American history - timeline by Adwitha Kumaran _ Student - GreenLevelHS

Columbus “discovers” the New World - August 1492

agkumaran — 2025-08-28 21:49:41 UTC

In August 1492, Christopher Columbus traveled west in search of Asia. He arrived in the Americas, mistaking it for South Asia. He constantly referred to the Native Americans as "Indians." This discovery of the New World started European contact with the Americas.

Conquest of Tenochtitlan - May 1521

agkumaran — 2025-08-28 21:50:17 UTC

During the Conquest of Tenochtitlan, Hernan Cortes and the spaniards attacked the Aztec people to achieve wealth and power. They cut off their resources leaving the Aztecs unarmed and weak. Which eventually led to the fall of the Aztec empire in August 1521 with the Spanish in power.

Roanoke Settlement - July 1585-1587

agkumaran — 2025-08-28 21:51:14 UTC

The Roanoke settlement was when the English tried to establish a permanent colony in North America. This organization was led by John White, who went back to England to get supplies. When he returned a few years later, the colonists were gone. They carved the word "Croatoan" into a tree. It's referred to as "The lost colony."

King Philip’s War - June 1675 -April 1678

agkumaran — 2025-08-28 21:51:47 UTC

King Philip's war was the war between the English colonists and the Native Americans. The english colonists were led by King Philip. They fought over land, and cultural and religious differences. The colonists won the war, and the remaining Native Americans were forced into slavery.

Bacon’s Rebellion 1676-1677

agkumaran — 2025-08-28 21:52:14 UTC

Bacon's Rebellion was a war in Virginia, led by Nathaniel Bacon. He rose to fight against the rules of Governor William Berkeley. Primarily because Berkeley had unfair policies. Bacon gathered indentured servants and slaves and attacked Native Americans. Bacon became sick, and he died. After his death Berkeley regained control.

French and Indian War (1754-1763)

agkumaran — 2025-09-11 21:49:10 UTC

The French and Indian war was a part of the Seven Years' War in Europe. Britain and France fought for control of the Ohio Valley and Canada. The colonies fought under British commanders. Britain eventually won, and gained control of all of the remaining French possessions in Canada.

Boston Tea Party (December 16, 1773)

agkumaran — 2025-09-11 21:49:22 UTC

The Boston Tea Party was when a group of angered colonists disguised as Mohawk Indians and boarded three British tea ships. They dumped 342 chests of tea into the harbor in protest of the British Parliament's Tea Act of 1773.

First Continental Congress (September-October 1774)

agkumaran — 2025-09-11 21:49:32 UTC

This was the first meeting (in Philadelphia) that brought together representatives from each of the colonies, except Georgia, to discuss their response to the British "Intolerable Acts."

Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776)

agkumaran — 2025-09-11 21:49:41 UTC

The DOI is a resolution created by the Continental Congress, which broke all ties between colonists and the British. This created the idea in America that the colonies were now "states."

Shay's Rebellion (1786-1787)

agkumaran — 2025-09-11 21:49:50 UTC

Daniel Shays led an uprising of rural, indebted farmers in western Massachusetts, against Boston creditors. It began in 1786 and lasted half a year, threatening the economic interests of the business elite. People realized how weak the Articles were which contributed to the demise of the Articles of Confederation.

Constitutional Convention (May-September 1787)

agkumaran — 2025-09-11 21:49:58 UTC

As a result of Shays' rebellion, a Philadelphia meeting was organized to bring together representatives from each of the colonies, except Georgia, to discuss the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

Washington's Farewell Address (September 1796)

agkumaran — 2025-09-11 21:50:05 UTC

Washington's Farewell Address was printed in newspapers. This was a huge warning against political parties and permanent foreign alliance.

Steam engine

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:41:06 UTC

A machine that turns the energy released by burning fuel into motion

Political party

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:41:34 UTC

Group of persons organized to acquire and exercise political power

Factory system

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:42:14 UTC

Manufacturing businesses first created in the late eighteenth century that concentrated all aspects of production under one roof, reorganized production and divided work. The key aspect was that it was under one roof and had specialized tasks. Made the production faster and more efficient.

Impressment

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:43:19 UTC

The British forcibly enlisted thousands of American men into the Royal Navy from passing ships, and refused to recognize that Americans had renounced their British citizenship

Marbury v. Madison

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:44:07 UTC

Landmark 1803 Supreme Court case in which Chief Justice John Marshall established the principle of Judicial Review, which grants the Supreme Court the power to declare laws unconstitutional

Canals

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:46:12 UTC

Human-made waterways connecting natural bodies of water, very important for early travel

Interchangeable Parts

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:47:06 UTC

Uniform pieces that can be made in large quantities to replace other identical pieces

Temperance movement

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:47:43 UTC

Movement dedicated to promoting moderation and, more often, complete abstinence in the use of alcohol

Monroe Doctrine

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:48:48 UTC

Warned European powers not to interfere in the affairs of the Western Hemisphere

Telegraph

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:53:14 UTC

Machine invented by Samuel Morse that used a system of dots and dashes to send messages across long distances electronically through a wire. It connected the different hemispheres of the world, allowing for more communication between people.

Women's Rights Movement

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:54:02 UTC

The fight for the suffrage (voting) for half of the population

Democratic Party

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:55:01 UTC

Pro Slavery, favored secession from Union, States' rights, agrarian-oriented, opposed gold standard, supported lowering tariff, and opposed imperialism in 1890s

Cotton gin

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:55:32 UTC

Eli Whitney’s 1793 invention that dramatically improved the speed for processing cotton, changing the trajectory of cotton production in the United States

Whigs

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 17:56:31 UTC

Opposed Jackson's strong-armed leadership style and policies, but promoted protective tariffs, federal funding for internal improvements, and other measures that strengthened the central government

Louisiana Purchase(1803)

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 18:00:47 UTC

A land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million dollars

War of 1812 (1812-1815)

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 18:02:18 UTC

A war between the U.S. and Great Britain caused by American outrage over the impressment of American sailors by the British, the British seizure of American ships, and British aid to the Indians attacking the Americans on the western frontier.

White House Burned (1814)

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 18:02:49 UTC

General Robert Ross, a British force occupied Washington, D.C. and set fire to many public buildings following the American defeat at the Battle of Bladensburg

Market Revolution (1800s-1840s)

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 18:03:45 UTC

Americans moving away from self-sufficient agriculture to production of goods for sale

Missouri Compromise (1820)

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 18:04:58 UTC

Congress admitted Maine as a free state in 1820 so that Missouri would become a slave state and prohibited slavery in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase territory north of 36 30, the southern boundary of Missouri

Seneca Falls Convention (1848)

agkumaran — 2025-09-24 18:06:13 UTC

Women of all ages and even some men went to discuss the rights and conditions of women. There, they wrote the Declaration of Sentiments, which among other things, tried to get women the right to vote.

Mexican-American War

agkumaran — 2025-10-17 21:31:43 UTC

Sparked by a dispute over the annexation of Texas by the United States and a long-standing dispute over the southern border.

Dred Scott Decision

agkumaran — 2025-10-17 21:32:01 UTC

Since slaves are property of their masters, a slave is not automatically granted his freedom when his master moves him to a free state or territory.

Emancipation Proclamation

agkumaran — 2025-10-17 21:32:26 UTC

Issued by Lincoln to free all of the slaves in the Confederate states. The slaves in border states loyal to the Union, however, remained enslaved; it only applied to Confederate states in rebellion.

Appomattox Court House

agkumaran — 2025-10-17 21:32:42 UTC

Where the surrender of the Confederate Army under Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant took place on April 9, 1865.

Lincoln Assassination

agkumaran — 2025-10-17 21:33:03 UTC

John Wilkes Booth shot this leader in the head at Ford's Theater, just days after the Civil War ended.

Reconstruction

agkumaran — 2025-10-17 21:33:28 UTC

Period after the Civil War during which Northern political leaders created plans for the governance of the South and a procedure for former Southern states to rejoin the Union

Unit 5

agkumaran — 2025-11-04 03:39:09 UTC

Haymarket Riot of 1886

agkumaran — 2025-11-04 03:39:46 UTC

A labor protest rally in Chicago turned into a riot after someone threw a bomb at police. At least eight people died as a result of the violence that day. Despite a lack of evidence against them, eight radical labor activists were convicted in connection with the bombing.

Homestead Strike of 1892

agkumaran — 2025-11-04 03:40:09 UTC

A violent strike in Pittsburgh over a decision to cut wages by nearly 20%. This strike ended with the destruction of the Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers, one of the largest unions at the time.

Pullman Strike of 1894

agkumaran — 2025-11-04 03:40:29 UTC

A nonviolent strike that brought down the railway system in most of the West over wages. President Cleveland shut it down because it was interfering with mail delivery.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

agkumaran — 2025-11-04 03:40:53 UTC

U.S. Supreme Court decision supporting the legality of Jim Crow laws that permitted or required separate but equal facilities for blacks and whites.

The Jungle written (1906)

agkumaran — 2025-11-04 03:41:19 UTC

A novel by Upton Sinclair that revealed gruesome details about the meat packing industry in Chicago.

Spanish-American War

agkumaran — 2025-11-22 03:36:10 UTC

War over the European control of Cuba, American won and gained: Guam, Puerto Rico, Philippines, and an alliance with Cuba.

Sinking of the Lusitania

agkumaran — 2025-11-22 03:36:31 UTC

A British passenger ship that was sunk by a German U-Boat during WWI. 128 Americans died. The sinking greatly turned American opinion against the Germans, helping the move towards entering the war.

Great Depression

agkumaran — 2025-11-22 03:36:51 UTC

The economic crisis and period of low business activity in the U.S. and other countries, roughly beginning with the stock-market crash in 1929 and approximately ending with the start of the next war.

USS Maine Destroyed

agkumaran — 2025-11-22 03:37:11 UTC

A U.S. battleship exploded and sank in Havana Harbor; 260 Americans died. Although it was later concluded that it was an internal explosion caused by a fire in the coal bunker, the sinking provided an excuse for those eager for war with Spain.

WWI

agkumaran — 2025-11-22 03:38:08 UTC

The first, modern global war, started by the shooting of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The war is remembered for its violence and destruction, costing over 20 million lives and billions of dollars.

New Deal

agkumaran — 2025-11-22 03:38:46 UTC

President FDR's precursor of the modern welfare state. His programs were meant to combat economic depression and it enacted a number of social insurance measures and used government spending to stimulate the economy.

Boxer Rebellion

agkumaran — 2025-11-22 03:39:05 UTC

An uprising in China directed against foreign influence. It was suppressed by an international force of some eighteen thousand soldiers, including Americans. It paved the way for the revolution of 1911, which led to the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912.

Roaring 20s

agkumaran — 2025-11-22 03:39:28 UTC

One of the most significant decades in US History because of the great changes that came about in American society, including the rise of consumerism, technology, and social and creative expression.

WWII

agkumaran — 2025-11-22 03:39:48 UTC

The second, modern global war, starting less than 2 decades after the last. A significant portion of the world was involved, divided into Axis and Allied powers.

Murder of Emmett Till

agkumaran — 2025-12-15 18:55:00 UTC

a 14-year-old African American, was brutally murdered in 1955 in Mississippi for allegedly whistling at a white woman, an event that played a significant role in the civil rights movement in the United States.

Greensboro Sit ins

agkumaran — 2025-12-15 18:56:57 UTC

a series of nonviolent protests initiated by African American college students in 1960 at a Woolworth's lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, challenging racial segregation and inspiring similar actions across the Southern United States during the civil rights movement.

Assassination of MLK Jr.

agkumaran — 2025-12-15 18:57:40 UTC

assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, when he was fatally shot on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, an event that had a profound impact on the civil rights movement in the United States.

USA withdraws from Vietnam

agkumaran — 2025-12-15 18:58:12 UTC

marked the end of direct American involvement in the Vietnam War, following the signing of the Paris Peace Accords. South Vietnam would later lose the war and Vietnam is communist to the day.

Civil Rights Act of 1968

agkumaran — 2025-12-15 18:58:36 UTC

enacted to address housing discrimination by prohibiting the refusal to sell or rent a dwelling to any person based on race, color, religion, or national origin, aiming to ensure equal housing opportunities for all.

Assassination of JFK

agkumaran — 2025-12-15 18:59:24 UTC

assassinated on November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, when he was shot and killed while riding in a motorcade, sparking a wave of investigations and conspiracy theories.

Watergate scandal

agkumaran — 2025-12-15 19:00:29 UTC

involving the break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office complex, leading to revelations of widespread abuses of power and subsequent resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.

March on Washington

agkumaran — 2025-12-15 19:00:55 UTC

over 200,000 participants, including Martin Luther King Jr., gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., advocating for equal rights and economic opportunities for African Americans.

War on terror

agkumaran — 2026-01-08 18:28:45 UTC

a global military and political campaign initiated by the United States in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, aimed at combating terrorism and its sponsors around the world.

NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)

agkumaran — 2026-01-08 18:29:08 UTC

a trade agreement signed in 1994 between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, aiming to eliminate barriers to trade and investment and promote economic cooperation in North America.

The Patriot Act (officially the USA PATRIOT Act)

agkumaran — 2026-01-08 18:29:36 UTC

a U.S. law passed in response to the 9/11 attacks, granting expanded surveillance and law enforcement powers to the government in the name of national security and counterterrorism efforts.

Iran-contra affair

agkumaran — 2026-01-08 18:30:00 UTC

a political scandal in the 1980s involving the covert sale of weapons to Iran by the U.S. government to fund Nicaraguan Contra rebels, leading to Congressional investigations and convictions.

Clinton impeachment

agkumaran — 2026-01-08 18:30:22 UTC

centered on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice related to his extramarital affair.

Bush vs. Gore

agkumaran — 2026-01-08 18:30:58 UTC

The 2000 U.S. presidential election, marked by a controversial recount in Florida, legal battles culminating in the Supreme Court's decision to stop the recount, and Bush's ultimate victory despite losing the popular vote.