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United States politics
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Constitution Ratified
The Constitution of the United States was ratified; New York City was chosen by the Congress to be the temporary capital -
George Washington elected
George Washington is unanimously elected president of the United States in a vote by state electors. Shaped the chief executive's duties. He refused to run for a third term. -
Bill of rights ratified
Following ratification by the state of Virginia, the first 10 amendments to the U.S. Constitution, known collectively as the Bill of Rights, become the law of the land. The amendments were designed to protect the basic rights of U.S. citizens. -
Cotton gin
Inventor Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin, a machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by greatly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber. -
John Adams inaugurated
John Adams is inaugurated as the second president in Philadelphia. Adams was the first President to live in the White House. Adams had a tough job filling Washington's shoes. His advocacy of the Alien and Sedition Acts allowed him to silence critics, but made him unpopular. -
Thomas Jefferson inaugurated
Thomas Jefferson is inaugurated as the third president in Washington, DC. Considered the most brilliant President, he wrote the Declaration of Independence, founded the University of Virginia, and was an architect, a farmer, and a scientist. -
Marbury v. Madison
Landmark United States Supreme Court case in which the Court formed the basis for the exercise of judicial review in the United States under Article III of the Constitution. The decision greatly expanded the power of the Court by establishing its right to overturn acts of Congress, a power not explicitly granted by the Constitution. -
Lewis and Clark
Lewis and Clark set out from St. Louis, Mo., on expedition to explore the West and find a route to the Pacific Ocean. -
James Madison inaugurated
James Madison is inaugurated as the fourth president. Madison is considered the father of the Bill of Rights. Madison presided over the War of 1812 with Britain, during which the White House was burned. The war ended in a draw. -
War of 1812
Military conflict that lasted from June 1812 to February 1815, fought between the United States of America and the United Kingdom, its North American colonies, and its Native American allies. Historians in the United States and Canada see it as a war in its own right, but the British often see it as a minor theatre of the Napoleonic Wars. -
James Monroe inaugurated
James Monroe is inaugurated as the fifth president. Monroe lived out his retirement in poverty. His term is called the "Era of Good Feeling" because there was little partisan fighting. He formulated the Monroe Doctrine, which declared the Americas off-limits to European meddling. -
John Quincy Adams inaugurated
John Quincy Adams is inaugurated as the sixth president. Accused of winning the White House through corruption, he was plagued by accusations of misdeeds throughout his presidency. After his presidency, Adams served nine terms in the House of Representatives, until his death in 1848. -
Andrew Jackson inaugurated
Andrew Jackson is inaugurated as seventh president. Though he was a rich planter, Jackson was considered the common people's friend. Dubbed "Old Hickory" because he was so tough, Jackson greatly expanded the powers of the Presidency. -
Indian Removal Act
President Jackson signs the Indian Removal Act, which authorizes the forced removal of Native Americans living in the eastern part of the country to lands west of the Mississippi River. By the late 1830s the Jackson administration has relocated nearly 50,000 Native Americans. -
Battle of the Alamo
Texas declared its independence from Mexico; the Battle of the Alamo took place with all Texan defenders killed. Desire for revenge, the Texans defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the revolution. -
Martin Van Buren inauguration
Martin Van Buren is inaugurated as the eighth president. Van Buren was the first President to be born an American citizen, rather than a British subject. Van Buren's Presidency was marred by an economic depression that led to bank failures and food riots. He was easily defeated for reelection. -
William Henry Harrison inaugurated
William Henry Harrison is inaugurated as the ninth president. Harrison delivered a marathon inaugural speech during which he caught a cold. He died a month later. Harrison was the first President to die in office and he served the briefest term and is succeeded in office by his vice president, John Tyler. -
John Tyler succeeds President Harrison
William Henry Harrison dies one month later (April 4) and is succeeded in office by his vice president, John Tyler. Tyler had 15 children, more than any President. Tyler was expected to be a passive "acting President" while he finished Harrison's term. But he refused to be passive. He made enemies in Congress and was the first President to be threatened with impeachment. The effort failed. -
James K. Polk inaugurated
James Polk is inaugurated as the 11th president. Polk is the only President to have served as Speaker of the House. Polk was the first "dark horse" or little-known nominee to become President. He presided over the Mexican War, which added Texas, California, and other territory to the U.S. -
California Gold Rush
The effects of the Gold Rush were substantial. San Francisco grew from a small settlement of about 200 residents in 1846 to a boomtown of about 36,000 by 1852. Roads, churches, schools and other towns were built throughout California. In 1849 a state constitution was written. The new constitution was adopted by referendum vote, and the future state's interim first governor and legislature were chosen. In September, 1850, California became a state as part of the Compromise of 1850. -
Zachary Taylor inaugurated
Zachary Taylor is inaugurated as the 12th president. Taylor won fame as a general in the Mexican War. His soldiers called him "Old Rough and Ready." Taylor threatened to use force to keep the South from leaving the Union. After his death, a compromise allowed slavery to continue in the South. -
Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery.
Tubman escaped and subsequently made some thirteen missions to rescue approximately seventy enslaved families and friends, using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. She later helped abolitionist John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harpers Ferry, and in the post-war era was an active participant in the struggle for women's suffrage. -
Millard Former succeeds President Taylor
President Taylor dies (July 9) and is succeeded by his vice president, Millard Fillmore. Fillmore approved the Compromise of 1850, allowing slavery in the South. But neither North nor South was happy with it, and Fillmore was blamed for the law's failure. In 1856, Fillmore ran for President on the anti-immigrant Know-Nothing Party ticket. -
Compromise of 1850
package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850, which defused a four-year political confrontation between slave and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican–American War -
Franklin Pierce inaugurated
Franklin Pierce is inaugurated as the 14th president. Pierce's wife hated Washington, D.C., so much, that she fainted when she found out he had been nominated for President. Pierce supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which gutted the Compromise of 1850. -
James Buchanan inaugurated
James Buchanan is inaugurated as the 15th president. Buchanan was the only bachelor to ever serve in the White House. Buchanan tried in vain to find a compromise to keep the South from seceding from the Union, but failed. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
highly controversial case that intensified the national debate over slavery. The case involved Dred Scott, a slave, who was taken from a slave state to a free territory. Scott filed a lawsuit claiming that because he had lived on free soil he was entitled to his freedom. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney further inflamed antislavery forces by declaring that Congress had no right to ban slavery from U.S. territories. -
President Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln is elected president. Lincoln led the Union into the Civil War to preserve the nation and end slavery. He was assassinated just five days after the Confederate armies surrendered. Polls show that Lincoln is the most admired President. -
Confederate States of America
Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana secede (Jan.). Confederate States of America is established (Feb. 8). Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederacy (Feb. 9). Texas secedes (March 2). Abraham Lincoln is inaugurated as the 16th president (March 4). -
Civil War Begins
Conflict between the North (the Union) and the South (the Confederacy) over the expansion of slavery into western states. Confederates attack Ft. Sumter in Charleston, S.C., marking the start of the war. -
Gettysburg Adress
Speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, one of the best-known in American history. It was delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, four and a half months after the Union armies defeated those of the Confederacy at the Battle of Gettysburg. -
End of Civil War
Gen. Ulysses S. Grant captures Richmond, Va., the capital of the Confederacy. Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Va. -
Lincoln Assasinated
Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Washington, DC, and is succeeded by his vice president, Andrew Johnson. -
Andrew johnson succeeds Lincoln
Lincoln is assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in Washington, DC, and is succeeded by his vice president, Andrew Johnson. Johnson found himself in bitter battles with Congress over Reconstruction. He was impeached and tried by the Senate, but was acquitted by one vote. Johnson was the only southern senator to stay loyal to the Union. -
Ulysses S. Grant inaugurated
Ulysses S. Grant is inaugurated as the 18th president. Grant was born Hiram Ulysses Grant, but an error on his application to West Point changed his name to Ulysses Simpson Grant. He liked the initials so much that he kept the name. Grant was the top Union military hero of the Civil War. His two terms were marred by scandals. -
Rutherford B. Hayes inaugurated
Rutherford B. Hayes is inaugurated as the 19th president. Hayes is one of only three Presidents to lose the popular vote but win the office. He won the election by one electoral vote. Hayes's wife, Lucy, was the first First Lady to graduate from college. -
James A. Garfield unaugurated
James A. Garfield is inaugurated as the 20th president. Garfield set out to reform the "spoils system" by which politicians gave their friends low-level political offices. He was assassinated by a disappointed office seeker. Garfield was the first left-handed President. -
Grover Cleveland inaugurated
Grover Cleveland is inaugurated as the 22nd president. Cleveland is the only President to be elected to two non consecutive terms. Cleveland expanded the Civil Service and ended wasteful government programs. But an economic depression wrecked his second term. -
Benjamin Harrison inaugurated
Benjamin Harrison is inaugurated as the 23rd president. Harrison was caught between reformers who were fighting the spoils system and those who wanted to continue it, and was defeated after one term. Harrison's grandfather was President William Henry Harrison. -
NAWSA
National American Woman Suffrage Association is founded, with Elizabeth Cady Stanton as president. It was created by the merger of two existing organizations, the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA) and the American Woman Suffrage Association (AWSA). -
Plessy vs. Ferguson
Landmark Supreme Court decision holds that racial segregation is constitutional, paving the way for the repressive Jim Crow laws in the South. -
William McKinley inaugurated
William McKinley is inaugurated as the 25th president. McKinley led the U.S. during the Spanish-American War. The U.S. won several important overseas colonies. Only moments after handing a girl his "lucky" red carnation, McKinley was assassinated. -
Spanish American War
USS Maine is blown up in Havana harbor, prompting U.S. to declare war on Spain. Treaty of Paris is signed, ending the Spanish-American War (Dec. 10); Spain gives up control of Cuba, which becomes an independent republic, and cedes Puerto Rico, Guam, and (for $20 million) the Philippines to the U.S. -
Theodore Roosevelt's second inauguration
Roosevelt was one of the most activist Presidents. His many accomplishments included the building of the Panama Canal, cracking down on business monopolies, and creating many national parks. Roosevelt was the first President to visit a foreign country while in office. -
William Howard Taft inaugurated
William Howard Taft is inaugurated as the 27th president. Mrs. Taft has 80 Japanese cherry trees planted along the banks of the Potomac River. Taft continued many of Roosevelt's policies. A conservative, he alienated the progressive wing of his party and lost reelection. Taft is the only President who became a Supreme Court Justice. -
Woodrow Wilson inaugurated
Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated as the 28th president. After initially opposing World War I (1914-1918), Wilson led the U.S. into the war and drafted the peace plan that ended it. Wilson then fought to create the League of Nations, the forerunner of the United Nations. Wilson was the first President to hold a news conference. -
WW1
World War I: U.S. enters World War I, declaring war on Germany and Austria-Hungary three years after conflict began in 1914. Armistice ending World War I is signed on Nov. 11, 1918 -
Amendments Ratified
Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor. It is later repealed by the Twenty-First Amendment in 1933. Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, granting women the right to vote on August 18th, 1920 -
Warren G. Harding inaugurated
Warren G. Harding is inaugurated as the 29th president. Harding died in office, just as massive corruption in the Teapot Dome scandal was about to become public. Harding's election was the first in which women voted. -
Calvin Coolidge succeeds President Harding
President Harding dies suddenly. He is succeeded by his vice president, Calvin Coolidge. Coolidge's term was marked by economic prosperity. However, he ignored signs that the stock market was likely to collapse. Coolidge was known as "Silent Cal." Once a reporter said to him, "I bet my editor I could get more than two words out of you." Coolidge replied: "You lose." -
Herbert Hoover inaugurated
Herbert Hoover is inaugurated as the 31st president. The stock market crashed a few months into Hoover's term. The Great Depression that followed was widely and some say unfairly blamed on Hoover. Hoover organized relief efforts in Europe after both World Wars. -
Lame duck amendment ratified
Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution, sometimes called the “Lame Duck Amendment,” is ratified, moving the president's inauguration date from March 4 to Jan. 20 -
Franklin Roosevelt inaugurated
Franklin Roosevelt is inaugurated as the 32nd president. Roosevelt led the nation during the Great Depression of the 1930s and to victory in World War II (1941–1945). He also greatly expanded the size and role of the federal government through his New Deal social programs. Roosevelt is the only President elected four times. -
Social Security
Social Security Act was passed; the Bureau of Investigation became the Federal Bureau of Investigation led by J. Edgar Hoover -
Pearl Harbor
The attack on pearl harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory. The attack led to the United States' entry into World War II. -
WW2
Japan attacks Hawaii, Guam, and the Philippines. U.S. declares war on Japan. Germany and Italy declare war on the United States; U.S. reciprocates by declaring war on both countries. Allies invade North Africa and Italy. Allies invade France on D-Day. President Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin meet at Yalta in the USSR to discuss postwar occupation of Germany. Germany surrenders unconditionally. -
Harry Truman succeeds President Roosevelt
President Roosevelt dies of a stroke (April 12) and is succeeded by his vice president, Harry Truman. Truman made the fateful decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan. World War II ended days later. Truman also led the U.S. during the Korean War. On his desk, Truman had a plaque that said "The Buck Stops Here." -
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
U.S. drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan. U.S. drops atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan. Japan agrees to unconditional surrender. Japanese envoys sign surrender terms aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo harbor -
United Nations is established
As World War II drew to a close, the Senate ratified the United Nations Charter by 89-2. Its approval signaled a sea change in U.S. involvement in world affairs. -
Truman Doctrine
American foreign policy created to counter Soviet geopolitical spread during the Cold War. Truman pledged to contain Soviet threats to Greece and Turkey. -
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency was established; the U.S. established a policy of aid for countries threatened by Communism, known as the Truman Doctrine; the Cold War with the Soviet Union began -
Presidential Succession Act
Presidential Succession Act is signed into law by President Truman. Establishes the line of succession to the powers and duties of the office of President of the United States in the event that neither a President nor Vice President is able to "discharge the powers and duties of the office". -
Korean War
Cold war conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces on Korean Peninsula. North Korean communists invade South Korea. President Truman, without the approval of Congress, commits American troops to battle -
First live television
President Truman spoke in the first live television broadcast, coast-to-coast. -
Dwight Eisenhower inaugurated
Dwight Eisenhower is inaugurated as the 34th president. A former World War II general and hero, Eisenhower helped end the Korean War and steered a moderate course during the Cold War. One of America's most famous soldiers, "Ike" had wanted to go to the Naval Academy instead of West Point. He was turned down for being too old. -
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka
Invalidated racial segregation in schools and led to the unraveling of de jure segregation in all areas of public life. In the unanimous decision spearheaded by Chief Justice Earl Warren, the Court invalidated the Plessy ruling, declaring “in the field of public education, the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place” and contending that “separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” -
Vietnam War
Prolonged conflict between Communist forces of North Vietnam, backed by China and the USSR, and non-Communist forces of South Vietnam, backed by the United States. President Truman authorizes $15 million in economic and military aid to the French, who are fighting to retain control of French Indochina, including Vietnam. As part of the aid package, Truman also sends 35 military advisers -
John F. Kennedy inaugurated
John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as the 35th president. n 1962, the U.S. and the Soviet Union hovered on the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Kennedy eventually forced the Soviets to back down. He was assassinated in the third year of his term. Kennedy is the only Roman Catholic to become President. -
I have a Dream Speech
Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech before a crowd of 200,000 during the civil rights march on Washington, DC. -
Lyndon B. Johnson succeeds President Kennedy
President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Tex. (Nov. 22). He is succeeded in office by his vice president, Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson passed sweeping antipoverty and civil rights programs. However, he also involved the U.S. in the unpopular Vietnam War. Antiwar protests caused him to drop a reelection bid. Johnson was sworn into office on an airplane after the Kennedy assassination. -
Civil Rights Act
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act. landmark civil rights and US labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. -
Richard Nixon inaugurated
Richard Nixon is inaugurated as the 37th president. During Nixon's first term, he improved relations with the Soviet Union and China and wound down the Vietnam War. But the Watergate scandal forced Nixon to resign before Congress could impeach him. Nixon is the only U.S. President in history to resign his office. -
Man walks on the moon
Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin, Jr., become the first men to land on the Moon. Armstrong is ready to plant the first human foot on another world. With more than half a billion people watching on television, he climbs down the ladder and proclaims: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." -
Watergate Scandal
Five employees of President Richard Nixon were caught breaking into the Democratic headquarters in Washington, D. C. -
Roe v. Wade
The Supreme Court legalized abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy in the Roe v. Wade case. The Court ruled 7–2 that a right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion -
Gerald Ford succeeds President Nixon
Nixon resigns; he is succeeded in office by his vice president, Gerald Ford. Ford became Vice President after Nixon's Vice President resigned in disgrace, and President after Nixon resigned. His pardon of Nixon was unpopular, probably costing him reelection. Ford is the only President never elected President or Vice President. -
Jimmy Carter inaugurated
Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as the 39th president. Carter had success promoting Middle East peace. But soaring oil prices, high inflation, and the Iran hostage crisis made him look weak and ineffectual. Since leaving office, Carter has traveled the world doing charity work. -
Ronald Reagan inaugurated
Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as the 40th president. Reagan is credited with reviving national pride after the turmoil of the 1960s and 1970s. He enjoyed great popularity, though his conservative policies were controversial. Reagan is the only President to survive after being wounded by a would-be assassin. -
George H. W. Bush inaugurated
George H. W. Bush is inaugurated as the 41st president. During Bush's term, the Soviet Union collapsed and the Cold War ended. He also led the U.S. in the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq. But economic troubles at home cost him his reelection bid. Bush was the first sitting Vice President to be elected President since Martin Van Buren. -
Bill Clinton inaugurated
Bill Clinton is inaugurated as the 42nd president. Clinton achieved goals such as passage of the NAFTA trade agreement and cuts in the budget deficit. But his popularity was uneven and his second term was marred by scandal. When he was 16, Clinton met President Kennedy at the White House. The experience inspired his interest in politics. -
Terrorist attack on World trade center
A bomb exploded in the basement of the World Trade Center, killing 6 people, injuring 1,000 and causing more than $500 million in damages. When a truck bomb detonated below the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City. The 1,336 pounds urea nitrate–hydrogen gas enhanced device was intended to send the North Tower crashing into the South Tower -
George W. Bush inaugurated
George W. Bush is inaugurated as the 43rd president. Just eight months after being sworn in, President Bush had to unite a mournful country after the September 11th terrorist attacks. A self-proclaimed wartime commander-in-chief, President Bush, like his father, led the United States into war against Iraq. Before focusing on national politics, George Bush was the managing partner and part owner of the Texas Rangers baseball team from 1989-1998. -
September 11, 2001
Four passenger aircraft were hijacked, two crashed into the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon and the fourth in a field in Pennsylvania. 3,025 people were killed. The U. S. led massive air strikes at targets in Afghanistan to help defeat the Taliban and to find Osama Bin Laden, who was suspected of being responsible for the attacks on the U. S. -
Iraq war
The Iraq War was a protracted armed conflict that began in 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a United States-led coalition that toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. -
Barack Obama is officially sworn in as United States president
On this date, Barack Obama is officially sworn in as the United States 44th president. Obama is also the United States first African American president.
