1000
Anasazi start to raise corn, beans, and squash at Chaco Canyon and Mesa Verde in present day New Mexico. They also build dams and irrigation systems to make the desert bloom. To live they make apartments inside the canyon walls.
1001
Norse Vikings make a settlement at Vineland
1050-1250
The Cahokia settlement across from present day St. Louis. This tribe will trade with the whole Mississippi basin.
October 12, 1492
At 2am after a 33-day journey, a lookout on one of Columbus ships sees land. Spain will follow up on this discovery unlike the Vikings. He thinks he has landed in Asia but will soon be proved wrong. Because of this discovery Ireland will get the potato, Italy will have tomato sauce on her noodles, the Indians will taste onions, peach’s, pears, oranges, banana’s, rice, wheat, and sugar. The Indians will be introduced to the horse, cow, pig, goat, chicken, and honeybee. Europe will soon have squash, cocoa, beans, corn, avocados, pineapples, chili peppers, peanuts, tobacco, and cotton. Unfortunately for the Indians the Spanish also brought infectious diseases that they had never dealt with and a religious fanaticism that led them to a policy of convert or die.
1497
Cabot reaches North America
1513
Ponce de Leon explores Florida
1519
Cotes invades Mexico
1534-1535
Cartier explores the St. Lawrence River.
1539-1542
De Soto explores the southeast. He will discover 10 future states before dying of fever on the banks of the Mississippi. He will also decimate most of the Mississippi tribes in his wake.
1540-1542
Coronado explores the southwest. He will discover the Grand Canyon and California. His goal is to find the seven cities of gold.
1565
St. Augustine becomes the first permanent settlement in North America.
1587-1590
The English try to establish their first colony at Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina. It fails and the people disappear to history.
1598
Juan de Onate conquers the Pueblo’s in New Mexico for Spain and Spain establishes it’s first missionary colonies in North America.
1607
The London Company, a joint stock enterprise formed to find gold in the new world, sends a ship to America. The ship sails into the Chesapeake Bay and on the James River before they settle. The settlement is named Jamestown and Captain John Smith is left in charge. However the colony suffers from disease and Indian attacks the first few years and even though every year brings more men more then 80% will die.
1608
The French settle in Quebec
1609
Hudson explores Hudson River for the Dutch
1610
Santa Fe is founded.
1611
First year that Tobacco is grown in Virginia. John Rolfe, who married Pocahontas, will introduce it in London and even though King James I will declare it unhealthy it will make him rich.
1614
Fort Orange (Albany) is founded by the Dutch.
1619
The first legislative assembly, known as the House of Burgesses, meets in Jamestown. Also that year 20 slaves are sold by the Dutch in Jamestown.
1620
A group of radical Protestants, who wished to purify the Church of England of its Catholic practices, and replace it with a simple plain service and autonomous church congregations, sails for the New World. Called Pilgrims, they end up in New England and settle a colony called Plymouth. More then half will die that first year.
1622
After a series of bad faith actions on both parties, the Powhatan Confederacy attacks Jamestown. The leader is captured and executed and the tribe scattered on the frontier.
1624
The Dutch settle New Amsterdam and the English settle St. Christopher in the Lesser Antilles.
1630
A less radical group of Puritans who studied John Calvin, and led by John Winthrop, settle Boston and the surrounding area calling it Massachusetts Bay.
1634
King Charles I grants a charter to Cecil Calvert to found a proprietary colony, which he will call Maryland.
1636
Roger Williams is banned from Massachusetts Bay for preaching freedom of religion. He flees to modern day Rhode Island and founds Providence.
1636-1637
The Pequot War begins when the Puritans and their allies the Narragansett attack the prosperous Pequot tribe. The Pequot’s would be pushed to the brink of extinction.
1637
Ann Hutchison who is preaching that good works is not what gets you into heaven and that men can be directly spoken to by God is banned from Massachusetts Bay. She will be killed by Indians in 1643, which the Puritans consider divine intervention.
1640
Sugar is begun to be grown on Barbados.
1642
The French found Montreal.
1664
England capture New Amsterdam and rename it New York, New Jersey is founded the same year.
1670
Charles Town founded by sugar growers from Barbados. Finding that sugar and tobacco will not grow in the new area the settlers plant rice and start a rich slave trade. Marquette, Joliet, and LaSalle explore the Great Lakes and Mississippi valley for France. They also spread Christianity while doing so.
1675-1676
An Indian chief known as Metacom or King Phillip leads an attack on Massachusetts Bay. Before he is killed his tribe will destroy a dozen settlements and kill 600 settlers. His head will be kept on a pole in Plymouth for 20 years and his tribe is sold into slavery in Virginia.
1676
A member of the House of Burgess, Nathanael Bacon, leads a rebellion in Virginia. His army of farmers and indentured servants will occupy and burn Jamestown and force the governor to flee briefly. Bacon will die of disease shortly after this and his rebellion will collapse. The result will be a turn away from indentured slavery to black slavery.
1680
Pope’s Rebellion. An Pueblo Indian led this rebellion against Spanish authority and manages to drive Spain out of New Mexico for a time while killing all the religious leaders in the colony.
1681
William Penn a Quaker establishes Philadelphia as a holy experiment. He pledges not to persecute anyone who lives there.
1691
Massachusetts Bay loses its charter and becomes a royal colony like Virginia.
1692
Spain reconquers New Mexico. Salem Witch Trails take place in Massachusetts Bay.
1701
Iroquois decide to be neutral to both England and France.
1711-1713
Tuscarora War in North Carolina.
1715
Yemasee War in South Carolina.
1718
New Orleans founded by French
1732
Georgia founded.
1739
Stono Rebellion in Carolina. Tired of slavery and it’s horrors a group of new arrived slaves broke into a store on the Stono River, armed themselves, and started to march towered Florida. On the way they would plunder plantations and kill 24 whites before being gunned down by a militia company.
1754
Washington is defeated at Fort Necessity. The French and Indian War begins.
1756-1763
The Seven Years War is fought in America and Europe. This is the first true world war.
1763
The Treaty of Paris ends the Seven Year War. France loses all its land in America and the “Catholic menace” was ended. Proclamation of 1763 closes the border to Americans.
1764
Sugar Act and Currency Act.
1765
Parliament passes the Stamp Act. This act puts taxes on any legal document, newspaper, pamphlet, even dice and playing cards. The Colonies rebel against this tax and refuse to pay. Because of this the Sons of Liberty are formed. The colonists refuse to import anything of British origin.
1766
Britain repeals the Stamp Act.
1767
Townsend Act is passed. This act taxes glass, paper, and tea. Again the colonies rebel and refuse to import British goods.
1770
All taxes are repealed except for the one on tea. March 5, 1770: British troops after being pelted with snowballs and rocks in Boston open fire on a mob killing five men.
1773
Parliament agrees to help the East India Company sell its tea in America. They arrange a lower price then the current smuggled tea. Boston however refuses to accept the tea in any form because of the taxes. The night before the customs house was to seize the tea, the sons of liberty disguised themselves as Indians, went onto the ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into the water.
1774
The British government passes the Cohesive Acts, which are also called the Intolerable Acts. These acts close the port of Boston, place Massachusetts under martial law, and allow the French to practice Catholicism in Canada. Because of this 12 colonies send men to Philadelphia in what will be called the First Continental Congress. The congress acts the King to intercede stating that they are loyal but King George III refuses.
April 19, 1775
British troops and American rebels fire at each other in the towns of Lexington and Concord in the Massachusetts countryside. This is the opening battle of the Revolutionary War. The Americans will lose 10 men the British 70 and the British will be forced to retreat to Boston.
May of 1775
The Second Continental Congress meets in Philadelphia. The congress appoints George Washington head of the army outside Boston, recruits man and supplies for war, takes charge of the post office and Indian affairs, borrows money and prints it’s own currency. It becomes in effect the first government of the United States.
December 1775
Virginia Governor Dunmore tries to make the slaves revolt by announcing that he will free any slave that joins the British Army.
January 1776
Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense, which states the arguments for independence. March 1776: The British Army leaves Boston.
July 2, 1776
The Congress approves a declaration written by Thomas Jefferson that states that the ?United States is and ought to be free and independent states and that all ties to the British are hereby dissolved.? Two days later they publish the document but it will not be signed for a month.
August 1776
The British take New York City.
1776
Although not in America, Adam Smith writes The Wealth of Nations, here Smith argues that the production of wealth would increase dramatically if individuals were allowed to pursue their self-interest, with little interference from government. And in serving their own interests, individuals would serve the public interest, unconsciously, as if guided, as he said, by an “unseen hand.” This was not a new idea in America.
1776-1780
The States all write Constitutions.
1777
Vermont abolishes slavery
October 1777
The United States Army stops an invasion from Canada led by General John Burgoyne. Because of this victory France and Spain will declare war on Britain.
1780
Massachusetts becomes the last state to ratify a Constitution
1781
Articles of Confederation are ratified. The articles put all the power in the hands of an elected assembly. However the assembly has no power to tax or lay duties on trade.
October 18, 1781
Surrounded by France and the United States Army, General Cornwallis surrenders his troops at Yorktown. The war is for all intents and purposes over.
1783
The Treaty of Paris gives America freedom. The trans-Appalachian west became part of the United States, along with all the land between Canada and the northern border of Florida
1785-1787
Shays Rebellion
1787
Constitutional Convention passes a new constitution for the government with power divided in three branches. One of the last acts of the Articles Congress is to pass the Northwest Ordinance, this act lets future states enter into the union as equal members, it sets aside land for public education, it disallows slavery, and it makes an effort to appease the Indian.
1790
An English immigrant, Samuel Slater, builds America’s first factory. It is a textile mill for changing cotton into cloth.
1790’s-1840’s
The Second Great Awaking occurs in America. Charles Finney preaches that man can chose salvation for himself. Many communities arise as communal and a counter to the industrialized world. One of these is Brook Farm.
1794
Farmers out west refuse to pay a whiskey tax recently passed by Congress. The reason that they refuse to pay is since they cannot ship their grain to markets in time for it to be still fresh they must ship it as whiskey. President Washington orders the army to crush the rebellion. Also that year the Miami Indian Confederacy is destroyed at Fallen Timbers.
1798
The Alien and Sedition Acts are passed which make it a crime to criticize the government.
1800
Thomas Jefferson becomes the first Democrat-Republican elected President proving that a smooth transfer of power can take place. The party will later drop the name Republican and just be the Democrat Party. That same year there is a slave uprising in Virginia that fails. It is known as Gabriel’s Uprising.
1803
The United States buys the Louisiana Territory from France for $15 million dollars. This purchase doubles the country in size
1804
Vice-President Aaron Burr kills Federalist leader Alexander Hamilton in a duel.
1804-1806
Lewis and Clark’s Corp of Discovery explore the Louisiana Territory
1808
Congress bans the importation of slaves into the United States.
1816
The American Colonization Society is formed to free slaves and relocate them to Africa.
1819-1820
The Missouri Compromise where Missouri entered the union as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and a line was moved west called the 36 30? in which slavery is made illegal north of the area.
1820’s
The Lowell Factory System is built.
1822
Denmark Vesey, a slave in South Carolina tries to start an insurrection.
1825
The Erie Canal opens. It runs from Buffalo on Lake Erie, to Albany on the Hudson River. Now farmers out west have a way to ship goods to New York City.
July 4, 1826
On the fiftieth anniversary of the declaration of independence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson die. They are the last two members of the committee of Independence to do so.
1826
The American Society for the Promotion of Temperance is formed to stop drinking alcohol and the evils that came from it.
1828
Andrew Jackson becomes the first Democrat elected president.
1830
The Baltimore and Ohio becomes the first Railroad in the USA. Plans for the city of Chicago are laid out. Congress passes the Indian Removal Act to remove the southeastern tribes from their homes to present day Oklahoma.
1831
McCormick invents the reaper for wheat farming. The US ends debtor prison. Mt. Auburn Cemetery becomes the first rural cemetery as attitudes change from fear to acceptance of death. The Anti-Mason party becomes the first third party. Nat Turner, a slave in Virginia, starts an insurrection and his followers will kill sixty slave owners and their families before being caught and hung.
1833
William Lloyd Garrison forms the Anti-Slavery Society
1834
The nations first strike occurs at Lowell, Massachusetts.
1838-1839
The Trail of Tears when the Southeast Indians are forcibly removed.
1845
Frederick Douglass publishes his Narrative of Slave Life in which he destroys the myth of slavery.
1846-1848
The Mexican War takes place. In the end the United States will annex Texas and most of the Southwest.
1848
The Illinois and Michigan canal opens in Chicago. First Board of Education in Massachusetts starts to develop class levels, requires attendance, and set a curricula. In Seneca Falls, New York the first Women’s Rights convention is held.
1850
The Compromise of 1850 is passed. In it California entered the union as a free state, New Mexico and Utah were organized into territories to decide the question of slavery for themselves, Texas debts before the war were paid off by the US, New Mexico received some land from Texas, the slave trade was ended in the District of Columbia as was slavery, and a Furtive Slave Law was passed which would permit owners to recover slaves in the North that had runaway.
1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe, the wife of a Christian preacher, publishes Uncle Tom’s Cabin which shows the horrors of slavery.
1854
Stephen Douglass brings up a bill called the Kansa-Nebraska Act, which destroys the last vestige of the Missouri Compromise line. This bill lets Kansas and Nebraska territory decide for themselves about the question of slavery. Also that year in Boston, an escaped slave living for many years in the town by the name of Anthony Burns was returned to Virginia to the protest of 50,000 townspeople.
1856
In Kansas, the free town of Lawrence is burned to the ground by a raid of pro slavery people. In retaliation a man named John Brown leads a gang to Pottawatomie Creek and murders 5 pro slavery people. That same year in Congress Congressmen Preston Brooks beats with his cane, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner for making anti-slavery remarks.
1857
The Supreme Court rules against Dred Scott, a slave who has lived for many years with his master in the west. Chief Justice Roger Taney says? that a black man had no rights a white man had to respect?. He also stated that Congress did not have the power to prohibit slavery.
1858
A young lawyer from Springfield by the name of Abraham Lincoln, debates with Senator Stephen Douglass on the question of slavery while trying to win a seat in the Senate for the new Republican Party.
1859
John Brown leads a raid on Harper’s Ferry, Virginia in an effort to seize the arsenal and free the slaves in the south. He is arrested and hanged.
1860
Lincoln becomes the first Republican president and South Carolina secedes from the union. She will be followed by Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, Virginia, and Louisiana. The Knights of Labor, the nations first union, is formed.
April 12, 1861
The South fires on Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina harbor and the Civil War begins.
July 21, 1861
The battle of First Bull Run in which the North loses.
1862
Congress passes the Pacific Railway Act, which gives two corporations the right to build the Transcontinental Railroad. One company, the Central Pacific was to build east from California while the other, Union Pacific, was to start at Omaha, Nebraska and move west. Each company got a 400-foot right of way on either side of the track and money for each mile of track ranging from $16,000 to $48,000. Congress also passes the Homestead Act, which gives farmers out west 160 acres of land which after 5 years was owned by the farmer.
April 6-7, 1862
The battle of Shiloh, which the North wins. 20,000 men fell which were more then all other wars combined at that time.
September 17, 1862
The battle of Antietam in which neither side wins however the North fails to destroy the invading South.
December 13, 1862
The battle of Fredericksburg that the North loses after a series of successive charges toward a well-defended point.
January 1, 1863
The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect, which puts the war on a new idea i.e. the freeing of the slaves instead of the preservation of the nation on the status quo.
April 30-May 6, 1863
The Battle of Chancellorsville which the North loses, however Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, who is a practicing Christian evangelist, is killed.
May 18-July 4, 1863
The City of Vicksburg is put under siege and falls to the Union Army. This puts the Mississippi River in the hands of the North and splits the Confederacy.
July 1-3 1863
The Battle of Gettysburg, which the North wins. This battle is the result of the second southern invasion of the North and this time they lose.
November 19,1863
Lincoln makes his famous Gettysburg Address. An interesting note is that this marks one of the few times Lincoln mentions God in a speech.
November 1864
In the first time in a civil war, a presidential election is held in which Lincoln wins a second term.
November-December 1864
Sherman, after capturing Atlanta, makes his famous march to the sea.
November 29, 1864
The Colorado Militia, commanded by a former Methodist Minister named John Chivington, attacks a band of peaceful Indians at Sand Creek. He and his man kill, rape, and loot mostly women and children.
April 9, 1865
Lee surrenders to Grant and the war is over.
April 14, 1865
Lincoln is assassinated and dies the next day. This is the first time that a president is killed. Andrew Johnson becomes president.
December 6, 1865
The Thirteenth Amendment is passed which officially frees all slaves.
March 1867
The “Radical” Republicans pass the Reconstruction Act in Congress, which tries to get the black man the right to vote. The South will be occupied until they agree.
February 1868
Andrew Johnson is impeached by the house and saved by one vote in the Senate. He had lost all power that he once held and would not run again.
July 9, 1868
The Fourteenth Amendment gives the black man citizenship rights.
November 1868
Grant is elected president of the United States. He is the second republican so elevated.
December 1868
General Custer’s 7th cavalry attacks a peaceful Indian camp at Washita Creek, Texas.
1869
Wyoming Territory gives women the right to vote.
February 3, 1870
The Fifteenth Amendment is ratified. This gives the black man the vote.
April-October 1871
Grant sends troops against the KKK down south. This would help crush the Klan and the KKK would not be revived until 1915.
1872
Grant makes Yellowstone the first national park. Grant’s administration has its first corruption scandal when it is reveled that his friends have stolen money from the Union Pacific. This scandal is called Credit Mobilier and it would be the first of many.
1873
Barbed wire is invented in Dekalb, Illinois.
1875-1876
Armor and Swift begin the first Chicago meatpacking with the development of the refrigerated railroad car.
May 10, 1876
President Grant opens up the Centennial’s Exposition in Philadelphia.
June 25, 1876
Custer loses his life in the Battle of Little Bighorn.
July 4-8, 1876
In Hamburg, South Carolina a group of blacks is stopped from marching in an Independence Day parade. When the blacks march on the courthouse, the white townspeople turn a cannon on them. After surrendering the black leaders are murdered. The whites were found innocent of murder after which Grant sent troops.
November 1876
In a disputed presidential election with the electoral votes tied, a committee is set up and the Republican candidate Hayes is selected in exchange for ending Reconstruction.
1877
Widespread railroad strikes occur in the ?Great Strike of 1877?. President Hayes uses federal troops for the first time to break up a strike. Chief Joseph surrenders his tribe of Nez Pierce Indians.
1878
Thomas Edison builds his Edison Electric Company and invents the light bulb.
1879
Andrew Carnegie begins to produce steel.
1881-1882
Chinese are excluded from coming to America.
1882
First Electric Streetcar is built in Chicago. John D. Rockefeller establishes the Standard Oil Trust
1883
National Time Zones are standardized.
1885
First Iron frame Skyscraper is built in Chicago.
1886
Haymarket Square riot in Chicago results in the death of 7 socialist leaders. The American Federation of Labor is founded. Also Geronimo surrenders marking the end of the last Indian resistance.
1887
The Dawes Act breaks up Indian reservations and gives each Indian 160 acres of land although much of it ends up in the hands of white men.
Late 1880’s
Farmers Alliances are formed. They want state ownership of the railroads, a graduated income tax, and money circulated in silver.
1889
Hull House is founded in Chicago. Jane Addams opened this house as a way to give the poor someplace to escape too. The house had a daycare, playground, bathhouse, gym, and library. She and her partner, Florence Kelly, would later get landmark Illinois legislation passed to monitor the factory system.
1890
Chicago has become the world’s meatpacking city. Sherman Anti-Trust Act is passed. Wounded Knee Massacre occurs in South Dakota as Indians are shot down while trying to surrender. Yosemite National Park is second national park.
1892
Homestead Steelworkers Strike The Peoples or Populist Party becomes a third party. They support the farmer’s allegiance goals.
1893
The World’s Columbia Exposition opens in Chicago. Frederick Turner announces that the frontier is closed. Ant-Saloon League is founded.
1894
Pullman Strike in Chicago.
1895
Booker T. Washington gives a speech in Atlanta favoring economic advancement for the African-American over ending segregation.
1896
Plessy vs. Ferguson makes segregation legal in the United States.
1897
In Lattmer, Pennsylvania a mine strike is broken up by the murder of at least 19 miners by the sheriff and his deputies. They are later declared innocent.
1898
Spanish American War is won by United States. The United States receives a part of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippians. Also that year Hawaii is made a territory of the United States.
1900
In the election of 1900, a general mine strike threatens to shut down the nation until the Republican president, William McKinley go over the heads of the mine owners and get a deal from J. P. Morgan. The mine agrees to a 10% wage increase but no union.
1901
J.P. Morgan starts the first billion-dollar corporation, U.S. Steel. Henry Ford starts Ford Motor Company in Detroit, Michigan.
1902
50,000 coal miners go on strike in Pennsylvania. They demand an increase in wages and an 8-hour workday, which the mine owners refuse. For many months the strike is at an impasse until President Roosevelt steps in and makes a deal for the miners.
1903
Panama grants canal rights to the United States. Congress establishes Federal Wildlife Sanctuaries. Women’s Trade Union League founded.
1904
Roosevelt threatens to intervene in Latin America if they need help. This is called the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine.
1905
Niagara Movement promotes African-American rights.
1906
Upton Sinclair publishes The Jungle, which reveals the unsanitary condition in the meat factory. Because of this Congress passes the Meat Inspection Act and the Pure Food and Drug Act. President Roosevelt invites Russia and Japan to America to work out their differences. Japan receives all her war aims and Roosevelt gets the Nobel Peace Prize. San Francisco Earthquake.
1907-1909
Roosevelt sends out the United States Navy on a worldwide ? Great White Fleet? tour.
1908
Ford invents the Model T.
1909
NAACP founded.
1911
The Society of American Indians is founded to push for rights for Indians. In New York, a factory burning called the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire brings attention to the plight of workers.
1912
The United States invades Cuba and Nicaragua.
1913
Ford invents the assembly line, which makes his cars cheaper to own.
1914
The United States invades Mexico. World War I begins in Europe. The Panama Canal is opened for business. Federal Trade Commission created. Clayton Anti-Trust Act passed by Congress.
1917
The United States enters World War I on the side of the Allies.
1917-1918
More then a half million blacks migrate north in the Great Migration.
1919
The Treaty of Versailles ends World War I. President Wilson tries to get his 14 points passed one of which establishes a ?League of Nations? which is a forerunner of the UN. 18th Amendment outlawing the selling or production of Alcohol is passed. Prohibition is law.
1920
19th Amendment giving women the right to vote is passed. KDKA makes the first commercial radio broadcast.
1921
Federal Highway Act is passed by Congress authorizing connecting roads across state lines.
1922-1923
The Supreme Court makes decisions against strikes, child labor laws, and minimum wage laws.
1923
The KKK, which was revived in 1915, reaches a peak of activity. This time it will die out in 1944 only to be revived once again in 1946.
1925
In Tennessee, the Scopes Monkey Trial takes place putting Evolution against Creation for the first time in the national eye.
1927
Charles Lindbergh makes a trans-Atlantic flight. The Jazz Singer becomes the first motion picture with sound.
1929
League of United Latin American Citizens is founded to push for the rights of Mexican-Americans. The Stock Market crashes ushering in the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover becomes President as the last of a long line of Republicans until 1952.
1931
In Alabama, the Scottsboro case comes to trial. Nine black defendants are accused of raping two white females on a train and found guilty. They are sentenced to death although none will be ever executed.
1932
World War I veterans march on Washington D.C. to receive their bonus money early. The United States Army moves in on them and forces them to flee. Hoover’s government passes the Federal Emergency Relief Act, which gives money to states to give to the needy. FDR will later steal this idea for his New Deal. Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected President of the USA he is the first Democrat elected since Wilson.
1933
The great plains gets hit with a drought and thousands of acres of farmland are blown away in the “Dust Bowl”. FDR starts the era of big government with the New Deal and the establishment of the AAA, CCC, TVA, FDIC, and NIRA. He also has congress repeal Prohibition.
1934
Congress passes the Federal Housing Administration bill, which establishes the FHA.
1935
The WPA is established to give unemployed workers something to do while fixing up the nation. The National Labor Relations Act gives right to organize. Social Security is enacted.
1936
Roosevelt is re-elected for his second term.
1936-1937
The CIO starts a yearlong Flint, Michigan sit-down strike to protest unfair employer practices. Roosevelt makes the owners back down.
1937
The Farm Security Administration is established. This act helps out farmers. The Republic Steel Plant tries to strike in Chicago. Chicago police fire into the mass picket line killing 10 people.
December 7, 1941
Japan attacks Pearl Harbor and the United States joins World War II.
1942
West Coast Japanese Americans are interned in camps. The Manhattan Project begins in Chicago.
September 1943
The Allies invade Italy
June 6, 1944
The Allies invade France
February 1945
Dresden, Germany firebombed for no reason at all.
April 1945
The islands of Okinawa and Iwo Jima are invaded by the US.
May 8, 1945
VE Day in Europe when Germany surrenders.
August 1945
Atomic Bombs are dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
September 1945
Japan surrenders on VJ Day.
October 24, 1945
The United Nations is born.
1946
The Baby Boom Generation is born.
1947
Levittown, New York becomes the first suburb.
1948
Marshall Plan helps Europe to recover.
1949
The USSR explodes a nuclear bomb starting the arms race.
1950
Joseph McCarthy starts his anti-communist hearings. The Korean War begins. The Rosenberg’s are found guilty of espionage and treason and sentenced to death.
1953
The Korean War ends.
1954
The US Senate condemns McCarthy and refuses to let him talk. The Supreme Court rules in Brown vs. the Board of Education that segregation is illegal.
1955
The Montgomery Bus Boycott begins and Dr. Martin Luther King jr. is pushed to the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement.
1956
Eisenhower starts the Interstate system.
1957
Little Rock, Arkansas becomes the first city to let African Americans into a desegregated high school. This only happens after President Eisenhower sends federal troops to the city.
1958
Congress passes the National Defense Education Act to help improve math, science, and foreign langrage education.
1960
Greensboro, North Carolina becomes the birthplace of the sit in. The SNCC is formed.
1961
Civil Rights workers start Freedom Rides by riding on buses and testing discrimination in bus stations. The United States tries to invade Cuba in the Bay of Pigs.
1962
First US manned orbit of earth. Silent Spring is published becoming the first environmental book in the modern era. Castro is found to have nuclear missiles in Cuba and the Cuban Missile Crises begins.
1963
The Feminine Mystique is published starting the women’s lib movement. Birmingham, Alabama becomes the center of African American protest after the police commissioner turns fire hoses and dogs on the protesters. Martin Luther King jr. leads a march on Washington, D.C. John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
1964
President Johnson passes the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which makes segregation illegal in public, and state supported institutions. It gives the Justice Department more power to intervene and establishes a commission to look at discrimination in private employment. The Free Speech Movement begins on college campus. In August, the United States is attacked in the Gulf of Tonkin off Vietnam and the Vietnam War starts.
1965
Malcolm X is assassinated stopping for a time the Black Muslim movement in America.
1966
The National Organization for Women is founded.
1968
Both Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy are assassinated within a month of each other.
1970
Cambodia is bombed in an escalation of the Vietnam War. In America, the First Earth Day is celebrated.
1973
The Watergate hearings begin. Roe vs. Wade is passed making it legal to have an abortion. The Energy Crises begins and America is forced to pay double for gasoline while at the same time hurting the auto and steel industry.
1974
Richard Nixon resigns as president.
July 4, 1976
The country celebrates 200 years of independence.
1979
Three Mile Island Nuclear accident.
1979-1981
52 Americans are held hostage by Iran.
1981
AIDS comes to America.
1989
The Berlin Wall comes down ending the Cold War.
1991
The First Persian Gulf War.
1992
LA riots due to the Rodney King verdict.
1998
Clinton is impeached and found innocent.
2000
George W. Bush becomes President after a hard fought election.
September 11, 2001
The World Trade Center is hit by Islamic fundamentalists.
March 2005
The leaders of Canada (Paul Martin), the U.S. (George W. Bush), and Mexico (Vicente Fox) signed an agreement called the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP)……When asked if he wanted a North American Union, and if it would include Canada, Fox said, ?Long term, yes.? On May 16, 2002 Fox spoke at Club 21 in Madrid, and stated, ?Eventually, our long-range objective is to establish with the United States, but also with Canada, our other regional partner, an ensemble of connections and institutions similar to those created by the European Union.
October 2006
The US population hits 300 Million according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
2008
April
The Dollar Index traded on ICE Futures in New York, which tracks the currency against those of six trading partners, traded at 71.971 from 72.021 on April 4. It reached an all-time low of 70.698 on March 17, when the dollar dropped to the record of $1.5903 against the Euro (Bloomberg.com) Former U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said he sees a more than 50% chance the U.S. economy will enter a recession, according to an interview published byEl Pais newspaper.
July
Federal regulators seize IndyMac Bank after it succumbs to the pressures of tighter-credit, tumbling home prices and rising foreclosures. IndyMac is the largest thrift ever to fail in the U.S.
September 7
In a bid to stabilize the nation’s troubled housing market, the government seizes control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two publicly traded companies that together hold or guarantee about half the nation’s mortgage loans.
September 15
Lehman Brothers declares bankruptcy, the largest ever in the United States. Investor concerns turn next to American International Group Inc., a giant insurance company, after a plunge in that company’s stock and downgrades to its debt by credit ratings agencies who say the slumping housing market could further undermine its finances.
September 16
The U.S. government announces an $85 billion emergency loan to rescue AIG, saying a disorderly failure of the company could further disrupt already delicate financial markets and the economy.
September 18
The Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Asia pump up to $180 billion into money markets in a bid to free up a lending freeze between banks. Markets rally on hopes for a broader government rescue package. That night, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke ask Congress for authority to rescue banks by buying bad assets from them.
September 19
Following a series of ad hoc measures, the U.S. government announces a broad rescue plan for the financial system, including a program to buy hundreds of billions of dollars of bad mortgages and other forms of toxic debt that have been weighing down U.S. financial companies. The Fed and Treasury departments shore up money market funds, which had also come under siege during the crisis, and the SEC temporarily bans short-selling a way of betting that stocks will fall against shares in 799 financial stocks.
September 22
Last two standing investment banks, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, convert to bank holding companies.
September 26
Feds seize Washington Mutual in largest-ever US bank failure.
September 29
U.S. House of Representatives rejects mammoth $700-billion bailout plan.
October 1
U.S. Senate adopts massive bailout plan, adding sweeteners to get House acceptance.
October 2
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warns of a heightened risk of the United States heading, without remedy, into a deep recession, after having analyzed the converging factors that have led to the current financial crisis in the country, EFE reports.
October 3
Wells Fargo bank and the fourth largest U.S. bank, Wachovia Corp announce merger.
October 3
The largest government intervention in capital markets in US history clears the US House of Representatives, becoming law with signature by President Bush.
October 6-10
The Dow lost 1,874.19 points, or 18.2 percent, during the week. Its dismal performance outdid the week that ended July 22, 1933, which saw a 17 percent drop and back then, during the Great Depression there were six trading days in a week.
October 10
The US government plans to move ahead with its plan to start buying stock in financial institutions according to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The Bush administration was given that authority in the $700 billion financial bailout plan approved by Congress.
November 1
WebMD Health News reports that despite tough anti-drug laws, a new survey shows the U.S. has the highest level of illegal drug use in the world. The World Health Organization’s survey of legal and illegal drug use in 17 countries, including the Netherlands and other countries with less stringent drug laws, shows Americans report the highest level of cocaine and marijuana use.
November 4
Illinois Senator, Barack Obama, won the United States presidential election and will become the first African-American ever to take office. He received more than 50% of the popular vote, a first for a Democrat since Jimmy Carter’s victory in 1976. President-Elect Obama is expected to take office on January 20, 2009.
December 1
Employers cut 533,000 jobs over the course of the month of November, seeing the worst month for job cuts in 34 years.
December 7
The U. S. unemployment rate was sitting at 6.7% (or 10.3 million people), the highest number seen in 15 years. Unemployment was still only 5% as recently as April, but is now projected by some to hit 8% or higher in the upcoming months.
2009
January 7
Unemployment climbs to a 16-year high of 7.2%.
January 20
America’s 44th President, Barack Obama is sworn into office.
January 21
President Obama orders the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to be closed within one year. But, in November 2009 Obama admitted that his self imposed deadline of January 2010 would be missed, and in March 2011 the president went back on his campaign promise, signing an executive order to create a formal system of indefinite detention for the prisoners.
February 13
The largest public-spending bill in U.S. history is passed─a $787 billion economic-stimulus package approved by both the Congress and Senate. President Obama responded by saying, “This is a major milestone on our road to recovery, and I want to thank the members of Congress who came together in common purpose to make it happen.” He made no mention of the fact that no House Republicans and only three Republican senators voted for the bill.
March 2
The Dow dropped nearly 300 points and finished at 6763. The last close falling below 7,000 was on May 1, 1997
March 9
President Obama overturns the ban on federal funding of stem cell research, stating that his administration will “make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.”
April
The nation’s unemployment rate hits 8.9%, the highest number since September of 1983 when it climbed to 9.2%.
May 15
The United States has over 4700 confirmed or likely cases of H1N1 swine flu, with 5 deaths so far, in 47 states.
June
According to the U.S. Dept of Labor, the unemployment rate sits at 9.5%.Job losses were widespread across the major industry sectors, with large declines occurring in manufacturing, professional and business services, and construction.
September 7
The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released a report calling for a new “global currency” that would be managed by a “global reserve bank” to replace the failing U.S. dollar.
September 17
President Obama announced that the U.S. no longer intends to move forward with its plan to build a missile defense shield in the Czech Republic and Poland.
November 6
The U.S. unemployment rate for the month of October rose to 10.2%
December 17
President Obama amended Executive Order #12425, giving Interpol the right to operate within the territorial limits of the U.S., yet without being subject to the constitutional limits imposed on every other domestic law enforcement agency. By amending the order, he has given Interpol’s domestic facilities (including its office within the U.S. Department of Justice) freedom from any possible search and seizure by U.S. authorities and from disclosure of archived documents in response to Freedom of Information Act requests filed by U.S. citizens.
2010
January 3
U.S. Introduces Stricter Screenings for Certain Air Passengers – Transportation Security Administration announced stricter screening requirements for passengers traveling by air to the U.S. from 14 countries, including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria. Passengers with passports or originating flights from any of the countries on this list will be required to undergo full-body pat downs and extra scrutiny of carry-on luggage. More advanced screenings will also be necessary at certain airports. The new regulations result from the alleged attempted bombing by a Nigerian citizen on December 25, 2009.
March 21
ObamaCare Passed by Congress, and signed into federal law by President Obama on March 23, furthering the process of socializing the U.S. healthcare system. Obamacare, more formally known as the “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,” will impose massive penalties on young workers, small businesses and others who choose not to buy forced, expensive health insurance, beginning in 2014. ObamaCare is the biggest handout by liberals in American history to a single interest group, the health insurance industry. Even a Democrat Senator recently admitted: “ObamaCare cost Obama a lot of credibility as a leader.”
April 5
Obama Downsizes Military Defense – U.S. President announced a revised American nuclear strategy that will limit the instances in which the U.S. will use nuclear weapons. Part of the strategy includes renouncing the creation of new nuclear weapons. This significantly changes the protocol of past administrations; the United States is declaring for the first time its commitment not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states; a position that enemies of the U.S. will most surely see as a weakening of America.
April 20
The Deepwater Horizon Platform Explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven workers. The resulting Horizon oil spill, one of the largest in history, spreads for several months, damaging the waters and the United States coastline, and prompting international debate and doubt about the practice and procedures of offshore drilling.
April 23
Strict, Controversial Immigration Law Enacted in Arizona. The governor of Arizona, Jan Brewer (Republican), signed into Law the country’s most important immigration bill. It is designed to identify and deport illegal immigrants. Law enforcement officials are now allowed to ask those people suspected of being illegal immigrants for their proof of citizenship or visas. This law designed to protect U.S citizens and borders caused President Obama to be very irritated bringing a lawsuit by the Justice Department to the state of Arizona.
June 28
Supreme Court Rules Right to Bear Arms Applies to State and Local Governments. The Supreme Court ruled in a 5-to-4 decision that the Second Amendment’s guarantee, the right to bear arms, applies to local and state gun control laws. Justice Samuel Alito, who spoke for the majority, said the right to self-defense is fundamental to American civil liberties.
July
Home Sales at Lowest Level in 10 Years—the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate was 3.83 million, 25.5% lower than at the same time in 2009. Experts were expecting a drop in sales—due to the end of the federal tax credit of $8,000 that had been in place for home buyers for a number of months—but the estimate of 13% was much too low.
December 13
Health Care Reform Act (ObamaCare) Declared Unconstitutional by Federal Judge, Henry Hudson from Virginia. He ruled that one of the main provisions of the health-care form law is unconstitutional. The ruling claims that under the Commerce Clause, a law requiring all Americans to hold health insurance, as the reform law states, is beyond the regulatory power of the federal government.
December 18
Senate Votes to Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” – The Senate votes 65 to 31 in favor of repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, the Clinton-era military policy that forbids openly gay men and women from serving in the military. On December 22, 2010 Obama officially repealed the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” military policy.
2011
January 8
Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, among 18 Shot in Assassination Attempt. Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords was shot in an assassination attempt in Arizona. She was among at least 18 shot by a gunman who opened fire on the congresswoman’s constituent meeting outside a local grocery store. Six people died, including United States District Court Judge John Roll, and a 9-year old girl, Christina Taylor-Green. The gunman, Tucson resident Jared Lee Loughner was apprehended and taken into police custody. Representative Giffords, who was shot in the head was hospitalized and in critical condition although her doctors expressed optimism about her recovery.
May 19
The U.S. President called for Israel/Palestine Peace deal based on 1967 Borders. In an effort to capitalize on the season of change in the Arab world and satisfy his Muslim interests President Obama declared that the borders before the 1967 Arab-Israeli war should be the basis of a Mid-East peace deal between Israel and Palestine. Obama’s declaration came a day before a meeting in Washington with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel. The Israeli government protested immediately, saying that a return to the pre-1967 borders would leave Israel “indefensible.”
May 22
One of the Deadliest Tornados in U.S. History Hits Joplin, Mo. At least 140 people are killed and hundreds more injured as a three-quarter-mile-wide tornado hits Joplin around dinnertime. The tornado is among the deadliest in the nation’s history, destroying nearly a third of the city and damaging about 2,000 buildings, including water treatment and sewage plants.
June 24
New York passed a law to allow same-sex marriage. New York is now the largest state that allows gay and lesbian couples to marry. The vote comes on the eve of the city’s annual Gay Pride Parade and gives new momentum to the national gay-rights movement. The marriage bill is approved with a 33 to 29 vote.
August 5
For the first time in history, the U.S credit rating lowered. Credit agency, Standard and Poor’s lowered the nation’s credit rating from the top grade of AAA to AA+, removing the U.S. from its list of risk-free borrowers. In making the decision, Standard and Poor’s write that the “gulf between the political parties” has reduced confidence in the government’s ability to manage its finances. President Obama’s failure to lead the country in the right direction has contributed greatly to this dilemma. Obama has created more debt than any other president in U.S. history.
August 27
Major Hurricane Irene Hits the East Coast, beginning as a Category 3 with 115-mile-per hour winds, Hurricane Irene moved up the eastern seaboard. Irene moved at about 14 miles an hour, which is half the speed of a typical hurricane. At least 44 people are killed in 13 states. Evacuations were ordered for about 2.3 million people. Damage is estimated at $7 billion.
October 17
Occupy Wall Street, which began a month ago as an organized protest in New York’s financial district, has grown to other cities across the U.S. Occupy Wall Street defines itself as a group of activists who stand against corporate greed, social inequality, and the disproportionate lifestyles between the rich and poor. Some analysts believe anti-American leftists are behind these protesters using them to help breakdown society and cause social conflict and chaos.
2012
January 02
National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 – “More lies: Obama signs into law unconstitutional National Defense Authorization Act to arbitrarily detain American citizens after promising to veto it,” Forbes calls the NDAA” “The greatest threat to civil liberties Americans face” (12/15/11). U.S. Congress recently passed NDAA, which provisions the U.S. military to patrol American soil and arrest Americans that are involved with, or even suspected of being involved with, “terrorist” activities. It does not seem to matter to either the legislative or executive branches of the U.S. government that there are already laws in place to deal with those who commit crimes — now anyone and everyone can be considered a terrorist and be detained indefinitely without legal counsel or trial. An in-your-face declaration against the U.S. Bill of Rights.
Obama Violates His Presidential Oath, Sworn Before God – Article II, Section I of the United States Constitution spells out the oath of office that every president must take during their swearing in: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” In signing the NDAA law into office, Obama has blatantly and unambiguously violated this sacred oath, meaning that his betrayal is not merely against the American people, but also against Almighty God.
May 8
North Carolina passed an amendment to ban gay marriage by a margin of more than twenty percent. By doing so, North Carolina became the 30th state in the U.S. to include an amendment for traditional marriage only in its constitution.
May 9
In an interview at the White House with ABC News Obama declared his strong support for gay marriage making him the first U.S. President to back gay marriage while in office.
June 28
The Supreme Court of the United States upheld ObamaCare — by only one vote, 5-4 — as being within the taxing power of the federal government. In essence, the court said to Obama: You did raise taxes, and it’s called ObamaCare.
July 10
The Washington Free Beacon published news that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton created a controversy in June 2012 when she announced the U.S. formation of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF) which neglects to include Israel on a list of countries that perpetually struggle with terror attacks. Congressional sources and regional experts say that the Obama administration is intentionally downplaying Israel’s struggle with terrorism in order to appease and gain the cooperation of Arab nations that are often hostile to the Jewish state.Despite pleas from Senators on Capitol Hill, the Obama administration deliberately excluded Israel from the new Counterterrorism Forum.
September 7
A report shows employers in the U.S. hired less people in August then the month before. The U.S. added 96,000 jobs in August, compared to 141,000 in July and far below the 125,000 which economists expected. The unemployment rate fell from 8.3 in July to 8.1 in August. The percentage of people in the labor force falls to 63.5 percent, which is the lowest since September 1981. Approximately 23 million people in the U.S. are unemployed. The price of food and all retail goods have increased and decreased in quality. The price of gas continue to climb close to the $4.00 a gallon range in many areas and closer to $5.00 per gallon in some communities.
Severe U.S. Drought – Almost 80 percent of agricultural land is experiencing drought, which makes the 2012 drought more extensive than any drought since the 1950s seriously affecting U.S. agriculture, with impacts on the crop and livestock sectors and with the potential to affect already high food prices at the retail level according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture.
900 Executive Orders Passed by Obama – In less than four years (2009-2012) President Obama passed 900 Executive orders surpassing the number of such orders passed by all previous U.S. Presidents. Obama’s Executive Orders would give the government tyrannical and total control of Americans and their way of life (a government pathway to government seizure) in an attempt to forfeit our Founding Father’s vision for this great nation.
2013
United States Federal Government Shutdown of 2013, October 1 through 16, 2013
The US government entered a shutdown and curtailed most routine operations because neither legislation appropriating funds for the fiscal year 2014, nor continuing resolution for the interim authorization of appropriations for fiscal year 2014 were enacted in time. Regular government operations resumed October 17 after an interim appropriations bill was signed into law.
2014
Obama Issues “Executive Orders by Another Name”
President Obama has issued a form of executive action known as the presidential memorandum more often than any other president in history — using it to take unilateral action even as he has signed fewer executive orders. When these two forms of directives are taken together, Obama is on track to take more high-level executive actions than any president since Harry Truman battled the “Do Nothing Congress” almost seven decades ago, according to a USA TODAY review of presidential documents.
2015
Government Overreach Continues
US states and localities have spent spend much of their time this year grappling with troublesome new realities and trying to work out their relationship with Washington.
New realities are a given in any governmental year, but the 2015 crop includes some unusually potent ones. Legislators will be dealing with widespread water shortages, dwindling transportation funds, the emergence of new drugs that threaten to blow up Medicaid budgets,and revised pension accounting rules, among other challenges.
Ongoing tensions continue with the federal government on education. For instance, many states are frustrated by what they see as top-down remedies that emphasize accountability through standardized testing.
The Common Core backlash will continue this year, as a critical period begins for these new curriculum standards. States are being forced to deal with a mandate from the Environmental Protection Agency to cut 30 percent in carbon dioxide emissions nationwide.
2016
The 2016 U.S. presidential election stunned the world when Donald J. Trump won the election on November 8, 2016. Never before was so much hatred and propaganda directed at a presidential candidate by the press and the Democratic Party. The American people pushed back against big government and the globalists like never before. The media not only in the USA, but throughout the world, lost credibility with their constant fake new and obvious bias against common sense conservative values.
The threat of continued illegal immigration across open borders allowed and encouraged by the lawless Obama Administration and establishment globalists is a primary reason for the uprising of the American people. The out-of-control welfare benefits given to illegal immigrants, the inability to find good jobs for the middle class and the population general, the continued threat of terrorism, the rising crime rate because of open borders and sanctuary cities—is another factor that caused the American people to respond to Donald Trump’s promises. Bringing jobs back to America and making America safer played a large part in Donald Trump’s success at the polls.
Trump’s promise to drain the swamp in Washington, his promise to put a stop to the destruction of our country by those who want to turn the USA into a third world nation of government dependency—which would result in abject poverty for the majority of Americans in a country overrun by criminal migrants from all over the world—these factors turned the tide of globalism back to nationalism in the year 2016. However, the enemies of capitalism and freedom continue to fight against the American people and the new Trump Administration by using fake news and any type of propaganda they can dream up.
2017
Still reeling from the unexpected Trump win in 2016, 2017 seemed to be the year of Fake News. In their frustration, the Left would rather publish lies than deal with reality.
President Trump sent shock waves throughout the world by announcing that the U.S. declares that Jerusalem is the eternal capital of Israel.
2018
The Democratic Party won control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections. The Democrats gained a net total of 41 seats from the total number of seats they had won in the 2016 elections. … Voter turnout in this election was 50.3%, the highest turnout in a U.S. midterm election since 1914.
2020
The 2020 election will be the most important election in the modern history of the United States.
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