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The Reconstruction
From 1865-1877 the U.S. faced many difficult problems. A lot of the south was demolished from the Civil War. The politicians on both sides wanted to unite the country, but were not sure how to bring the Confederate States back into the Union. This era was called the Reconstruction. -
Appomattox
This signified the and of the Civil War. This is where General Lee surrenderred to Ulysses S. Grant. -
Period: to
1865-2003
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The Industrial Revolution
During the Industrial Revolution, inventors created new products that the public wanted and buisnesses made them in large quantities. Many big buisnesses grew such as coal mining, petroleum, railroad, and manufacturing companies. This was possible because of the Transcontinental Railroad (1869-1890), which made it possible to go across the nation -
The Spanish-American War
For economic and strategic reasons, Americans wanted to take over Spanish land in the Caribbean and in the Pacific. In 1895 Americans felt sympathy for the Cubans during their rebellion against Spain. On February 15 a ship, called Maine, blew up in the Havana Harbor. The U.S. thought that Spain was responsible and this started the war. -
The Aqusition of Hawaii
American missionaries went to Hawaii to convert the Hawaiians to Christianity. On July 6,1898, Congress annexed the Hawaiian Islands to the United States. Hawaii later became a state on August 21, 1959. -
The Panama Canal
The U.S wanted to buy a strip of land acoss the Isthmus of Panama to create the Panama Canal, but Columbia rejected it. The canal would provide easier access to the other side of the world. President Theodore Roosevelt secretly helped the Panamanians rebel against Columbia to establish an independent republic. In 1904, they signed a treaty saying that the U.S could have the strip of land to create a canal. -
World War I
The United States was in WWI from 1917-1918. The U.S. came into the War in 1917 when they declared war on Germany to help keep the world safe for democracy. This war is known as "The War to end all wars." -
Prohibition
Prohibition started in 1919 when the 18th amendment was ratified. It stated that to make, sell, or transport an alcoholic beverage was illegal. Because of Prohibition, people began making alcohoic beverages at home illegally. In illegal bars, called speakeasiesm, illegal drinks were sold. In 1933 Americans found that they did not like living "dry", so Congress passed the 21st amendment, which repealed Prohibition. -
The Great Depression and the New Deal
The Great Depression was a huge crash of the economy before World War ll. It was the worst and longest period of unemployment and failing business in the world. People in many different countries suffered greatly. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt passed laws, known as The New Deal, to help the poor and the U.S. economy. -
Pearl Harbor
The Japanese empire did not like U.S. influence in Asia.They attacked the U.S navy base on Pearl Harbor in Hawaii which brought the Americans into World War II. -
World War II
The day after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, the U.S. entered World War II by declaring war on Japan. On August 6, !945 the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan and another one on Nagasaki, Japan on August 9th. -
The Cold War
The Societ Union had control of the countries in Eastern Europe which convinced western countries that they were trying to spread communism throughout the world. The United States created an alliance with 11 other countries to defend against any Soviet attack. -
The Korean War
On June 25, 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea in order to convert all of Korea to communism. The UN drove North Korean forces o the Chinese border, but before they could be defeated, 200,000 Chinese troops joined the conflict. The fighting continued until an armistice was signed in July 1953. -
Vietnam War
In 1957 North Vietnam tried to take South Vietnam over communist rule. The U.S. sent Marines to South Vietnam in 1965 to help protect them from the North Vietnamese. By February 27, 1973 the U.S. got out of the war even though South Vietnam would be forced to follow communist rule. This was the longest war that the U.S. was involved. -
The Gulf War
In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait. The U.S responded by sending about 425,000 troops to help Kuwait in order to protect their access to oil. On January 16, 1991, the Iraqi troops were forced out of Kuwait. -
September 11,2001
On "9/11" nineteen Iraqi terrorists hijacked four United States planes traveling within the counrty. One plane crashed into the Pentagon, the U.S. Department of Defense Headquarters. two planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Passengers on the last plane tried to overpower the the terrorists and the plane crashed into an open field in Pennsylvania. Later, President Bush would declare war on Iraq. -
Operation Enduring Freedon (OEF)
In response to the terrorist attacks on 9/11, President Bush declared a "global war on terror". The U.S. attacked Afghanistan because they were protecting Osama bin Laden, the leader of the group, Al-Qaeda, that hijacked the US planes and caused "9/11." -
Operation Iarqi Freedom
Congress authorized an attack on Iraq. In January, President Bush had declared that Iran, Iraq, and North Korea were evildoers around the world because he believed they had weapons of mass destruction. This operation lasted until President Bush declared war on Iraq on March 19, 2003. -
Invasion of Iraq
