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Appomattox
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Period: to
1865-2003
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The Reconstruction
After the Civil War, President Lincoln introduced a proclamation of amnesty and reconstruction for areas the Confederacy occupied to restore the South. When he was assasinated, President Andrew Johnson put in place his own pans to restore the South. Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1866 on April 9, 1966 to ensure the rights of the freed slaves. The passage of the 14th Amendment in 1866 made sure the Civil Rights Act could not be revised by the government. -
The Industrial Revolution
Although the Industrial Revolution began in Europe in 1500s, the American Revolution was from 1820-1870. The most important inventions of this time improved transportation and the production of goods. Two importnat events of the American Industrial Revolution were Fulton’s steamboat service on the Hudson River,and Morse’s invention of the electric telegraph. Morse sent his first message from Washington DC to Baltimore on May 24, 1844. This period ended May 20, 1870. -
The Spanish American War
The United States declared war on Spain after thinking Spain was behind the sinking of the Battleship USS Maine in Havana harbor on February 15, 1898. On December 10, 1898, The Treaty of Paris was signed ending the war. Spain had to give up control of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines Islands, Guam, and other islands and the United States gained power in the Pacific. -
Acquisition of Hawaii
On January 17, 1893, the people of the land, many of which were Americans, over threw the Queen of the Kingdom of Hawaii. On August 12, 1898, the flag of the Kingdom of Hawaii over ʻIolani Palace (the official residence of Hawaii's monarchy) was lowered, and the flag of the United States was raised declaring the annexation -
World War I
The war started with the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand (heir to Austria-Hungary's throne) and his wife, Sophie in Serbia. On August 19, 1914, President Woodrow Wilson announced the U.S. will remain neutral. On April 6,1917, the United States declared war on Germany. On January 8, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson issued his Fourteen Points to peace. On June 28, 1919, The Treaty of Versailles officially ended World War I. -
Creation of the Panama Canal
Although the French had attempted construction of a canal in the 1880s, the Panama Canal was successfully built from 1904 to 1914. The Hay-Bunau-Varilla Treaty allowed the U.S. to build the Panama Canal and have control of a 5 miles wide zone on either side of the canal. The canal opened to traffic on August 15, 1914. -
Prohibition / Roaring 20's
Prohibition went into effect when the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution went into effect on January 16, 1920, banning the sale and manufacturing of alcohol, but it did not ban the drinking of alcohol. Many people stocked up on alcohol or took advantage of secret bars called speakeasies run by gansters who sent runners to the Caribbean for rum, Canada for whiskey, or bought the liquor from home stills. Speakeasies are where the people socialized, danced and drank. -
The Great Depressionand the New Deal
The Great Depression began with the stock market crash on October 29, 1929 known as Black Tuesday. Banks were forced to close, and businesses suffered when the stock market crashed causing even more panic. Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president and created a series of social and economic policies known as the New Deal to end the Great Depression. -
World War II
World War II began on September 18, 1931, when Japan invaded Manchuria. On December 7, 1941, Japan bombed the US ships in Pearl Harbor. On December 8, 1941,the US declared war on Japan, and entered World War II. On June 6, 1944, British and US troops successfully land on the Normandy beaches of France, to again attack Germans. August 6, 1945, the US droped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan and another atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. On September 2, 1945, Japan surrendered to end WWII. -
Pearl Harbor
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Pearl Harbor
The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor at 7:55 am on December 7, 1941. The Japanese surprised the United States with 2 waves of attacks. Over 350 Japanese planes were involved in overall attack. Over 2000 US men lost their lives. This event brought the US into WWII. -
The Cold War
The Cold War began on February 4-11, 1945 at the Yalta Conference. On August 6, 1945, the US used the first atomic bomb. In March of 1946, Winston Churchill delivered the "Iron Curtain" Speech in reference to the division of the democratic West and the Communist East. The Cold War was the period of time from 1945-1991 where there was a lot of muscle flexing but not real combat. It ended with the fall of the Soviet Union in August 1991. -
The Korean War
Communist North Korea Invaded South Korea. President Truman ordered US troops to help South Korea. General Douglas MacArthur led the UN troops who were mostly Americans. The Korean War ended when President Dwight Eisenhower signed an armistice on July 27, 1953. -
The Vietnam War
In July of 1950, The us gave $15 million dollars worth of aid to France, but it was not until March 8, 1965 that the first American troops landed in Vietnam. In March 29, 1973, the last U.S. troops are withdrawn from Vietnam. North and South Vietnam end up united under communist rule. -
The Gulf War
In response to Iraq's August 1, 1990, invasion of Kuwait, the US, Britain, France, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, and Italy went to war against Iraq. Iraq had accused Kuwait of stealing oil. On January 12 1991, U.S. Congress passed a joint agreement authorizing the use of military force to drive Iraq out of Kuwait. On January 17, 1991 the air strikes began against Iraq, and on March 3, 1991 Iraq agreed to a cease fire. -
September 11, 2001
On September 11, 2001, 4 planes were taken over by terrorists. two of the planes hit the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York City, The Towers eventually fell killing thousands of Americans. One plane hit the Pentagon, and one plane was taken over by passengers and crashed in rural Pennsylvania. We have been figting the war on terrorism ever since. -
Operation Enduring Freedom
This War in Afghanistan was the US answers to the attack of September 11, 2001.The purpose of the war was to find and capture Osama bin Laden, destroy Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, all of whom were responsible for 9/11. -
Invasion of Iraq
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Operation Iraqi Freedom
President Bush announced the attack on television stating that the US was going into Iraq to capture dictator Saddam Hussein and eliminate Hussein's ability to develop weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Hussein had refused to allow UN inspectors to check for WMD in violation of U.N. resolutions against manufacturing biological and chemical weapons. Hussein was captured on December 15, 2003.
