-
George Washington Elected President
-
Judiciary Act of 1789
Established the Supreme Court -
Period: to
The Early Republic (1789-1802)
-
French Revolution
Federalists oppose it, Anti-Federalists support (U.S. Neutral) -
Rhode Island becomes 9th state to officially ratify the Constitution
-
Alexander Hamilton creates Bank of the United States (opposed by Jefferson)
-
All states unanimously ratify the Bill of Rights
-
Proclamation of American Neutrality
keeps America neutral after France declares war on Britain, Spain, and Holland (example of U.S. foreign policy) -
Whiskey Rebellion
1st time U.S. Government uses Federal troops to subdue domestic issues (Farmers did not like new excise taxes) -
Treaty of Greenville
U.S. cheaply pays 12 Native American tribes for Ohio territory -
Pinckney Treaty
Spain gives U.S. navigation rights on Mississippi River, New Orleans -
John Adams (Federalist) defeats Thomas Jefferson (Republican) in first contested Presidential Election; John Adams (Federalist) defeats Thomas Jefferson (Republican) in first contested Presidential Election;
Jefferson becomes Vice President -
XYZ Affair
French try to extort U.S. for diplomatic meetings – public wants war -
Alien & Sedition Acts
expands Gov’t power, limit dissent and weakening of Gov’t, ruled unconstitutional -
Kentucky & Virginia Resolutions
increase state rights over Federal rights, written by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison -
2nd Great Awakening
major religious reform movement; helps increase abolition -
Thomas Jefferson defeats John Adams (controversy); Aaron Burr is VP
-
Alexander Hamilton suggests U.S. capital moves to Washington, D.C.
-
John Marshall becomes first chief justice of the Supreme Court -Judiciary Act/Midnight Judges
-
Marbury vs. Madison establishes Judicial Review
-
Louisana Purchase
not known to Jefferson if it was constitutional to annex land, Congress approves purchase from France, doubles the size of U.S. -
Period: to
Westward Expansion and Strained Neutrality (1803-1811)
-
Embargo Act
placed by Jefferson on Britain/France; fails – hurts U.S. economy -
James Madison elected President
-
Tecumseh establishes union of Native Americans to resist westward movement of U.S.
-
William Henry Harrison leads attack on Tecumseh at Battle of Tippecanoe
-
Period: to
War of 1812 (1812-1815)
-
-Treat of Ghent ends War of 1812
-
Underground Railroad provides Northern escape for slaves
-
James Monroe elected 5th President
-
Period: to
Nationalism, Sectionalism, and Economic Expansion (1816-1827)
-
Erie Canal– construction begins (connects Great Lakes to Atlantic Ocean)
-
McCulloch vs. Maryland – ruling confirms Congresses’ right to found the 2nd Bank of the United States
-
Spain cedes Florida to the U.S.
-
Missouri Compromise – sets dividing line between free and slaves states at latitude 36’30’
-
Stephen F. Austin establishes first U.S. Settlement in Texas
-
Monroe Doctrine– claims western hemisphere closed to European intervention
-
Gibbons vs. Ogden – establishes federal control of interstate commerce
-
Thomas Jefferson and John Adams die on same day
-
Andrew Jackson elected 7th President
-
Period: to
Age of Jackson (1828-1849)
-
First Jim Crow Laws established (legal segregation)
-
Manifest Destiny – U.S. destiny and duty to expand and conquer the west
-
William Lloyd Garrison – wants immediate emancipation (he was white)
-
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
ends Mexican War, Mexico cedes Texas and all land north of the Rio Grande to U.S. (creates modern border of the U.S. with -
Fugitive Slave Act
illegal to help slaves escape -
Period: to
Antebellum Period (pre-civil war) (1850-1859)
-
Harriet Beecher Stowe publishes Uncle Tom’s Cabin
-
“Bleeding Kansas”
John Brown leads antislavery massacre at Pottawatomie Creek, fight over slavery in Kansas -
Dred Scott vs. Sanford
ruling effectively nullifies Missouri Compromise, declares that slaves are property – cannot sue. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Stephen Douglas wins Illinois Senate seat. Lincoln a household name -
Abraham Lincoln elected 16th President;
-
Period: to
The Civil War (1860-1865)
-
Confederate States formed , Jefferson Davis – 1st and only President
-
Fort Sumter
confederates attack Union – war starts -
Homestead Act
160 acres to each farmer willing to cultivate land in West -
Battle of Antietam
bloodiest battle of the Civil War -
Battle of Gettysburg
turning point of Civil War; South never recovers -
Emancipation Proclamation
frees slaves in only Confederate states; foreign diplomacy! -
Abraham Lincoln assassinated by John Wilkes Booth; Andrew Johnson now President
-
South establishes Black Codes– limits rights of freed blacks
-
Period: to
Reconstruction (1865-1877)
-
Civil Rights Act of 1866
-
Tenure of Office Act– used to impeach Andrew Johnson (said he had violated it)
-
U.S. purchase Alaska from Russia
-
Transcontinental Railroad– connects the coasts of the United States; greatest transportation achievement
-
15th Amendment – grants protection of voting rights to black males
-
William “Boss” Tweed – greatest example of a political machine
-
Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone
-
Period: to
The Gilded Age (1878-1900)
-
Susan B. Anthony – gets women’s suffrage vote to Congress
-
Thomas Edison creates the electric light
-
Booker T. Washington – gradual approach to equal rights – prove yourself W.E.B Dubois – changes in civil rights now; founds the NAACP
-
Chinese Exclusion Act – bans Chinese immigration for 10 years
-
John D. Rockefeller – Standard Oil Trust; Andrew Carnegie – Steel
-
Dawes Severalty Act – denies tribal rights, advances forced assimilation, opens lands to whites
-
President James Garfield assassinated
-
Open Door Policy – U.S. attempt to gain foothold in Chinese markets
-
Sherman Antitrust Act – outlaws monopolies, price-fixing, other trade restraints
-
President McKinley assassinated, Teddy Roosevelt now 26th President
-
Period: to
Progressive Era – (1901-1914)
-
Roosevelt Corollary to Monroe Doctrine – increases U.S. presence in Latin America
-
Muckraker – writers who expose big business corruption
-
WW1
bloodiest war in world history to date, aka “The Great War,” “The War to End All Wars” -
16th Amendment – establishment of income tax , 17th Amend.– direct election of senators
-
World War I begins in Europe
-
German U-Boat sinks British passenger liner Lusitania, Americans killed on board
-
Period: to
U.S. Involvement in World War I (1915-1919)
-
Germany continues unrestricted submarine warfare – gets warning from U.S.
-
Selective Service Act – establishes the draft
-
18th Amendment– outlaws purchase, sale, and transport of alcohol
-
19th Amendment – women’s suffrage (right to vote)
-
Period: to
The Roaring Twenties (1920-1929)
-
Dawes Plan – ease war reparations on Germany
-
Teapot Dome Scandal – exposes massive corruption in Harding Administration
-
Scopes Monkey Trial– popularizes debate over teaching evolution in schools – outlawed
-
Stock Market Crash– ‘Black Tuesday’ – launches Great Depression
-
Period: to
Great Depression and New Deal (1930-1939)
-
Bonus Army (WWI vets) march on Washington demanding compensation
-
Franklin Delano Roosevelt elected President
-
Fireside Chats – FDR address public on radio – continues to 1944 – gives public hope
-
U.S. unemployment rate reaches 25%
-
shifts presidential inaugurations from March to January
-
FDR elected for unprecedented 3rd Term
-
Lend-Lease Act – provides U.S. loan aid to Britain, USSR & allied powers
-
Period: to
World War II – (1940-1945)
-
Propaganda– motivate U.S. citizens to support war efforts
-
Interment of Japanese Americans– imprisonment of Japanese in California
-
United Nations created with 51 founding nations
-
Nuremberg Trials – prosecute Nazi war criminals Baby Boom, Economic Prosperity,
-
“Iron Curtain” – describes division of Communist Eastern Europe from Western Europe
-
Period: to
The Cold War (1946-1960)
-
Harry Truman orders desegregation of military
-
Berlin Blockade – USSR blocks all aid into West Berlin; Berlin Airlift – U.S. drops food and supplies by air to West Berlin
-
Korean war begins ; U.S. aids South Korea against North Korea; Peace Treaty in 1953
-
Communist Fear in U.S. – Julius and Ethel Rosenberg executed for espionage;
-
Brown vs. Board of Education
-
Jonas Salk – creates polio vaccine
-
1st televised Presidential debate – JFK vs. Nixon (JFK wins); JFK president 1960
-
Lunch Counter “Sit-Ins” spark waves of civil rights protest; SCLC created by MLK, Jr.
-
Bay of Pigs– failed invasion of Cuba by U.S.
-
Berlin Wall– divides East and West Berlin
-
Period: to
Civil Rights, Nixon, and Vietnam (1961-1973)
-
Cuban Missile Crisis
-
Lee Harvey Oswald assassinates JFK in Dallas, TX
-
“I have a dream” speech given by MLK – speech for civil rights
-
Civil Rights Act of 1964 – bans discrimination in education, employment, & public places
-
James Earl Ray assassinated MLK, Jr. – hurts Civil Rights movement
-
Sirhan Sirhan assassinated Robert Kennedy, JFK’s brother; Richard Nixon voted President
-
Roe vs. Wade – legalizes abortion (up to 3 months)
-
U.S. Energy Crisis– fuel shortage in U.S. due to OPEC raising prices
-
U.S. withdraws from Vietnam; North Vietnam overtakes South after departure
-
Period: to
1974 – Present
-
Jimmy Carter elected President
-
Camp David Accords – Carter negotiates peace between Egypt and Israel
-
Three Mile Island – nuclear power accident causes concern of nuclear safety
-
Ronald Reagan elected 40th President
-
Iran releases U.S. embassy hostages released after 444 days in captivity.
-
Strategic Defense Initiative (a.k.a. STAR WARS) – space based missile defense proposed
-
Space Shuttle Challenger explodes on takeoff, crew killed; space program never the same
-
U.S. bombs Libya for supporting Palestinians
-
Osama Bin Laden founds Islamist group Al Qaeda
-
Bill Clinton President; appoints Janet Reno first female attorney general
-
Hiram Revels– first black senator – Mississippi