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Jamestown
Jamestown was the first permanent settlement in North America by settlers. It was located on the mouth of the James River in modern-day Virginia.The expedition was founded by the Virginia Company. -
Settlementation of Plymouth
Plymouth was founded in 1620 by a group known as separatists trying to get away from the English church. Plymouth would be founded under the rules of the compact. The Compact would be made to bind the people of Plymouth together. -
Roger Williams forms the colony of Rhode island Rhode Island
Roger Williams would be exiled from the Massachusetts Bay colony in 1635. He would go on to form the colony of Rhode Island under the belief of free religion. Rhode Island would be the first colony to have absolute separation of church and state. -
Salem Witch Trials
In 1692 the town of Salem, Massachusetts was going through mass hysteria. Two girls would accuse a person of witchcraft. This would cause mass panic as people would be accused and would confess to practicing witchcraft. The town of Salem would be destroyed in the aftermath of the witch trials. -
The Great Awankining
The Great Awakening was a protestant revolution that challenged the more conservative religion of the first colonists. Preachers would start to emphasize the fear of the law. Preachers would say all people are born sinners. -
The Seven years war
The Seven Years War also known as the French-Indian War was fought between the British and the Colonies and the French and their Indian allies. The War would start because of land disputes in the Appalachian mountains and Pennsylvania. The British would win but would be disgusted with the tactics the Americans used. -
Boston Massacre
The Boston Massacre was a protest that would be put down by British forces. The crowd was originally throwing snowballs. The British soldiers were ordered not to shoot but things would quickly escalate when the protests started throwing rocks. A total of 5 colonist would be killed and others would be wounded. -
Boston Tea Party
In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act. It lowered taxes on East India Company Tea, and some Patriots viewed this as bribery to get them to forsake their slogan of taxation without representation. Members of the Sons of Liberty boarded three ships. They threw the modern equivalent of $900,000 worth of tea overboard. King George III and those loyal to him were outraged at what they saw as direct defiance of the Crown. -
First Continental congress
As punishment for the Boston Tea Party, Britain instituted the Intolerable Acts. It closed down the Boston Port and dissolved colonial assemblies, among other things. Delegates from all colonies but Georgia met in Philadelphia to agree on a response. The radicals wanted to declare war and fight for independence; conservatives wanted to try reconciliation. The latter won out, and they sent the King the Olive Branch Petition asking for representation. The King was furious and sternly refused. -
Battle of Concord and Lexington
The Battle of Lexington and Concord would mark the start of the American Revolution. A shot would be fired and both sides would engage in fighting. The Americans would force the British to flee back to Boston. The British would sustain at least 200 wounded or dead. The Americans would use their unconventional tactics to defeat the British in the battle. -
2nd Continental Congress
The Second Continental Congress was a meeting of delegates from the 13 colonies. The Delegates would write the Declaration of Independence. They knew that this would start the revolution and would make them wanted men. The Declaration of Independence would rally mass support for independence in the colonies. -
Articles of Confederation
In 1777, all states approved the Articles of Confederation in the Continental Congress. It created a loose association of states, with each retaining a high degree of independence. The federal government was weak: it couldn't create taxes, maintain an army, or have a chief executive. Each state was viewed as an equal member of the union and given one vote in Congress. The plan sounded good on paper, but its shortcomings would soon be clear, especially regarding financial matters. -
Treaty of Alliance
Ben Franklin would be working from the start of the Revolution to get France to ally with the colonies. The French would not have the confidence to join the war until the colonies got a major win at the Battle of Saratoga. The French would play a big role in the Siege of Yorktown. The treaty would state that neither country would sign for peace without U.S. sovereignty. -
Battle of Yorktown
British troops would surrender to George Washington and his troops after a miscalculated move by General Cornwallis. With the help of the French Navy, the Colonial army would surround Cornwallis. This would start peace negotiations between Britain and America. -
Treaty of Paris
Following the defeat at Yorktown, Britain, France, and America began to negotiate a treaty. It took years to come up with agreeable terms because France and Spain hoped to acquire other territories from Britain. Finally, American diplomats were able to secure very favorable terms in 1783. Britain recognized America as an independent nation spanning from the Atlantic coast to the Mississippi River. The Declaration of Independence had come to fruition. -
Shay's Rebelion
Shay's Rebellion was a mass insurrection in the Massachusetts countryside. Shay's Rebellion was caused by a debt crisis after the Revolution. A bunch of farmers would be caused by an opposition to high taxes. Shay's Rebellion showed the government was too weak to protect itself from rebellions more or less an attack from an enemy. -
The Whiskey Rebellion
The Whiskey Rebellion was a protest against the tax on whiskey. This would be the first true test of the strength of the government. Washington would meet the protesters in a field where he would display the power of the military and stop the rebellion. This would prove the government was able to put up with its own problems. -
Cotton Gin
The Cotton Gin would make growing cotton profitable. The Cotton Gin would revive the institution of slavery. It would cause an explosion in demand for slaves and land. The Cotton Gin would allow for 50 lbs of cotton in 10 hours. -
The Revolution of 1800
The Election of 1800 is referred to as the Revolution of 1800. Thomas Jefferson would win against incumbent John Adams. Thomas Jefferson would be the first Anti-Federalist president of the United States. The people would be vastly against the ideas of the Federalist Party. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase would double the size of the US. They would buy 530 million acres of territory for 15 million dollars. The purchase would give the US full control over the Mississippi River. The Midwest would greatly benefit from the purchase by being able to engage in international trade. -
Locomotive invented
Trains would be a very important invention in the early 1800s. Transport of people and goods would significantly be shortened due to the train. Towns would start to form around areas where train stations were located.Trains would be a major part of economic growth in the early 1800s. -
Lewis and Clark expidition
After the Louisiana Purchase Thomas Jefferson tasked Lewis and Clark with finding a route to the Pacific Ocean. They would discover 178 plants and 122 animals. Sacagawea would help Lewis and Clark with navigation and establishing relations with local Native Americans. -
Steam Boat
Steamboats would allow for faster travel down and up the Mississippi River. The midwestern economy would boom after the invention of the steamboat. It would allow for traders to be able to travel from the midwest to New Orleans months faster than before. Steamboats would be very dangerous due to explosions in the engine. -
Battle of New Orleans
The Battle of New Orleans would take place 15 days after the Treaty of Ghent. The U.S. would win in part due to the great strategizing by Andrew Jackson. Many Americans would believe they won the war due to the win at New Orleans. The Battle would make Andrew Jackson very popular among the American people. -
Erie canal is finish
The Erie Canal would connect the Great Lakes and the Hudson River. It would allow people to travel west of the Appalachian mountains. It would cut trade costs and time to trade in half.The Erie canal would play a major role in the Market Revolution -
Indian Removal act
The Indian Removal Act would have all the native American tribes in the south moved West of the Mississippi River. The Act was very controversial only being passed by the House of Representatives by 4 votes. The American people were similarly split on how they felt on the subject.The Indian Removal Act would lead to the trail of tears. -
Liberator Published
William Lloyd Garrison was a Massachusetts abolitionist who held deep convictions about the depravity of slavery. He founded the Liberator, which would become one of the most prominent voices of the abolitionist movement. It criticized the views of the gradual emancipation and colonization movements, instead arguing for immediate emancipation. Southern planters hated the newspaper for attacking their "way of life." Its mission fulfilled, the Liberator stopped publishing issues in 1866. -
Texas fight for independence
With Texas being made up of former American families it would not be very connected to Mexico's beliefs. Many people in Texas would not follow the rules put in place by Siete Leyes. The U.S. would also allow Texas to join the Union if they would secede from Mexico. -
Mexican American War
The Mexican-American war would start with a dispute over the Southern border of Texas. The U.S. would quickly take all of Northwestern Mexico. The U.S. would quickly move south into Mexico City. The U.S. would siege Mexico City and force Mexico to Surrender. The U.S. would get land from the Rio Grande to the Pacific Ocean. -
The 1848 Gold Rush
In January 1848, workers constructing a milldam discovered gold flecks in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Hopefuls poured in not only from the Eastern US, but from China, Australia, Mexico, and Chile. Most were sorely disappointed, but several decided to settle down in California. The population grew rapidly, putting California on track for statehood. -
Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was the first major women's rights convention. The convention would be held by Elizabeth Stanton and Lucretia Mott. 100 people would show up the the convention and they would all agree on a Declaration of Sentiments, that would have the goals of the movement. The main goals were equal rights and the right to get better jobs and to vote. -
The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad
The New York Central and Hudson River Railroad was founded by Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1853. It would quickly become the biggest business in the United States. Vanderbilt would use a deal with John Rockefeller to keep control over the railroads in the 1870s. -
Formation of Republican Party
The Republican party would be formed in Wisconsin in 1854. The Republican party would be a less radical version of the Whig party. The party would be in opposition to slavery and was very popular in the North but very unpopular in the South.It would quickly grow to become the biggest rival of Democrats -
Bleeding Kansas
As Kansas was set to vote on the issue of slavery, droves of pro-slavery men from Missouri entered the state and burned down anti-slavery towns. Though foul play was obvious, Congress did not vote to redo the election; Kansas would be a slave state. Though Kansas was officially a slave state it would have two governments operating under different laws.Later Kansas would be readmitted as a free state. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott was a slave living in the free state of Minnesota. He sued for his freedom because Illinois was a free state, so his master had no right to keep him in bondage. He would lose in St.Lewis but would take the case to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled that there was essentially no such thing as a free state; it was allowed in all states. -
Abraham Lincoln is elected president
Lincoln was the republican candidate and would win over the Democratic candidate. The South would be so scared Lincoln would ban slavery that they would leave and form the Confederate States Of America. Lincoln would set his main goal as to preserve the Union. -
Battle of Bull Run
The Battle of Bull Run was the first major battle of the Civil War. The Union was expecting to destroy the Confederate troops and quickly end the war. The Confederates would win the battle and force the Union to retreat. Many Northerners would go to the surrounding hillside to watch the eventual Union defeat. -
Trans continental rail road
The transcontinental railroad would connect the east and West coasts. The railroad would be the first continuous railroad across the U.S. The Railroad would be built by two different companies. The companies would be paid $16,000,$32,000, and $48,000 depending on terrain they would also be paid in land. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg would last three days. This would be the first offensive move by the South in the war. The Battle of Gettysburg is considered the turning point of the war. The North would force the Southern army to retreat to Virginia. The Southern army would be constantly be on the run after the battle. -
Siege of Vicksburg
The Siege of Vicksburg would last 3 months. The fortified city of Vicksburg would allow the Union to have full control of the Mississippi River. Historians argue that this is the most important battle of the entire war. This would be the battle that would boost Ulysses S. Grant to the top general in the Union Army. -
The Gettysburg Adress
The Gettysburg Address is widely regarded as one of the greatest speeches by a president in history. Lincoln would talk about how the nation was created under liberty and equality and it was under its greatest test in the Civil War. The address would honor the people who died in the battle and would signify the United States as a country where all men are created equal. -
Sherman's March to The sea
Sherman's March to The Sea was a strategic move to break up the Confederate's supply lines. Sherman would use a tactic known as Total Warfare to destroy anything in his path. He would find 25,000 bails of cotton in Savannah,Georgia and would give it all to Lincoln. -
13th Amendment passed
The 13th Amendment would slavery and involuntary servitude. All the Former slaves would be freed under the 13th Amendment. -
Surrender at Appomattox
On April 9th Robert E. Lee would surrender to Ulysses S. Grant in a local house. This would be the end of the war for the South. With Lee's surrender, the South would not be able to compete with the Union army anymore. -
Lincoln Assassinated
Despite fears that he would not, Lincoln easily won the election of 1864. The Radical Republicans proposed a harsher plan, and they were negotiating it when Lincoln was assassinated by a Confederate fanatic, John Wilkes Booth. As the Union mourned the Great Emancipator, plans for Reconstruction were thrown into a lurch. Johnson would not live up to Lincoln's quality of leadership. -
Reconstruction Act
Radical Republicans were able to engineer a comprehensive Reconstruction plan. It divided the former Confederacy into 5 regions, each overseen by a Union general. States had to give freedmen the vote, disenfranchise ex-Confederates, and pass the 14th Amendment establishing birthright citizenship. Johnson vetoed it, but Congress was able to override the veto. At last, a framework for lifting up freedmen and punishing the South had emerged. -
14th amendment
The 14th Amendment would be passed by a group known as the radical Republicans. It would allow anyone born in the U.S. to be a citizen by birth. It would give the right to any newly freedmen to vote in elections. The amendment would be weakly enforced in the South. A supreme court case would state the amendment would state that everything had to be equal but it could be separate which lead to the idea of segregation. -
Standard oil
Standard Oil was created by a poor religious man from Cleveland named John D. Rockefeller. He would use the help of the New York Central Railroad to distribute his Oil across the U.S. and would realize a new safer form of Oil that formed when refined oil called Natural gas. This would make him the Richest man in the United States. Rockefeller would soon cut ties with Vanderbilt after building a pipeline across the eastern U.S. -
15th Amendment
Congress recognized the importance of securing civil rights for freedmen, and it took several steps to do so. First, it passed the 14th Amendment, granting slaves full citizenship; soon, though, they began to worry that it wouldn't offer enough protection against Southern Black Codes. The 15th Amendment was passed to protect citizens' rights to vote, regardless of race. It had a fatal flaw: it made no provisions regarding poll taxes and literacy tests, foreshadowing Jim Crow laws. -
Invention of the light buld
The light bulb was invented in 1880 by Thomas Edison. Edison would have his experiment funded by Banker J.P Morgan. Edison's light bulb would become an instant seller. Edison would be in competition with former apprentice Nikola Tesla. Edison used an inferior form of electricity the Tesla which forced him to switch to Tesla's form of Electricity. -
Ghost dance massacre
Ghost Dance was a religious movement among Native Americans living on reservations. Combining traditional beliefs with Christianity, adherents believed that a proper lifestyle and ceremonial dances would restore the days before white settlement. A group of Lakota on the Pine Ridge Reservation was practicing the dance, and the US Army attacked them because they misinterpreted the movement. An estimated 150-300 innocent people were slaughtered in a tragic and needless show of violence. -
Plessy V. Ferguson
In the South, Black Americans often faced discrimination on trains. Homer Plessy was a New Orleans man who was 1/8 Black. He was ordered to move from the first class car he had booked to the "colored" car. He refused and was arrested. Civil rights advocates brought his case to the Supreme Court, where it was decided that segregation was legal as long as equal facilities were provided. This decision gave legal backing to Jim Crow laws and would not be repealed until 1954. -
Spanish American war
The Spanish-American war would be a conflict that would last 8 months and would result in American victory. America would be assisting Cuba in getting its freedom and defending against atrocities committed by the Spanish. In the war, Spain would be no match for America and would lose both the Philippines and Cuba.Cuba and the Phillippines would both be given their freedom. -
Henry Ford creates the assembly line
When Ford invented the assembly line, mass production went through the roof. Soon every American, poor and rich, would be able to afford an automobile. This was a huge boost for the economy as thousands of job openings were made. Ford would be able to pay his workers more and allow them to work less hours because of the assembly line. -
Sedition Act passed
Public support for the war was thought to be vital for an allied victory. However, many dissidents remained vocal about their opposition; they included pacifists and socialists, among others. The Sedition Act banned speech and behavior that could incite resistance to the war effort or encourage support for the enemies. It had teeth, too: two 1919 Supreme Court cases upheld the convictions of people who had been prosecuted under the law, raising tough questions about the limits of free speech. -
Armistice ends WW1
By 1918, the World War had lasted for four years in Europe and had led to widespread devastation of both troops and civilians. Germany soon found itself in a bleak place: all of its allies had signed armistices with the Allies, and the German Army was on the brink of defeat. They found themselves with no choice but to start peace negotiations. The armistice took effect at 11:11 on 11/11/18. It marked the end of armed combat in WWI and signaled that the troops would soon return home. -
The 19th Amendment signed
The ratification of the 19th Amendment was a substantial moment. It let women vote which was a big part of getting rights for women. It also carved a path for African Americans to gain their own rights.This would end a long lasted struggle for women's rights and the right to vote. It would also allow for women to have more of a say in change in social issues by electing people that agree with the change they want to make. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was a treaty signed by the Allied and Central Powers. Most leaders of the Central powers would be forced to sign the treaty unwillingly due to it being so unfair to them. The treaty is widely accepted as a cause of the depression in Europe and a cause of WW2. It started an era in the U.S. known as the Roaring Twenties. The U.S. was not fighting any wars, and they could sit back and enjoy prosperity for the next decade. -
Prohibition starts
Since the 19th century, temperance activists had promoted a blanket ban on liquor. They argued that it was the root of several societal ills, including poverty, crime, and domestic abuse, among others. This prohibition amendment banned the sale, production, and consumption of alcohol, but Americans came up with crafty ways to circumvent the rules. It led to a thriving gang scene, and mob bosses like Al Capone became wealthy bootleggers. Seeing their error, Congress repealed it in 1933. -
National Origins Act Enacted
The late 19th and early 20th century saw waves of "New Immigrants" from Southern and Eastern Europe. Many Anglos did not take kindly to them, as many were not Protestant and did not speak fluent English. Nativism also increased following WWI. The act limited the number of immigrants by setting a quota of 2% of the nationality's 1890 population, when the nationalities' presence in the US was still small. However, groups from Latin America had no quota, and many came to the US in search of jobs. -
Scopes Monkey Trial
Biologist Charles Darwin's theory of evolution revolutionized his field, but not all were receptive: Tennessee passed a law in 1925 that made it illegal for schools to teach anything but creationism. John Scopes was a high school teacher who taught the theory to his biology class. In the trial, he was represented by the ACLU and prominent lawyer Charles Darrow. The jury found him guilty. The state's Supreme Court later overturned the ruling, but the debate persists even today. -
Black Tuesday
The Stock Market Crash ended the Roaring Twenties and effectively started the Great Depression. Americans would be buying things they could not afford with credit and it would begin to put people in debt and they would have to start selling things like stocks to pay. The age of prosperity was now over with the U.S. focusing on how to regain balance. This event would affect the next decade as well as American history as we know it. -
The CCC created
The Civilian Conservation Corps was a New Deal agency which would be substantial in getting the U.S. out of the Depression. The Corporation would go on to supply millions of young men with needed jobs. The agency would help improve public lands, forests, and parks. -
Bonus Army March on Washington
As the Great Depression entered its second year, veterans began to demand government action. Soldiers from WWI were promised pensions, or bonuses, to be paid around 1940. As the economic hardship set in, veterans marched to Washington to demand immediate payment. Some stayed on the White House lawn long after the others had left, and Hoover ordered the military to force them out. The public backlash was severe, and Hoover's reputation took a further hit. -
Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany
As Germans felt the economic effects of the harsh Treaty of Versailles, they found what seemed like a solution. Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party, sold them on an image of a powerful Germany that was once again the envy of Europe. He would unite German-speaking countries and exterminate "undesirables." He was the impetus for both the genocidal Holocaust and the brutal fighting of WWII, which the US would join nine years later following German ally Japan's bombing of Pearl Harbor. -
FDR Inaugurated
In the heat of the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president. The American people thought that FDR could end the Great Depression with his idea of government expansion. This would change how much power the president would be allowed to have as well as how much power the government could have. -
FDR's First 100 Days ends
During the election of 1932, FDR promised the American public that he would take immediate action against the Depression once in office. He held true to his word, passing massive New Deal legislation. Some of the programs created in the first 100 days included the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, and the National Industry Recovery Act. While reactions to the New Deal were mixed, FDR did stick to his promise of speedy action. -
The Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl would be caused by farmers turning up soil and not allowing for root systems to grow, with the soil being very sandy the wind would pick up the surface level sand and carry it intill the wind died down. The Dust Bowl would have a huge effect on the American economy as well as the world economy. Farmers were unable to grow crops or farm anything and as a result a food shortage occured. Thousands of people moved out of the area to magrate towards states like California and Arizona. -
Social Security Act
The original goal of the Social Security Act was to ensure that older Americans had a pension to retire on. It was intended as a supplement, not a full retirement plan. The act established a hybrid federal and private unemployment payment system saw that widows and disabled people would be provided for. The act was controversial when it was passed and remains so to this day, from critics on both the right and the left. Nevertheless, it held up in the Supreme Court. -
WW2 Begins
On his quest to expand Germany, Hitler took control of Austria in 1938. Later that year, he met with the leaders of France and Britain to announce his intention to annex part of Czechoslovakia. They agreed, but only as long as he would promise to stop taking over new territories. On Sep. 1, 1939, the German Army invaded Poland with the aim of conquering Danzig. WWII had officially started in Europe. In the early years, the US maintained neutrality, but most people supported the Allies. -
Pearl Harbour
In the early morning hours of Dec. 7, Japan, an Axis power that was allied with Germany, launched a surprise attack on the US naval base Pearl Harbor. The unprovoked aggression came from anger at US aid to Britain, an Allied country, and pressure to Japan to stop expanding its military force in the Pacific. The attack killed 2,335 servicemen and destroyed 188 aircraft and 4 battleships. The next day, FDR gave his Day of Infamy speech and Congress declared war on Japan, entering WWII. -
D-Day
On D-Day, American, British, and Canadian forces invaded Nazi-occupied France. Casualties were heavy, but the Allies were able to capture the beach of Normandy. 1.5 million soldiers and lots of equipment entered France. This faced Germany to fight on two fronts, Eastern and Western; only ⅓ of the military fought against the invasion because the rest were busy fighting in the Soviet Union. It was the largest land-sea military operation ever, and it set the conditions for a German surrender. -
Germany Surrenders
The German High Command agreed to the unconditional surrender of all German troops, in the Eastern and the Western front, after the capital city of Berlin was surrounded by Soviet troops. With Italy defeated and Hitler having committed suicide a week earlier, the Germans had little choice but to surrender or be taken prisoners of war. The next day, May 8, is celebrated as V-E Day, meaning Victory in Europe. The US was still at war with Japan in the eastern theater, however. -
Atomic Bomb drooped on Hiroshima
Throughout the war, the top secret, $2 billion Manhattan project had been working to develop an atomic bomb. The first successful bomb was tested on July 16, 1945 in New Mexico. Three weeks later, Truman ordered two bombs to be dropped on two Japanese cities: Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9. Truman feared that Japan’s leaders would never surrender unless national ruin struck their country. Shortly after on Sept. 2, Japan surrendered unconditionally, lifting the US out of war. -
First Levittown
Levittowns made the dream of low-density housing accessible to the middle class by creating a new model for developments. Each Levittown would have a set number of floor plans available. Prospective residents could choose one, visiting model houses to get an idea of their future homes. Because each house was no longer being custom built, they could be built much faster and at much lower costs. In the post-war conditions, suburbs like these grew rapidly thanks to the economy and the GI bill. -
Truman Doctrine
Just a few years after WWII, Truman addressed Congress with the hopes of persuading them to approve aid to the governments of Greece and Turkey, who were being threatened by communist insurgencies. In his speech, he laid out the principles of what would become known as the Truman Doctrine: the strategy of containing communism's impact by assisting any country threatened by communist uprisings with military and financial aid. The doctrine continued to guide foreign policy throughout the Cold War. -
Marshall plan takes effect
Post-war Europe was full of strife and economic hardship. US officials feared that the West would turn to communism to provide relief from the turmoil. To combat this, the Marshall Plan delegated billions of dollars in foreign aid to help Europe rebuild its factories, infrastructure, buildings, transport, etc. Aid was offered to Eastern Bloc countries but rejected under Stalin's influence. Domestically, the plan was controversial, but it was invaluable to reconstruction in Europe. -
NATO Formed
Fearing war instigated by the Eastern Bloc, several Western European countries, as well as the US and Canada, formed a defensive alliance called NATO. A crucial part of the alliance was Article 5, stating that an attack on any member nation would be an attack on all of them. By 1960, most Western Bloc countries had joined. In retaliation, the Eastern Bloc formed an alliance of its own, called the Warsaw Pact encompassing all but Yugoslavia and Albania. It was a further sign of Cold War division. -
USSR detonates A-Bomb
Just four years after the US, scientists in the USSR developed and tested the destructive, nuclear atomic bomb. It had roughly the same strength as the American bomb, meaning it could raze entire cities. A spy plane detected the radiation from the blast four days after the detonation, and that September Truman told the public that the Soviets had the bomb. What followed was forty years of Cold War tensions as Americans feared escalation into a devastating nuclear war. -
Senator McCarthy Wheeling Speech
As the Cold War was well on its way, a second Red Scare gripped America. In a notorious speech, Senator McCarthy claimed to have a list of over 200 communists working in the State Department, prompting widespread hysteria and national security concerns. During the scare, institutions like the HUAC deprived accused communists of due process, and free speech came under fire as people feared arising suspicion. Little, if any, espionage was actually present, but the Scare affected thousands. -
U.S. Enters the Korean War
After WWII, Korea was split into Northern and Southern regions. Communist leader Kim Il-Sung came to power in the North and launched an invasion into the capitalist South. Following its containment policy, the US sent in troops under the guidance of the famous General MacArthur. They were successful until China sent in troops on behalf of the North. By 1953, a tenuous peace agreement was set, placing the border at the 38th parallel with the North becoming a communist state. -
Brown V Board
Linda Brown was a Black student who was barred from attending a white school much closer to her house. The NAACP, with Thurgood Marshall as Brown's lawyer, took the case to court. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously to overturn the precedent in Plessy v. Ferguson that segregation is legal if facilities are equal. Schools across the country were ordered to desegregate in a timely matter, and though students faced staunch resistance, the case was a major source of hope to the Black community. -
Montgomery Bus Boycott
Working with the NAACP, Rosa Parks called attention to segregation on city buses by refusing to give up her seat to a white man. What followed was a 382-day-long boycott that would both prove the efficacy of nonviolent direct action and send MLK to national prominence. The bus companies pushed the segregation law to be overturned, as the boycott had slashed its profits. Similar nonviolent tactics, including sit-ins, marches, and legal action would form the cornerstones of the movement. -
Eisenhower Interstate Highway Act
America’s roadways were due for a major overhaul. While deployed during WWII, Eisenhower saw the benefits of Germany's autobahn system. He signed the Act in 1956, providing federal aid for 41,000 miles of new interstate roads. Not only would they make travel and commerce easier, they could be useful in the event of a Cold War nuclear meltdown. Their construction also helped the rise of suburbanization and devastated small towns that had prospered from the highway running through them. -
Freedom Bus Rides
College students were a key group in the civil rights fight. CORE organized a series of bus rides to the South to test whether or not recent desegregation legislation was being obeyed. The students, both white and Black, were often met with brutal violence from mobs. In Alabama, one bus was firebombed and its passengers were beaten. Though rights were expanding on paper, the Freedom Rides exposed their persistence in the real world and the need for continued protections against discrimination. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
After the failed Bay of Pigs invasion, Castro turned to the Soviet Union to ensure Cuba's safety under the threat of US aggression. US recon was able to identify the missiles while the launch sites were still under construction. This launched a diplomatic crisis lasting two weeks in which Americans were living under the very possible threat of nuclear war. JFK was able to reach a deal in which he promised the US would not invade if the weapons were removed. Cold War tensions continued to rise. -
1963 Equal Pay Act
For over a century, working women could be legally paid much less than their male coworkers for the same work. With the rise of civil rights legislation and the feminist movement in general, enough support was raised for the Equal Pay Act as an amendment to the Fair Labor Standards Act. In the following decades, women would make significant progress in closing the wage gap, entering jobs that were once off limits, and attaining a more equal status within society. -
March on Washington
In his campaign, JFK had promised to pass a strong civil rights bill. However, he didn't have the support in Congress. 250,000 people would march to the Lincoln Memorial, from which Martin Luther King delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. The march had a very positive impact on public support for the cause as people everywhere were moved by the march's size and the justice of its cause. Congress, however, held fast, and the bill didn't pass until after JFK's assassination. -
J.F.K Assassinated
While visiting Dallas, TX, JFK was assassinated by Lee Harvey Oswald. The governor of Texas was also shot, but his wounds were not fatal. JFK passed away an hour after the shooting at Parkland Hospital, shocking the nation and launching LBJ immediately into the presidency. The assassination compounded the feeling of turbulence in the 1960s, which saw the civil rights movement, the start of war in Vietnam, Cold War tensions, and the assassination of MLK and Robert Kennedy. -
Civil Rights Act
Though JFK had long promised a civil rights bill, he was killed before it became a reality. Johnson was able to finish the job for him. The act outlawed employment discrimination based on race, guaranteed equal access to public schools and facilities, and gave new enforcement powers against employment discrimination. After a decade of activism, a strong bill with real teeth at the federal level had finally arrived, offering significant protections to Black Americans. -
Golf of Tonkin resolution
A US destroyer stationed in the Gulf of Tonkin, on the North side of Vietnam, was fired on by North Vietnamese torpedoes -- or so LBJ thought. Really, it was a single bullet hole. Nonetheless, LBJ believed escalation was unavoidable. Congress issued the Resolution, giving LBJ the power to act as he saw fit in Vietnam. The next several years would see turmoil both in the US and for the Vietnamese people as the US became involved in an unwinnable, unpopular, and ultimately fruitless war. -
Medicare passes
LBJ's Great Society was meant to mirror the social policy of FDR's New Deal legislation. The Medicare Act acted as a sort of extension of the SSA, providing free health insurance to elderly Americans, with 19 million people enrolling. Later, it would expand to include people under 65 with certain disabilities. In the more conservative decades, and especially with the rise of Reagan, Medicare became even more controversial as people rallied for lower taxes, a debate that continues to this day. -
1965 Voting Rights Act
The SCLC organized a march on Selma, Alabama, to push for greater voting rights protections and protest the murder of an activist. They were met with tear gas from law enforcement, a scene that the entire country saw on television. A few months later, the Act was passed, banning literacy tests and sending in election officials to register voters in counties where less than 50% were registered. It was a long overdue step in securing democracy for all people, a massive victory. -
Tet offensive
Coinciding with the Vietnamese New Year, Vietcong guerrilla troops launched campaigns against 36 provincial capitals and six major cities, as well as nearly overtaking the American embassy. Significantly, it turned public opinion largely against the war. The carnage was shown on TV, and Americans were in disbelief that they were being routed by the supposedly uncoordinated Vietcong troops. Before, 56% of Americans supported the war; now, only 41% did. -
My Lai Massacre
In 1968, US Army troops had executed over five hundred civilians in the South Vietnam village of My Lai. It was kept under wraps until 1969, when photos of the massacre were leaked to Life magazine. The public was outraged at both the cover-up and the brutality with which the forces had acted. Protests against the war, even among veterans, escalated. President Nixon began looking into ways to de-escalate the war, but he was unwilling to hurt America's image by doing so dishonorably. -
Stonewall Inn Riot
Life for gay men and lesbians was difficult -- they had to choose between staying closeted, coming out and facing discrimination and harassment, or compromise and visit underground bars like the Stonewall Inn. When the Greenwich Village bar was raided by police, the patrons rioted: it was common for the names of patrons to be published to be ostracized. Gay liberation became another of the civil rights movements of the era, although progress was very slow. -
EPA founded
The environmentalist movement took off amid an energy crisis that sent gas prices through the roof, the growing public awareness of the pollution effects of industry, and the milestone Silent Spring, calling into attention the use of the pesticide DDT. Directly following a horrific oil spill, a bipartisan bill founded the EPA, requiring new developments to file assessments of the environmental effects of their projects. More legislation, such as the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, followed. -
Roe V Wade
In one of the most controversial Supreme Court decisions of all time, the right to abortion in the first trimester of pregnancy was granted to women of all states. For women's lib activists, it was a major victory for feminism and women's rights to reproductive healthcare; for conservatives, especially Christians, it was a state sanctioning of murder. Abortion would galvanize politics for the decades to come, and it continues to be a wedge issue today. -
Paris Peace acords
As the war became increasingly unpopular at home and strategically untenable, Nixon began negotiating a peace. Once the accords were signed, Nixon hoped that he would be able to help capitalist South Vietnam with US aid while still withdrawing troops. This didn't work, and South Vietnam was captured in 1975. All told, 58,000 US soldiers died, 300,000 were wounded, and $150 billion had been spent to execute the needless war. -
Nixon releases water gate tapes
Facing re-election, Nixon turned to dubious tactics such as political espionage, burglarizing the DNC headquarters, and giving himself an electoral advantage. When the informant "Deepthroat" came forward, Nixon denied any wrongdoing and refused to release the unedited tapes. In 1974, the Supreme Court ordered them to be released, revealing the full extent of Nixon's involvement. A week later, Nixon resigned the office, humiliated and desperate to avoid an impeachment.