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Period: to
The Gilded Age – Post Reconstruction [1877] - 1900
A period of expansion, industrialization, immigration and urbanization with significant effects on
Native Americans, workers, immigrants, and the rise of big business in the late 19th century. -
Period: to
Age of Imperialism and Reform – 1898 - 1919
During the early 20th century the U.S. entered a new historical era: an Age of Expansionism
beyond our natural borders as the country moved from isolationism. U.S. imperialism led to
involvement in the Spanish-American War, changing policies in Latin America and Asia and
eventually to World War I. At home, reformers made efforts to correct economic and social
abuses of the Gilded Age. -
Period: to
World War I – 1914 – 1918
This was an era in which the global conflict of World War I and its effects had an impact on all
Americans. -
Period: to
The Roaring 20s
This was also an era of significant prosperity and social change as Americans became more
isolationist and responded to significant change in social norms, consumerism, technological
advances and artistic achievement. -
Period: to
Great Depression: 1930s
Beginning with the Stock Market Crash in 1929, this era is marked by severe depression and
the increasing role of the Federal government to improve the economy. -
Period: to
Rise of Dictators and World War II – 1930s and 1940s
The rise of totalitarian governments in Europe and East Asia led to World War II and
involvement of the United States in that conflict. -
Period: to
Cold War – Post WWII through the 1980s
This post-war era is marked by issues of communism vs. democracy in Europe and America
after World War II. It includes the United States and the Soviet Union as competing
superpowers in the balance of power. The escalation of the Cold War from containment to the
outbreak of the Korean War and foreign policies of the Kennedy / Johnson years including the
growing conflict in Vietnam as well as the ending of the Cold War in the 1980s. -
Period: to
Civil Rights – 1950s, 1960s and beyond
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Cesar Chavez
Formed the Farmers working union. Fought for civil rights for Mexican Americans. -
Period: to
Late 20th Contemporary Issues 1980s – 2000
An era of change as the U.S. experienced the end of the Cold War, new conflicts in the Middle
East, the impeachment of a President and a controversial election to begin a new century. -
Period: to
21st Century
Early in this century America dealt with a new threat of terrorism at home with the attacks on the
World Trade Center on 9/11 and a decade of the “War Against Terror”. This era also marked the
election of the first African-American President of the United States in 2008.
