APUSH Summer Assignment Dates

1491

Native Americans and Europeans exist in two separate “worlds” They have not made permanent contact yet. Native Americans are living their own lives and have their own societies, while European factors for TransAtlantic exploration begin to brew.

1607

Jamestown was founded, the beginning of British colonization in the Americas

1754

French and Indian War begins, signaling the height of the rivalry between European powers for dominance in the Americas, and ultimately creating tensions between the colonies and the Crown which culminate in the American Revolution

1800

Thomas Jefferson elected president, ushering in the era of the “common man”

1844

The “Era of Manifest Destiny” begins with the election of our Eleventh president James K. Polk

1848

Two Things: the Mexican_American War ends, with the US acquiring the land known as the “Mexican Cession” (including California); also, activists converge at the seneca falls convention to demand women get the right to vote.

1865

the Civil War ends with the North’s victory over the south- ends slavery, “reconstruction” begins

1877

Reconstruction Ends, leaving newly freed African Americans at the mercy of southern states

1890

The Sherman Anti-Trust Act is signed into law signaling a new concern in American life-the growth of massive corporations with enormous power

1898

the Spanish American war begins and ends, symbolizing America’s embrace of a new foreign policy trend-imperialism

1945

World War II ends, with the Allied Powers victorious over the Axis powers. However, the Cold War begins between the USSR and the US, a foreign policy trend which dominated for the next 45 years

1980

Ronald Reagan is elected to the presidency, signaling a shift from the liberal politics of the post-war era to a re-emergence of conservative social and economic policies.