U.S. History Timeline

1861-1939

Beginnings to 1865

Native Americans arrive in North America in approximately 10,ooo B.C.E.

In the 1400s (C.E/A.D) Europeans arrive in North America to explore new land.

England starts to establish colonies in north America in the 1500s

Colonies start to import slaves from West Africa in the 1600s. Also the Triangular Trade was formed. This was when Europe, West Africa, and the colonies in north America began trading goods and slaves.

In the early 1700s the colonies begin to rebel against the British government. The colonists didn’t like the taxes the British government passed and they disliked the monarchy government.

By 1776 the colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. They wanted to create a new government amongst themselves.

The Revolutionary War started due to the Declaration of Independence and ended in 1783. The colonists won and they formed the constitution in 1789. This turned the colonies into the United States of America.

In the early 1800s Americans started to move west and explore new territory in North America. The Homestead Act was passed in 1862 to encourage American families to move west.

Before the Homestead Act was passed, the Civil War started due to the disagreement between the North and South on slavery laws.

In 1865 the Union (Northern states) won the war and the country remained united.

Reconstruction

Also in 1865, a few days after the Civil War ended President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth. President Lincoln was in office from 1861-1865.

After the Civil War the country needed to reconstruct itself. The government also wanted American citizens to expand west to new country.

From 1850-1890 the Americans were fighting with the natives. These are sometimes called the Indian Wars. They started because when Americans moved to the west they ran into the Native Americans that already lived there. Some tried to get the natives to adapt the American way of life, but once they found out that wasn’t going to work the US government came up with other ways to settle in the west without more problems. These included signing treaties with the chiefs, and finally relocating all the Native American tribes to reservations.

The U.S. government passed Reconstruction Acts in 1867 to bring the South back to the union.

In 1868 the government passed the 14th Amendment, which stated that all people born in the U.S were considered citizens.

The 15th Amendment was also passed in 1870. This amendment was passed because people in the south tried to make poll taxes and reading quizzes to keep African Americans from voting. This Amendment states that voting can’t be denied based on race.

The same year, cowboys started making cattle drives to the north for better markets and more money. These cattle drives were long and hard for the cowboys and the cattle.

Then, in 1871 the government passes a law allowing federal troops to go against the Ku Klux Klan. This was a racist group who tortured and killed many African Americans to show their hatred toward them.

Progressive Era The U.S turns into an industrial nation.

(1865-1900)

In the late 1800s corporations started to control businesses. The businesses were owned mostly by stockholders and run by a Board of directors. Concerns from the government and the American people arose about monopolies and trusts.

From 1880 to 1914 there were over 22 million immigrants that moved to the U.S. During this time America was known as “the nation of opportunity”.

20% of children worked 14-hour days in 1890. There were no child labor laws set in place yet and American families needed more income to support themselves, so they had to send their children to work.

African Americans started to move to northern cities in the U.S because there were more opportunities there and they were still being discriminated against in the south. (1890-1920)

In 1891-1910, America moves towards Expansionism and Imperialism. The country gained control over Chili in 1891, Venezuela in 1895, Panama in 1903, and part of Mexico in 1910. The government wanted to expand

trade and make profit off of the American businesses they put in countries all over Latin America.

In 1892 famers seek for social change and form the Populist party. These farmers wanted to stop big business, such as railroad companies, from taking all the profits from their goods. They also wanted government help in creating equality for smaller businesses.

In 1893 the Pendleton Act was passed. This act said that jobs must now be given based on merit. Now people had to take a test in order to get a job.

In 1898 the U.S wins the Spanish-American War and gains control over the Philippines, Cuba, Guam, and Puerto Rico.

From 1901-1909 “Teddy” Roosevelt was president. He was well known for trust busting. He passed laws that broke up big trusts and corporations. He was also responsible for creating many national parks, national forests, and preserves.

Progressive Era Cont…

The American Federation of Labor is formed and by 1904 it had nearly one million members. These workers were fighting for better working conditions, better salaries, and more reasonable working hours.

In 1906 the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were passed in order to make industries and products safer.

In 1912 the Progressive Party was formed. This party had a strong desire for social change. They fought for women's suffrage, 8 hour work days, minimum wage, and more help for farmers.

Also during this time President Roosevelt was elected for a third term in office.

World War I (The Great War) Before 1914 , countries mostly in Europe started to form secret alliances with each other which

created tension all over Europe.

The alliances that were formed were the Allied powers, (Great Britain, France, Russia, and Serbia), and the Central powers, (Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey).

Austria-Hungary controlled Serbia, and when a Serbian man assassinated Austria-Hungarian Franz Ferdinand in June of 1914, they declared war with Serbia. When the Allied powers joined Serbia in the war, the Central powers joined Austria-Hungary. Thus the start of World War I.

In August 1914, President Wilson declares that the U.S will remain neutral and not involve themselves in this war. When Germany sinks the Lusitania it rose anger in the American people against the Central powers. This was a British passenger ship that held both British and American citizens on it and many Americans were killed.

Then in April of 1917 the Zimmerman note was sent from Germany to Mexico. This note said that if Mexico attacked the U.S Germany would give them back the land they lost to the U.S in the Spanish-American War. Woodrow Wilson announced, after he received news of this note, that “the world needed to be safe for democracy”. That is when the U.S.A entered WWI.

To build public support for the war, and to earn more money for the soldiers, America used propaganda. The propaganda encouraged American people to buy liberty bonds, to grow there own food to save food for the army, it even told citizens to not eat wheat or meat on certain days.

The Selective Service Act was passed in August of 1918. This act said that all males from 18-45 had to enlist in the army in case they needed more soldiers to fight in the war. This law was never used during this war.

The 2nd battle of the Marne was won by the allies in August of 1918. The war turns in the Allies’ favor.

In November of 1918 Germany and the Central powers surrender to the Allies. The Treaty of Versailles officially ends the war in 1919.

The Roaring 20s! The Roaring Twenties was brought about by a very strong government and people

starting to get more involved in new music, fashion, art, and entertainment.

In 1920 the 18th Amendment was passed. This amendment stated that the production and distribution of alcohol was illegal in the U.S. Because there were some people unhappy with prohibition, speakeasies were created to secretly distribute alcohol. This amendment was repealed in 1933 by the 21st Amendment.

Also in 1920 women gain their right to vote when the 19th Amendment was passed. With the right to vote, women were now allowed to wear shorter skirts and shirts and high heels became popular.

The Harlem Renaissance emerged in the 20s as well. This was when African Americans began moving to bigger cities in the north because they were still being discriminated against in the south and there were better paying jobs up north. This movement was called the Harlem Renaissance because the neighborhood in New York City that many African Americans moved to was Harlem. During this time African American musicians, artists and authors became famous. Jazz was also extremely popular, and still is in some places today.

In 1921 a Quota System was set up in the U.S to limit the number of immigrants that came to the country each year.

Since the assembly line helped build many forms of transportation, over 23 million Model T Ford existed in the U.S in 1926.

Also Mickey Mouse was created by Walt Disney in 1928. Movies became very popular sine there were talkies instead of silent films.

The Great Depression

Before the 1920s people put a lot of money in stocks of big corporations. Only 200 corporations held over half of all American wealth.

Form 1925 to 1929 the American people’s investments in stock appreciate greatly. People begin to think they are rich because of the value of their stock.

Then the government discovered that stocks had been overvalued. So, on October 29, 1929 the stock market crashes and over $14 billion was lost in the value of stocks. This day was known as Black Tuesday. This was the beginning of the Great Depression and it was the biggest one in the history of the U.S.

To make matters worse, the middle east went through what was called The Dust Bowl from 1931-1937. This was caused by an incredible drought that created massive dust storms to cover the middle east. Also, this drought lasted for so long that many farmers had to sell their farms, and they sold them for very low prices due to the depression in the U.S.

In 1932 over 20,000 veterans from WWI went to the White House and demanded their bonus they were promised to receive in 1945. They wanted it early because they had no money and no jobs since many companies went out of business. President Hoover would not give them their bonuses so they camped out in front of the White House and protested. Hoover had the army drive them away with tear gas.

Then, also in 1932, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected as president with the promise of creating a new deal. This was different for American because Hoover was a republican and Roosevelt was a democrat. By this time over 25% of Americans were unemployed and many people lived in “Hoovervilles”.

The New Deal

Under FDR there were over 100 new government agencies created.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the first to use the radio to communicate with the American public. This was a significant milestone in the U.S government’s use of technology.

The FDIC was a government agency that was created under President Roosevelt in 1933. This insured banks so that if the bank went broke people wouldn’t lose the money they had in savings accounts. This was a big reason why many Americans went broke because the banks closed down and couldn’t give people their money back.

The CCC was also formed in 1933 and lasted until 1942. The Civilian Conservation Corps was for young men who needed work. They built national forests and parks, and they made buildings all over the U.S. The workers got paid $30 a month but $25 was sent to their parents.

From 1935 to 1943 the Works Progress Administration provided over 8 million unskilled jobs. This provided mostly construction jobs like making roads and buildings but art projects were also funded by the WPA.

In 1935 the Social Security Board was made to give seniors retirement pensions. This agency takes some money out of people’s paychecks and it appreciates in value over time. When they retire this money will be paid out to them.

In 1939 the Great Depression ended and WWII began. The growth in manufacturing to help pay for the war helped end the depression.

Part II The Indian Wars were the first events that were significant to me and I think they are very important in

U.S history . These events were important because the Native Americans taught the Europeans a lot about how to live in this new territory. Personally, I think what the Europeans did to the Natives was wrong, and the wars that took place between the two different cultures was pointless. I appreciate that the American government eventually made all the Natives citizens and somewhat let them still follow their traditions.

The Homestead Act is another event that I think was important in our history. I believe this event was significant because it helped our country expand. It also helped us learn different types of farming, and it allowed American settlers to start raising cattle. If the Homestead Act would have never taken place, Colorado would not be part of the U.S! That would be sad seeing how wonderful it is here. The United States would not have been the same without this act encouraging people to explore the American West.

The Civil War was extremely important as well. This war tore this country apart and brought the states closer together as well. During this war brothers fought and killed their own brothers due to the disagreements on slavery laws. This also caused enormous amounts of damage to our country such as, farms being burned, buildings being destroyed, and many innocent civilians getting killed. After the Civil War, President Lincoln was assassinated, slavery was abolished by the 13th Amendment, and the Northern and Southern states remained united. Theses are all important events in history.

In 1871 the American government passed laws allowing federal troops to go against the KKK. This law was commonly called the Ku Klux Klan Act or the Civil Rights Act. To me, this event was very important because the KKK members killed and tortured many African American people and when this law was passed the murders somewhat stopped. This also prevented any groups from trying to go against the laws of the government or overthrow the government. Any people who knew of these kind of groups were in danger of being responsible for the deaths caused by them if they did not intercede.

When “The Jungle” was written by Upton Sinclair many laws were passed to make our food and drugs safer. Also this book encouraged workers to fight for better, safer working conditions. The AFL was formed and they did a lot to help gain better pay and better working conditions for workers, especially in factories. The Pure Food And Drug Act and The Meat Inspection Act were passed to make drugs safer and to assure consumers that their food was safe to eat. This event is significant because we still use these laws today, and we have improved them so that no matter where we eat or get drugs it always has to be inspected or approved.

Part II Cont. World War I was called the Great War before World War II happened. This war was the greatest

war in history at that time. This war is important because it was the first time countries started to form secret alliances and this was one cause of the war. The use of imperialism was another cause of the war, and this was new in Europe. Because Austria-Hungary controlled Serbia, and Serbia wanted their independence, they both formed secret alliances to help them each get what they wanted. This was the first time this had happened in history and it became the beginning of chaos. When WWI ended, secret alliances between countries were no longer allowed in order to prevent other wars like this. The end of this war gave Serbia it’s freedom and split Germany apart. This war is important to me because there were many “firsts” brought about around the world not just in America.

The Great Depression was the longest and most difficult one in American history, and was a very important event. The Great Depression made living in America very difficult and caused almost the whole country to go broke. This depression also helped our country to pass laws and create tools to help prevent this kind of depression from happening again. The FDIC was created to insure banks so people would not lose their money if the banks crashed. The Social Security Board was created to give seniors money when they retired. These agencies we still use today and they have been very effective in helping over people and our government.

The era of the Roaring Twenties was also very important. Many new things happened during this time. The Harlem Renaissance helped African Americans become noticed for their talents, new music such as jazz was created, night clubs opened for entertainment, new art and literature also became popular, and “talkies” were created. This era also opened doors for many African and Mexican Americans because this was the first time they were elected into political offices.

There is not much to say about the 19th Amendment, but it was an essential event in our country’s history. This amendment gave all women in America the right to vote. Over many years women fought for this right because they helped the country in war and worked in factories. When this amendment was ratified many women voted in the election of 1920.