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The Homestead Act was Passed
The Homestead Act was signed by Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862. This allowed male citizens (or those who declared intent to become citizens) to claim federally owned lands in the West. So people who wanted to head west could also choose a 160-acre section of land, file a claim, and plow the land or build or dig wells on the land. After living five years on the land people could apply to receive the official title for the land. The Homestead Act excluded married women. -
The Battle of Wood Lake
The Battle of Wood Lake ended the Dakota War/Sioux Uprising. The 1,500 volunteer soldiers of Col. Henry Hastings Sibley escaped an ambush by 700 warriors from Chief Little Crow. The soldiers of Sibley inflicted heavy casualties on Sioux. The Battle of Wood Lake is the first decisive defeat of the Sioux. -
End of Civil War
The Reconstruction started after the Civil War ended. The war was fought over slavery. After the Civil War the treatment of African Americans was still not ideal. The Reconstruction was supposed to redefine African American's place in society and restore southern states to the Union. This event shows how the Reconstruction was supposed to restore society after the hard times during the Civil War. -
The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in Ford's Theatre. He began to plan for the reunification of the United States during the fall of 1863. Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves when it was issued January 1, 1863. His assassination changed the Reconstruction by Vice President Andrew Johnson taking executive office in place of Lincoln. -
The Thirteenth Amendment is Ratified by the States
The Thirteenth Amendment states that there should be no slavery or "involuntary servitude". This strengthens the effect of the Emancipation Proclamation which made all slaves free. This makes slavery officially illegal except as a punishment for a crime. The mistreatment of the freed slaves did not stop after the amendment passed. -
Red River Indian War
The Red River Indian War started in 1874 and ended 1875. It began when many Comanche bands refused to resettle which caused the American military to launch expeditions to subdue the Comanche bands. The Comanche bands were successfully moved to a reservation at Fort Sill which is currently southwestern Oklahoma. -
September 18/ Manchurian Incident
This is the event that triggered the Japanese side of World War II. On this day in the providence of Manchuria near the city of Shenyang, China there was a small explosion and Japanese controlled railroad tracks were damaged. The Japanese blamed anti-Japanese dissidents for this. Eventually it was discovered that the Japanese actually did this as a reason to start war with China. A war that lasted thirteen years and killing over thirty-five million people. -
The Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor
On this day the Japanese did a surprise attack on an American naval base located in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Twenty-four hundred Americans were killed during the attack. America's idea and practice isolationism fell after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Former U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt called the day of the attack as "a date which will live in infamy" -
Operation Overlord/D-Day
This was a long-awaited invasion of Normandy, France. The operation included American, Canadian, and British forces. Former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower was uncertain with the chances of success of the invasion that he wrote a speech for success and a speech in case of failure. This was the largest amphibious assault in history. -
The United States Successfully explodes the World's First Nuclear Device.
Before this, the U.S. Government launched the Manhattan Project to create nuclear weapons because the U.S. feared that the Germans will develop an atomic bomb. The bomb was designed in the Los Alamos Laboratory The Trinity explosion took place in New Mexico. -
Bay of Pigs Invasion
A failed invasion of Cuba by the United States. The guerrilla army was composed of 1,400 Cuban exiles living in Miami. After less than a day of fighting the Cuban exiles surrendered. 114 were killed and over 1100 were taken prisoner. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
During this time period there was an significant missile threat to the United States from Cuba and the Soviet Union. Nuclear conflict was close to starting. In July 1962 the premier of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev made a secret agreement with Fidel Castro to place Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba to deter future invasion attempts. -
The Demolition of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was built by the communist German Democratic Republic to keep out fascists from entering East Germany. At the end of World War II Berlin was split into four sections, the eastern part went to the Soviet Union, and the Western part was split up between the United States, Great Britain, and France. The wall was 11.81 feet tall
