US History Timeline and Significance

Vocabulary and key concept flashcards based on major events and milestones in United States history from $$1492$$ to $$2020$$ as presented in the lecture notes.

$$1492$$

Columbus sails the ocean blue and discovers America, beginning the Columbian Exchange.

St. Augustine ($1565$)

The first permanent Spanish/ European colony in North America.

Jamestown Colony ($1607$)

The first permanent English colony.

Mayflower Compact ($1620$)

The first formal framework of self-government in the US, established when pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock.

Barbados Slave Code ($1661$)

Legally established chattel slavery and the dehumanization of those enslaved.

Bacon’s Rebellion ($1676$)

Signified the transition from indentured servants to enslaved people.

First Great Awakening ($1740$-$1749$)

Religious movement featuring Jonathan Edwards (Sinners in the hands of an angry God) and George Whitfield where colonies heard that God judges equally.

French and Indian War ($1754$-$1763$)

Also known as The Seven Years War; it established British dominance in North America.

Declaration of Independence ($07$-$04$-$1776$)

A list of grievances used to justify a break with England.

Treaty of Paris ($1783$)

The agreement that granted America sovereignty.

Shay’s Rebellion ($1786$)

Highlighted the weakness of the Articles of Confederation.

United States Constitution ($1789$)

The document that fixed problems with the Articles of Confederation and included the Great Compromise for a bicameral legislature.

Bill of Rights ($1791$)

The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution.

Louisiana Purchase ($1803$)

Doubles the size of the US.

Marbury vs Madison ($1803$)

Supreme Court case that establishes judicial review.

War of $1812$

Conflict caused by impressment and British stifling of trade, leading to strong nationalism.

Monroe Doctrine ($1823$)

States that European countries are no longer allowed to colonize or intervene in the Americas.

Trail of Tears ($1831$)

Forced removal of Native Americans by Jackson, who ignored the Supreme Court rulings.

Second Great Awakening ($1820$-$1829$)

Led by Charles Finney; taught equality of ALL men, leading to abolitionism and massive reform movements.

Manifest Destiny ($1845$)

Coined by Sullivan; the belief that America is destined to conquer the frontier from sea to shining sea (Coast to Coast).

Annexation of Texas ($1845$)

President Polk made Texas a state, which reignited slavery debates and triggered the Mexican-American War.

California Gold Rush ($1848$)

Led to massive migration West.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ($1848$)

Ends the Mexican-American War.

Seneca Falls Convention ($1848$)

A major step for Women’s rights where the Declaration of Independence was rewritten to include women.

Bleeding Kansas ($1856$)

Conflict significant for the concept of popular sovereignty.

Emancipation Proclamation ($1862$)

Freed the slaves, but only in the South.

13th Amendment ($1865$)

Abolition of slavery in America.

14th Amendment ($1868$)

Grants slaves citizenship and protection under law.

Transcontinental Railroad ($1869$)

Connects America East to West, built by Irish and free slaves (East to West) and Chinese (West to East).

15th Amendment ($1870$)

Grants freed black men the right to vote.

The Dawes Act ($1887$)

The US government divides American Indian lands into reservations and forces assimilation.

ICC ($1887$)

The Interstate Commerce Commission; the first US federal regulatory agency and a major expansion of government power.

Sherman Antitrust Act ($1890$)

Outlaws monopolies and price fixing.

Jacob Riis ($1890$)

Muckraker who published "How the Other Half Lives" to expose tenement housing, leading to safety and building codes.

Plessy vs. Ferguson ($1896$)

Legalizes separate but equal, indirectly creating Jim Crow Laws.

Spanish-American War ($1898$)

Fought over interests in Cuba; Yellow Journalism and the sinking of the Maine led to a Treaty of Paris ceding Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico.

The square deal ($1901$)

Roosevelt's policy promoting trust busting and an equal chance to succeed.

Anthracite Coal Strike ($1902$)

The first time a president (Theodore Roosevelt) intervened in a labor strike.

The jungle ($1906$)

Book by sumpton st claire that led to the meat inspection act and the FDA.

NAACP ($1909$)

The first group to use court systems to fight racial injustice.

16th Amendment ($1913$)

Wilson implements a graduated income tax.

17th Amendment ($1913$)

Direct election of US senators.

World War I ($1914$-$1918$)

Global conflict involving the Zimmerman Note, unrestricted U-Boat War, Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism, and Nationalism.

18th Amendment ($1919$)

Prohibition.

Global Flu Pandemic ($1919$-$1920$)

Killed $50$ million people worldwide.

The First Red Scare ($1919$)

Caused by the rise of communism in Russia and the Pallmore Raids in America.

19th Amendment ($1920$)

Women gain the right to vote.

Harlem Renaissance ($1920s$)

A cultural, social, and artistic explosion featuring uniquely American Jazz music by Luis Armstrong.

Scopes Trial ($1925$)

Legal battle occurring after Tennessee bans the teaching of Darwin's theory of evolution.

Black Tuesday ($1929$)

Stock Market Crash that marked the beginning of the Great Depression and a loss of confidence in U.S. Banking.

Great Depression ($1929$-$1939$)

Period of global depression caused by the Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act, bank failures, easy credit, and overproduction.

World War II ($1939$-$1945$)

Results in VE Day after the German threat and VJ Day after American production and the Atomic Bomb.

The Second Red Scare ($1940s$-$1950s$)

Characterized by McCarthyism, where over $200$ government officials were accused of being communists.

Truman Doctrine ($1947$)

US foreign policy promoting self-determination and containment.

The martial plan ($1948$)

A $13$ billion dollar investment in foreign relief for Europe that successfully worked.

The Korean War ($1950$-$1953$)

The first ‐Hot‑ Cold War conflict intended to stop the spread of Communism.

Brown V. Board of Education ($1954$)

Supreme Court case that undoes ‐separate but equal.‑

Gideon V. Waynewright ($1961$)

Established that legal counsel must be provided to the accused.

Engel V. Vitale ($1962$)

Declares school prayer is unconstitutional.

The Cuban Missile Crisis ($1962$)

Russia moved nuclear warheads to Cuba, leading to a naval blockade by the US.

March on Washington ($1963$)

Led to the famous MLK jr I Have a Dream speech.

Civil Rights Act of $1964$

Bans literacy tests and makes discrimination illegal.

Mirinda V. Arizona ($1966$)

Requires informing the accused of the right to remain silent.

TET Offensive ($1968$)

Led to a ‐credibility gap‑ and distrust of government during the Vietnam War.

Woodstock ($1969$)

The epitome of counter culture.

Roe V. Wade ($1973$)

Legalizes abortion.

Watergate ($1974$)

Scandal leading to the resignation of Nixon from the presidency.

Regan Revolution ($1980$)

Regan leads the US out of a political quagmire.

AIDS epidemic ($1980$)

Led to medical reform and a return to conservatism regarding sexual relations.

The Berlin Wall ($1989$)

Its fall marked the end of the Cold War.

First Persian Gulf War ($1991$)

A coalition against Hussein was organized to protect oil and innocents, resulting in George H W Bush having the highest approval rating in history.

$9/11$ ($2001$)

Led to the TSA, Homeland Security, and a $20$ year war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

President Obama ($2008$)

The first African American to be the United States president.

Osama Bin Laden ($2011$)

The architect of $9/11$ who was taken out by Navy Seals and Obama.

Covid-19r pandemic ($2020$)

The WHO shuts down the world.