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Westward Expansion
The Westward expansion was a 19th-century movement of settlers migrating into the American West, beginning with the Louisiana Purchase, and was fueled by the Gold Rush, the Oregon Trail, and a belief in "manifest destiny" which was spreading democracy and capitalism across the entire North American continent. -
California Gold Rush
James Marshall discovered gold in 1848 which sparked the massive western migration. It also further ignited manifest destiny. People saw the opportunity to stake a claim of their own and truly pursue the "American Dream" out west. As a result, California became highly populated, San Francisco grew to become a center of banking, manufacturing, shipping, and trade. Sacramento became the center of farming. Most importantly, California became a state. -
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Reconstruction Era
The Reconstruction era redefined U.S. citizenship and expanded the franchise, changed the relationship between the federal government and the governments of the states, and highlighted the differences between political and economic democracy. -
The Assassination of President Lincoln
In 1865, not too long after the Civil War ended, President Lincoln went to Ford's Theatre to watch a play. American stage actor John Wilkes Booth was in attendance and shot Lincoln in the head. He shouted "Sic semper tyrannis! (Ever thus to tyrants!) The South is avenged." He jumped onto the stage and fled the theatre. Booth believed that the Confederacy could be restored which was his motive in killing the 16th President. This made a huge impact on the Reconstruction Era. -
Ratification of the 13th amendment
The 13th Amendment was ratified on December 6th, 1965 which abolished slavery. The amendment quotes "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" -
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan, commonly shortened to the KKK, is an American white supremacist and hate group whose primary targets were African Americans. The Klan was founded in Pulaski, Tennessee by six former Confederate Officers. Their main goal was to promote resistance and white supremacy. As a result, at least 2,000 Black women, men, and children were victims of racial terror lynchings throughout the Reconstruction period. -
President Johnson Impeached
The United States House of Representatives passed a resolution that would impeach the 17th U.S. President. President Andrew Johnson constantly clashed with the Republican-controlled Congress over the reconstruction of the defeated South. The main reason he was impeached was that he fired an official who was protected under the Tenure of Office Act and because the house felt he had brought the office of president into disgrace. -
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Industrialization and the Rise of Big Business
The American Industrial Revolution, sometimes referred to as the Second Industrial Revolution, began in the 1870s and continued through World War II. The era saw the mechanization of agriculture and manufacturing and the introduction of new modes of transportation including steamships, the automobile, and airplanes. -
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The Gilded Age
Mark Twain coined the term "Gilded Age" meaning he meant that the period was glittering on the surface but corrupt underneath. America became more prosperous and saw unprecedented growth in industry and technology. But the Gilded Age had a sinister side as it was a period where greedy, corrupt industrialists, bankers, and politicians enjoyed extraordinary wealth and opulence at the expense of the working class. -
Alexander Graham Bell Patents the Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his revolutionary new invention: the telephone. The Scottish-born Bell worked in London with his father, Melville Bell, who developed Visible Speech, a written system used to teach speaking to the deaf. The phone has a huge impact on today's society -
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The Progressive Movement
The Progressive movement was a turn-of-the-century political movement interested in furthering social and political reform, curbing political corruption caused by political machines, and limiting the political influence of large corporations. -
1896 Presidential Election
The defeat of WJB & the Populist free-silver movement initiated an era of Republican dominance of the presidency. Once the party of "free soil, free labor, & free men," the Republicans were now the party of business, industry, and a strong national government. William McKinley won the presidency. Republicans then enacted a higher tariff (Dingley Tariff) which helped boost the American Industry. -
Theodore Roosevelt inaugurated into Office
Under Teddy Roosevelt's presidency (1901-1909) and his Square Deal, several Progressive reforms for the American public were outlined, the number of national parks doubled, and 50 wildlife sanctuaries were established. Roosevelt stepped into power after President McKinley's assassination. He was popular among the people rather than political figures because of his social push for change in the working class and immigrant communities. -
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World War I
Russia, France, Britain, Italy, and eventually the U.S. went to War against the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary). The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand was the main cause of WWI. The war lasted from 1914 until 1918 and introduced the world to the horrors of trench warfare and lethal new technologies such as poison gas and tanks. The result was some of the most horrific carnage the world had ever seen, with more than 16 million military personnel and civilians losing their lives. -
U.S. Joins WWI
After being neutral in the war, Germany finally ticked America off to declare war on Germany on April 6th, 1917. Germany had sunk passenger boats of the U.S. even though America had nothing to do with the war except supplying her allies. Their involvement was the turning point of the war because it led to Germany's defeat. The Allies' military effort was upheld by U.S. supplies and soldiers which were the best at the time America lost a total of 110k deaths, including 43k that died from H1N1. -
Treaty of Versailles
The treaty of Versailles helped end World War I. The treaty forced Germany to surrender 13% of its territory and colonies in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific; cede territory to other nations like France and Poland; reduce the size of its military; pay war reparations to the Allied countries; and accept guilt for the war. -
The 19th Amendment Ratified
After years of struggle and protesting, the 19th Amendment was passed. Passed by Congress on June 4th, 1919, and ratified on August 18th, 1920, the 19th amendment legally guaranteed women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle—victory took decades of agitation and protest. That same year, over 8 million women voted in the U.S. election. -
The Stock Market Crash of 1929
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 was what started the Great Depression. On October 24th, anxious investors began selling overpriced shares which led to the stock market crash that some had feared happened, at last, following its peak a few months prior. A record 12.9 million shares were traded that day, known as “Black Thursday.” Then five days later, on Black Tuesday, about 16 million shares were traded after more panic on Wall Street. -
FDR Inaugurated into Office
Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the only President to serve for more than two terms. But he is most known for his New Deal which defined modern liberalism and helped bring the U.S. out of the Great Depression. Throughout his first 100 days in office, Roosevelt created the FDIC, SEC, the Social Security Act, and the Works Progress Administration, which employed 8.5 million people from 1935 to 1943. -
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World War II
World War II was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. The war started when Nazi Dictator Adolf Hitler invaded Poland on September 1st, 1939. This led Great Britain and France to declare war on Germany. Two years later following a Japanese attack, the U.S. entered the war. -
The 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 8:00 a.m. on Sunday, December 7, 1941. The attack killed 2,403 U.S. personnel including 68 innocent civilians. 19 U.S. Navy ships and eight battleships were damaged/destroyed. President FDR declared war against Japan. Three days later, Germany and Italy declared war on the U.S. -
D-Day
Allied forces launched the largest amphibious invasion in the history of warfare. Codenamed Operation 'Overlord', the Allied landings on the beaches of Normandy marked the start of a long and costly campaign that successfully liberated north-west Europe from Nazi occupation. -
The Bombings of Nagasaki & Hiroshima
The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the 6th and 9th of August 1945. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict. On August 14th, the Japanese government surrendered, but it didn't become official until the 2nd of September, making it the end of World War II. -
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The Cold War
Following the defeat of the Axis powers in WWII, both the U.S. and the Soviet Union became superpowers and the two started to become competitive. Ideological and political rivalries between the US and the USSR started the Cold War. The tensions between the two superpowers struck fear in America including the possibility of communism coming to the U.S. Although there was no direct battle between the two, they continuously antagonized each other via propaganda, political maneuvering, etc. -
Civil Rights Act of 1960
Signed into law by President Eisenhower, the Act established federal inspection of local voter registration polls and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote. It also prohibited discrimination in public accommodations and federally funded programs. -
March on Washington
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was held in Washington, D.C., on August 28th, 1963. The purpose of the march was to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans. The march was successful in pressuring the JFK administration to initiate a strong federal civil rights bill in Congress. During this event, Martin Luther King delivered his memorable “I Have a Dream” speech. -
JFK Assassinated
On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated as he rode in a motorcade through downtown Dallas, Texas. JFK was one of four presidents to be assassinated. The incident traumatized the nation and led Congress to make a constitutional change, in the form of the 25th amendment. Prior to his death, he fought to ensure equal rights and opportunities for all Americans. He encouraged Americans to lift up those less fortunate than themselves, both at home and abroad. -
Civil Rights Act of 1964
Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the act prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Provisions of this civil rights act forbade discrimination on the basis of sex, as well as, race in hiring, promoting, and firing. -
Roe v. Wade
Roe v. Wade was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States conferred the right to have an abortion. As of June 24th, 2022, it has been overturned.