-
Period: to
1751–1775: Diplomatic Struggles in the Colonial Period
-
The French and Indian War
Also known as the Seven Years’ War, the French and Indian War marked a chapter in the long imperial struggle between Britain and France. When France’s expansion into the Ohio River valley brought repeated conflict with the claims of the British colonies, a series of battles led to the official British declaration of war in 1756.https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/french-and-indian-war -
The Treaty of Paris
The Treaty of Paris of 1763 ended the French and Indian War/Seven Years’ War between Great Britain and France, as well as their respective allies. In the terms of the treaty, France gave up all its territories in mainland North America, effectively ending any foreign military threat to the British colonies there. https://www.britannica.com/event/Treaty-of-Paris-1763 -
The Revolutionary War
The Revolutionary War (1775-1783) arose from growing tensions between residents of Great Britain's 13 North American colonies and the colonial government. The American colonists, led by General George Washington, won political independence and eventually formed the United States of America.https://www.history.com/topics/american-revolution/american-revolution-history -
Period: to
1776-1800--The Birth of a Nation
-
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, allowed the 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain. The Declaration summarized the colonists’ motivations for seeking independence. By declaring themselves an independent nation, the colonists could confirm an official alliance with the Government of France and obtain French assistance in the war against Great Britain. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1776-1783/declaration -
The Constitution of the United States
39 of the 55 delegates signed the new document, with many of those who refused to sign objecting to the lack of a bill of rights. At least one delegate refused to sign because the Constitution codified and protected slavery and the slave trade.
The Constitution would take effect once it had been ratified by nine of the thirteen State legislatures; unanimity was not required. https://www.whitehouse.gov/about-the-white-house/our-government/the-constitution/ -
Signing of The Bill of Rights
“A bill of rights is what the people are entitled to against every government on earth, general or particular, and what no just government should refuse.”– Thomas Jefferson
In the summer of 1787, delegates from the 13 states convened in Philadelphia and drafted a blueprint for self-government — the Constitution. The first draft set up a system of checks and balances that included a strong executive branch, a legislature, and a federal judiciary. https://daytonacriminallawyers.com/bill-of-rights/ -
Period: to
1801-1825--Securing the Republic
-
The Louisiana Purchase
President Thomas Jefferson sent Robert Livingston and then later James Monroe to negotiate the selling of New Orleans from France to the United States. The Louisiana Purchase encompassed 530,000,000 acres of territory in North America that the United States purchased from France in 1803 for $15 million. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1801-1829/louisiana-purchase -
The War of 1812
The U.S. took on Great Britain in a conflict that would have a great impact on the country’s future. The causes of the war included British attempts to restrict U.S. trade, the Royal Navy’s impressment of American seamen, and America’s desire to expand its territory. The United States suffered many defeats at the hands of British and Canadian troups including the burning of the nation’s capital in August 1814. https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/war-of-1812 -
The Monroe Doctrine
The Monroe Doctrine is the best known U.S. policy toward the Western Hemisphere. Buried in a routine annual message delivered to Congress by President James Monroe in December 1823, the doctrine warns European nations that the U.S. would not tolerate further colonization or puppet monarchs. The doctrine was conceived to meet major concerns of the moment, but it soon became a watchword of U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere.
https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/monroe-doctrine -
Period: to
1826-1850--The Pre Civil War Era
-
The Indian Removal Act
United States Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which marked the government’s clear-cut push to remove Native American tribes from east of the Mississippi River. The Indian Removal Act opened land that Indigenous peoples had previously called home to White settlement and the expansion of slavery, This forced removal, which occurred throughout the late 1830s, became known as the Trail of Tears. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1830-1860/indian-treaties -
The Mexican-American War
This war marked the first U.S. armed conflict fought on foreign soil. It pitted a politically divided and militarily unprepared Mexico against the expansionist-minded administration of the U.S. A border skirmish along the Rio Grande that started the fighting was followed by a series of U.S. victories. Mexico lost about one-third of its territory, including nearly all of present-day California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico. https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/mexican-american-war -
The California Gold Rush
John Sutter was a Swiss immigrant who came to California with a dream of building an agricultural empire. When he needed lumber, he assigned the task to one of his men, James Marshall, who decided to build a sawmill on the South Fork of the American River. Marshall discovered a gold nugget while working at the sawmill. They tried to keep things quiet, but soon word leaked out. Gold fever quickly became an epidemic. https://www.nps.gov/cali/learn/historyculture/california-gold-rush.htm -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise was a series of bills passed mainly to address issues related to slavery. The bills provided for slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty in the admission of new states; prohibited the slave trade in the District of Columbia, settled a Texas boundary dispute, and established a stricter fugitive slave act. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/compromise-of-1850 -
Period: to
1851-1875-Victorianism and The Civil War
-
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri. From 1833 to 1843, he resided in Illinois (a free state) where slavery was forbidden. After returning to Missouri, Scott filed suit in Missouri court for his freedom, claiming that his residence in free territory made him a free man. After losing, Scott brought a new suit in federal court. Scott's master maintained that no “negro” or descendant of slaves could be a citizen. https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/dred-scott-v-sandford -
The Civil War
The Civil War began in 1861, after decades of simmering tensions between northern and southern states over slavery, states’ rights, and westward expansion. The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 caused seven southern states to secede from the Union. Four more soon joined. The Civil War ended in Confederate surrender in 1865. The conflict was the costliest and deadliest war ever fought on American soil.
https://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/american-civil-war-history -
Emancipation Proclamation
President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, as the nation approached its third year of bloody civil war. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation -
Period: to
1876-1900--The Gilded Age
-
Treaty of Paris 1898
The Treaty of Paris officially ended the period of Spanish colonization in the Philippines and granted possession of Cuba, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States. It also required that the United States pay $20 million USD in recompense to the Spanish government.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/treaty-of-paris-ends-spanish-american-war -
Period: to
1901-1925--The Progressive Era
-
The Titanic
The Titanic, launched on May 31, 1911, and set sail on its maiden voyage from Southampton on April 10, 1912, with 2,240 passengers and crew on board. On April 15, 1912, after striking an iceberg, Titanic broke apart and sank to the bottom of the ocean, taking with it the lives of more than 1,500 passengers and crew.
https://www.history.com/topics/early-20th-century-us/titanic -
World War 1 Begins
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918) was a global conflict fought between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Fighting took place throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/world-war-i-history -
U.S. Enters World War 1
President Woodrow Wilson went before a joint session of Congress to request a declaration of war against Germany. Wilson cited Germany’s violation of its pledge to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and the Mediterranean as his reasons for declaring war. On April 4, 1917, the U.S. Senate voted in support of the measure to declare war on Germany. The United States later declared war on German ally Austria-Hungary. https://history.state.gov/milestones/1914-1920/wwi -
Period: to
1926-1950--The Great Depression
The Great Depression
Watch the video clips about the stock market crash, FDR, and the New Deal -
Stock Market Crash of 1929
The Stock Market Crash of 1929 occurred on October 29, 1929, when Wall Street investors traded some 16 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange in a single day. Billions of dollars were lost, wiping out thousands of investors. In the aftermath of that event, sometimes called “Black Tuesday,” America and the rest of the industrialized world spiraled downward into the Great Depression. https://www.history.com/topics/great-depression/1929-stock-market-crash -
The Star Spangled Banner
On September 14, 1814, U.S. soldiers at Baltimore's Fort McHenry raised a huge American flag to celebrate a crucial victory over British forces during the War of 1812. The sight of those “broad stripes and bright stars” inspired Francis Scott Key to write a song that eventually became the United States national anthem. The Star Spangled Banner was adopted as the National Anthem in 1931. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-star-spangled-banner-becomes-official -
World War II
World War II, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history, involved more than 50 nations and was fought on land, sea and air in nearly every part of the world. Also known as the Second World War, it was caused in part by the economic crisis of the Great Depression and by political tensions left unresolved following the end of World War I.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/world-war-ii-history -
The Hydrogen Bomb
The United States tested the first hydrogen bomb in the world. The bomb was hundreds of times more powerful than the bombs that were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/bombing-of-hiroshima-and-nagasaki -
Period: to
1951-1975--The Golden Era
-
The Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a direct confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The crisis was unique in several ways, featuring calculations and miscalculations as well as direct and secret communications and miscommunications between the two sides. The crisis was also characterized by the fact that it was primarily played out at the White House and the Kremlin.
https://history.state.gov/milestones/1961-1968/cuban-missile-crisis -
The Vietnam War
Vietnam was the longest war in American history and the most unpopular American war of the 20th century. It resulted in nearly 60,000 American deaths and in an estimated 2 million Vietnamese deaths. Even today, many Americans still ask whether the American effort in Vietnam was a blunder, a necessary war, or a noble cause. It was a failed effort to protect the South Vietnamese from totalitarian government. The U.S. joined the war in 1965. https://www.ushistory.org/us/55.asp -
Period: to
1976-2000--The Contemporary Era
-
Three Mile Island Disaster
America’s worst accident at a civilian nuclear power plant occurred on March 28, 1979. Half the fuel melted in one of two nuclear reactors on Three Mile Island. Large quantities of radioactivity leaked from the reactor, but most of it was contained. In all probability, no one received a harmful amount of radiation.
https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/5-facts-know-about-three-mile-island -
The Iranian Hostage Crisis
The Iran Hostage Crisis was a major international crisis caused by the seizure of the U.S. Embassy, and its employees, by revolutionary Iranian students. The students, with support from the Ayatollah Khomeini-led government of Iran, held Embassy employees as hostages for 444 days.
https://history.state.gov/departmenthistory/short-history/iraniancrises -
U.S. Invades Panama
US troops invade Panama, oust its government, and arrest its leader, one-time Central Intelligence Agency informant General Manuel Noriega, on drug-trafficking charges. The invasion came by sea, air, and land. Thousands of US troops descended on Panama, seeking to unseat its de facto leader and bring him to Miami to face drug charges.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-50837024 -
Period: to
2001-Present--The New Millennium
-
9/11 Terrorists Attacks
Terrorists linked to the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four commercial passenger airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the World Trade Center in New York City. A third plane hit the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia. The passengers and crew of the fourth plane fought back, and the plane was downed in a field in Pennsylvania,
https://www.history.com/topics/21st-century/9-11-attacks -
The Mortgage Chrisis
The American recession of 2008 -2009, the worst economy since the Great Depression, was a financial crisis brought on by mortgage foreclosures due to bad sub-prime loans, and it caused high unemployment, the failure of financial institutions and a stock market crash, while at the same time the U.S. government sought to help the recession by passing a stimulus package and the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
https://www.thebalancemoney.com/mortgage-crisis-overview-315684 -
Covid-19
January 21, 2020 - The first case of Covid-19 is confirmed in the United States. By the end of the month, a travel ban is placed against China and six other nations with high rates of infection. The economy halts as the pandemic spreads to Europe and the United States at a rapid pace without knowledge of how to treat the infected or prevent residents from contracting it.
https://nytimes.com/article/coronavirus-timeline.html