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1439
Printing Press
This allowed books to be printed instead of copied down by hand, which made literature accessible to anyone who could read. It was invented by Gutenberg and changed history forever. Source: theinventors.org -
1492
Columbian Exchange
Columbus lands in America, and the Columbian Exchange Begins. Old World Goods such as livestock, diseases, bananas, and sugarcane are traded to the New World. Things like tobacco, turkey, tomato, corn, and potatoes are traded to the Old World. Source: Crash Course History Video -
Lightning Rod
Benjamin Franklin invented this so that lightning would not strike buildings and light them on fire which could cause a lot of damage. Lightning would strike the metal pole and the electricity would flow down to the ground where it couldn't do any harm. Source: theinventors.org -
The 7 Years War
A war between the French allied with the Indians against the British over control of the Ohio River Valley. The colonies needed to expand into that territory for the fertile farmland, which sparked some conflict with the French. Source: America: The Story of U.S. -
Proclamation of 1763
This rule made by the British forbid settlers to move into the Ohio River Valley after the French and Indian War. This sparked some conflict because the colonists weren't allowed to move into the land that they just fought for. Source: In-class notes -
Boston Massacre
This event occurred when colonists were rioting and British soldiers fired on them. This outraged many Americans and made some of them want to fight a war for independence. Source: In-class notes -
America Gains its Independence
The founding fathers fought in the Revolutionary War and Sign the Declaration of Independence to get America its independence. This leads to the birth of our country. Source: America The Story of U.S. -
Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney invented the Cotton Gin, which allowed the production of cotton in the South to skyrocket. It was extremely important to history and changed some aspects of slavery. Source: theinventors.org -
Telegraph
Samuel Morse invented the telegraph which allowed messages to be transmitted through wire instantly. This way, communication was a lot easier, and people wouldn't have to worry about letters anymore. Source: theinventors.org -
Trail Of Tears
Natives are forced out of their land and moved to Oklahoma so the white settlers could live there. It was very hard for the Natives to be moved off their land and some tribes fought back. Source: America The Story of U.S. -
Minié Ball
Claude-Étienne Minié invented this in 1849. It was a more deadly version of the bullet and could shatter bones on impact. It was the most frequently used bullet during the Civil War. -
The Sewing Machine
Isaac Singer invents the sewing machine which allows clothes to be made by the machine instead of by hand and increases the production of clothes. This changed the way clothes were made, and made it so that anyone could sew their own clothes. Source: theinventors.org -
The Underground Railroad
This network of people across the South helped escaped slaves find their way to the Northern states. They had many "conductors" or people that helped and "stations" or houses where escaped slaves could stay. Source: Textbooks of Underground Railroad -
First State Seccedes From The Union
South Carolina was the first state to leave the union and start the Confederate States of America. This also started the Civil War as the Confederates fought for independence. -
Battle of Gettysburg
This battle was one of the most deadly, famous, and important battles in the Civil War. Many soldiers were killed in the infamous Pickett's Charge to take a position. Robert E. Lee clashed with George G. Meade at this battle. Source: Histroy Textbook -
Dynamite
Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, a high explosive that can be used for mining purposes. It was used to carve tunnels through mountains for the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. Source: theinventors.org -
The Transcontinental Railroad is Completed
The Transcontinental Railroad is completed, connecting our country from coast to coast by rail. This also helped connect the people who lived on the Great Plains to the coasts of the U.S. Source: America The Story of U.S. -
Sharecropping
This is a system in which a plantation owner rents land to a tenant farmer and they give half of the crops to the owner. This usually resulted in a huge amount of debt for the tenant farmer because it was very hard to pay off all the debt. -
Telephone
Alexander Graham Bell patents the first telephone which allows people to talk directly to each other through a wire. This invention revolutionized communication and we still use more modern and updated forms of this invention today. -
Diesel Engine
This was invented in 1898 by Rudolf Diesel. It is powered by diesel and uses combustion to run. It presented an alternative to gasoline and was very powerful. Source: theinventors.org -
Gas Mask
This was invented in 1914 during WWI by Garret A. Morgan to help protect soldiers from harmful gas in the trenches. It helped make counterattacks against gas quicker, and helped decrease the death toll from gas. Source: theinventors.org -
World War I
This so-called "Great War" took place in the early 20th century and changed the war was fought forever. New technologies and strategies were developed that forced the soldiers to adapt quickly to the enemies new strategies. Source: History Class Notes -
D-Day
Allied forces landed in Normandy to take back France from the Nazis. This was a turning point in the war because the allies started to take back more German-occupied territory. -
Atomic Bomb
The allies invent and use the first two atomic bombs on Japan. the destruction created is unparalleled and have never been used in war since then. -
Yalta Conference
FDR, Winston Churchill, and Stalin split Germany up and agreed to each control a separate quadrant, later they also split up Berlin. -
Bar-Code Scanner
This invention allowed for transactions in stores to go much more smoothly. The clerk didn't have to know or look at the price of every item in the store -
Dominio Theory
This was a popular idea during the cold war that it one country became communist, many more in the region would follow. -
Pong
Pong was the first video game ever created and it paved the way for thousands more to come. It was invented by Nolan Bushnell and was a very simple game, but revolutionary for its time. -
DVD
The DVD or digital video disc was a new and more compact way to store digital information. It was invented and first sold in Japan in 1996. -
911
This terrorist attack occurred on September 11, 2001. Al Quaeda rammed two passenger planes into the twin towers and one into the Pentagon on a suicide mission.
