top 40

1492

First Voyage of Columbus to 'New World'.

1588

Defeat of the Spanish Armada by England.

1607

English settlement begins with founding of Jamestown.

1620

Pilgrim’s arrival at Plymouth in New England.

1763

Peace of Paris ends French and Indian War; Proclamation Line.

1776

Declaration of American Independence.

1781-1787

Critical Period (Articles of Confederation).

1789

Ratification of US Constitution; New Government Established.

1800

Election of Jefferson; Transfer of Power to New Political Party.

1803

Jefferson Purchases Louisiana from the French.

1828

Election of Andrew Jackson.

1838

Trail of Tears (Cherokee Indian Removal).

1845

Manifest Destiny reaches its peak.

1850

Compromise of 1850 delays Civil War for 10 years.

1860

Election of Lincoln; Beginning of Southern Secession.

1861-1865

American Civil War.

1864-1877

Reconstruction Period in American South.

1890

Census Bureau Announces the End of the Frontier.

1896

Election of McKinley; End of the Populist Movement.

1898

Spanish-American War.

1898-1917

Progressive Era.

1914-1918

World War I.

1929

Crash of Stock Market Marks Beginning of Great Depression.

1932

Election of Franklin Roosevelt.

1941

Pearl Harbor; US Enters World War II.

1945

Yalta Conference; V-E Day and V-J Day end WWII.

1947

Truman Doctrine.

1950-1953

Korean Conflict.

1957

Sputnik.

1963

Assassination of John Kennedy.

1964

Civil Rights Act; Tonkin Gulf Resolution.

1964-1973

Direct Involvement by US in Vietnam.

1968

Tet Offensive; Anti-War Demonstrations; Riots at Democratic Convention; Assassinations of MLK and RFK.

1974

Resignation of Richard Nixon; Watergate.

1979

Establishment of Formal Relations with China.

1979-1981

Americans Held Hostage in Iran for 444 Days.

1980

Election of Ronald Reagan Marks Conservative Political Swing.

1989

End of Cold War; Fall of Berlin Wall and Political Changes in Eastern Europe.

1991

Gulf War.

2000

Bush v. Gore Supreme Court Decision.