-
Oct 12, 1492
The Discovery of America
Columbus discovers the American continent, but believes it is India. -
Jamestown
The colony of Jamestown, located in present-day Virginia, is founded. It is one of, if not the first, successful colony in America by Britain. -
Mayflower Contract
The Mayflower Contract is written and signed by the Pilgrims and Strangers on the Mayflower ship. -
First Thanksgiving
-
Period: to
The French and Indian War (1754-1763)
The French and Indian wars, fought by Britain and her American colonies against the French colonies and the Indians who were friendly to the French cause, brought Britain deeper in debt. This led Britain to tax the colonies more, setting the groundwork for the Revolutionary War. -
The Boston Teaparty
Angered at the tea tax, American rebels dressed as Indians dump tea from British merchant ships into the bay. -
The Battle of Lexington and Concord
The "first battle" of the American Revolutionary war, fought on the village greens of Lexington and Concord. The first shot in this battle is commonly known as "the shot heard 'round the world." -
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was ratified on July 2 1776; the first people to sign it (including John Hancock) signed it on July 4; and the rest of the signers signed it early August of the same year. -
Period: to
Battle of Yorktown
A battle fought during the American Revolutionary War -
Period: to
The Constitution Convention
Originally a convention to rewrite the failing Articles of Confederation, this convention debated and signed the US Constitution, with James Madison (later to be the 4th US president) doing the majority of the writing of the document. -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
The cotton gin, a machine that separated the cotton "fluff" from the seeds, is invented. It can do the job way faster than any slave can. Unfortunately, this also means that plantation masters can plant more cotton, meaning more slaves are needed.
It is patented the following year. -
The Alien and Sedition Acts
Adopted by Congress -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was a purchase of land by the US congress under Thomas Jefferson that nearly doubled the size of the US. -
Electric Lights
The electric light was invented in 1809. -
Period: to
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was fought between the USA and the British Empire. The USA may have been it's own nation, but Britain wasn't treating it like one. The war ended in a stalemate, but it did help prove to the world that the USA, a young nation founded on Thomas Jefferson's words "we hold these truths to be self-evident," could hold its own in the rough world. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a compromise by the US congress regarding slavery, acquiring new territory, and letting new states into the Union. It was passed by Congress in 1819, and enacted (and probably signed into law as well) in 1820. -
Election of Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson, 7th president of the USA, is elected. His term begins the next year. -
Period: to
Trail of Tears
Cherokee tribes are forced on a long march to a reservation. Many die along the way. -
The Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was an economic crisis that started, in part at least, when 800 banks total suspended payments in gold in May. By the end of year, 618 of those banks had failed. -
The Invention of the Telegraph
The telegraph is invented by a Mr Morse. -
Period: to
Mexican-American War
Mexico and the USA fight a war, which leads to the USA gaining new territory, including parts of Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, California, Nevada, Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah.
This war includes the famous battle of the Alamo, where the cry "Remember the Alamo" comes from. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was created in an effort to lighten tension between slave-holding and free states and peoples in the USA. In some ways it helped, in other ways it made it worse, but it was only procrastinating the inevitable Civil War. -
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter, a US military fort, was fired on by Southern Confederates, starting the Civil War which lasted four years, despite everyone thinking it would be over in a few weeks.
It spanned April 12 and 13. -
the Emancipation Proclamation
the Emancipation Proclamation, an executive act authored by President Abraham Lincoln, emancipated, or freed, the slaves in the south of the US. Freedom for slaves in the north came with the 13th amendment. -
the Organization of the Standard Oil Trust
the Standard Oil Trust was an oil-refinery company that was organized in Ohio in 1863 and incorporated in 1870. -
Surrender by Appomattox Courthouse
Robert Lee surrenders his Confederate Armies to Ulysses S Grant, marking the start of the end of the civil war. -
Abraham Lincoln's Assassination
Abraham Lincoln was shot by an anarchist during a performance at a theatre. His body guard had gone down to get a drink (how unprofessional!). Cool fact:
Before Lincoln's assassination, the Secret Service was in charge of tracking down counterfeiting rings. After Lincoln's death, however, they changed to a protect-the-president focus. -
the 13th Amendment
The 13th Amendment, which frees all the slaves in the USA, is ratified. -
the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson, successor to Abraham Lincoln and 17th president of the USA, is impeached. -
the 14th Amendment
The 14th Amendment, gave African-Americans US citizenship. -
the 15th Amendment
The 15th Amendment is ratified. It says that citizens of the US, regardless of race, skin color, or "previous condition of servitude" (slavery) cannot be denied the right to vote. This says nothing about gender, however. -
Telephone
The telephone is invented. However, in 1876, a Western Union internal memo shared, "this 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us."
Aren't we glad there were some people who thought outside of the box and refused to accept the opinions of 'experts'? -
Period: to
Homestead Strikes
The Homestead Strike was not about homesteads. Rather, it happened in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The strike was a "violent labor dispute" (Britannica) that occored between the Carnegie Steel Company and many of the workers in 1892. The strikers were fired and security guards were hired by the company. At least three guards and seven workers were killed when they exchanged fire. -
Period: to
Pullman Railroad Strike
The Pullman Railroad Strike was a national strike against the railroad companies that was a turning point in US labor laws. -
Period: to
the Spanish-American War
This war between Spain and the USA got rid of Spanish colonies in the US and gave the Spanish territory to the USA. -
Theodore Roosevelt Becomes US President
Theodore Roosevelt became president when his predecessor, William McKinley, was assassinated. After completing McKinley's term, he was elected to serve as president in his own right in 1904. -
Airplane
The Airplane was invented. Lots of people were trying to fly, but the ones who succeeded are Oliver and Wilbur Wright. -
Invention of the Model T
By Ford -
Zimmerman Telegram
A secret diplomatic communication by Germany offering to create a Germany-Mexico military alliance. -
WW1 Armistice
The cease-fire that was the start of the end of the first World War, proclaimed to be the War To End All Wars. Um, far from it. -
19th Amendment Ratified
The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution says that the right to vote cannot be denied according to gender. -
The Flight of Charles Lindbergh
-
Black Thursday
The day that started the Great Depression, which lasted approximately ten years. -
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs put in place by FDR to try to help end the Great Depression. In actuality, it served to prolong it. -
Adolf Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany
-
Munich Pact
A pact created by Neville Chamberlain & Adolf Hitler that Hitler would get Czechoslovakia and not take anymore. Obviously, a total flop. -
Hitler Invades Poland
Breaking the Munich Pact, Hitler invades Poland under false pretenses of Polish soldiers on German land (those "Polish soldiers" were German soldiers dressed as Polish soldiers by Hitler's order), starting the second World War. -
Pearl Harbor
The attack by the Japanese Navy on Pearl Harbor; theoretically known about beforehand by President Franklin D Roosevelt and specific members of his cabinet. -
D-Day Invasion
The allies, led in part by five-star general Dwight D Eisenhower, invade the beaches of France, a move which helps bring Germany to it's knees. -
Creation of the United Nations
The United Nations is an international governing organization composed of 193 nations with 2 observer states. At it's founding, it contained 53 nations. It was created following WW2. -
Bombing of Hiroshima
Hiroshima is a Japanese city, the first to be bombed by the USA with an Atomic Bomb. -
Nagasaki
Nagasaki was the second Japanese city to be devastated by an Atomic Bomb. This and the previous bombing of Hiroshima was what finished off the Japanese Empire and marked the end of the fighting of World War Two. -
The Long Telegram
An anti-communist article in the magazine "Foreign Affiars" discussing communism. Written by George F Kennan under the pen name of Mr X. -
NATO
NATO, an international military alliance, is founded. -
Russian Atomic Weapons
The Russians secretly test their first successful atomic bomb. The project was led by physicists Andrie Sakharov & Igor Kurchatov. -
Period: to
Korean War
The Korean War is waged on the Korean peninsula between North Korea and South Korea and their various allies. The USA sides with South Korea. (image: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/ca/Korean_War_Montage_2.png/300px-Korean_War_Montage_2.png) -
Brown V Board of Education
The Supreme Court unanimously rules (9-0) that segregation is unlawful. -
Period: to
Vietnam War
-
Rosa Parks Bus Incident
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on the bus for a white man; her arrest sparks a bus strike to protest the segregation and inequality. -
Cuban Missile Crisis: 16 October – 20 November 1962
-
Assassination of JFK
JFK, a well-loved president, is assassinated in Dallas, Texas, by a self-declared Marxist. -
Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
Agreement signed by Nixon. -
Invention of the Internet
-
Apollo 11 Moon Landing
The Apollo 11 mission lands on the moon; the next day, Neil Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the moon. -
Watergate Break-Ins
Election misdemeanour; followed by impeachment and resignation. -
Nixon Resigns
Following Watergate scandals and impeachment proceedings, Nixon resigns. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall comes down, uniting the two parts of Germany; this marks the fall of Communism. -
9/11
The terrorist attacks on multiple places including the Twin Towers and Pentagon; start of the "War on Terror", almost undoubtedly known about before hand by the Bush family. -
CoViD19 Virus Discovered
CoViD19 Virus discovered in Wuhan Virus.
