-
Aug 3, 1492
Columbus begins his 1st Voyage
Columbus was trying to find a westward route to southeast Asia, but sailed to islands off the coast of North and South America instead. -
Pilgrims arrive near Cape Cod to establish Plymouth Colony
-
Paul Revere's Ride, at the beginning of the Revolutionary War
-
Declaration of Independece signed
-
George Washington becomes the 1st U.S. President
-
Abigail Adams becomes First Lady
-
"The Narrative of Sojourner Truth" published
Sojourner Truth's book about her life as a slave was published this year by William Lloyd Garrison -
Period: to
Civil War
-
Abraham Lincoln signs the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing slaves
-
Gandhi begins Salt March to Dandi
Also known as the Salt Satyagrha was an action against the unfair Indian tax laws on salt. The group collected salt from the ground, which was illegal. -
Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas
Thurgood Marshall argued and won the case before the Supreme Court. The decision ended "separate, but equal" for public schools, ending segregation; afterwards, all children could attend schools together, no matter the color of their skin. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott begins
Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat, because of the color of her skin. Martin Luther King, Jr. helps organize the boycott of the buses for over a year. During this time, MLK is arrested and his home is bombed. Eventually courts rule the laws about bus segregation are unfair, ending segregation. -
César Chávez founds union
The National Farm Workers Association (NFWA) later merges with other groups to form the United Farmworkers Union. -
March on Washington: MLK gives his "I Have A Dream" speech
-
Civil Rights Act signed by Pres. Johnson
-
Martin Luther King, Jr. assassinated in Memphis, TN
-
Irma Rangel elected the 1st female Mexican-American legislator in TX
