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Oct 12, 1492
Columbus arrives in New World
Christopher Columbus left for the New World to find an easier route to India and Asia. He ended up in modern-day America on Oct. 12, 1492. (Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492.) -
Jamestown settled
Jamestown becomes the first permanent English colony in the New World. It was established by the London Company in what would eventually become southeast Virginia. -
House of Burgesses established
The House of Burgesses meets for the very first time in Virginia (the Jamestown colony.) This date also marks the first time that slaves are brought to Jamestown. -
Plymouth Colony established
This date marks the day that the Mayflower arrived and the Plymouth Colony was established by the pilgrims. Before leaving the ship, 41 male passengers created and signed the Mayflower Compact, an early colonial governmental setting. -
French and Indian War begins
The French and Indian War, a war fought (despite the implications surrounding its name) between not the French and the Indians, but the French and the British, would often be considered to be a world war. It was fought over control of North America. -
French and Indian War ends
The French and Indian War, a war fought (despite the implications surrounding its name) between not the French and the Indians, but the French and the British, would often be considered to be a world war. It was over fought over control of North America. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre served as a tipping point for colonial aggression towards British rule. After being taunted by Bostonians, British soldiers fire into the mob and end up unintentionally killing a few civilians. This led to many public protests and overexaggerated retellings by radicals. -
Boston Tea Party
A group of colonial radicals disguised as Mohawks (Native Americans) breach three ships and toss off its cargo - East India Company tea brought by the British - while several British officials discuss the trade-off between the tea and the taxes requireed for it. -
First Continental Congress meets
The First Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia on this day, and continues to meet over the course of a couple months. There were 56 delegates to represent each colony, with Georgia being excluded. Patrick Henry, George Washington, and Samuel Adams are all present at these hearings. -
American Revolution begins
The American Revolution was both a war and an ideological movement fought between the British and colonists from the original 13 colonies over who had more power in America. During the war, the Declaration of Independence was signed and several very important and course-changing battles were fought. -
Declaration of Independence is Signed
The Declaration was signed and put into effect by several colonial cabinet members, including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, and John Hancock, on this day. The Declaration declared America's independence from Britain. It also laid out a (very bare) interpretation of individual rights. -
American flag adopted
The American flag (with the original 13 white stars on the blue background) is adopted by the Continental Congress, with initial approval by George Washington. -
Articles of Confederation adopted
The Articles of Confederation, a very flimsy governmental outlining for the new republic, is adopted with some admitted yays and nays in the house of the first Continental Congress. One of the nay-sayers was Thomas Jefferson. -
American Revolution ends (Brits surrender)
The American Revolution was both a war and an ideological movement fought between the British and colonists from the original 13 colonies over who had more power in America. During the war, the Declaration of Independence was signed and several very important and course-changing battles were fought. -
Shays' Rebellion
Shays' Rebellion is the outbreak of a rebellion with farmers from New Hampshire to South Carolina taking up arms and exercising violently drastic measures to oppose high state taxes and dire penalties for not paying said taxes. -
Constitutional Convention
This Constitutional Convention was made up of 12 delegates of the original 13 colonies and met in Philadelphia to draft the U.S. Constitution and add revisions and basic editing to the rights it gave to citizens and governmental factions. -
George Washington elected first President
George Washington, former Commander-in-Chief of the American army during the Revolution and original delegate in the First Continental Congress, is elected President by a virtual landslide. He is inaugurated two months later on April 30th, and gives a speech to the people. -
John Adams becomes President
On March 4th, 1797, John Adams was inaugurated as the second President of the United States of America. This would precede the election of his son, John Quincy Adams, who would become president later on. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was an early gathering of like-minded women vying for their rights, including the right to vote. It was fronted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a very prominent feminist leader. The Seneca Falls Convention proved to greatly influence the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act adopted
The Kansas-Nebraska Act, which was enacted on May 30th, 1854, established the individual territories of Kansas and Nebraska as official U.S. states. -
Harpers Ferry raid by white abolitionist John Brown
White abolitionist John Brown and 21 of his followers raid Harpers Ferry and provide black slaves with guns and other weapons to take down the white citizens of Virginia (now West Virginia.) It was a (moderately successful) attempt at sparking a slave revolt. -
Abraham Lincoln elected President
Abraham Lincoln is elected President and would go on to be the supervising administration for the Civil War. Also during this year, South Carolina secedes from the Union, which becomes a major incentive for the Civil War. -
Civil War begins
The Civil War was a war fought to protect the Union. It began with the Confederate raid and attack on Fort Sumter that lasted from April 12th-13th, 1861, and ended with the surrendering of Confederate general Robert E. Lee to Union general Ulysses S. Grant on April 9th, 1865. -
Homestead Act becomes law
The Homestead Act allowed for 160 acres of national land to any citizen that can claim that they have lived in America for at least five years. -
Civil War ends
The Civil War was a war fought to protect the Union. It began with the Confederate raid and attack on Fort Sumter that lasted from April 12th-13th, 1861, and ended with the surrendering of Confederate general Robert E. Lee to Union general Ulysses S. Grant on April 9th, 1865. -
President Lincoln assassinated
President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth in Washington, DC during a showing of My American Cousin at the Ford Theatre. Vice President Andrew Jackson is sworn in after it has been deemed that the president had died. John Wilkes Booth is killed shortly after in a burning barn. -
14th Amendment enacted
The 14th Amendment, which defined citizenship as applying to all people of all races and color, is enacted on July 9th, 1868. This was preceded by the 13th Amendment, which freed all slaves, and would be followed by the 15th Amendment, which gave almost everyone the right to vote. -
Statue of Liberty erected
The Statue of Liberty is sent by the French to the Americans as a present and a symbol of both American integrity and a deep alliance and friendship between the two powers. It is set to locate near Ellis Island in the state of New York. -
National American Women Suffrage Association (NAWSA) is founded
NAWSA is founded under the leadership of its official President, Elizabeth Cady Stanton. The National American Women Suffrage Association would pursue the right to vote for women for many years to come. -
Plessy v. Ferguson - landmark case decided
The landmark Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson is decided. Plessy v. Ferguson was based on the fact that a freedman (Plessy) is being forced to become a slave again (by Ferguson.) This would lead to segregation and racist black codes, or Jim Crow laws. -
Hawaii is annexed by U.S.
Hawaii is annexed through a decision by the U.S. Congress. It officially becomes a state. -
Hurricane in Galveston, TX kills thousands
The Galveston hurricane killed anywhere between 6,000 to 8,000 innocent civilians on September 8th, 1900. This led to stricter weather forecasts and reinforcements of pre-existing severe weather shelters. -
Teddy Roosevelt becomes President
After McKinley was shot and killed by wounds inflicted by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York, Vice President Teddy Roosevelt is sworn in on the spot and would go on to become one of the United States' more influential presidential administrations, next to the Kennedy administration. -
Wright brothers fly
Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first sustained and controlled flight in a heavier-than-air aircraft over the skies of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. -
San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake left 500 of the city's citizens dead or missing and destroyed many buildings and other areas of important historical significance. It destroyed about 4 square miles of San Francisco and left other areas tarnished. -
17th Amendment enacted
The Seventeenth Amendment was ratified for the direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote rather than by the state legislatures. This gave more "power to the people" and led to a common theme for future decisions in politics. -
First long-distance telephone conversation
The first successful long-distance phone call service is made between New York City, New York to San Francsico, California. This leads to a sudden arms race in telecommunications technology and consumerism. -
Jeannette Rankin becomes first women U.S. Representative
Jeannette Rankin becomes the first female representative (Montana) to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. This is shortly after women suffrage is granted. -
U.S. enters WWI (on Germany)
U.S. enters WWI, a long and lengthy war that led to the introduction of extremely threatening war technology, such as the submarine and the war tank. April 6th, 1917 is the day that U.S. specifically declares war on Germany. -
U.S. enters WWI (on Austria-Hungary)
U.S. enters WWI, a long and lengthy war that led to the introduction of extremely threatening war technology, such as the submarine and the war tank. On December 17th, 1917, U.S. declares war against Austria-Hungary. -
Spanish flu outbreak (1918 flu epidemic)
1918 marked the year of a worldwide influenza outbreak that would kill 20 million by 1920. 500,000 alone would perish in the U.S. -
WWI ends (for U.S.)
U.S. enters WWI, a long and lengthy war that led to the introduction of extremely threatening war technology, such as the submarine and the war tank. An armistice is signed on November 11th, 1918. -
Eighteenth Amendment enacted (Prohibition)
Prohibition (the enactment of the Eighteenth Amendment) begins. The ratified amendment prohibits the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor. Not many people would end up listening to this piece of legislature, however, especially during the '20's, and would mostly end up bringing the worst out of society instead of the best. -
Nineteenth Amendment ratified
Women are finally granted suffrage after many decades in pursuit of it and after many organizations were founded based on that pursuit. It would prove to be an ineffective system, however, for most women tended to vote on the same bill as their spouses or partners. -
Scopes Monkey Trial
The Scopes trial was based on a school teacher in Kansas' right to teach the students (as well as the students' right to learn) about evolution as opposed to previous creationist theories. The trial would go on for 15 days, with the end decision being that Scopes (the teacher) would not be allowed to teach evolution in the class. -
Charles Lindbergh flies across the Atlantic Ocean
Charles Lindbergh makes the first successful trans-atlantic flight in his aircraft, The Spirit of St. Louis. The flight went from May 20th to May 21st and was celebrated by many Americans as a testiment to their own strength and ingenuity to achieve what was perceived to be the impossible. -
Stock market crash (Great Depression starts)
The crash of the stock market on October 29th, 1929, is often thought of as being the straw that broke the camel's back that eventually led to the beginning of the Great Depression and national unemployment and poverty. -
The Star-Spangled Banner becomes national anthem
The Star-Spangled Banner, written by Francis Scott Key in 1814 after witnessing the Battle at Fort McHenry in the War of 1812, officially becomes the nation's anthem. -
Amelia Earhart becomes first woman pilot to do a transatlanic flight solo and nonstop
Amelia Earhart leaves her own mark on women's progress (as well as mankind's in general) by completing the first transatlantic flight nonstop by herself. -
FDR becomes President
On March 4th, 1933, even after contracting a disease that would invariably cripple him for life, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, distant cousin of former President Teddy Roosevelt, was sworn in as President by a landslide. -
21st Amendment enacted (End of Prohibition)
After an ineffective and altogether costly (creation of the Mafia due to it, etc.), Prohibition was brought out and alcohol was once again legalized. -
Social Security Act is passed
The Social Security Act called for a specific amount of tax-payers' dollars to go to private funding on the part of retired and disabled persons, (people in general that do not have a renewable source of money, such as an income or salary, at their disposal.) -
Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act, in an effort to humanize the treatment of the working class as well as enacting governmental practice for societal ills, federally raised the minimum wage up at 25 cents per hour. -
U.S. declares neutrality in WWII
Ever since the effects of World War I made its mark on the U.S. morale, U.S. officials simply didn't deem it necessary to rush into another war. Although this was almost a unanimous political decision, many Americans still weren't sure that it was okay to ignore the war. -
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese navy stunned, surprised, and shocked Americans everywhere. It was intended as a preventative act on Japan's part to keep the U.S. Pacific Fleet from interfering with their plans in Southeast Asia. The attack could have been prevented. -
The U.N. is established
The United Nations is established at the end of WWII in an effort to conference in various world powers when a problem arises in one or more nations. It was mainly established to promote peace and avoid war through the power of conversation and debate. -
Marshall Plan passed
The Marshall Plan is passed as an attempt to preserve the idea of containment in America and provide foreign aid to countries that were ravaged either financially, physically, or governmentally, by the outcome of World War II. -
Berlin Air Lift
Stalin imposes a blockade in West Berlin, disallowing any from entering or exiting the nation. In response, U.S. and British air forces air-lifted food and other provisions to the oppressed country (hence the phrase "Berlin Air Lift.") -
NATO is established
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is established on April 4th, 1949, and involves dozens of world powers, including the United States, Great Britain, Japan, the USSR/Soviet Union/Russia, France, Germany, Italy, and many others. -
22nd Amendment ratified
The 22nd Amendment, ratified on February 27th, 1951, limited the president to two consecutive terms in office. (As opposed to previous elects like FDR, who served three terms in office, although the terms were very well done.) The Amendment was done under the Truman administration. -
Puerto Rico becomes a U.S. commonwealth
Puerto Rico becomes a U.S. commonwealth (less than a state, but has the same general rights as a state without being called one), on July 25th, 1952. -
First H-bomb detonated
The first hydrogen bomb was detonated by the United States on November 1st, 1952 on Eniwetok, an atoll on the Marshall Islands. This led to even more worries for both the Americans and the other nations involved in the Cold War. -
Dwight Eisenhower elected President
After successfully planning many successful attacks on both German and Japanese forces during World War II as a lieutenant and general of the U.S. Army, Dwight Eisenhower was elected president on January 20th, 1953. He was also the first president to use broadcasted and televised ad campaigns. -
Rosenbergs executed
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, after being convicted on multiple accounts of espionage (spying) against the U.S. government and military, they are executed on June 19th, 1953, much to both the shock and horror of the American people. -
Senator Joseph McCarthy declares communist "witch hunt"
Sen. Joseph McCarthy declares that at least 100 people serving in the U.S. government are registered Communists, and claims that several other people, including those in the entertainment and pop culture circuit, are also all registered Communists. His tirades to the American people and his Communist "witch hunt" ended on June 17th, 1954. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas decision
Brown v. Board of Education initially decried against segregation in a specific public school system in Topeka, Kansas, but it went on to include other school systems nationwide, and then on to other public facilities, eventually desegregating everything else and, ultimately, declaring Jim Crow laws unconstitutional. -
Little Rock Nine
Nine African American students were escorted by federal troops to attend Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, against the wishes of many rallying students and parents. This would be the first time that federal forces would interfere for the cause of desegregation. -
Explorer is launched
The first U.S. satellite, the Explorer, is launched on January 31st, 1958, less than a year after the launch of the Soviet Union's Sputnik, declaring equal participation in the space race. It serves as a moral and personal victory for Americans everywhere. -
JFK becomes President
The very charismatic John Franklin Kennedy becomes the 35th President of the United States after an almost one-sided campaign by the pale and blustered Richard Nixon. His administration would prove to be the most successful and praised of all presidents before him. (With a possible runner-up being Teddy Roosevelt.) -
MLK, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech is delivered
The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "I Have a Dream" speech, that outlines an idealistic future of peace and acceptance of people of all color, to a crowd of 200,000 people during the civil rights march on Washington, DC. -
Kennedy is assassinated
Kennedy is assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald on November 22nd, 1963 shortly after entering the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and getting into a motorcade. He would be succeeded in office by his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson, quite soon after. -
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a very influential African American clergyman, civil rights leader, and universal pacifist. On this date he was shot to death from a balcony by an angry white man. This led to riots and destruction from both blacks and whites on both sides of the issue in major cities nationwide. -
Stonewall riots
The Stonewall riots was a revolt against a police raid of a prominent gay bar by homosexuals. It was incited due to the extremely anti-homosexual laws that the authorities in question were enforcing by raiding the establishment. It led to the eventual late beginning of the gay rights movement. -
Moon landing
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first men to land on the moon in a widely-known and widely-viewed television broadcast in 1969. It led to the definite end of the space race, with America having won by this amazing feat. -
Roe v. Wade decision
Roe v. Wade was a Supreme Court case that was fought over whether or not a Texan woman could have an abortion. The end decision legalized abortion throughout the nation. However, the ethics and rightness of the decision is still being discussed in the light of both human and reproductive rights.
