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Ancient Rome had a major impact on art, architecture, language, technology, and science. They opened new doors through inventions that still shape society today.

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Traces of Ancient Rome in the Modern World

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The ideas and culture of ancient Rome influence the art, architecture, science, technology, literature, language, and law of today.

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More than 10,000 Native Americans were forced out of their homes to move west because of the American government's American Indian Removal.

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Determining the Facts

Reading 3: "Every Cherokee man, woman or child must be in motion..."

For two years after the Treaty of New Echota, John Ross and the Cherokees continued to seek concessions from the federal government, which remained disorganized in its plans for removal. Only the eager settlers with their eyes on the Cherokee lands moved with determination. At the end of December 1837, the government warned Cherokee that the clause in the Treaty of New Echota requiring that they should "remove to their new homes within two years from the ratification of the treaty" would be enforced.¹ In May, President Van Buren sent Gen. Winfield Scott to get the job done. On May 10, 1838, General Scott issued the following proclamation:

Cherokees! The President of the United States has sent me, with a powerful army, to cause you, in obedience to the Treaty of 1835, to join that part of your people who are already established in prosperity, on the other side of the Mississippi. . . . The full moon of May is already on the wane, and before another shall have passed away, every Cherokee man, woman and child . . . must be in motion to join their brethren in the far West.²

Federal troops and state militias began to move the Cherokees into stockades. In spite of warnings to troops to treat them kindly, the roundup proved harrowing. A missionary described what he found at one of the collection camps in June:

The Cherokees are nearly all prisoners. They have been dragged from their houses, and encamped at the forts and military posts, all over the nation. In Georgia, especially, multitudes were allowed no time to take any thing with them except the clothes they had on. Well-furnished houses were left prey to plunderers, who, like hungry wolves, follow in the trail of the captors. These wretches rifle the houses and strip the helpless, unoffending owners of all they have on earth.³

Three groups left in the summer, traveling from present-day Chattanooga by rail, boat, and wagon, primarily on the water route, but as many as 15,000 people still awaited removal. Sanitation was deplorable. Food, medicine, clothing, even coffins for the dead, were in short supply. Water was scarce and often contaminated. Diseases raged through the camps. Many died.

Those travelling over land were prevented from leaving in August due to a summer drought. The first detachments set forth only to find no water in the springs and they returned back to their camps. The remaining Cherokees asked to postpone removal until the fall. The delay was granted, provided they remain in the camps until travel resumed. The Army also granted John Ross's request that the Cherokees manage their own removal. The government provided wagons, horses, and oxen; Ross made arrangements for food and other necessities. In October and November, 12 detachments of 1,000 men, women, children, including more than 100 slaves, set off on an 800 mile-journey overland to the west. Five thousand horses, and 654 wagons, each drawn by 6 horses or mules, went along. Each group was led by a respected Cherokee leader and accompanied by a doctor, and sometimes a missionary. Those riding in the wagons were usually only the sick, the aged, children, and nursing mothers with infants.

The northern route, chosen because of dependable ferries over the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and a well-travelled road between the two rivers, turned out to be the more difficult. Heavy autumn rains and hundreds of wagons on the muddy route made roads nearly impassable; little grazing and game could be found to supplement meager rations. Two-thirds of the Cherokees were trapped between the ice-bound Ohio and Mississippi rivers during January. A traveler from Maine happened upon one of the caravans in Kentucky:

We found the road literally filled with the procession for about three miles in length. The sick and feeble were carried in waggons . . . a great many ride horseback and multitudes go on foot-even aged females, apparently nearly ready to drop into the grave, were traveling with heavy burdens attached to the back-on the sometimes frozen ground, and sometimes muddy streets, with no covering for the feet except what nature had given them. ⁴

A Cherokee survivor later recalled:

Long time we travel on way to new land. People feel bad when they leave Old Nation. Women cry and made sad wails. Children cry and many men cry, and all look sad like when friends die, but they say nothing and just put heads down and keep on go towards West. Many days pass and people die very much. ⁵

In 1972, Robert K. Thomas, a professor of anthropology from the University of Chicago and an elder in the Cherokee tribe, told the following story to a few friends:

Let me tell you this. My grandmother was a little girl in Georgia when the soldiers came to her house to take her family away. . . . The soldiers were pushing her family away from their land as fast as they could. She ran back into the house before a soldier could catch her and grabbed her [pet] goose and hid it in her apron. Her parents knew she had the goose and let her keep it. When she had bread, she would dip a little in water and slip it to the goose in her apron.

Well, they walked a long time, you know. A long time. Some of my relatives didn't make it. It was a bad winter and it got really cold in Illinois. But my grandmother kept her goose alive.

One day they walked down a deep icy gulch and my grandmother could see down below her a long white road. No one wanted to go over the road, but the soldiers made them go, so they headed across. When my grandmother and her parents were in the middle of the road, a great black snake started hissing down the river, roaring toward the Cherokees. The road rose up in front of her in a thunder and came down again, and when it came down all of the people in front of her were gone, including her parents.

My grandmother said she didn't remember getting to camp that night, but she was with her aunt and uncle. Out on the white road she had been so terrified, she squeezed her goose hard and suffocated it in her apron, but her aunt and uncle let her keep it until she fell asleep. During the night they took it out of her apron. ⁶

On March 24, 1839, the last detachments arrived in the west. Some of them had left their homeland on September 20, 1838. No one knows exactly how many died during the journey. Missionary doctor Elizur Butler, who accompanied one of the detachments, estimated that nearly one fifth of the Cherokee population died. The trip was especially hard on infants, children, and the elderly. An unknown number of slaves also died on the Trail of Tears. The U.S. government never paid the $5 million promised to the Cherokees in the Treaty of New Echota.

Questions for Reading 3
1. What is the tone of General Scott's message to the Cherokees? Would you have tried to resist the removals after hearing Scott's message?
2. What happened to the Cherokee between May and October of 1838? What was life like for the Cherokee during that period?
3. With little time to plan and prepare, 17,000 Cherokee with their possessions, horses, and wagons moved from their homelands to Oklahoma. This type of mass migration was unprecented in the early 19th century. What sort of arrangements would be needed to prepare for and carry out such a mass movement of people? If you were given a short amount of time to leave your home and move to an unknown place, how would you feel? What would you take with you?
4. What do you think would have been the worst part of the entire removal process?
5. Do you think Robert Thomas's story about his grandmother is based on a real event? What do the students think the white road represented? In oral traditions, the speaker often "telescopes" historical time, collapsing one or more generations. Do you think the woman in Thomas's account was really his grandmother? Is that important? Do you think the story was intended as factual history? If not, what was it intended to record?

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The Trail of Tears and the Forced Relocation of the Cherokee Nation (Teaching with Historic Places) (U.S. National Park Service)

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Determining the Facts Reading 3: "Every Cherokee man, woman or child must be in motion..." For two years after the Treaty of New Echota, John Ross and the Cherokees continued to seek concessions from the federal government, which remained disorganized in its plans for removal.

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Between the years of 1840-1889, was the first wave of immigrants into the United States where over 14 million immigrants came into the US. Many from Germany, Ireland, Europe and the UK

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Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to explore how immigration patterns have changed throughout the United States and by state over time.

The maps and data in this analysis are based on Center tabulations of Census Bureau microdata from IPUMS USA. The maps show the largest country of birth for immigrants in each state or territory from 1850 to 2022. The tabulations agree as closely as possible with published Census Bureau data on the national and state foreign-born populations and other national data on the country of birth of immigrants.

Data: For the 1850-1880 and 1900-1940 censuses, the tabulations use complete count census data, which has one record for each person counted in the census. The census data comes from 1% samples for 1950 and 1970 (form 1 for 1970). For the 1960 and 1980-2000 censuses, it comes from 5% samples. For 2010 and 2022, we use the 1% sample from the American Community Survey (ACS).

States and territories: Before 1960, some censuses included data for territories that would later become states. When available, we show data for these areas and designate the territorial status in the maps with an asterisk (*). Prior to 1959, Alaska and Hawaii were not routinely represented in IPUMS datasets used in this analysis. However, IPUMS samples that include these two areas in 1900-1920 (1% samples) and 1930 (5% sample) provide data for the maps.

Immigrant population: The immigrant or foreign-born population consists of people born outside the United States or its territories who are not U.S. citizens at birth. In census data for 1970-2000 and ACS data for 2010-2022, there is a direct question on U.S. citizenship that defines the foreign-born population.

For the earlier censuses, we used several steps to define the immigrant and U.S.-born or native populations. First, people born in U.S. territories and outlying areas are considered part of the native population.

The territories defined as part of the native population are: Alaska (1870 and later); Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam and American Samoa (1900 and later); Philippines (1900-1940); Panama Canal Zone (1900-1970); U.S. Virgin Islands (1920 and later); Trust Territory of the Pacific (1950-1980); and Northern Mariana Islands (1950 and later).

Beginning with the 1890 census, people born outside the U.S. and its territories were considered U.S. citizens at birth if they had one or two American-born parents under certain conditions. The criteria have changed over time and do not appear to have been consistently applied in the early censuses. The IPUMS data has coded some of these cases directly. For other cases, we use the country of birth of each respondent's mother and father (either as reported in the census or assigned by IPUMS) to determine whether the individual is foreign born.

Country of birth: Countries of birth in the tabulations generally reflect the countries and regions within countries (e.g., Alsace-Lorraine, Bavaria) recognized at the time the data was collected. This reflects the responses to the census and generally agrees with official publications from the censuses. The country boundaries are similar to modern ones but may differ slightly in some cases.

The groupings used for the countries in the census and ACS data are:

United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years; Northern Ireland in 1930 and later.

Germany: Various German states, East Germany and West Germany in all years; Alsace and Lorraine for 1870-1910.

Austria: Austria and regions defined as Austria, including Austria-Hungary.

Poland: Regions defined as Poland, Austrian Poland, German Poland, Russian Poland, Prussian Poland, Galicia, Pomerania, West Prussia and various other areas.

Russia (1850-1920), USSR (1930-1990), USSR (former): These designations basically refer to the same area. It includes Russia plus the republics within the Soviet Union (e.g., Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Siberia). The exception is Armenia, which is treated as a separate country for 1920-1930.

China: Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000-2022.

Portugal: Azores, Madeira Islands and St. Miguel in all years; Cape Verde Islands through 1970.

Korea: North and South Korea.

Various other countries and regions are grouped together, but none are the top origin countries for states or in the top five origin countries nationally.

A more equitable U.S. immigration law. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act opened up legal immigration from Asia and Latin America. The law it replaced had favored immigrants from Northern and Western Europe and mostly barred those from Asia.

Unauthorized immigration. Unauthorized immigration to the U.S. began to grow in the 1970s, which made the total number of immigrants go up. Most of those who came before 1982 acquired legal status after the passage of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. However, unauthorized immigrants continued to come in large numbers.

Further changes in U.S. immigration law. A revision to the 1965 act in 1990 allowed more legal immigrants to enter the U.S. and provided alternative ways for people to immigrate, increasing the diversity of origins.

Contents

1850

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1860

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1870

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1880

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1890

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1900

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1910

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1920

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1930

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1940

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1950

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1960

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1970

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1980

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

1990

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

2000

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

2010

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

2022

Top five foreign-born populations by country of origin (in millions)
Note: Populations rounded to nearest 10,000. Shares and ranks based on unrounded numbers. Germany includes East and West Germany (1980-1990), German states coded by IPUMS (1850-1940). Alsace and Lorraine are part of Germany for 1870-1910 and France in other years. United Kingdom (UK) includes England, Scotland, Wales and Channel Islands in all years and Northern Ireland in 1930 and later. China includes Mongolia and Taiwan for 1850-1940; Hong Kong and Macau for 2000 and later. Poland includes areas designated as Poland by IPUMS (1850-1940) including "Austrian," "German," "Prussian" and "Russian" Poland. The term "Russia" is used for 1850-1920, "USSR" for 1930-1990 and "USSR (former)" for 2000 and later. These areas encompass all former republics of the USSR including Baltic states in all years. The only exception is Armenia which is coded separately in 1930-1940. Various other areas have been grouped together but do not appear in the top five countries for the U.S.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, " Historical Census Statistics on the Foreign-Born Population of the United States: 1850-2000 "; Pew Research Center tabulations of complete count census data for 1850-1940; census samples for 1950 (1%), 1960, 1980-2000 (5%) and 1970 (1% form 1); 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey (1%). Alaska and Hawaii from samples for 1900-1920 (1%) and 1930 (5%). All data from IPUMS.

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How the origins of America's immigrants have changed since 1850

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In 2022, the number of immigrants living in the U.S. reached a high of 46.1 million, accounting for 13.8% of the population.

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Westward Expansion was the movement of people from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean in the 1800s. Events included the Oregon Trail, Gold Rush, Louisiana Purchase, and Homestead Act.

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Reconstruction happened in America after the Civil War as the U.S reintegrated Confederate states (the South) back into the Union.

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What was the Reconstruction era?

Reconstruction, in U.S. history, the period (1865-77) that followed the American Civil War and during which attempts were made to redress the inequities of slavery and its political, social, and economic legacy and to solve the problems arising from the readmission to the Union of the 11 states that had seceded at or before the outbreak of war. Long portrayed by many historians as a time when vindictive Radical Republicans fastened Black supremacy upon the defeated Confederacy, Reconstruction has since the late 20th century been viewed more sympathetically as a laudable experiment in interracial democracy. Reconstruction witnessed far-reaching changes in America's political life. At the national level, new laws and constitutional amendments permanently altered the federal system and the definition of American citizenship. In the South, a politically mobilized Black community joined with white allies to bring the Republican Party to power, and with it a redefinition of the responsibilities of government.

Origins of Reconstruction

The national debate over Reconstruction began during the Civil War. In December 1863, less than a year after he issued the Emancipation Proclamation, Pres. Abraham Lincoln announced the first comprehensive program for Reconstruction, the Ten Percent Plan. Under it, when one-tenth of a state's prewar voters took an oath of loyalty, they could establish a new state government. To Lincoln, the plan was an attempt to weaken the Confederacy rather than a blueprint for the postwar South. It was put into operation in parts of the Union-occupied Confederacy, but none of the new governments achieved broad local support. In 1864 Congress enacted (and Lincoln pocket vetoed) the Wade-Davis Bill, which proposed to delay the formation of new Southern governments until a majority of voters had taken a loyalty oath. Some Republicans were already convinced that equal rights for the former slaves had to accompany the South's readmission to the Union. In his last speech, on April 11, 1865, Lincoln, referring to Reconstruction in Louisiana, expressed the view that some Blacks-the "very intelligent" and those who had served in the Union army-ought to enjoy the right to vote.

Presidential Reconstruction

Following Lincoln's assassination in April 1865, Andrew Johnson became president and inaugurated the period of Presidential Reconstruction (1865-67). Johnson offered a pardon to all Southern whites except Confederate leaders and wealthy planters (although most of these subsequently received individual pardons), restoring their political rights and all property except slaves. He also outlined how new state governments would be created. Apart from the requirement that they abolish slavery, repudiate secession, and abrogate the Confederate debt, these governments were granted a free hand in managing their affairs. They responded by enacting the Black codes, laws that required African Americans to sign yearly labour contracts and in other ways sought to limit the freedmen's economic options and reestablish plantation discipline. African Americans strongly resisted the implementation of these measures, and they seriously undermined Northern support for Johnson's policies.

When Congress assembled in December 1865, Radical Republicans such as Rep. Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania and Sen. Charles Sumner from Massachusetts called for the establishment of new Southern governments based on equality before the law and universal male suffrage. But the more numerous moderate Republicans hoped to work with Johnson while modifying his program. Congress refused to seat the representatives and senators elected from the Southern states and in early 1866 passed the Freedmen's Bureau and Civil Rights Bills. The first extended the life of an agency Congress had created in 1865 to oversee the transition from slavery to freedom. The second defined all persons born in the United States as national citizens, who were to enjoy equality before the law.

A combination of personal stubbornness, fervent belief in states' rights, and racist convictions led Johnson to reject these bills, causing a permanent rupture between himself and Congress. The Civil Rights Act became the first significant legislation in American history to become law over a president's veto. Shortly thereafter, Congress approved the Fourteenth Amendment, which put the principle of birthright citizenship into the Constitution and forbade states to deprive any citizen of the "equal protection" of the laws. Arguably the most important addition to the Constitution other than the Bill of Rights, the amendment constituted a profound change in federal-state relations. Traditionally, citizens' rights had been delineated and protected by the states. Thereafter, the federal government would guarantee all Americans' equality before the law against state violation.

In the fall 1866 congressional elections, Northern voters overwhelmingly repudiated Johnson's policies. Congress decided to begin Reconstruction anew. The Reconstruction Acts of 1867 divided the South into five military districts and outlined how new governments, based on manhood suffrage without regard to race, were to be established. Thus began the period of Radical or Congressional Reconstruction, which lasted until the end of the last Southern Republican governments in 1877.

By 1870 all the former Confederate states had been readmitted to the Union, and nearly all were controlled by the Republican Party. Three groups made up Southern Republicanism. Carpetbaggers, or recent arrivals from the North, were former Union soldiers, teachers, Freedmen's Bureau agents, and businessmen. The second large group, scalawags, or native-born white Republicans, included some businessmen and planters, but most were nonslaveholding small farmers from the Southern up-country. Loyal to the Union during the Civil War, they saw the Republican Party as a means of keeping Confederates from regaining power in the South.

In every state, African Americans formed the overwhelming majority of Southern Republican voters. From the beginning of Reconstruction, Black conventions and newspapers throughout the South had called for the extension of full civil and political rights to African Americans. Composed of those who had been free before the Civil War plus slave ministers, artisans, and Civil War veterans, the Black political leadership pressed for the elimination of the racial caste system and the economic uplifting of the former slaves. Sixteen African Americans served in Congress during Reconstruction-including Hiram Revels and Blanche K. Bruce in the U.S. Senate-more than 600 in state legislatures, and hundreds more in local offices from sheriff to justice of the peace scattered across the South. So-called "Black supremacy" never existed, but the advent of African Americans in positions of political power marked a dramatic break with the country's traditions and aroused bitter hostility from Reconstruction's opponents.

Serving an expanded citizenry, Reconstruction governments established the South's first state-funded public school systems, sought to strengthen the bargaining power of plantation labourers, made taxation more equitable, and outlawed racial discrimination in public transportation and accommodations. They also offered lavish aid to railroads and other enterprises in the hope of creating a "New South" whose economic expansion would benefit Blacks and whites alike. But the economic program spawned corruption and rising taxes, alienating increasing numbers of white voters.

Meanwhile, the social and economic transformation of the South proceeded apace. To Blacks, freedom meant independence from white control. Reconstruction provided the opportunity for African Americans to solidify their family ties and to create independent religious institutions, which became centres of community life that survived long after Reconstruction ended. The former slaves also demanded economic independence. Blacks' hopes that the federal government would provide them with land had been raised by Gen. William T. Sherman's Field Order No. 15 of January 1865, which set aside a large swath of land along the coast of South Carolina and Georgia for the exclusive settlement of Black families, and by the Freedmen's Bureau Act of March, which authorized the bureau to rent or sell land in its possession to former slaves. But President Johnson in the summer of 1865 ordered land in federal hands to be returned to its former owners. The dream of "40 acres and a mule" was stillborn. Lacking land, most former slaves had little economic alternative other than resuming work on plantations owned by whites. Some worked for wages, others as sharecroppers, who divided the crop with the owner at the end of the year. Neither status offered much hope for economic mobility. For decades, most Southern Blacks remained propertyless and poor.

Nonetheless, the political revolution of Reconstruction spawned increasingly violent opposition from white Southerners. White supremacist organizations that committed terrorist acts, such as the Ku Klux Klan, targeted local Republican leaders for beatings or assassination. African Americans who asserted their rights in dealings with white employers, teachers, ministers, and others seeking to assist the former slaves also became targets. At Colfax, Louisiana, in 1873, scores of Black militiamen were killed after surrendering to armed whites intent on seizing control of local government. Increasingly, the new Southern governments looked to Washington, D.C., for assistance.

By 1869 the Republican Party was firmly in control of all three branches of the federal government. After attempting to remove Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton, in violation of the new Tenure of Office Act, Johnson had been impeached by the House of Representatives in 1868. Although the Senate, by a single vote, failed to remove him from office, Johnson's power to obstruct the course of Reconstruction was gone. Republican Ulysses S. Grant was elected president that fall ( see United States presidential election of 1868). Soon afterward, Congress approved the Fifteenth Amendment, prohibiting states from restricting the right to vote because of race. Then it enacted a series of Enforcement Acts authorizing national action to suppress political violence. In 1871 the administration launched a legal and military offensive that destroyed the Klan. Grant was reelected in 1872 in the most peaceful election of the period.

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Reconstruction | Definition, Summary, Timeline & Facts

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Reconstruction, the period (1865-77) after the American Civil War during which attempts were made to redress the inequities of slavery and its political, social, and economic legacy and to solve the problems arising from the readmission to the Union of the 11 states that had seceded.

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The Gilded Age was a time of rapid industrialization in the U.S. from the late 1870s to the early 1900s.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by

Gilded Age, period of gross materialism and blatant political corruption in U.S. history during the 1870s that gave rise to important novels of social and political criticism. The period takes its name from the earliest of these, The Gilded Age (1873), written by Mark Twain in collaboration with Charles Dudley Warner. The novel gives a vivid and accurate description of Washington, D.C., and is peopled with caricatures of many leading figures of the day, including greedy industrialists and corrupt politicians.

The great burst of industrial activity and corporate growth that characterized the Gilded Age was presided over by a collection of colourful and energetic entrepreneurs who became known alternatively as "captains of industry" and " robber barons." They grew rich through the monopolies they created in the steel, petroleum, and transportation industries. Among the best known of them were John D. Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Leland Stanford, and J.P. Morgan.

Twain's satire was followed in 1880 by Democracy, a political novel published anonymously by the historian Henry Adams. Adams's book deals with a dishonest Midwestern senator and suggests that the real source of corruption lies in the unprincipled attitudes of the wild and lawless West. An American Politician, by Francis Marion Crawford (1884), focuses upon the disputed election of Pres. Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876, but its significance as a political novel is diluted by an overdose of popular romance.

The political novels of the Gilded Age represent the beginnings of a new strain in American literature, the novel as a vehicle of social protest, a trend that grew in the late 19th and early 20th centuries with the works of the muckrakers and culminated in the proletarian novelists.

Jeff Wallenfeldt, Manager, Geography and History.

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Gilded Age | Definition, History, & Mark Twain

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Overview of the Gilded Age, the period of monopolistic industrial expansion, gross materialism, and blatant political corruption in the U.S. during the 1870s that gave rise to novels of social and political criticism. The period takes its name from a novel by Mark Twain and Charles Dudley Warner.

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The Indian Removal Act of 1830 was an act put into place where the president could grant land west of the Mississippi River to the Indian tribes and then gave up the land where they lived.

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The U.S. Government used treaties as one means to displace Indians from their tribal lands, a mechanism that was strengthened with the Removal Act of 1830. In cases where this failed, the government sometimes violated both treaties and Supreme Court rulings to facilitate the spread of European Americans westward across the continent.

As the 19th century began, land-hungry Americans poured into the backcountry of the coastal South and began moving toward and into what would later become the states of Alabama and Mississippi. Since Indian tribes living there appeared to be the main obstacle to westward expansion, white settlers petitioned the federal government to remove them. Although Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe argued that the Indian tribes in the Southeast should exchange their land for lands west of the Mississippi River, they did not take steps to make this happen. Indeed, the first major transfer of land occurred only as the result of war.

In 1814, Major General Andrew Jackson led an expedition against the Creek Indians climaxing in the Battle of Horse Shoe Bend (in present day Alabama near the Georgia border), where Jackson's force soundly defeated the Creeks and destroyed their military power. He then forced upon the Indians a treaty whereby they surrendered to the United States over twenty-million acres of their traditional land-about one-half of present day Alabama and one-fifth of Georgia. Over the next decade, Jackson led the way in the Indian removal campaign, helping to negotiate nine of the eleven major treaties to remove Indians.

Under this kind of pressure, Native American tribes-specifically the Creek, Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Choctaw-realized that they could not defeat the Americans in war. The appetite of the settlers for land would not abate, so the Indians adopted a strategy of appeasement. They hoped that if they gave up a good deal of their land, they could keep at least some a part of it. The Seminole tribe in Florida resisted, in the Second Seminole War (1835-1842) and the Third Seminole War (1855-1858), however, neither appeasement nor resistance worked.

From a legal standpoint, the United States Constitution empowered Congress to "regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes." In early treaties negotiated between the federal government and the Indian tribes, the latter typically acknowledged themselves "to be under the protection of the United States of America, and of no other sovereign whosoever." When Andrew Jackson became president (1829-1837), he decided to build a systematic approach to Indian removal on the basis of these legal precedents.

To achieve his purpose, Jackson encouraged Congress to adopt the Removal Act of 1830. The Act established a process whereby the President could grant land west of the Mississippi River to Indian tribes that agreed to give up their homelands. As incentives, the law allowed the Indians financial and material assistance to travel to their new locations and start new lives and guaranteed that the Indians would live on their new property under the protection of the United States Government forever. With the Act in place, Jackson and his followers were free to persuade, bribe, and threaten tribes into signing removal treaties and leaving the Southeast.

In general terms, Jackson's government succeeded. By the end of his presidency, he had signed into law almost seventy removal treaties, the result of which was to move nearly 50,000 eastern Indians to Indian Territory-defined as the region belonging to the United States west of the Mississippi River but excluding the states of Missouri and Iowa as well as the Territory of Arkansas-and open millions of acres of rich land east of the Mississippi to white settlers. Despite the vastness of the Indian Territory, the government intended that the Indians' destination would be a more confined area-what later became eastern Oklahoma.

The Cherokee Nation resisted, however, challenging in court the Georgia laws that restricted their freedoms on tribal lands. In his 1831 ruling on Cherokee Nation v. the State of Georgia, Chief Justice John Marshall declared that "the Indian territory is admitted to compose a part of the United States," and affirmed that the tribes were "domestic dependent nations" and "their relation to the United States resembles that of a ward to his guardian." However, the following year the Supreme Court reversed itself and ruled that Indian tribes were indeed sovereign and immune from Georgia laws. President Jackson nonetheless refused to heed the Court's decision. He obtained the signature of a Cherokee chief agreeing to relocation in the Treaty of New Echota, which Congress ratified against the protests of Daniel Webster and Henry Clay in 1835. The Cherokee signing party represented only a faction of the Cherokee, and the majority followed Principal Chief John Ross in a desperate attempt to hold onto their land. This attempt faltered in 1838, when, under the guns of federal troops and Georgia state militia, the Cherokee tribe were forced to the dry plains across the Mississippi. The best evidence indicates that between three and four thousand out of the fifteen to sixteen thousand Cherokees died en route from the brutal conditions of the "Trail of Tears."

With the exception of a small number of Seminoles still resisting removal in Florida, by the 1840s, from the Atlantic to the Mississippi, no Indian tribes resided in the American South. Through a combination of coerced treaties and the contravention of treaties and judicial determination, the United States Government succeeded in paving the way for the westward expansion and the incorporation of new territories as part of the United States.

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Milestones: 1830-1860 - Office of the Historian

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The Great Depression was a 10 year period from 1929-1939, where the economic state of the world turned upside down after the stock market crash in the U.S.

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Great Depression: Causes, Definition & Dates | HISTORY

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The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in world history. Learn about the Dust Bowl, New Deal, causes of the Great Depression, a Great Depression timeline more.

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Jamestown, Virginia (the first colony) the first stock company was called "The Virginia Company." The goal of this colony was to make money

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The English arrive at Jamestown.
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On December 6, 1606, the journey to Virginia began on three ships: the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery. In 1607, 104 English men and boys arrived in North America to start a settlement. On May 13 they picked Jamestown, Virginia for their settlement, which was named after their King, James I. The settlement became the first permanent English settlement in North America.

The site for Jamestown was picked for several reasons, all of which met criteria the Virginia Company, who funded the settlement, said to follow in picking a spot for the settlement. The site was surrounded by water on three sides (it was not fully an island yet) and was far inland; both meant it was easily defensible against possible Spanish attacks. The water was also deep enough that the English could tie their ships at the shoreline - good parking! The site was also not inhabited by the Native population.

Once the spot was chosen the instructions sent by the Virginia Company, with the list of the council members (chosen by officials in England), was read. The names were kept in a sealed box on the ship (each ship had a sealed copy). The first President of the new Virginia colony was to be Edward Maria Winfield. The other six council members were: Bartholomew Gosnold, Christopher Newport, John Martin, John Ratcliffe, George Kendall, and John Smith.

By June 15, the fort was completed. It was triangle shaped with a bulwark at each corner, holding four or five pieces of artillery. The settlers were now protected against any attacks that might occur from the local Powhatan Indians, whose hunting land they were living on. Relations had already been mixed between the newcomers and the Powhatan Indians. On June 22, Captain Newport left for England to get more supplies for the new settlement.

Not long after Captain Newport left, the settlers began to succumb to a variety of diseases. They were drinking water from the salty or slimy river, which was one of several things that caused the death of many. The death tolls were high. They were dying from swellings, fluxes, fevers, by famine, and sometimes by wars. Food was running low, though then Chief Powhatan starting to send gifts of food to help the English. If not for the Powhatan Indians help in the early years, the settlement would most likely have failed, as the English would have died from the various diseases or simply starved.

By late 1609, the relationship between the Powhatan Indians and the English had soured as the English were demanding too much food during a drought. That winter of 1609-10 is known as the "Starving Time." During that winter the English were afraid to leave the fort, due to a legitimate fear of being killed by the Powhatan Indians. As a result they ate anything they could: various animals, leather from their shoes and belts, and sometimes fellow settlers who had already died. By early 1610 most of the settlers, 80-90% according to William Strachey, had died due to starvation and disease.

In May 1610, shipwrecked settlers who had been stranded in Bermuda finally arrived at Jamestown. Part of a fleet sent the previous fall, the survivors used two boats built on Bermuda to get to Jamestown. Sir Thomas Gates, the newly named governor, found Jamestown in shambles with the palisades of the fort torn down, gates off their hinges, and food stores running low. The decision was made to abandon the settlement. Less than a day after leaving, however, Gates and those with him, including the survivors of the "Starving Time," were met by news of an incoming fleet. The fleet was bringing the new governor for life, Lord Delaware. Gates and his party returned to Jamestown.

Harvesting Tobacco.
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In 1612, John Rolfe, one of many shipwrecked on Bermuda, helped turn the settlement into a profitable venture. He introduced a new strain of tobacco from seeds he brought from elsewhere. Tobacco became the long awaited cash crop for the Virginia Company, who wanted to make money off their investment in Jamestown.

On July 30, 1619, newly appointed Governor Yeardley called for the first representative legislative assembly. This was the beginning of representative government in what is now the United States of America.

In that same year, the first documented Africans were forcibly captured and brought to Virginia to work the tobacco fields. It is contested whether, at the time, these people were considered indentured servants or enslaved peoples however, historical evidence suggests they were often treated in a manner that more closely resembles enslavement as we understand it today.

Also in 1619, the Virginia Company recruited and shipped over about 90 women to become wives and start families in Virginia, something needed to establish a permanent colony. Over one hundred women, who brought or started families, had arrived in prior years, but 1619 was when establishing families became a primary focus.

Peace between the Powhatan Indians and the English, brought about by the conversion and marriage of Pocahontas (kidnapped by the English in 1613) and John Rolfe in 1614, ended in 1622. In March of that year the paramount chief, then Opechancanough, planned a coordinated attack against the English settlements. He was tired of the English encroachment on Powhatan lands. Jamestown escaped being attacked, due to a warning from a Powhatan boy living with the English. During the attack 350-400 of the 1,200 settlers were killed. After the attack, the Powhatan Indians withdrew, as was their way, and waited for the English to learn their lesson or pack up and leave. Once the English regrouped they retaliated and there was fighting between the two peoples for ten years, until a tenuous peace was reached in 1632.

On May 24, 1624, the Virginia Company's charter was revoked by King James I due to overwhelming financial problems and politics, and Virginia became a royal colony, which it remained until the Revolutionary War. This shift in control did not change the English policy towards the Powhatan Indians. Despite peace being declared in 1632, English encroachments on Powhatan lands continued undiminished as more settlers arrived in the Colony.

In April 1644, Opechancanough planned another coordinated attack, which resulted in the deaths of another 350-400 of the 8,000 settlers. The attack ended when Opechancanough was captured in 1646, taken to Jamestown, and shot in the back by a guard - against orders - and killed. His death brought an eventual death to the Powhatan Chiefdom; it was reduced to tributary status. His successor signed the first treaties with the English, which made the Powhatan Indians subjects of the English.

Bacon's Rebellion.
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Bacon's Rebellion, in 1676, saw more struggles in Jamestown. The settlers were unhappy about their tobacco being sold only to English merchants due to the Navigation Acts, high taxes, and attacks on outlying plantations by American Indians on the frontiers. Nathaniel Bacon got about 1,000 settlers to join him and take care of the "Indian Problem." Bacon forced Governor Berkeley to give him an official commission to attack the American Indians to blame. Bacon and his followers, however, did not differentiate between those tribes responsible for the attacks and those who were loyal to the English. Governor Berkeley declared Bacon a rebel and civil war erupted in the colony. In September, Bacon and his followers set fire to Jamestown, destroying 16 to 18 houses, the church and the statehouse. Not long after, in October, the Rebellion began its end with the death of Nathaniel Bacon of the "bloody flux." Eventually, many of the rebels were captured and 23 were hanged by Governor Berkeley.

As a result of Bacon's Rebellion, another treaty was signed between the English and the Virginia Indians. More tribes were part of this treaty than the one of 1646. The treaty set up more reservation lands and reinforced a yearly tribute payment of fish and game that the tribes had to make to the English.

In 1698, fire struck Jamestown again. The fire was evidently started by a prisoner awaiting execution in the nearby prison. The fire destroyed the prison and the statehouse, though many of the public records were saved. In 1699, the government and capital were moved from Jamestown to Middle Plantation, renamed Williamsburg. People continued to live on Jamestown Island and owned farm lands, but it ceased to be a town.

Today, Jamestown Island is a historic site, though there is still a private residence on the island. It is preserved by the National Park Service and Preservation Virginia for visitors to learn about the importance of Jamestown and what was born out of its being the first permanent English settlement in North America.

Bibliography

Egloff, Keith and Deborah Woodward. First People: The Early Indians of Virginia. Charlottesville: The University Press of Virginia, 1992.

Haile, Edward Wright (editor). Jamestown Narratives: Eyewitness Accounts of the Virginia Colony: The First Decade: 1607-1617. Chaplain: Roundhouse, 1998.

McCartney, Martha W. Jamestown: An American Legacy. Hong Kong: Eastern National, 2001.

Price, David A. Love and Hate in Jamestown: John Smith, Pocahontas, and the Start of a New Nation. New York: Alfred A. Knoff, 2003.

Kelso, William M. and Beverly Straube. Jamestown Rediscovery 1994-2004. Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities, 2004.

Wood, Karenne (editor). Charlottesville: Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, 2007.

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A Short History of Jamestown - Historic Jamestowne Part of Colonial National Historical Park (U.S. National Park Service)

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On December 6, 1606, the journey to Virginia began on three ships: the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery. In 1607, 104 English men and boys arrived in North America to start a settlement. On May 13 they picked Jamestown, Virginia for their settlement, which was named after their King, James I.

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Conflict that took place in North America from 1754 to 1763 where Britain won the war. The win all the land east of the Mississippi.

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Kids learn about the history of the French and Indian War of the American Colonies between 1754 and 1763 including major battles, events, ending, and results.

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Thomas Jefferson was the 3rd president of the United States. His greatest achievement under his presidency was the Declaration of Independence.

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Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13, 1743 in Albemarle County, Virginia to Jane and Peter Jefferson. His father was a Virginia planter, surveyor, and slave owner. At age fourteen, Jefferson's fa...

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George Washington was the very 1st president of the United States. He took command in the Revolutionary War and victory over the British.

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Discover the life of George Washington, America’s first president and commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War.

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John Adams was the 2nd president of the United States and was the first vice president. He was an important figure who led the U.S to independence from Britain.

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On April 21, 1789, John Adams became the first Vice President of the United States. Over the next twelve years, John and Abigail followed the federal government as it was relocated from...

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Benjamin Franklin is best known as the Founding Father of the United States. He also helped in writing the Declaration of Independence and U.S Constitution.

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Benjamin Franklin - Quotes, Inventions & Facts

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Benjamin Franklin is best known as one of the Founding Fathers who never served as president but was a respected inventor, publisher, scientist and diplomat.

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The first 10 amendments of the U.S Constitution. James Madison is the main author and contributor.

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The Bill of Rights is one of the three founding documents. It was strongly influenced by the Virginia Declaration of Rights, written by George Mason as well as English documents such as the Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, the English Bill of Rights, and the Massachusetts Body of Liberties.
PDF: Bill of Rights
First Amendment
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Second Amendment
A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

Third Amendment
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.

Fourth Amendment
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Fifth Amendment
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Sixth Amendment
In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the state and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.

Seventh Amendment
In suits at common law, where the value in controversy shall exceed twenty dollars, the right of trial by jury shall be preserved, and no fact tried by a jury, shall be otherwise reexamined in any court of the United States, than according to the rules of the common law.

Eighth Amendment
Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Ninth Amendment
The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.

Tenth Amendment
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.

Who Wrote the Bill of Rights

The first ten amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. James Madison wrote the amendments as a solution to limit government power and protect individual liberties through the Constitution. For example, the Founders saw the ability to speak and worship freely as a natural right protected by the First Amendment. Congress is prohibited from making laws establishing religion or abridging freedom of speech. The Fourth Amendment safeguards citizens' right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion in their homes through the requirement of a warrant.

Why was the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution?

The Constitution lacked limits on government power. Federalists advocated for a strong national government. They believed the people and states automatically kept any powers not given to the federal government. Anti-Federalists wanted power to remain with state and local governments and favored a bill of rights to safeguard individual liberty.

Madison, then a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, altered the Constitution's text where he thought appropriate. However, several representatives, led by Roger Sherman, objected, saying that Congress had no authority to change the wording of the Constitution. Therefore, Madison's changes were presented as a list of amendments that would follow Article VII.

The House approved 17 amendments. Of these, the Senate approved 12, which were sent to the states for approval in August 1789. Ten amendments were approved (or ratified). Virginia's legislature was the final state legislature to ratify the amendments, approving them on December 15, 1791.

Primary Source by James Madison, George Mason (1791)

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Bill of Rights: The 1st Ten Amendments - Bill of Rights Institute

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The Bill of Rights is a founding documents written by James Madison. It makes up the first ten amendments to the Constitution including freedom of speech and due process.

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The supreme law that governs over the United States. The Constitution is composed of the Preamble, 7 articles, and 27 amendments.

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This is historical material “frozen in time”. The website is no longer updated and links to external websites and some internal pages may not work.

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The 19th amendment gave women the right to vote, which was ratified in 1920. This was a very long and difficult process.

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Passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment granted women the right to vote.
The 19th amendment legally guarantees American women the right to vote. Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle-victory took decades of agitation and protest. Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change of the Constitution. Few early supporters lived to see final victory in 1920.

Beginning in the 1800s, women organized, petitioned, and picketed to win the right to vote, but it took them decades to accomplish their purpose. Between 1878, when the amendment was first introduced in Congress, and August 18, 1920, when it was ratified, champions of voting rights for women worked tirelessly, but strategies for achieving their goal varied. Some pursued a strategy of passing suffrage acts in each state-nine western states adopted woman suffrage legislation by 1912. Others challenged male-only voting laws in the courts. Some suffragists used more confrontational tactics such as picketing, silent vigils, and hunger strikes. Often supporters met fierce resistance. Opponents heckled, jailed, and sometimes physically abused them.

By 1916, almost all of the major suffrage organizations were united behind the goal of a constitutional amendment. When New York adopted woman suffrage in 1917 and President Wilson changed his position to support an amendment in 1918, the political balance began to shift.

On May 21, 1919, the House of Representatives passed the amendment, and 2 weeks later, the Senate followed. When Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment on August 18, 1920, the amendment passed its final hurdle of obtaining the agreement of three-fourths of the states. Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby certified the ratification on August 26, 1920, changing the face of the American electorate forever.

The campaign for woman suffrage was long, difficult, and sometimes dramatic; yet ratification did not ensure full enfranchisement. Decades of struggle to include African Americans and other minority women in the promise of voting rights remained. Many women remained unable to vote long into the 20th century because of discriminatory state voting laws.

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19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Women's Right to Vote (1920)

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EnlargeDownload Link Citation: Joint Resolution of Congress proposing a constitutional amendment extending the right of suffrage to women, approved June 4, 1919.; Ratified Amendments, 1795-1992; General Records of the United States Government; Record Group 11; National Archives.

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The Civil Rights Movement took place in the 1950s and 60s. This movement was filled with events and acts to achieve equal rights for African Americans.

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Jim Crow Laws

During Reconstruction, Black people took on leadership roles like never before. They held public office and sought legislative changes for equality and the right to vote.

In 1868, the 14th Amendment to the Constitution gave Black people equal protection under the law. In 1870, the 15th Amendment granted Black American men the right to vote. Still, many white Americans, especially those in the South, were unhappy that people they'd once enslaved were now on a more-or-less equal playing field.

To marginalize Black people, keep them separate from white people and erase the progress they'd made during Reconstruction, " Jim Crow " laws were established in the South beginning in the late 19th century. Black people couldn't use the same public facilities as white people, live in many of the same towns or go to the same schools. Interracial marriage was illegal, and most Black people couldn't vote because they were unable to pass voter literacy tests.

Jim Crow laws weren't adopted in northern states; however, Black people still experienced discrimination at their jobs or when they tried to buy a house or get an education. To make matters worse, laws were passed in some states to limit voting rights for Black Americans.

Moreover, southern segregation gained ground in 1896 when the U.S. Supreme Court declared in Plessy v. Ferguson that facilities for Black and white people could be "separate but equal."

World War II and Civil Rights

Prior to World War II, most Black people worked as low-wage farmers, factory workers, domestics or servants. By the early 1940s, war-related work was booming, but most Black Americans weren't given better-paying jobs. They were also discouraged from joining the military.

After thousands of Black people threatened to march on Washington to demand equal employment rights, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 8802 on June 25, 1941. It opened national defense jobs and other government jobs to all Americans regardless of race, creed, color or national origin.

Black men and women served heroically in World War II, despite suffering segregation and discrimination during their deployment. The Tuskegee Airmen broke the racial barrier to become the first Black military aviators in the U.S. Army Air Corps and earned more than 150 Distinguished Flying Crosses. Yet many Black veterans were met with prejudice and scorn upon returning home. This was a stark contrast to why America had entered the war to begin with-to defend freedom and democracy in the world.

As the Cold War began, President Harry Truman initiated a civil rights agenda, and in 1948 issued Executive Order 9981 to end discrimination in the military. These events helped set the stage for grass-roots initiatives to enact racial equality legislation and incite the civil rights movement.

Rosa Parks

On December 1, 1955, a 42-year-old woman named Rosa Parks found a seat on a Montgomery, Alabama bus after work. Segregation laws at the time stated Black passengers must sit in designated seats at the back of the bus, and Parks complied.

When a white man got on the bus and couldn't find a seat in the white section at the front of the bus, the bus driver instructed Parks and three other Black passengers to give up their seats. Parks refused and was arrested.

As word of her arrest ignited outrage and support, Parks unwittingly became the "mother of the modern-day civil rights movement." Black community leaders formed the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA) led by Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr., a role which would place him front and center in the fight for civil rights.

Parks' courage incited the MIA to stage a boycott of the Montgomery bus system. The Montgomery Bus Boycott lasted 381 days. On November 14, 1956, the Supreme Court ruled segregated seating was unconstitutional.

Little Rock Nine

In 1954, the civil rights movement gained momentum when the United States Supreme Court made segregation illegal in public schools in the case of Brown v. Board of Education. In 1957, Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas asked for volunteers from all-Black high schools to attend the formerly segregated school.

On September 4, 1957, nine Black students, known as the Little Rock Nine, arrived at Central High School to begin classes but were instead met by the Arkansas National Guard (on order of Governor Orval Faubus) and a screaming, threatening mob. The Little Rock Nine tried again a couple of weeks later and made it inside, but had to be removed for their safety when violence ensued.

Finally, President Dwight D. Eisenhower intervened and ordered federal troops to escort the Little Rock Nine to and from classes at Central High. Still, the students faced continual harassment and prejudice.

Their efforts, however, brought much-needed attention to the issue of desegregation and fueled protests on both sides of the issue.

Civil Rights Act of 1957

Even though all Americans had gained the right to vote, many southern states made it difficult for Black citizens. They often required prospective voters of color to take literacy tests that were confusing, misleading and nearly impossible to pass.

Wanting to show a commitment to the civil rights movement and minimize racial tensions in the South, the Eisenhower administration pressured Congress to consider new civil rights legislation.

On September 9, 1957, President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1957 into law, the first major civil rights legislation since Reconstruction. It allowed federal prosecution of anyone who tried to prevent someone from voting. It also created a commission to investigate voter fraud.

Sit-In at Woolworth's Lunch Counter

Despite making some gains, Black Americans still experienced blatant prejudice in their daily lives. On February 1, 1960, four college students took a stand against segregation in Greensboro, North Carolina when they refused to leave a Woolworth's lunch counter without being served.

Over the next several days, hundreds of people joined their cause in what became known as the Greensboro sit-ins. After some were arrested and charged with trespassing, protesters launched a boycott of all segregated lunch counters until the owners caved and the original four students were finally served at the Woolworth's lunch counter where they'd first stood their ground.

Their efforts spearheaded peaceful sit-ins and demonstrations in dozens of cities and helped launch the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to encourage all students to get involved in the civil rights movement. It also caught the eye of young college graduate Stokely Carmichael, who joined the SNCC during the Freedom Summer of 1964 to register Black voters in Mississippi. In 1966, Carmichael became the chair of the SNCC, giving his famous speech in which he originated the phrase "Black power."

Freedom Riders

On May 4, 1961, 13 " Freedom Riders"-seven Black and six white activists-mounted a Greyhound bus in Washington, D.C., embarking on a bus tour of the American south to protest segregated bus terminals. They were testing the 1960 decision by the Supreme Court in Boynton v. Virginia that declared the segregation of interstate transportation facilities unconstitutional.

Facing violence from both police officers and white protesters, the Freedom Rides drew international attention. On Mother's Day 1961, the bus reached Anniston, Alabama, where a mob mounted the bus and threw a bomb into it. The Freedom Riders escaped the burning bus but were badly beaten. Photos of the bus engulfed in flames were widely circulated, and the group could not find a bus driver to take them further. U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy (brother to President John F. Kennedy) negotiated with Alabama Governor John Patterson to find a suitable driver, and the Freedom Riders resumed their journey under police escort on May 20. But the officers left the group once they reached Montgomery, where a white mob brutally attacked the bus. Attorney General Kennedy responded to the riders-and a call from Martin Luther King Jr.-by sending federal marshals to Montgomery.

On May 24, 1961, a group of Freedom Riders reached Jackson, Mississippi. Though met with hundreds of supporters, the group was arrested for trespassing in a "whites-only" facility and sentenced to 30 days in jail. Attorneys for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) brought the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court, which reversed the convictions. Hundreds of new Freedom Riders were drawn to the cause, and the rides continued.

In the fall of 1961, under pressure from the Kennedy administration, the Interstate Commerce Commission issued regulations prohibiting segregation in interstate transit terminals

March on Washington

Arguably one of the most famous events of the civil rights movement took place on August 28, 1963: the March on Washington. It was organized and attended by civil rights leaders such as A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin and Martin Luther King Jr.

More than 200,000 people of all races congregated in Washington, D. C. for the peaceful march with the main purpose of forcing civil rights legislation and establishing job equality for everyone. The highlight of the march was King's speech in which he continually stated, "I have a dream..."

King's " I Have a Dream" speech galvanized the national civil rights movement and became a slogan for equality and freedom.

Civil Rights Act of 1964

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964-legislation initiated by President John F. Kennedy before his assassination -into law on July 2 of that year.

King and other civil rights activists witnessed the signing. The law guaranteed equal employment for all, limited the use of voter literacy tests and allowed federal authorities to ensure public facilities were integrated.

Bloody Sunday

On March 7, 1965, the civil rights movement in Alabama took an especially violent turn as 600 peaceful demonstrators participated in the Selma to Montgomery march to protest the killing of Black civil rights activist Jimmie Lee Jackson by a white police officer and to encourage legislation to enforce the 15th amendment.

As the protesters neared the Edmund Pettus Bridge, they were blocked by Alabama state and local police sent by Alabama Governor George C. Wallace, a vocal opponent of desegregation. Refusing to stand down, protesters moved forward and were viciously beaten and teargassed by police and dozens of protesters were hospitalized.

The entire incident was televised and became known as " Bloody Sunday." Some activists wanted to retaliate with violence, but King pushed for nonviolent protests and eventually gained federal protection for another march.

Voting Rights Act of 1965

When President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law on August 6, 1965, he took the Civil Rights Act of 1964 several steps further. The new law banned all voter literacy tests and provided federal examiners in certain voting jurisdictions.

It also allowed the attorney general to contest state and local poll taxes. As a result, poll taxes were later declared unconstitutional in Harper v. Virginia State Board of Elections in 1966.

Part of the Act was walked back decades later, in 2013, when a Supreme Court decision ruled that Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional, holding that the constraints placed on certain states and federal review of states' voting procedures were outdated.

Civil Rights Leaders Assassinated

The civil rights movement had tragic consequences for two of its leaders in the late 1960s. On February 21, 1965, former Nation of Islam leader and Organization of Afro-American Unity founder Malcolm X was assassinated at a rally.

On April 4, 1968, civil rights leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on his hotel room's balcony. Emotionally-charged looting and riots followed, putting even more pressure on the Johnson administration to push through additional civil rights laws.

Fair Housing Act of 1968

The Fair Housing Act became law on April 11, 1968, just days after King's assassination. It prevented housing discrimination based on race, sex, national origin and religion. It was also the last legislation enacted during the civil rights era.

The civil rights movement was an empowering yet precarious time for Black Americans. The efforts of civil rights activists and countless protesters of all races brought about legislation to end segregation, Black voter suppression and discriminatory employment and housing practices.

Sources

A Brief History of Jim Crow. Constitutional Rights Foundation.
Civil Rights Act of 1957. Civil Rights Digital Library.
Document for June 25th: Executive Order 8802: Prohibition of Discrimination in the Defense Industry. National Archives.
Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-In. African American Odyssey.
Little Rock School Desegregation (1957). The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute Stanford.
Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Global Freedom Struggle. The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute Stanford.
Rosa Marie Parks Biography. Rosa and Raymond Parks.
Selma, Alabama, (Bloody Sunday, March 7, 1965). BlackPast.org.
The Civil Rights Movement (1919-1960s). National Humanities Center.
The Little Rock Nine. National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior: Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site.
Turning Point: World War II. Virginia Historical Society.

Photo Galleries

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Civil Rights Movement: Timeline, Key Events & Leaders | HISTORY

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The civil rights movement was a struggle for justice and equality for African Americans that took place mainly in the 1950s and 1960s. Among its leaders were Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, the Little Rock Nine, Rosa Parks and many others.

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World War l was also known as the Great War, was a global war that lasted from 1914-1918. It was fought between the Allies and the Central Powers.

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Archduke Franz Ferdinand

Tensions had been brewing throughout Europe-especially in the troubled Balkan region of southeast Europe-for years before World War I actually broke out.

A number of alliances involving European powers, the Ottoman Empire, Russia and other parties had existed for years, but political instability in the Balkans (particularly Bosnia, Serbia and Herzegovina) threatened to destroy these agreements.

The spark that ignited World War I was struck in Sarajevo, Bosnia, where Archduke Franz Ferdinand -heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire-was shot to death along with his wife, Sophie, by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914. Princip and other nationalists were struggling to end Austro-Hungarian rule over Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand set off a rapidly escalating chain of events: Austria-Hungary, like many countries around the world, blamed the Serbian government for the attack and hoped to use the incident as justification for settling the question of Serbian nationalism once and for all.

Kaiser Wilhelm II

Because mighty Russia supported Serbia, Austria-Hungary waited to declare war until its leaders received assurance from German leader Kaiser Wilhelm II that Germany would support their cause. Austro-Hungarian leaders feared that a Russian intervention would involve Russia's ally, France, and possibly Great Britain as well.

On July 5, Kaiser Wilhelm secretly pledged his support, giving Austria-Hungary a so-called carte blanche, or "blank check" assurance of Germany's backing in the case of war. The Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary then sent an ultimatum to Serbia, with such harsh terms as to make it almost impossible to accept.

World War I Begins

Convinced that Austria-Hungary was readying for war, the Serbian government ordered the Serbian army to mobilize and appealed to Russia for assistance. On July 28, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the tenuous peace between Europe's great powers quickly collapsed.

Within a week, Russia, Belgium, France, Great Britain and Serbia had lined up against Austria-Hungary and Germany, and World War I had begun.

The Western Front

According to an aggressive military strategy known as the Schlieffen Plan (named for its mastermind, German Field Marshal Alfred von Schlieffen), Germany began fighting World War I on two fronts, invading France through neutral Belgium in the west and confronting Russia in the east.

On August 4, 1914, German troops crossed the border into Belgium. In the first battle of World War I, the Germans assaulted the heavily fortified city of Liege, using the most powerful weapons in their arsenal-enormous siege cannons-to capture the city by August 15. The Germans left death and destruction in their wake as they advanced through Belgium toward France, shooting civilians and executing a Belgian priest they had accused of inciting civilian resistance.

First Battle of the Marne

In the First Battle of the Marne, fought from September 6-9, 1914, French and British forces confronted the invading German army, which had by then penetrated deep into northeastern France, within 30 miles of Paris. The Allied troops checked the German advance and mounted a successful counterattack, driving the Germans back to the north of the Aisne River.

The defeat meant the end of German plans for a quick victory in France. Both sides dug into trenches, and the Western Front was the setting for a hellish war of attrition that would last more than three years.

Particularly long and costly battles in this campaign were fought at Verdun (February-December 1916) and the Battle of the Somme (July-November 1916). German and French troops suffered close to a million casualties in the Battle of Verdun alone.

World War I Books and Art

The bloodshed on the battlefields of the Western Front, and the difficulties its soldiers had for years after the fighting had ended, inspired such works of art as " All Quiet on the Western Front" by Erich Maria Remarque and " In Flanders Fields"by Canadian doctor Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. In the latter poem, McCrae writes from the perspective of the fallen soldiers:

Published in 1915, the poem inspired the use of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance.

Visual artists like Otto Dix of Germany and British painters Wyndham Lewis, Paul Nash and David Bomberg used their firsthand experience as soldiers in World War I to create their art, capturing the anguish of trench warfare and exploring the themes of technology, violence and landscapes decimated by war.

The Eastern Front

On the Eastern Front of World War I, Russian forces invaded the German-held regions of East Prussia and Poland but were stopped short by German and Austrian forces at the Battle of Tannenberg in late August 1914.

Despite that victory, Russia's assault forced Germany to move two corps from the Western Front to the Eastern, contributing to the German loss in the Battle of the Marne.

Combined with the fierce Allied resistance in France, the ability of Russia's huge war machine to mobilize relatively quickly in the east ensured a longer, more grueling conflict instead of the quick victory Germany had hoped to win under the Schlieffen Plan.

Russian Revolution

From 1914 to 1916, Russia's army mounted several offensives on World War I's Eastern Front but was unable to break through German lines.

Defeat on the battlefield, combined with economic instability and the scarcity of food and other essentials, led to mounting discontent among the bulk of Russia's population, especially the poverty-stricken workers and peasants. This increased hostility was directed toward the imperial regime of Czar Nicholas II and his unpopular German-born wife, Alexandra.

Russia's simmering instability exploded in the Russian Revolution of 1917, spearheaded by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks, which ended czarist rule and brought a halt to Russian participation in World War I.

Russia reached an armistice with the Central Powers in early December 1917, freeing German troops to face the remaining Allies on the Western Front.

America Enters World War I

At the outbreak of fighting in 1914, the United States remained on the sidelines of World War I, adopting the policy of neutrality favored by President Woodrow Wilson while continuing to engage in commerce and shipping with European countries on both sides of the conflict.

Neutrality, however, it was increasingly difficult to maintain in the face of Germany's unchecked submarine aggression against neutral ships, including those carrying passengers. In 1915, Germany declared the waters surrounding the British Isles to be a war zone, and German U-boats sunk several commercial and passenger vessels, including some U.S. ships.

Widespread protest over the sinking by U-boat of the British ocean liner Lusitania-traveling from New York to Liverpool, England with hundreds of American passengers onboard-in May 1915 helped turn the tide of American public opinion against Germany. In February 1917, Congress passed a $250 million arms appropriations bill intended to make the United States ready for war.

Germany sunk four more U.S. merchant ships the following month, and on April 2 Woodrow Wilson appeared before Congress and called for a declaration of war against Germany.

Gallipoli Campaign

With World War I having effectively settled into a stalemate in Europe, the Allies attempted to score a victory against the Ottoman Empire, which entered the conflict on the side of the Central Powers in late 1914.

After a failed attack on the Dardanelles (the strait linking the Sea of Marmara with the Aegean Sea), Allied forces led by Britain launched a large-scale land invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula in April 1915. The invasion also proved a dismal failure, and in January 1916 Allied forces staged a full retreat from the shores of the peninsula after suffering 250,000 casualties.

Did you know? The young Winston Churchill, then first lord of the British Admiralty, resigned his command after the failed Gallipoli campaign in 1916, accepting a commission with an infantry battalion in France.

British-led forces also combated the Ottoman Turks in Egypt and Mesopotamia, while in northern Italy, Austrian and Italian troops faced off in a series of 12 battles along the Isonzo River, located at the border between the two nations.

Battle of the Isonzo

The First Battle of the Isonzo took place in the late spring of 1915, soon after Italy's entrance into the war on the Allied side. In the Twelfth Battle of the Isonzo, also known as the Battle of Caporetto (October 1917), German reinforcements helped Austria-Hungary win a decisive victory.

After Caporetto, Italy's allies jumped in to offer increased assistance. British and French-and later, American-troops arrived in the region, and the Allies began to take back the Italian Front.

World War I at Sea

In the years before World War I, the superiority of Britain's Royal Navy was unchallenged by any other nation's fleet, but the Imperial German Navy had made substantial strides in closing the gap between the two naval powers. Germany's strength on the high seas was also aided by its lethal fleet of U-boat submarines.

After the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, in which the British mounted a surprise attack on German ships in the North Sea, the German navy chose not to confront Britain's mighty Royal Navy in a major battle for more than a year, preferring to rest the bulk of its naval strategy on its U-boats.

The biggest naval engagement of World War I, the Battle of Jutland (May 1916) left British naval superiority on the North Sea intact, and Germany would make no further attempts to break an Allied naval blockade for the remainder of the war.

World War I Planes

World War I was the first major conflict to harness the power of planes. Though not as impactful as the British Royal Navy or Germany's U-boats, the use of planes in World War I presaged their later, pivotal role in military conflicts around the globe.

At the dawn of World War I, aviation was a relatively new field; the Wright brothers took their first sustained flight just eleven years before, in 1903. Aircraft were initially used primarily for reconnaissance missions. During the First Battle of the Marne, information passed from pilots allowed the allies to exploit weak spots in the German lines, helping the Allies to push Germany out of France.

The first machine guns were successfully mounted on planes in June of 1912 in the United States, but were imperfect; if timed incorrectly, a bullet could easily destroy the propeller of the plane it came from. The Morane-Saulnier L, a French plane, provided a solution: The propeller was armored with deflector wedges that prevented bullets from hitting it. The Morane-Saulnier Type L was used by the French, the British Royal Flying Corps (part of the Army), the British Royal Navy Air Service and the Imperial Russian Air Service. The British Bristol Type 22 was another popular model used for both reconnaissance work and as a fighter plane.

Dutch inventor Anthony Fokker improved upon the French deflector system in 1915. His "interrupter" synchronized the firing of the guns with the plane's propeller to avoid collisions. Though his most popular plane during WWI was the single-seat Fokker Eindecker, Fokker created over 40 kinds of airplanes for the Germans.

The Allies debuted the Handley-Page HP O/400, the first two-engine bomber, in 1915. As aerial technology progressed, long-range heavy bombers like Germany's Gotha G.V. (first introduced in 1917) were used to strike cities like London. Their speed and maneuverability proved to be far deadlier than Germany's earlier Zeppelin raids.

By the war's end, the Allies were producing five times more aircraft than the Germans. On April 1, 1918, the British created the Royal Air Force, or RAF, the first air force to be a separate military branch independent from the navy or army.

Second Battle of the Marne

With Germany able to build up its strength on the Western Front after the armistice with Russia, Allied troops struggled to hold off another German offensive until promised reinforcements from the United States were able to arrive.

On July 15, 1918, German troops launched what would become the last German offensive of the war, attacking French forces (joined by 85,000 American troops as well as some of the British Expeditionary Force) in the Second Battle of the Marne. The Allies successfully pushed back the German offensive and launched their own counteroffensive just three days later.

After suffering massive casualties, Germany was forced to call off a planned offensive further north, in the Flanders region stretching between France and Belgium, which was envisioned as Germany's best hope of victory.

The Second Battle of the Marne turned the tide of war decisively towards the Allies, who were able to regain much of France and Belgium in the months that followed.

The Harlem Hellfighters and Other All-Black Regiments

By the time World War I began, there were four all-Black regiments in the U.S. military: the 24th and 25th Infantry and the 9th and 10th Cavalry. All four regiments comprised of celebrated soldiers who fought in the Spanish-American War and American-Indian Wars, and served in the American territories. But they were not deployed for overseas combat in World War I.

Blacks serving alongside white soldiers on the front lines in Europe was inconceivable to the U.S. military. Instead, the first African American troops sent overseas served in segregated labor battalions, restricted to menial roles in the Army and Navy, and shutout of the Marines, entirely. Their duties mostly included unloading ships, transporting materials from train depots, bases and ports, digging trenches, cooking and maintenance, removing barbed wire and inoperable equipment, and burying soldiers.

Facing criticism from the Black community and civil rights organizations for its quotas and treatment of African American soldiers in the war effort, the military formed two Black combat units in 1917, the 92nd and 93rd Divisions. Trained separately and inadequately in the United States, the divisions fared differently in the war. The 92nd faced criticism for their performance in the Meuse-Argonne campaign in September 1918. The 93rd Division, however, had more success.

With dwindling armies, France asked America for reinforcements, and General John Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces, sent regiments in the 93 Division to over, since France had experience fighting alongside Black soldiers from their Senegalese French Colonial army. The 93 Division's 369 regiment, nicknamed the Harlem Hellfighters, fought so gallantly, with a total of 191 days on the front lines, longer than any AEF regiment, that France awarded them the Croix de Guerre for their heroism. More than 350,000 African American soldiers would serve in World War I in various capacities.

Toward Armistice

By the fall of 1918, the Central Powers were unraveling on all fronts.

Despite the Turkish victory at Gallipoli, later defeats by invading forces and an Arab revolt that destroyed the Ottoman economy and devastated its land, and the Turks signed a treaty with the Allies in late October 1918.

Austria-Hungary, dissolving from within due to growing nationalist movements among its diverse population, reached an armistice on November 4. Facing dwindling resources on the battlefield, discontent on the homefront and the surrender of its allies, Germany was finally forced to seek an armistice on November 11, 1918, ending World War I.

Treaty of Versailles

At the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, Allied leaders stated their desire to build a post-war world that would safeguard itself against future conflicts of such a devastating scale.

Some hopeful participants had even begun calling World War I "the War to End All Wars." But the Treaty of Versailles, signed on June 28, 1919, would not achieve that lofty goal.

Saddled with war guilt, heavy reparations and denied entrance into the League of Nations, Germany felt tricked into signing the treaty, having believed any peace would be a "peace without victory," as put forward by President Wilson in his famous Fourteen Points speech of January 1918.

As the years passed, hatred of the Versailles treaty and its authors settled into a smoldering resentment in Germany that would, two decades later, be counted among the causes of World War II.

World War I Casualties

World War I took the lives of more than 9 million soldiers; 21 million more were wounded. Civilian casualties numbered close to 10 million. The two nations most affected were Germany and France, each of which sent some 80 percent of their male populations between the ages of 15 and 49 into battle.

The political disruption surrounding World War I also contributed to the fall of four venerable imperial dynasties: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia and Turkey.

Legacy of World War I

World War I brought about massive social upheaval, as millions of women entered the workforce to replace men who went to war and those who never came back. The first global war also helped to spread one of the world's deadliest global pandemics, the Spanish flu epidemic of 1918, which killed an estimated 20 to 50 million people.

World War I has also been referred to as "the first modern war." Many of the technologies now associated with military conflict-machine guns, tanks, aerial combat and radio communications-were introduced on a massive scale during World War I.

The severe effects that chemical weapons such as mustard gas and phosgene had on soldiers and civilians during World War I galvanized public and military attitudes against their continued use. The Geneva Convention agreements, signed in 1925, restricted the use of chemical and biological agents in warfare and remain in effect today.

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World War I: Summary, Causes & Facts | HISTORY

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World War I began in 1914, after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and lasted until 1918. During the conflict, Germany, Austria‑Hungary, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire (the Central Powers) fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan and the United States (the Allied Powers).

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World War ll was a global war that lasted from 1939-1945. It was involved nearly every country in the world. World War ll was the deadliest war in history with a death toll of 70-85 million people.

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World War II: Causes and Timeline | HISTORY

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World War II was fought from 1939 to 1945. Learn more about World War II combatants, battles and generals, and what caused World War II.

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The peace movement is a social movement that aims to end war, promote nonviolence and establish peaceful institutions. It involves a collaboration between the public and peace organizations.

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The world has never had peace. Somewhere—and often in many places at once—there has always been war. Isolated tribes have lived in peace, but few countries have avoided war…

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Slavery is the forcing of people to work and limit their freedom, often for personal or financial gain. In the United States, the domestic slave trade flourished after Congress outlawed the African slave trade in 1808. By 1860, nearly 4 million people were enslaved in the United States, with more than half living in the cotton-producing states of the South

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When Did Slavery Start in America?

In the 17th and 18th centuries, enslaved Africans worked mainly on the tobacco, rice and indigo plantations of the southern coast, from the Chesapeake Bay colonies of Maryland and Virginia south to Georgia.

After the American Revolution, many colonists-particularly in the North, where slavery was relatively unimportant to the agricultural economy-began to link the oppression of enslaved Africans to their own oppression by the British, and to call for slavery's abolition.

Did you know? One of the first martyrs to the cause of American patriotism was Crispus Attucks, a former enslaved man who was killed by British soldiers during the Boston Massacre of 1770. Some 5,000 Black soldiers and sailors fought on the American side during the Revolutionary War.

But after the Revolutionary War, the new U.S. Constitution tacitly acknowledged the institution of slavery, when it valued each enslaved individual as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of taxation and representation in Congress. The Constitution's drafters also guaranteed the right to repossess any "person held to service or labor" (an obvious euphemism for slavery).

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, people were kidnapped from the continent of Africa, forced into slavery in the American colonies and exploited to work in the production of crops such as tobacco and cotton.

By the mid-19th century, America's westward expansion and the abolition movement provoked a great debate over slavery that would tear the nation apart in the bloody Civil War. Though the Union victory freed the nation's four million enslaved people, the legacy of slavery continued to influence American history, from the Reconstruction to the civil rights movement that emerged a century after emancipation and beyond.

Cotton Gin

In the late 18th century, with the land used to grow tobacco nearly exhausted, the South faced an economic crisis, and the continued growth of slavery in America seemed in doubt.

Around the same time, the mechanization of the textile industry in England led to a huge demand for American cotton, a southern crop whose production was limited by the difficulty of removing the seeds from raw cotton fibers by hand.

But in 1793, a young Yankee schoolteacher named Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, a simple mechanized device that efficiently removed the seeds. His device was widely copied, and within a few years, the South transitioned from the large-scale production of tobacco to that of cotton, a switch that reinforced the region's dependence on enslaved labor.

Slavery itself was never widespread in the North, though many of the region's businessmen grew rich on the slave trade and investments in southern plantations. Between 1774 and 1804, most of the northern states abolished slavery or started the process to abolish slavery, but the institution of slavery remained vital to the South.

Though the U.S. Congress outlawed the African slave trade in 1808, the domestic trade flourished, and the enslaved population in the United States nearly tripled over the next 50 years. By 1860 it had reached nearly 4 million, with more than half living in the cotton-producing states of the South.

Living Conditions of Enslaved People

Enslaved people in the antebellum South constituted about one-third of the southern population. Most lived on large plantations or small farms; many masters owned fewer than 50 enslaved people.

Landowners sought to make their enslaved completely dependent on them through a system of restrictive codes. They were usually prohibited from learning to read and write, and their behavior and movement were restricted.

Many masters raped enslaved women, and rewarded obedient behavior with favors, while rebellious enslaved people were brutally punished. A strict hierarchy among the enslaved (from privileged house workers and skilled artisans down to lowly field hands) helped keep them divided and less likely to organize against their masters.

Marriages between enslaved men and women had no legal basis, but many did marry and raise large families. Most owners of enslaved workers encouraged this practice, but nonetheless did not usually hesitate to divide families by sale or removal.

Slave Rebellions

Rebellions among enslaved people did occur-notably, ones led by Gabriel Prosser in Richmond in 1800 and by Denmark Vesey in Charleston in 1822-but few were successful.

The revolt that most terrified enslavers was that led by Nat Turner in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831. Turner's group, which eventually numbered around 75 Black men, murdered some 55 white people in two days before armed resistance from local white people and the arrival of state militia forces overwhelmed them.

Supporters of slavery pointed to Turner's rebellion as evidence that Black people were inherently inferior barbarians requiring an institution such as slavery to discipline them. And fears of similar insurrections led many southern states to further strengthen their slave codes in order to limit the education, movement and assembly of enslaved people.

Abolitionist Movement

In the North, the increased repression of southern Black people only fanned the flames of the growing abolitionist movement.

From the 1830s to the 1860s, the movement to abolish slavery in America gained strength, led by free Black people such as Frederick Douglass and white supporters such as William Lloyd Garrison, founder of the radical newspaper The Liberator, and Harriet Beecher Stowe, who published the bestselling antislavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.

While many abolitionists based their activism on the belief that slaveholding was a sin, others were more inclined to the non-religious "free-labor" argument, which held that slaveholding was regressive, inefficient and made little economic sense.

Free Black people and other antislavery northerners had begun helping enslaved people escape from southern plantations to the North via a loose network of safe houses as early as the 1780s. This practice, known as the Underground Railroad, gained real momentum in the 1830s.

Conductors like Harriet Tubmanguided escapees on their journey North, and " stationmasters" included such prominent figures as Frederick Douglass, Secretary of State William H. Seward and Pennsylvania congressman Thaddeus Stevens. Althoughestimates vary widely, it may have helped anywhere from 40,000 to 100,000 enslaved people reach freedom.

The success of the Underground Railroad helped spread abolitionist feelings in the North. It also undoubtedly increased sectional tensions, convincing pro-slavery southerners of their northern countrymen's determination to defeat the institution that sustained them.

Missouri Compromise

America's explosive growth-and its expansion westward in the first half of the 19th century-would provide a larger stage for the growing conflict over slavery in America and its future limitation or expansion.

In 1820, a bitter debate over the federal government's right to restrict slavery over Missouri's application for statehood ended in a compromise: Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state, Maine as a free state and all western territories north of Missouri's southern border were to be free soil.

Although the Missouri Compromise was designed to maintain an even balance between slave and free states, it was only temporarily able to help quell the forces of sectionalism.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

In 1850, another tenuous compromise was negotiated to resolve the question of slavery in territories won during the Mexican-American War.

Four years later, however, the Kansas-Nebraska Act opened all new territories to slavery by asserting the rule of popular sovereignty over congressional edict, leading pro- and anti-slavery forces to battle it out-with considerable bloodshed-in the new state of Kansas.

Outrage in the North over the Kansas-Nebraska Act spelled the downfall of the old Whig Party and the birth of a new, all-northern Republican Party. In 1857, the Dred Scott decision by the Supreme Court (involving an enslaved man who sued for his freedom on the grounds that his master had taken him into free territory) effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise by ruling that all territories were open to slavery.

John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry

In 1859, two years after the Dred Scott decision, an event occurred that would ignite passions nationwide over the issue of slavery.

John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia-in which the abolitionist and 22 men, including five Black men and three of Brown's sons raided and occupied a federal arsenal-resulted in the deaths of 10 people and Brown's hanging.

The insurrection exposed the growing national rift over slavery: Brown was hailed as a martyred hero by northern abolitionists but was vilified as a mass murderer in the South.

Civil War

The South would reach the breaking point the following year, when Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln was elected as president. Within three months, seven southern states had seceded to form the Confederate States of America; four more would follow after the Civil War began.

Though Lincoln's anti-slavery views were well established, the central Union war aim at first was not to abolish slavery, but to preserve the United States as a nation.

Abolition became a goal only later, due to military necessity, growing anti-slavery sentiment in the North and the self-emancipation of many people who fled enslavement as Union troops swept through the South.

When Did Slavery End?

On September 22, 1862, Lincoln issued a preliminary emancipation proclamation, and on January 1, 1863, he made it official that "slaves within any State, or designated part of a State...in rebellion,...shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free."

By freeing some 3 million enslaved people in the rebel states, the Emancipation Proclamation deprived the Confederacy of the bulk of its labor forces and put international public opinion strongly on the Union side.

Though the Emancipation Proclamation didn't officially end all slavery in America-that would happen with the passage of the 13th Amendment after the Civil War's end in 1865-some 186,000 Black soldiers would join the Union Army, and about 38,000 lost their lives.

The Legacy of Slavery

The 13th Amendment, adopted on December 18, 1865, officially abolished slavery, but freed Black peoples' status in the post-war South remained precarious, and significant challenges awaited during the Reconstruction period.

Previously enslaved men and women received the rights of citizenship and the "equal protection" of the Constitution in the 14th Amendment and the right to vote in the 15th Amendment, but these provisions of the Constitution were often ignored or violated, and it was difficult for Black citizens to gain a foothold in the post-war economy thanks to restrictive Black codes and regressive contractual arrangements such as sharecropping.

Despite seeing an unprecedented degree of Black participation in American political life, Reconstruction was ultimately frustrating for African Americans, and the rebirth of white supremacy-including the rise of racist organizations such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)-had triumphed in the South by 1877.

Almost a century later, resistance to the lingering racism and discrimination in America that began during the slavery era led to the civil rights movement of the 1960s, which achieved the greatest political and social gains for Black Americans since Reconstruction.

America's First Memorial to its 4,400 Lynching Victims

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U.S. Slavery: Timeline, Figures & Abolition | HISTORY

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Slavery in America was the legal institution of enslaving human beings, mainly Africans and African Americans. Slavery existed in the United States from its founding in 1776 and became the main cause behind the country's bloody Civil War. Slavery officially ended in America with the passage of the 13th Amendment following the Civil War's end in 1865.

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The Declaration of Independence is a document that announced the separation of the 13 American colonies from Great Britain. It was established on July 4, 1776.

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The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.

He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.

He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures.

He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation:

For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:

For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury:

For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences:

For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:

For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:

For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A Prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.

We, therefore, the Representatives of the united States of America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.
Back to Main Declaration Page

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Declaration of Independence: A Transcription

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Note: The following text is a transcription of the Stone Engraving of the parchment Declaration of Independence (the document on display in the Rotunda at the National Archives Museum.) The spelling and punctuation reflects the original.

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The Articles of Confederation was the first constitution of the United States, in effect from 1781 to 1789. It establishes a weak central government and was replaced by the US Constitution in 1789.

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EnlargeDownload Link Citation: Articles of Confederation; 3/1/1781; Miscellaneous Papers of the Continental Congress, 1774 - 1789; Records of the Continental and Confederation Congresses and the Constitutional Convention, Record Group 360; National Archives Building, Washington, DC. View All Pages i…

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Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote, which was granted in the United States in 1920.

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The Ancient Greeks made contributions to Western civilization, philosophy, science, art, and government. Literature and theatre was an important aspect of Greek culture.

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The term "classical Greece" refers to the period between the Persian Wars at the beginning of the fifth century B.C. and the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. The classical period was an era of war and conflict-first between the Greeks and the Persians, then between the Athenians and the Spartans-but it was also an era of unprecedented political and cultural achievement. Besides the Parthenon and Greek tragedy, classical Greece brought us the historian Herodotus, the physician Hippokrates and the philosopher Socrates. It also brought us the political reforms that are ancient Greece's most enduring contribution to the modern world: the system known as demokratia, or "rule by the people."

Persian Wars

Led by Athens and Sparta, the Greek city-states were engaged in a great war with the Persian Empire at the beginning of the fifth century B.C. In 498 B.C., Greek forces sacked the Persian city of Sardis. In 490 B.C., the Persian king sent a naval expedition across the Aegean to attack Athenian troops in the Battle of Marathon. Despite a resounding Athenian victory there, the Persians did not give up. In 480 B.C., the new Persian king sent a massive army across the Hellespont to Thermopylae, where 60,000 Persian troops defeated 5,000 Greeks in the Battle of Thermopylae, where King Leonidas of Sparta was famously killed. The year after that, however, the Greeks defeated the Persians for good at the Battle of Salamis.

Did you know? The first democracy originated in classical Greece. The Greek word demokratia means "rule by the people."

The Rise of Athens

The defeat of the Persians marked the beginning of Athenian political, economic and cultural dominance. In 507 B.C., the Athenian nobleman Cleisthenes had overthrown the last of the autocratic tyrants and devised a new system of citizen self-governance that he called demokratia. In Cleisthenes' democratic system, every male citizen older than 18 was eligible to join the ekklesia, or Assembly, the sovereign governing body of Athens. Other legislators were chosen randomly by lot, not by election. And in this early Greek democracy, officials were sworn to act "according to the laws what is best for the people."

However, demokratia did not mean that Athens approached her relationships with other Greek city-states with anything approaching egalitarianism. To protect far-flung Greek territories from Persian interference, Athens organized a confederacy of allies that it called the Delian League in 478 B.C. Athens was clearly in charge of this coalition; as a result, most Delian League dues wound up in the city-state's own treasury, where they helped make Athens into a wealthy imperial power.

Athens Under Pericles

In the 450s, the Athenian general Pericles consolidated his own power by using all that tribute money to serve the citizens of Athens, rich and poor. (Generals were among the only public officials in Athens who were elected, not appointed, and who could keep their jobs for more than one year.) For example, Pericles paid modest wages to jurors and members of the ekklesia so that, in theory, everyone who was eligible could afford to participate in the public life of the demokratia.

Art and Architecture

Pericles also used the tribute money to support Athenian artists and thinkers. For instance, he paid to rebuild the parts of Athens that the Persian Wars had destroyed. The result was the magnificent Parthenon, a new temple in honor of the goddess Athena at the Acropolis. (Pericles also oversaw the construction of the temple at Hephaestos, the Odeion concert hall and the temple of Poseidon at Attica.)
READ MORE: How the Ancient Greeks Designed the Parthenon to Impress-And Last
Likewise, Pericles paid for the annual production of comedic and dramatic plays at the Acropolis. (Wealthy people offset some of these costs by paying voluntary taxes called liturgies.) Dramatists like Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides and the comic playwright Aristophanes all won a great deal of renown for their depictions of relationships between men and gods, citizens and polis and fate and justice.

These plays, like the Parthenon, still epitomize the cultural achievements of classical Greece. Along with the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides and the ideas of the physician Hippokrates, they are defined by logic, pattern and order and a faith in humanism above all else. These are the attributes that today are associated with the art, the culture and even the politics of the era.

The Peloponnesian War

Unfortunately, none of these cultural achievements translated into political stability. Athenian imperialism had alienated its partners in the Delian League, particularly Sparta, and this conflict played out in the decades-long Peloponnesian War (431-404 B.C.).

The eventual Spartan victory in the Peloponnesian War meant that Athens lost its political primacy, but Athenian cultural life-the essence of classical Greece-continued apace in the fourth century B.C.. By the second half of the century, however, disorder reigned within the former Athenian empire. This disorder made possible the conquest of Greece by the Macedonian kings Philip II and his son, Alexander the Great (338-323 B.C.)-a conquest that eventually heralded the end of the classical period and the beginning of Hellenistic one.

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The term "classical Greece" refers to the period between the Persian Wars at the beginning of the fifth century B.C. and the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C. The classical period was an era of war and conflict-first between the Greeks and the Persians, then between the Athenians and the Spartans-but it was also an era of unprecedented political and cultural achievement.

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China's contribution to classical civilizations include inventions like paper, gunpowder, the compass, printing, silk production, advanced agricultural techniques, the concept of a civil service system, and philosophical ideas like Confucianism and Daoism.

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Ancient Egypt significantly contributed to classical civilizations by pioneering advancements in mathematics, medicine, astronomy, engineering, writing systems (hieroglyphics), and architecture, particularly with their monumental structures like pyramids and temples.

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The 13 colonies were characterized by self-governance, religious freedom, and colonial expansion.

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King George was the King of Great Britain during the American Revolution. He has become a representation of tyranny for Americans.

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John Adams is one of the Founding Fathers. He was also the first Vice President and second President of the U.S.

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Harriet Tubman was an abolitionist who escaped slavery and led many enslaved people to freedom. She escaped using the Underground Railroad.

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The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was a federal law that required the return of runaway slaves to their enslavers, even in free states. It was part of the Compromise of 1850, a series of laws passed to ease tensions between the North and South.

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The  Louisiana Purchase, was in 1803 when a vast piece of territory was purchased by the US from France.

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The acquisition of Florida was a result of the Adams-Onis treaty of 1819, signed between the US and Spain

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Was the annexation of the Republic of Texas into the US in 1845

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Cotton Gin was invented by Eli Whitney 1793 and patened in 1794. It separated cotton fibers from seeds.

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Steamboat first started in America in 1787 when John Fitch made a successful trial in a boat!

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Jefferson Davis was the only president of the Confederate States 1861-65. He was also the secretary of War

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The 15th Amendment prohibits the denial of voting rights based on race color or previous enslavement.