-
Colonial settlement
1600-1763
When the London Company sent out its first expedition to begin colonizing Virginia on December 20, 1606, it was by no means the first European attempt to exploit North America. -
American revolution
1763-1783
Until the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763, few colonists in British North America objected to their place in the British Empire. -
The new nation
1783-1815
At the successful conclusion of the Revolutionary War with Great Britain in 1783, an American could look back and reflect on the truly revolutionary events that had occurred in the preceding three decades. -
Philadelphia committee
Philadelphia committee led by Benjamin Franklin attempts to regulate waste disposal and water pollution. -
National reform
1815-1880
During this period, the small republic founded by George Washington's generation became the world's largest democracy. -
Henry David Thoreau
Henry David Thoreau publishes Walden -
Civil war
1861-1877
In 1861, the United States faced its greatest crisis to that time. -
Ecology being coined
The term ecology is coined in German as Oekologie by Ernst Heinrich Philipp August Haeckel -
Acid rain
The term acid rain is coined by Robert Angus Smith in the book Air and Rain -
Rise of industrial America
1876-1900
In the decades following the Civil War, the United States emerged as an industrial giant. -
Progressive era to new era
1900-1929
The early 20th century was an era of business expansion and progressive reform in the United States. -
Smog
The term smog is coined by Henry Antoine Des Voeux in a London meeting to express concern over air pollution -
US Congress
US Congress created the National Park Service -
Great depression
1929-1945
The widespread prosperity of the 1920s ended abruptly with the stock market crash in October 1929 and the great economic depression that followed. -
The post war US
1945-1968
The entry of the United States into World War II caused vast changes in virtually every aspect of American life. -
Silent Spring
Rachel Carson publishes Silent Spring -
Black civil rights
1968
The entry of the United States into World War II caused vast changes in virtually every aspect of American life. -
Apollo 8
The Apollo 8 picture of Earthrise -
Earth day
Earth Day – April 22., millions of people gather in the United States for the first Earth Day organized by Gaylord Nelson, former senator of Wisconsin, and Denis Hayes, Harvard graduate student. US Environmental Protection Agency established -
Montreal protocol
Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer entered into force -
The Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol was negotiated in Kyoto, Japan in December. Countries that ratify this protocol commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases -
U.S. rejects the Kyoto Protocol
U.S. rejects the Kyoto Protocol -
Paris Agreement
U.S. announces it will cease participation in the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation -
Climate change mitigation
U.S. announces it will rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change mitigation
