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1492
Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange was the intentional and unintentional exchange of goods and diseases between the Old and New Worlds. This is important because many cultures were shaped by these transactions, America: History of Our Nation, pp. 36-39. -
Jamestown
Jamestown was the first successful American colony for Britain. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1hyKI3JEAn_a9gV-22W1n26xKIDiILBY1iYQVqqvTX_w/edit -
The Invention of Lacrosse
The amazing sport of lacrosse was given to the Native Americans by their creator at an unknown date, but French Missionaries first saw the game being played in 1636. The Iroquois Natives played lacrosse to heal the sick and over land disputes instead of war, the game, in fact has been called the little brother of war. https://www.uslacrosse.org/about-the-sport/history -
French and Indian War Starts
The British and the French got in a land dispute over the Ohio River Valley and they declared war on each other when the French started building forts in the area. https://kinkaid.learning.powerschool.com/byron.williams/8historywilliams2018-2019/cms_box_widget/popup/123513587 -
Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Versailles ended the French and Indian War and gave the English the area of the Ohio River Valley as well as Florida and French Canada. https://kinkaid.learning.powerschool.com/byron.williams/8historywilliams2018-2019/cms_box_widget/popup/123513587 -
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was the dumping of British Tea in Boston Harbor in reaction to the Tea Act. This was done by the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians.https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/boston-tea-party -
The Battle Between the Hills
The battle between the hills is a name I made up, but it is accurate. During the revolution, few sports were played, although there was a time when the two major encampments around Boston, Prospect Hill and Winter Hill, decided to have a wrestling match between the best wrestler of each encampment. The winner was the wrestler from Prospect Hill. The main point of this was to show that during wars, there isn't constant battle. http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1979/JSH0603/jsh0603d.pdf -
Invention of Ice Hockey
Ice Hockey's origin is debated, although evidence points to ways that say in 1803, some boys is Scotland fell through thin ice while playing hockey. Ice hockey is now the winter sport of Canada (the summer sport of Canada is lacrosse) and is very popular in Russia and other countries like the United States. https://www.sihrhockey.org/__a/public/horg.cfm -
Cotton Gin
The Cotton Gin was invented by Eli Whitney in 1807, its purpose was to decrease slavery by taking away the largest force of labor for slaves, but it only made slaves go through the cotton faster, increasing slavery. The Cotton Gin and Slavery 2018 (Slideshow). -
The Compromise of 1850
The Missouri Compromise was the proposal of Henry Clay that was created because Missouri wanted to join the union as a slave state, which would tip the balance of the senate to the slave states. The compromise included that California would join the union as a free state, the Fugitive Slave Law was passed, the Washington D.C. slave trade was banned, Texas' debt and size shrunk, and popular sovereignty increased for new territories. https://student.teachtci.com/shared/sections/8216?program_id=109 -
Trail of Tears
The Trail of Tears was the forced march of the Cherokee Natives from their home in Georgia to Oklahoma. They were forced by the USA army because gold was found on their land. America: The Story of US, pp. 70-71. -
Invention of Baseball
The sport of baseball was invented in 1845 by Alexander Cartwright, and the first game with his rules was played in New Jersey. This is important to American history because baseball has always been one of the most popular sports in America. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War when Robert E. Lee's troops were defeated while trying to gain a major victory on Union soil. He lost one third of his army. https://student.teachtci.com/shared/sections/8221?program_id=109 -
The Assassination of Abe Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Ford's Theatre while watching a play. https://www.fords.org/lincolns-assassination/ -
Intercontinental Railroad
The Intercontinental Railroad was made in order to connect the coastlines of America to make major cities more easily accessible. It was made possible by the Big Four and the Union Pacific Railway Company. America: the Story of US. -
Invention of Basketball
The game of basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in Massachusetts in order to enhance the hand-eye coordination of his students at the YMCA, it is now one of the most popular sports in the world. https://wonderopolis.org/wonder/who-invented-basketball -
Invention of Volleyball
Volleyball was invented in Massachusetts by William G. Morgan, who wanted to combine the games of tennis, baseball, basketball, and handball, and is now a very popular sport, especially in countries like Cuba and Brazil. There are currently over 800,000,000 people who play volleyball at least once a week in the world. http://volleyball.org/history.html -
Invention of Ping Pong
The game Ping Pong was invented in the late 19th century, but was first called "Ping-Pong" in 1901 by J. Jaques & Son Ltd as a copyright. Table tennis is now a very popular sport and is a major summer olympic event. http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall04/baksh/history.html -
Henry Ford's Model T and The Interstate Highway System
Henry Ford invented the Model T car in an effort to make cars affordable to the middle class, and since there were so many cars on the roads, an interstate highway system was established by Dwight Eisenhower. This system connected the sides of America to the middle class https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxCZTYpMVq8-NG9yaW9FUnNmbVU/view -
The Battle of The Marne
The French were being pushed back by the Germans in a massive invasion, and after many retreats they became too close to Paris to retreat any further. They finally fought at the Marne River, where they stopped the German offensive in a key turning point in the war. http://webs.bcp.org/sites/vcleary/ModernWorldHistoryTextbook/wwi/section_4/thebattleofthemarne.html -
Christmas Football Game
On Christmas Day 1914, members of the British and German Armies met and exchanged gifts in no-man's land. They also played a friendly match of soccer. Although this was good-spirited and not aggressive, it didn't end any fighting at the time, it only put it on hold. https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-real-story-of-the-christmas-truce -
The 1936 Olympics (Jesse Owens)
During the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Jesse Owens broke three world records and won four gold medals. Adolf Hitler's goal for the games was to prove that the Aryan race was physically superior to all others, but Jesse Owens, an African-American, defeated all of the German competitors and became a hero around the world. https://www.olympic.org/jesse-owens -
The Battle of Okinawa
The Island of Okinawa was one of the closest islands to Japan, making it a vital target for the Americans, it being a perfect place from which to launch an invasion. This made the battle extremely important and bloody, with the Japanese soldiers stationed there knowing that they would only fight to the end and never surrender, believing there was no greater showing of disrespect and cowardice than to surrender. https://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/2012/11/okinawa-final-great-battle-world-war-ii. -
"Iron Curtain" Speech
Winston Churchill gave the "Iron Curtain" Speech to point out the USSR's attempt to create a communist buffer-zone between themselves and Western Europe's democratic ways. This is significant because it made many Americans realize the USSR's motives and create suspicions about them. Cold War Notes. -
The Miracle on Ice
During the 1980 winter olympics, Team USA played the dominant USSR in the semifinal match that Team USA won in an extremely close game - the final score 4 to 3. The announcer famously stated as the final seconds ticked away - "Do you believe in miracles!?" This was an extreme upset in the world of hockey and it gave many Americans pride and hope to see that a bunch of college hockey players from America could take on the best the Soviets had to offer. The Boys of Winter, by Wayne Coffey. -
The United States Immigration System
The United States Immigration System is the system that legal immigrants have to go through in order to become a US citizen, many people see lots of problems with the system, and say it is "broken". Immigration Today (Slideshow).
