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George Washington Elected President
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Judiciary Act of 1789
Established the Supreme Court -
French Revolution
Federalists oppose it, Anti-Federalists support (U.S. Neutral) -
Rhode Island becomes 9th state to officially ratify the Constitution
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Alexander Hamilton creates Bank of the U.S.opposed by Jefferson
opposed by Jefferson -
All states unanimously ratify the Bill of Rights
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Proclamation of American Neutrality
*By George Washington...
*Keeps America neutral after France declares war on Britain, Spain, and Holland...
*Example of U.S. foreign policy -
Fugitive Slave Act
Illegal to help slaves escape -
Eli Whitney invents Cotton Gin
Creates massive increase of slaves in the South -
Whiskey Rebellion
1st time U.S. Government uses Federal troops to subdue domestic issues (Farmers did not like new excise taxes) -
Treaty of Greenville
U.S. cheaply pays 12 Native American tribes for Ohio territory -
Pinckney Treaty
Spain gives U.S. navigation rights on Mississippi River, New Orleans -
John Adams vs. Thomas Jefferson
*John Adams (Federalist) defeats Thomas Jefferson (Republican) in first contested Presidential Election...*Jefferson becomes Vice President -
XYZ Affair
French try to extort U.S. for diplomatic meetings – public wants war -
Alien & Sedition Acts
Expands Gov’t power, limit dissent and weakening of Gov’t, ruled unconstitutional -
Kentucky & Virginia Resolutions
Increase state rights over Federal rights, written by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison -
Kentucky & Virginia Resolutions
Increase state rights over Federal rights, written by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison -
2nd Great Awakening
Major religious reform movement; helps increase abolition -
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton suggests U.S. capital moves to Washington, D.C. (move helps gain
Southern support for Hamilton’s economics) -
Court Events
John Marshall becomes first chief justice of the Supreme Court -Judiciary Act/Midnight Judges – Adams attempt to secure the Federalist party days before he is to leave office by appointing Federalists into office -
Marbury vs. Madison establishes Judicial Review
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Louisiana Purchase
Not known to Jefferson if it was constitutional to annex land, Congress approves purchase from France, doubles the size of U.S. -
Duel
Aaron Burr kills Alexander Hamilton in a duel -
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Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark Expedition sets to survey land of Louisana Purchase (Sacagawea guided) -
Embargo Act
Placed by Jefferson on Britain/France; fails – hurts U.S. economy -
Election
James Madison elected President -
Tecumseh
Tecumseh establishes union of Native Americans to resist westward movement of U.S. -
Attack on Tecumseh
William Henry Harrison leads attack on Tecumseh at Battle of Tippecanoe(wins) -
Era of Good Feelings
‘Era of Good Feelings’ (one party politics) begins in the U.S. -
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War of 1812
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Period: to
Congress declares war on Britain
(issues – impressments, blockades, economy, Native Americans) -
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Native Americans attack
Native Americans begin attacking U.S. settlers (weapons provided by Britain) -
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Hartford Convention
New England’s states threaten secession; Federalist Party is no more -
Treaty of Ghent ends the War of 1812
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U.S independence finally confirmed
Good relations with Britain begins (i.e. sharing of Oregon Territory) -
Westward Expansion across North America
Transportation revolution -
Sectional Tension between North and South increases over Slave
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Major economic differences develop b/n North and South related to slavery
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Underground Railroad provides Northern escape for slaves
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James Monroe elected 5th President (reelected in 1820)
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Erie Canal
Construction begins (connects Great Lakes to Atlantic Ocean) -
McCulloch vs. Maryland
Ruling confirms Congresses’ right to found the 2nd Bank of the United States -
Spain cedes Florida to the U.S.
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Missouri Compromise
Sets dividing line between free and slaves states at
latitude 36’30’ o Above line (free), Below line (slave) -
Stephen F. Austin establishes first U.S. Settlement in Texas
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Monroe Doctrine
Claims western hemisphere closed to European intervention (first major U.S. foreign diplomacy) -
Gibbons vs. Ogden
Establishes federal control of interstate commerce -
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams die on same day (50th anniversary of Dec. of Independence)
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Andrew Jackson elected 7th President
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Two party system fully emerges in U.S. politics for first time
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Civil Disobedience
Giving government positions to friends or colleagues (Andrew Jackson) -
Indian Removal Act
Authorizes forcible westward relocation of Native American -
Cyrus McCormick
Invents mechanical reaper – transforms agriculture -
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Transcendentalism (individualism) -
Thoreau
Civil Disobedience -
Horace Mann
Reforms in education -
Period: to
Trail of Tears
Cherokee tribes sent on forced removal to Oklahoma, 4,000 die on way -
First Jim Crow Laws established (legal segregation)
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Manifest Destiny
U.S. destiny and duty to expand and conquer the west -
William Lloyd Garrison
Wants immediate emancipation (he was white) -
Frederick Douglass
Creates North Star abolitionist newspaper, writes Narratives of... -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
Ends Mexican War, Mexico cedes Texas and all land north of the Rio Grande to U.S. (creates modern border of the U.S. with
Gadsden Purchase) -
Compromise of 1850
North gets California as free states, ban of sale of slaves in D.C.
South gets stricter enforcement of Fugitive Slave Act, $10 mil to Texas -
Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom’s Cabin
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Kansas-Nebraska Act
Repeals Missouri Compromise, popular sovereignty to determine slave/free states -
“Bleeding Kansas”
John Brown leads antislavery massacre at Pottawatomie Creek, fight over slavery in Kansas -
Dred Scott vs. Sanford
Ruling effectively nullifies Missouri Compromise, declares that slaves are property – cannot sue. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Stephen Douglas wins Illinois Senate seat. Lincoln a household name -
John Brown leads attack on arsenal at Harper’s Ferry; later captured and hanged
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Abraham Lincoln elected 16th President; South Carolina secedes the Union = Civil War
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Confederate States formed , Jefferson Davis
1st and only President -
Fort Sumter (S.C.)
Confederates attack Union – war starts -
Homestead Act
160 acres to each farmer willing to cultivate land in West -
Battle of Antietam
Bloodiest battle of the Civil War -
Battle of Gettysburg
Turning point of Civil War; South never recovers -
Emancipation Proclamation
Frees slaves in only Confederate states; foreign diplomacy! -
William Sherman
‘March to Sea’ – Atlanta to Savannah – destroys everything! -
South establishes Black Codes
Limits rights of freed blacks -
13th Amendment
Abolishes slavery -
Gen. Robert E. Lee (confederacy) surrenders at Appomattox Court House to Union Gen. Ulysses Grant
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Abraham Lincoln assassinated by John Wilkes Booth; Andrew Johnson now President
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Civil Rights Act of 1866
Grants citizenship to all people born in U.S. (14th
Amendment) -
Tenure of Office Act
Used to impeach Andrew Johnson (said he had violated it) -
U.S. purchase Alaska from Russia (becomes 49th state in 1959)
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Transcontinental Railroad– connects the coasts of the United States; greatest transportation achievement
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15th Amendment
Grants protection of voting rights to black males -
Hiram Revels
First black senator – Mississippi -
William “Boss” Tweed
Greatest example of a political machine (NYC) -
Slaughter House Cases
Authority of state governments over individuals -
Whiskey Ring Scandal
Corruption in Grants administration & Republican party -
Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse lead Sioux to crushing victory of General George Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn
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Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
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Susan B. Anthony
Gets women’s suffrage vote to Congress – leads to 19th Amendment -
Thomas Edison creates the electric light
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President James Garfield assassinated
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Booker T. Washington
Gradual approach to equal rights – prove yourself W.E.B Dubois – changes in civil rights now; founds the NAACP -
Chinese Exclusion Act
Bans Chinese immigration for 10 years -
John D. Rockefeller
Standard Oil Trust; Andrew Carnegie – Steel -
Dawes Severalty Act
Denies tribal rights, advances forced assimilation, opens lands to whites -
Wounded Knee
Federal forces massacre 200 Sioux Indians -
Sherman Antitrust Act
Outlaws monopolies, price-fixing, other trade restraints -
Populist Party
Formed specifically to give farmers a voice in government -
Yellow Journalism
Journalism that features unethical or unprofessional practices by news media
organizations or individual journalists. -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
‘Separate but Equal’ is constitutional (overturned by Brown vs. Board of Education) -
Grandfather Clause
Voting rights of blacks challenged with literacy tests and poll taxes -
Treat of Paris
Ends the Spanish-American War -
Spanish-American War
Teddy Roosevelt leads Rough Riders, U.S. crushes Spain’s Navy -
Open Door Policy
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U.S. attempt to gain foothold in Chinese markets
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President McKinley assassinated, Teddy Roosevelt now 26th President
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Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe Doctrine
Increases U.S. presence in Latin America -
Muckraker
Writers who expose big business corruption -
Pure Food and Drug Act, Meat Inspection – set food quality standards
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Panama Canal
Connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (opens in 1914) -
Henry Ford introduces the Model T car, assembly lines introduced
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16th Amendment
Establishment of income tax , 17th Amend.– direct election of senators -
World War I begins in Europe
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Woodrow Wilson wins reelection on campaign of keeping U.S. neutral during war
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WWI – bloodiest war in world history to date, aka “The Great War,” “The War to End All Wars”
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1915 – German U-Boat sinks British passenger liner Lusitania, Americans killed on board
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1917 – Germany continues unrestricted submarine warfare – gets warning from U.S.
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1917 – Zimmerman Telegram – intercepted by British, asks for Germany/Mexico alliance against U.S.; US. Enters WWI
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1917 – Selective Service Act – establishes the draft
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Fourteen Points– by Woodrow Wilson, 14th pt most important – calls for League of Nations
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18th Amendment
Outlaws purchase, sale, and transport of alcohol -
Treaty of Versailles
Ends WWI; calls for heavy reparations on Germany, disarmament, and creation of League of Nations; U.S. Senate rejects it -
19th Amendment
Women’s suffrage (right to vote) -
Teapot Dome Scandal
Exposes massive corruption in Harding Administration -
Dawes Plan
Ease war reparations on Germany -
Scopes Monkey Trial
Popularizes debate over teaching evolution in schools – outlawed -
Charles Lindbergh
Completes world’s first solo flight across Atlantic – seen as a hero -
Sacco and Vanzetti
Executed for murder; controversial because the were anarchists, politically
motivated and unjustified -
Stock Market Crash
‘Black Tuesday’ – launches Great Depression -
Bonus Army (WWI vets) march on Washington demanding compensation
forced out -
Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected President
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U.S. unemployment rate reaches 25%, FDR claims Bank Holiday to fix banks
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Fireside Chats
FDR address public on radio – continues to 1944 – gives public hope -
- Unemployment Relief Act and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to employ public works
oAAA – controls crop production, compensates farmers for cooperation
oTVA – established to construct dams in Tennessee River to generate electricity
oNIRA – sets nationwide business practices
oNRA – manage industry recovery
oPWA – employ jobless -
20th Amendment
Shifts presidential inaugurations from March to January -
21st Amendment
Repeals 18th amendment (prohibition) -
Huey Long
Criticizes FDR, “Share Our Wealth” proposes large tax burden on wealthy -
Wagner Act
Supports union rights, protects collective bargaining -
Social Security Act
Establishes funds for unemployed and elderly -
Germany (led by Adolf Hitler) invades Poland; WWII begins
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U.S. attempts isolationism from war in Europe
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Battle of Stalingrad – seen as wars turning point for allied victory
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FDR elected for unprecedented 3rd Term
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Lend-Lease Act
Provides U.S. loan aid to Britain, USSR & allied powers -
Atlantic Charter
Agreement b/n U.S President FDR and Britain Prime Minister Churchill -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor – U.S. enters the War
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- Propaganda
motivate U.S. citizens to support war efforts -
Manhattan Project
U.S. defeats Japan, seen as turning point in the war in the Pacific -
Battle of the Bulge
begins to break down Axis position on western front -
Allies liberate Nazi concentration camps in Eastern Europe
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FDR dies, Harry Truman becomes President; Adolf Hitler commits suicide
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Germany surrenders on V-E-DAY(victory in Europe day)
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U.S. drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima (Aug. 6) and Nagasaki (Aug 9) – Japan surrenders
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Nuremberg Trials
prosecute Nazi war criminals Baby Boom, Economic Prosperity -
“Iron Curtain”
describes division of Communist Eastern Europe from Western Europe -
Truman Doctrine
U.S. intent to fight Communism by helping free nations resist it. -
Marshal Plan
Postwar economic recovery to help Western Europe; largest relief aid given by the U.S. in U.S. history -
Berlin Blockade
USSR blocks all aid into West Berlin; Berlin Airlift – U.S. drops food and supplies by air to West Berlin -
Harry Truman orders desegregation of military
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NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) created
Alliance system of 26 countries in North America and Europe -
Korean war begins
U.S. aids South Korea against North Korea; Peace Treaty in 1953 -
Joseph McCarthy
Begins rabid anti-communist campaign; hurt when he accuses military of having communists; alcoholic -
Communist Fear in U.S
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed for espionage; Alger Hiss convicted of perjury – 1991 Soviet documents confirm their guilt! -
Brown vs. Board of Education
Overturns Plessy vs. Ferguson; says separate but equal is unconstitutional -
Containment
(Truman) must stop spread of all communism; “Domino Theory” (Eisenhower) – fears that Indochina must not go communist or it will spread all over the world -
Geneva Peace Accords
temporally divides Vietnam at 17th parallel -
– Rosa Parks arrested for not giving up seat on bus to whites; sparks Montgomery Bus Boycott
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Jonas Salk
creates polio vaccine -
USSR launches first satellite in space
Sputnik -
1st televised Presidential debate
JFK vs. Nixon (JFK wins); JFK president 1960 -
JFK launches New Frontier platform to help America
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Lunch Counter “Sit-Ins” spark waves of civil rights protest; SCLC created by MLK, Jr
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Bay of Pigs
failed invasion of Cuba by U.S. (CIA) trained military -
Berlin Wall
divides East and West Berlin (East was communist) -
Cuban Missile Crisis
standoff b/n U.S. and USSR after Soviets placed missiles in Cuba pointed at the United States; no fighting incurs -
“I have a dream” speech given by MLK – speech for civil rights
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Lee Harvey Oswald assassinates JFK in Dallas, TX
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Lyndon Johnson President
launches “Great Society” program to end poverty and racism -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
bans discrimination in education, employment, & public places -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
broadens LBJ’s military powers in Vietnam – no declare war -
Voting Rights Act of 1965
bans literacy tests for voting -
Malcom X (Nation of Islam)
blamed whites for African American problems; assassinated -
Miranda vs. Arizona
police must read suspects their rights -
Thurgood Marshall
first black justice of the Supreme Court -
Tet Offensive launched by North Vietnamese Army
turning point of U.S. in Vietnam -
James Earl Ray assassinated MLK, Jr. – hurts Civil Rights movement
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Sirhan Sirhan assassinated Robert Kennedy, JFK’s brother; Richard Nixon voted President
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Apollo 11 lands on the moon, Neil Armstrong first to walk on moon
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My Lai Massacre
U.S. soldiers kill 200 innocent men, women, and children -
Pentagon Papers
7,000 page document outlining U.S. government plan in Vietnam; shows gov’t was not telling truth to public. -
Watergate Scandal
Nixon authorizes break-in and wiretapping of Democratic National Committee headquarters in Watergate complex in Washington, D.C. -
Roe vs. Wade
Legalizes abortion (up to 3 months) -
U.S. Energy Crisis
Fuel shortage in U.S. due to OPEC raising prices -
– U.S. withdraws from Vietnam; North Vietnam overtakes South after departure
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Richard Nixon resigns to avoid impeachment; Gerald Ford President
Pardons Nixon; Ford is only President never voted into office. -
Jimmy Carter elected President
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Camp David Accords
Carter negotiates peace between Egypt and Israel -
Three Mile Island
Nuclear power accident causes concern of nuclear safety -
Ronald Reagan elected 40th President
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Iran releases U.S. embassy hostages released after 444 days in captivity.
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– Strategic Defense Initiative (a.k.a. STAR WARS)
Space based missile defense proposed -
Space Shuttle Challenger explodes on takeoff, crew killed; space program never the same
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U.S. bombs Libya for supporting Palestinians
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Osama Bin Laden founds Islamist group Al Qaeda
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Chinese government crushes pro-democracy revolt in Tiananmen Square
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Berlin Wall falls (Reagan feels its U.S.’s greatest accomplishment of the era)
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Saddam Hussein orders invasion of Kuwait; starts Operation Desert Storm
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– Bill Clinton President; appoints Janet Reno first female attorney general