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United States Politics
A historical timeline of the United States political landscape 1784-2017. -
The American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America. -
The Constitution
When these principles are written down into a single or set of legal documents, those documents may be said to comprise a written constitution. -
Articles of Confederation
Agreement among the 13 founding states that legally established the United States of America as a confederation of sovereign states and served as its first constitution. -
Bill of Rights
10 Amendments they defined citizen's rights in relation to the newly established government under the constitution. -
The federalist party
They were very prominent during John Adams's presidency .After Thomas Jefferson was elected for his second term in 1804, they went declined greatly. After this, they faded away completely. -
The democrat and republican party
Thomas Jefferson was the leader of this party. In 1828, when Andrew Jackson was running for office, it was shortened to the Democratic Party and they developed the donkey as their symbol. -
Eli Whitney- The cotton gin
he cotton gin separated the seed from the cotton, which before had been done by hand. He had it patented in March 14, 1794 but it was not validated until 1807. -
The 11th Amendment
First amendment to the constitution after the Bill of Rights. Brought by private citizens against states and that states did not enjoy sovereign immunity from suits made by citizens of other states'. -
Census population of the 1800
The census population increases. It is now at 5.3 million -
John Adams
Played a leading role to ask Congress to declare independence and helped draft the Declaration of Independence. He is the father of John Quincy Adams the sixth president. -
Thomas Jefferson is elected president
In the election of 1801, Thomas Jefferson won the election by vowing to get rid of all federal taxes. He had tied with Aaron Burr, who became the Vice President, and the Supreme Court ruled that Jefferson had won. -
12th Amendment
he Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides the procedure for electing the President and Vice President. It replaced Article II, Section 1, Clause 3. -
War of 1812
The war of 1812 lasted from June 1812 to February 1815. It was fought between the United States of America and the United Kingdom, its North American colonies, and its Native American allies. -
Whig Party
The Whig Party was the opposition to the Democratic Party during the Jacksonian Era. Most groups that were against Jackson joined forces within this political party. As a result, it advocated a diverse range of ideals such as states' rights, industrialization, and internal improvemts, such as road building. They finally split over the issue of slavery around 1856. Some assimilated into the Democratic Party while others found their way into other minor parties that were later formed. -
Indian removal act
Signed into law by President Andrew Jackson, it was suppose to be voluntary, but states wanting to get the land the Indians occupied, put pressure on the Native American leaders to sign the Act. Several tribes did not leave peacefully and were forcibly removed. -
Opium Wars
Disputes over trade and diplomatic relations between China under the Qing Dynasty and the British Empire. -
Liberty party
A minor party which was only around to impact the election of 1844, the Liberty Party took away a presidential win for Henry Clay, Their main focus was on advocating the anti-slavery cause. They also opposed the annexation of Texas. However, by confirming a win for James Polk, they actually sped up the process of annexing Texas. -
Marx and Engles write The Communist Manifesto
he main idea of the book was that the working class would eventually revolt and take control of the means of production. -
Free Soil party
Made by antislavery members in the North, this party supported the abolition cause. Also, they thought that the government should help the community more with internal improvements and handouts, such as homesteads. They ended in 1854 when they joined the Republican party. -
The American Party
Their nomination of Millard Fillmore in the election of 1856 split the Republican party's votes, resulting in a win for the Democrats with James Buchanon. The people in this party were known as "nativists", because of their platform of restricting immigration as much as possible as well as their advocation of temperance. -
Commodore Perry Opens Up Japan
Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Japan from the US on a steamboat. This shocks the Japanese and they begin to realize what their isolation has done to them. It has made them unable to economically and militarily compete with the industrialized world. Opens up the eyes of the Japanese and soon their isolation is slightly lifted and industrialization begins. -
Republican party
The Republican Party was the other conservative parties successor of the other conservative parties that fell through, such as the Federalists and the Whigs. -
Sepoy Mutiny
The British East India Company begins to disrespect Hinduism and Islam, two key religions of the workers they have employed in India. This event occurred when it was discovered that the bullets used were greased with animal fat. This violated the laws of the religions and the workers rebelled in an attempt to gain more independence from Britain. This failed and Britain began to look over India more closely and made it a crown colony. -
Meiji Restoration
so known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868. -
Prohibition party
The Prohibition Party advocates temperance. They look for the complete banning of alcohol. Also, they have adopted many religiously influenced views such as anti-gay and abortion. The Prohibitionists are still strong advocators to this day. -
German Unification
Otto von Bismarck won Franco-Prussian War which allowed him to consolidate the German Catholic regions under Prussian control. He then crowned King William I as the new emperor of the region. -
Liberal republican party
Forming to oppose the corruption during Ulysses Grant's presidency, they promoted the cleansing of the administration. They were also against the Reconstruction that followed the Civil War. -
The Greenback labor party
Consisting of mainly farmers, this party believed that inflation can lead to better conditions in the economy. Also, they had programs to improve labor -
Berlin Confrence
European colonization and trade in Africa during the New Imperialism period, and coincided with Germany's sudden emergence as an imperial power. -
Mckinley shot
McKinley's second inauguration (March 4). He is shot (Sept. 6) by anarchist Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, N.Y., and later dies from his wounds (Sept. 14). He is succeeded by his vice president, Theodore Roosevelt. -
Panama canal zone
U.S. acquires Panama Canal Zone (treaty signed Nov. 17). Wright brothers make the first controlled, sustained flight in heavier-than-air aircraft at Kitty Hawk, N.C. (Dec. 17). -
Theodore Roosevelt's second inauguration
Theodore Roosevelt's second inauguration is on March 4 -
San Fran earthquake
San Francisco earthquake leaves 500 dead or missing and destroys about 4 sq mi of the city. -
William Taft becomes president
William Howard Taft is inaugurated as the 27th president . Mrs. Taft has 80 Japanese cherry trees planted along the banks of the Potomac River. -
Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated as the 28th president. Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, providing for the direct election of U.S. senators by popular vote rather than by the state legislatures -
World War 1 begins
World War I: U.S. enters World War I, declaring war on Germany and Austria-Hungary. -
Panama Canal opens
Panama Canal opens to traffic -
The Telephone distance
First long distance telephone service, between New York and San Francisco, is demonstrated -
Danish west indies
U.S. agrees to purchase Danish West Indies (Virgin Islands) for $25 million. Jeannette Rankin of Montana is the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives -
Wilson's Second inauguration
Wilson's second inauguration (March 5). First regular airmail service begins, with one round trip a day between Washington, DC, and New York (May 15). -
The influenza
Worldwide influenza epidemic strikes; by 1920, nearly 20 million are dead. In U.S., 500,000 perish. -
World War 1 ends
three years after conflict began in 1914. Armistice ending World War I is signed. -
League of nations
League of Nations meets for the first time; U.S. is not represented. Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor -
Warren Harding
Warren G. Harding is inaugurated as the 29th president. He signs resolution declaring peace with Austria and Germany -
Warren Harding dies
President Harding dies suddenly. He is succeeded by his vice president, Calvin Coolidge. -
Coolidge's second inauguration
Coolidge's second inauguration (March 4). Tennessee passes a law against the teaching of evolution in public schools -
Herbert Hoover 31st president
Herbert Hoover is inaugurated as the 31st president -
The great depression
Stock market crash precipitates the Great Depression -
The star spangled banner
The Star-Spangled Banner is adopted as the national anthem -
Hattie Caraway
Hattie Wyatt Caraway of Arkansas is the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate, to fill a vacancy caused by the death of her husband. She is reelected in 1932 and 1938. -
Amelia Earhart
Amelia Earhart completes first solo nonstop transatlantic flight by a woman. -
20th Amendment
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 -
World war 2
U.S. declares its neutrality in European conflict -
The atomic bomb
U.S. drops atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan -
The United Nations
United Nations is established -
The phillipines
The Philippines, which had been ceded to the U.S. by Spain at the end of the Spanish-American War, becomes an independent republic -
Presidential succession act
Presidential Succession Act is signed into law by President Truman -
C.I.A
Central Intelligence Agency is established. -
Marshall Plan
Congress passes foreign aid bill including the Marshall Plan, which provides for European postwar recovery -
Pearl harbor
Japan attacks Hawaii, U.S declares war on Japan. -
N.A.T.O
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is established -
The Korean War
Korean War: Cold war conflict between Communist and non-Communist forces on Korean Peninsula. North Korean communists invade South Kore -
22nd Amendment
Twenty-Second Amendment to the Constitution is ratified, limiting the president to two terms -
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico becomes a U.S. commonwealth -
Dwight Eisenhower
Dwight Eisenhower is inaugurated as the 34th president -
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed for passing secret information about U.S. atomic weaponry to the Soviets -
Brown vs Board of ed.
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kans.: Landmark Supreme Court decision declares that racial segregation in schools is unconstitutional -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam war begins -
Lt. Col. John Glenn
Lt. Col. John Glenn becomes first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth -
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 -
President Kennedy dies
President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas. -
The civil rights act
President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act -
Torpedo boats attack U.S
Vietnamese torpedo boats allegedly attack U.S. destroyer in Gulf of Tonkin off the coast of North Vietnam -
North Vietnam raids
U.S. planes begin bombing raids of North Vietnam -
My lai massacre
American soldiers kill 300 Vietnamese villagers in My Lai massacre -
Columbine shooting
The Columbine High School massacre was a school shooting that occurred on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County in the American state of Colorado. -
Y2K
After many minor computer errors and annoyences, the Y2K scare as been squashed. -
Bush wins presidency
Bush formally accepts the presidency, having won a slim majority in the electoral college but not a majority of the popular vote -
9/11
Two hijacked jetliners ram twin towers of World Trade Center in worst terrorist attack against U.S.; a third hijacked plane flies into the Pentagon, and a fourth crashes in rural Pennsylvania. More than 3,000 people die in the attacks -
U.S. and Britain attack
U.S. and Britain launch air attacks against targets in Afghanistan after Taliban government fails to hand over Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden, the suspected mastermind behind the Sept. 11 attacks -
The new cabinet
President Bush signs legislation creating a new cabinet department of Homeland Security. (Nov. 25). -
Space shuttle Colombia explodes
Space shuttle Columbia explodes upon reentry into Earth's atmosphere, killing all seven astronauts on board -
The tax cut bill
President Bush signs $350 billion tax-cut bill -
Last fight of Concorde
The Concorde makes its last commercial flight, bringing the era of airliner supersonic travel to a close. -
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein, former President of Iraq, is captured in Tikrit by the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. -
Indian Ocean Earthquake & Tsunami
On Sunday, December 26, 2004, a level 9 earthquake insued in the Indian Ocean, thus snowballing to create a record-shattering tsunami that claimed the lives of over 200,000 people. -
Pope John Paul II dies
Over 4 million people travel to the Vatican to mourn him. He was the youngest pope elected at 58 years of age, and one of the longest reining pontifs at 25 years of service. -
iPhone
Apple Inc.'s CEO and founder, Steve Jobs, announces the first generation iPhone -
Terrorists are Caught Attempting to Blow Up JFK Airport
Terrorsts are caught trying to explode a fuel tank in JFK Airport. -
Stock Markets Plung
Stock markets around the world plunge amid growing fears of a U.S. recession, fueled by the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis. -
Fidel Castro Resigns
Fidel Castro announces his resignation as President of Cuba, effective February 24 -
Obama elected president
United States presidential election, 2008: Democratic U. S. Senator Barack Obama is elected the 44th President of the United States, and becomes the first African-American President-elect -
Barack Obama is Inaugurated into Office
Barack Obama is inaugurated into office. He is the first black president of the United States of America. -
Australian Brushfires
The deadliest bushfires in Australian history begin; they kill 173, injure 500 more, and leave 7,500 homeless. The fires come after Melbourne records the highest-ever temperature (46.4 °C, 115 °F) of any capital city in Australia. The majority of the fires are ignited by either fallen or clashing power lines or deliberately lit. -
Osama Bin Laden was Killed by Navy Seals
U.S. President Barack Obama announces that Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant group Al-Qaeda, has been killed on May 2, 2011 during an American military operation in Pakistan -
Queen Elizabeth Dimond Jubilee
The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II marks the 60th anniversary of her accession to the thrones of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and the 60th anniversary of her becoming Head of the Commonwealth -
Benghazi Terrorist Attacks
A series of terrorist attacks are directed against United States diplomatic missions worldwide, as well as diplomatic missions of Germany, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In the US, opinions are divided over whether the attacks are a reaction to a YouTube trailer for the film Innocence of Muslims. In Libya, among the dead is US ambassador J. Christopher Stevens -
Pope Benedict XVI Resigns
Benedict XVI resigns as pope, becoming the first to do so since Gregory XII in 1415, and the first to do so voluntarily since Celestine V in 1294 -
Edward Snowden Leaks U.S. Secrets
American Edward Snowden discloses operations engaged in by a U.S. government mass surveillance program to news publications and flees the country, later being granted temporary asylum in Russia -
MH370 Goes Missing
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, a Boeing 777 airliner en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur, disappears over the Gulf of Thailand with 239 people on board. The aircraft is presumed to have crashed into the Indian Ocean
