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Period: 1400 to
European Exploration
In the 15th century, Europeans began to sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in search of new routes to China and the East, but in the process they discovered an entirely New World. Several notable explorers are remembered for their discoveries, including Christopher Columbus, Hernando Cortes, and Ferdinand Magellan. Although Christopher Columbus is credited for discovering North America, he actually ended his journey in the Caribbean without truly discovering North America. -
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Slavery
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries people were forced into slavery in the American colonies and exploited to work as indentured servants and labor in the production of crops. By the mid-19th century, America’s westward expansion and the abolition movement provoked a great debate over slavery that would tear the nation apart in the bloody Civil War. Though the Union victory freed the nation’s enslaved people, the legacy of slavery continued to influence American history. -
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Triangular Trade
The Triangular Trade, also known as the Transatlantic Slave Trade, was the trading of goods during the 16th-19th century between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The trading system was a general exchange of manufactured goods, labour, and raw materials through shipments crossing the Atlantic. Graphically, the route forms a triangle. -
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Revolutionary War
The Revolutionary War, or American Revolution, arose from growing tensions between residents of the 13 English colonies and the colonial government, which represented the British. France eventually entered the war on the side of the colonists. The Americans eventually won their independence in 1781. -
Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence announced the separation of the 13 English colonies from Great Britain. After the publication of this document, the colonies were declared free and independent states. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 2, 1776, but our independence is celebrated every year on July 4th. -
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Articles of Confederation
The Articles of Confederation was the first written constitution of the United States. Written in 1777 and stemming from wartime urgency, its progress was slowed by fears of central authority and extensive land claims by states. Under these articles, the states remained sovereign and independent, with Congress serving as the last resort on appeal of disputes. -
Constitution
The Constitution of the United States established America’s national government and fundamental laws, and guaranteed basic rights for its citizens. The Constitution was devised at a Constitutional Convention and replaced the United States’ previous form of government, known as the Articles of Confederation. This document created a stronger federal government with three branches along with a system of checks and balances to ensure no single branch would have too much power. -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights is the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution. It spells out Americans’ rights in relation to their government. It guarantees civil rights and liberties to the individual—like freedom of speech, press, and religion. It sets rules for due process of law and reserves all powers not delegated to the Federal Government to the people or the States. -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
In 1794, inventor Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, a machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by greatly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber. By the mid-19th century, cotton had become America’s leading export. His invention offered Southern planters a justification to maintain and expand slavery even as a growing number of Americans supported its abolition. -
Invention of the Steamboat
Robert Fulton, an American engineer, is credited with the successful invention of the steamboat. Fulton did several experiments with the water resistance of different hull shapes, and he came up with drawings and models which guided the construction of a steamboat. The boat sailed with no hitches on the initial trial, but the hull was rebuilt and strengthened. On August 9, 1803, Fulton's boat steamed up the Seine although it sunk. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase brought into the United States about 828,000 square miles of territory from France. What was known at the time as the Louisiana Territory stretched from the Mississippi River in the east to the Rocky Mountains in the west and from the Gulf of Mexico in the south to the Canadian border in the north. Part or all of 15 states were eventually created from the land deal, which is considered one of the most important achievements of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency. -
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Lewis and Clark
The Lewis and Clark Expedition began in 1804, when President Thomas Jefferson tasked Meriwether Lewis with exploring lands west of the Mississippi River that comprised the Louisiana Purchase. Lewis chose William Clark as his co-leader for the mission. The approximately 8,000-mile journey was deemed a huge success and provided new geographic, ecological and social information about previously uncharted areas of North America. -
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War of 1812
The United States took on the greatest naval power in the world, Great Britain, during the War of 1812. A few causes of the war were British attempts to restrict U.S. trade, the Royal Navy’s impressment of American seamen, and America’s desire to expand its territory. Many in the United States celebrated the War of 1812 as a “second war of independence.” -
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Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution marked a period of development that transformed largely rural, agrarian societies in Europe and America into industrialized, urban ones. Goods that had once been crafted by hand started to be produced in mass quantities by machines in factories. Fueled by the game-changing use of steam power, the Industrial Revolution began in Britain and spread to the rest of the world, including the United States. -
Monroe Doctrine
In a speech to Congress in 1823, President James Monroe warned European powers not to attempt further colonization or otherwise interfere in the Western Hemisphere, stating that the United States would view any such interference as a potentially hostile act. Later known as the Monroe Doctrine, this policy principle would become a cornerstone of U.S. diplomacy for generations. -
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Trail of Tears
In 1838 and 1839, as part of Andrew Jackson's Indian removal policy, the Cherokee nation was forced to give up its lands east of the Mississippi River and to migrate to an area in present-day Oklahoma. The Cherokee people called this journey the "Trail of Tears," because of its devastating effects. The migrants faced hunger, disease, and exhaustion on the forced march. Over 4,000 out of 15,000 of the Cherokees died. -
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Manifest Destiny
Manifest Destiny is the idea that the United States is destined to expand its dominion and spread democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent. The philosophy drove 19th-century U.S. territorial expansion and was used to justify the forced removal of Native Americans and other groups from their homes. The rapid expansion of the United States intensified the issue of slavery as new states were added to the Union, leading to the outbreak of the Civil War. -
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Westward Movement
The Westward Expansion was a 19th century movement of settlers into the American West. This movement began with the Louisiana Purchase and was fueled by the Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail, and a belief in “manifest destiny.” Several people left their homes in the East in search of economic opportunities, because they associated western migration, land ownership, and farming with freedom. -
Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott decision was a legal case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a slave (Dred Scott) who had resided in a free state and territory was not entitled to his freedom, that African Americans were not and could never be citizens of the United States, and that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. The decision pushed the country closer to civil war. This ruling is widely considered the worst decision ever rendered by the supreme court. -
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Civil War
The Civil War began in the United States after decades of simmering tensions between northern and southern states over slavery, states’ rights, and westward expansion. The war ended with the Confederate (southern) surrender. The battle was the costliest and deadliest war ever fought on American soil. -
13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1865 in the aftermath of the Civil War, abolished slavery in the United States. The 13th Amendment states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” -
14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States—including former enslaved people—and guaranteed all citizens “equal protection of the laws.” One of three amendments passed during the Reconstruction era to abolish slavery and establish civil and legal rights for Black Americans, it would become the basis for many landmark Supreme Court decisions over the years. -
15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment sought to protect the voting rights of African American men after the Civil War. Despite the amendment, by the late 1870s discriminatory practices were used to prevent Black citizens from exercising their right to vote, especially in the South. It wasn’t until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that legal barriers were outlawed at the state and local levels if they denied African Americans their right to vote under the 15th Amendment. -
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World War I
Word War I, also known as the Great War, began in 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. His murder catapulted into a war across Europe that lasted until 1918. Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) fought against Great Britain, France, Italy, Romania, Japan, and the United States (the Allied Powers). The Allied Powers claimed victory, and more than 16 million people had died. -
19th Amendment
The 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution granted American women the right to vote, a right known as women’s suffrage, and was ratified on August 18, 1920, ending almost a century of protest. Stanton and Mott, along with Susan B. Anthony and other activists, raised public awareness and lobbied the government to grant voting rights to women. After a lengthy battle, these groups finally emerged victorious with the passage of the 19th Amendment. -
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Great Depression
The Great Depression occurred as a result of the stock market crash. During this period, consumer spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and employment as failing companies laid off workers. By 1933, 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half of the country’s banks had failed. -
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New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs and projects instituted during the Great Depression by President Franklin D. Roosevelt that aimed to restore prosperity to Americans. When Roosevelt took office in 1933, he acted swiftly to stabilize the economy and provide jobs and relief to those who were suffering. Roosevelt’s New Deal fundamentally and permanently changed the U.S. federal government by expanding its size and scope—especially its role in the economy. -
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World War II
World War II, also called the Second World War, was fought between Germany, Italy, and Japan (the Axis Powers) and France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and China (the Allied Powers). The war stemmed from instability created in Europe by the First World War. After roughly 50 million deaths, it was known as the bloodiest and largest war in history. -
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Korean War
The Korean War began when 75,000 North Korean soldiers invaded South Korea. American troops eventually entered the war on South Korea’s behalf. In 1953, the Korean War came to an end and became known as “The Forgotten War” for the lack of attention it received compared to World War I and II. -
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a Supreme Court case in which the justices ruled that racial segregation of children in public schools was unconstitutional. It was one of the cornerstones of the civil rights movement, and helped establish the precedent that “separate-but-equal” education and other services were not, in fact, equal at all. As a result, the Court ruled that the plaintiffs were being “deprived of the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment.” -
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Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a long, costly, and divisive conflict that pitted North Vietnam against South Vietnam and its principal ally, the U.S. The conflict was intensified by the ongoing Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union. The U.S. forces were eventually withdrawn, and the communist forces ended the war by seizing control of South Vietnam. The country was then unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. -
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Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a civil rights protest during which African Americans refused to ride city buses in Montgomery, Alabama, to protest segregated seating. Four days before the boycott began, Rosa Parks was arrested and fined for refusing to yield her bus seat to a white man. The U.S. Supreme Court ordered Montgomery to integrate its bus system, and one of the leaders of the boycott, Martin Luther King, Jr., emerged as a prominent leader of the American civil rights movement. -
"I Have a Dream" Speech
The “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered by Martin Luther King, Jr. before a crowd of some 250,000 people at the 1963 March on Washington, remains one of the most famous speeches in history. King used universal themes to depict the struggles of African Americans before closing with an improvised riff on his dreams of equality. The eloquent speech was immediately recognized as a highlight of the successful protest, and has endured as one of the signature moments of the civil rights movement. -
September 11
On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon, and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which triggered major U.S. initiatives to combat terrorism.