaki three days later with nuclear bombs. This caused the death of hundreds and thousands of people and destroyed lands. Many people died years after or are still seeing the effects because of the radiation from these weapons. These bombings caused Japan to have to leave World War II because of the very devastating effects of this bombing. -
Baby Boom Starts
Between 1946-1963 the U.S. population increased over 30 million. This generation is called the baby boomers. Before this the birth rates were very decreased because of the depression and the war. This generation was very important because they helped to strengthen the economy. This is because they were job creating machines. Since there was such a high volume of them, more supplies and products were needed to be produced to fill their needs, so demand for things was very high. -
Levittown
With the baby boom people were looking for bigger and better places to live. Many were searching and wanting the typical American dream house. So Levitt & Sons bought a lot of land and started to sell plots of it to people and then built houses to be built there. Once this became super popular they started to give a selection of around 4 houses they could choose from to help create more houses cheaper and more efficiently. This is known now as the suburbs. The first one was called Levittown. -
Marshall Plan
President Truman signed the Economic Recovery Act of 1948, also known as the Marshall Plan (Secretary of State George Marshall). It was created to help with Western Europe’s recovery from the devastation of World War II. This helped to create markets for American goods and made America look good and create allies. Europe’s reconstruction included modernization of industrial equipment, creation of sound currencies & national budgets, and expansion of trade and increase in exports. -
Brown v Topeka Board of Education
Plessy V. Ferguson established “separate but equal” but that wasn’t actually being followed, many things were not equal. White schools were much nicer and in better conditions with better supplies then black schools were. Many black children had to pass by a couple white public schools, which were better than theirs, to get to the black school. Thurgood Marshall represents Linda Brown in her case to the Supreme Court. This overthrew separate but equal and allowed the start of integration. -
Montgomery bus boycott
In Montgomery Alabama, Rosa Parks sat in the front of the bus and when she was asked to move she refused and was arrested. While this event was planned, it allowed 40,000 blacks to boycott the Montgomery Bus. Joining this boycott is a big commitment because many had to start walking everywhere they needed to go. This boycott which lasted 382 days really showed the importance of blacks to the bus systems economy. The Bus company joined in fighting the law in order to stop the boycott. -
Eisenhower interstate system
This was the largest public works project. It was intended to connect the country. Taxpayers weren’t sold on this project at first. The taxpayers were against it because they didn’t want to have to pay extra to have this project done. Eisenhower kept fighting for this project and pushing it to everyone because of the economic benefits of having the country connected. So Eisenhower played on their fear of the cold war and told them that it could help make evacuation easier and safer. -
Little Rock Arkansas
Integration of schools was legal except in many places actions for this weren’t happening. So in Little Rock Arkansas they asked many families who would be interested in having their kids be the first to integrate. Nine students stepped up to accomplish this. Governor Orval Faubus ordered the National Guard to deny their entrance and not let them enter. Eisenhower ordered the troops of the 101st Airborne division to go help the kids get passed the National Guard and provide them protection. -
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
Martin Luther King Jr. was a pastor and he became a very vocal leader for the Civil Rights Movement during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. From this he helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). This organization employed civil disobedience tactics of Gandhi which gets television coverage and leads to public sympathy. This organization had a major role in the March on Washington, Selma Voting Rights Campaign, and the March to Montgomery. -
Ruby Bridges
Integration was still slowly happening and was very hated in the south. Ruby Bridges was the first black student to attend an all white elementary school in New Orleans. It was so hated that the white community members, parents, and students shouted insults, protested, and threw food at her as she was escorted by armed federal marshals. This showed how much more progress was going to need to be made in the Civil Rights Movement and the thoughts of the white community during this time. -
USSR Test Nuclear Weapon
The red scare had made tensions in the United States very high because of their fear of the spread of Communism. This also made tensions tight between the United States and the USSR because the USSR was communist and they were trying to spread their beliefs. With these tensions were fear of war especially after they tested a nuclear weapon because that meant the United States wasn’t the only capable one.They lived in fear that they could get bombed at any second from the USSR. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
This was a 35 day confrontation between the United States and the soviet union. This took place during the cold war and it was a period of time where tensions were high and there was the highest chance that the United States and the Soviet Union were going to go into nuclear war against each other and have nuclear conflict. Both the United States and the Soviet Union had possession and capability of using nuclear weapons but didn’t because they would just get bombed back. -
Children’s Crusade
Children had been discouraged to participate in Civil Rights because adults were worried about them getting harmed. But these kids wanted to participate in this cause they felt passionate about. So they established SNCC in 1960. After that they planned a school walk-out to participate in a march in downtown Birmingham. The crowds were sprayed with fire hoses and dogs released on them. It was televised and caused JFK to publicly support civil rights. -
March on Washington
The SCLC (1957), NAACP (1909), SNCC (1960), and CORE (1942) planned a march and rally in Washington. Over 250,000 people attended, closer to probably 400,000 people actually attended because more joined as the march went on. This is the event where Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his “I have a dream” speech. This didn’t give them the rights they were fighting for but it did help to lead or pave a path to the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Act. -
Civil Rights Act
After many years of fighting for Civil Rights and freedoms African Americans deserved. President Johnson signed into law the Civil RIghts Act of 1964. This law banned discrimination based on race, color, religion, or national origin. But African Americans knew they would never be fully free until they had the right to vote. Even though the Civil Rights Act was in place many were still turned away from voting because of many different reasons. Their voices still weren't heard because of this. -
Gulf of Tonkin
Many believe that this is the reason the United States entered into the war efforts for the Vietnam war. The United States naval ship was riding alongside the North Vietnamese and then the United States realized that the North Vietnamese ship had sent a torpedo to hit the United States naval ship. It is very fortunate that it missed the U.S. ship. This caused an uproar and was seen as an attack which caused many to want to go into war. Going into war was a huge debate no matter what the war was. -
Voting Rights Act
Before getting voting rights there were lots of protests. One of the more major ones was the march from Selma to Montgomery. There were 2 attempts to accomplish this where they were turned around. Their third attempt had 25,000 people with protection from 2,000 troops and was successful. Later after that President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act that banned discrimination in local, state, national elections and polling places, and banned literacy tests, intimidation, and physical violence. -
Watergate
The republican party wanted to ensure that Nixon won the next election so they broke in and spied on the other party. Nixon didn’t know about this until after they had done it and instead of being honest he decided to cover it up. He won the election but he knew he still had to keep this a secret. The American people asked for tapes of a meeting where Nixon talked about Watergate, but he refused to release them. So they decided they needed to impeach him. Nixon however resigned before they could -
Energy Crisis
The energy crisis (During Jimmy Carter’s Presidency) started or became worse from the Arab oil embargo in 1973 which caused the United States to have a shortage of gasoline and oil. This caused prices to rise, lines to increase, and more at gas stations. This inflation of gasoline and oil prices is not very good for the economy because demand is the same but there is less supply. The economy is also in trouble and getting worse and this definitely plays a factor in the 1970s economic crisis. -
Camp David Accords
Arranged peace among Israel and Egypt. They had been in war and they weren’t going to get peace on their own. So President Jimmy Carter decided that the United States could be that third party to help negotiate peace between them. So Carter went to both and had them come to him to help negotiate and work as a middle man to help create peace that ultimately helped the middle east. This was one of Carter’s biggest achievements but soon was played down with tensions from Iran. -
Iran Hostage Crisis
Iran took 52 American hostages, many American diplomats and citizens. There were attempts made to get these hostages, but many failed. The hostages were held hostage by Iran for 444 days. This caused Jimmy Carter to fall in the eyes of the American people and was very critical in the next election. When Ronald Reagan was elected, Iran sent back the hostages because they didn’t want it to be Jimmy Carter's win and they took responsibility for getting him out of office. -
Presidential Election
With the hostages being taken from Iran, the United States knew they would need a new face and set of ideas on what to do in office. So during the next election they decided to vote for Reagan to be the next president of the United States. They didn't want Carter because he had had lots of bad luck recently so he looked like a terrible president in their eyes. On Reagan's first day in office Iran released the hostages because it wasn't Carter as president anymore, which was goof for Reagan. -
Grenada Invasion
After the bombing in Beirut that caused the death of United States Marine soldiers, Ronald Reagan decided that they needed to invade Grenada to prove what the United States was capable of because they couldn’t do that in Beirut, Lebanon. They did this to also protect America to make sure that this island would not be used as a base for Soviet and Cuban aggression. Since Vietnam, this was the largest United States military operation. -
North American Free Trade Agreement
This was signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Before this there was an agreement between Canada and the United States that was signed in 1988 and was called the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement. The North American Free Trade Agreement allowed and created a North American free trade zone. This resulted in a limitation of barriers to trade, and it seemed to be beneficial to North American economies but it hurt small minorities where trade competed with their business. -
9/11
4 planes were hijacked by terrorists in a plan to attack the U.S. The 1st plane crashed into one of the twin towers causing it to collapse. The 2ns plane hit the other twin tower moments later causing that one to also collapse in the same way. This causes a lot of destruction and death through a huge radius because of the debris. The 3rd plane hit the pentagon because they believed the president would be there. Finally the fourth plane was taken over again by civilians and crashed into a field.