-
Period: 8000 BCE to Aug 3, 1492
The Land and Its Natives
Before its discovery by European explorers, America was inhabited by an immense native population with rich culture and a unique history. Though the evidence is often erased from modern history, Native American infrastructure heavily impacted the new American world to come. -
Period: Aug 31, 1492 to
Colonial Settlement
Eastern and Western hemispheres merged as the conquest and colonization of America snowballed and countries clashed for control of the new nation. The native population was gradually wiped out by new settlers and a new, predominantly white, population dominated the country. -
Period: to
American Revolution
The colonialists of the New World declared independence from Great Britain and fought a revolution to become its own country with its own principals: the United States of America. The most prominent figures of the time period, such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, are known as our Founding Fathers. -
Declaration of Independence
Served as both the demand for separation from Great Britain (kicking of the American revolution) and the conception for the new American future and what it could hold for its citizens. -
Period: to
Birth and Adolescence of America
As a new nation emerged, its population clamored to organize a government and an economic system, along with the fostering of its own unique culture. -
Ratification and Application of U.S. Constitution
Marked the time when the U.S. government finally stood on both feet for a period of trial and error, yet to a concise guideline. -
Period: to
Expansion and Reform
Borders of America expanded. The Antebellum period being the most prominent during this time, reformations sparked across the nation as the sore thumbs of oppression, violence, alcoholism, and lack of public institutions were attended to. -
Period: to
Civil War
Dissension over social and political issues, particularly abolitionism, led to a civil war that lasted for 4 years. Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, declaring the freedom of slaves in Confederate states should the Union win. The Union eventually held success over the Confederacy. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Issued by Abraham Lincoln in the midst of the Civil War. -
Period: to
Westward Expansion
Nursed by the Industrial Revolution, transportation over the Western frontier flourished and agricultural industries boomed, transforming U.S. society into an official capitalist system. However, as Americans poured over the mountains, greater conflict with the Native Americans rose to the surface and their way of life was drastically marred. -
Period: to
Reconstruction
Though the war was over, racial tensions were still rampant. Confederate states were passing laws to attempt to force former slaves to work on plantations yet again, causing Confederate representatives to be barred from their seats in Congress. Official documents were created/amended to grant equal citizenship to African Americans. Meanwhile, white terror erupted in the South that wouldn't be quelled for many decades to come. -
Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Major figure in the women's suffrage movement. 1868 dated her famous speech at the Women's Suffrage Convention. -
Period: to
Gilded Age
Transformation of American nation from a predominantly agrarian population into an urban, industrialized society. A tense age of corruption, mass immigration, growing distinction between economic classes, and the absolute adoption of capitalism. -
Native Americans Amidst Westward Expansion
"By the 1880s, most American Indians had been confined to reservations, often in areas of the West that appeared least desirable to white settlers." -loc.gov, American Memory Timeline -
Period: to
Progressive Era
With a stable middle class and the basic foundation set, reformation in economics, politics, social stances, and moral views was rampant. There was now federal regulation, active segregation and racial profiling, prohibition, workplace adjustment, and an increase of effort in the Women's Rights movement. -
Period: to
World War I
U.S. intervention was triggered by the sinking of "Lusitania" and a German call for Mexico to battle the U.S. via the confidential Zimmerman note. The casualty number was grimly high and the cost of the war put many in steep debt. By the close of WWI, Woodrow Wilson assented with the Treaty of Versailles for the installation of the League of Nations. -
Period: to
The Roaring 20s
A decade, most famous for its appealing riotous Jazz Age, that featured a radical cultural shift that marked a new, favored kind of freedom among the younger generations. The seedy underbelly was a bitter feud over positions on gender roles, immigration, religion and science, and race. Meanwhile, the Ku Klux Klan was simmering in racial violence. -
Period: to
The Great Depression
Beginning shortly after a stock market crash, the infamous economic depression had incredible political and economic consequences. Unemployment rose to 25% and poverty was widespread, transforming the land and American values. President FDR was a figurehead of hope and support during tumultuous times, his first two years of office affectionately known as the New Deal. -
Period: to
World War II
Atop a platform of political and economic instability, dictator Adolf Hitler rose to power and the globe was thrown into an all-consuming war. It was a war of bigoted, discriminatory, and political motives that proved to be the deadliest battle in history. With the birth of atomic power utilized as weaponry, Germany and Japan surrendered and WWII came rolling to a halt. -
Period: to
The Cold War
In the wake of WWII, superpowers America and Soviet Union (and their respective allies) clashed and spent 20 years in a hot dispute. Anti-Communist sentiments spread through the U.S. population (despite the supposed lessons learned from WWII about human discrimination) and paranoia soon followed. Involvement in Vietnam, however, dispersed support of the Cold War and in 1991 it was finally declared over. -
Period: to
War in Vietnam
With anti-Communist sentiments still rampant as the Cold War continued, the US supported South Vietnam against its Communist North counterpart. Over 16000 US citizens were drafted despite the widespread condemnation. President LBJ increased the stakes of the war, and the youth of America exploded into an anti-war movement. -
Period: to
Civil Rights Movement
The fight for racial equality was on and Americans protested segregation, poverty, and unemployment with sit-ins and marches and violent bouts between the police and citizens. The civil rights movement (CRM) was successful for its time as the federal government finally passed a Civil Rights Act, 24th Amendment, and a Voting Rights Act that would recognize African Americans. The CRM sparked other equal rights movements to move forward. -
Period: to
Late 20th Century
The last three decades of the 20th century featured economic crisis and revamping, from inflation and an oil shortage to a resurgence in the '90s, where technologies eased the quality of life and boosted the US back into a global superpower. The late 20th century was also characterized by a stormy dissension between the people and the government, and a mighty distrust in leadership. -
Period: to
21st Century
This century kicked off with questionable Republican leadership, an unpopular president (W. Bush), and a terrorist attack that would fuel the motivations of US Homeland Security. In 2008, history was made as the first black president, Barack Obama, was elected in the wake of a fierce economic recession. -
Civil Rights Act of 1866
Document that determined the guidelines of citizenship, intended to extend equality towards African Americans in times of tumultuous racial malice.
