Christopher Columbus landed on a Bahamian island, thinking he was in East Asia. He later found Cuba, thinking it was mainland China. Columbus eventually established a colony on Hispaniola with 39 of his men, thinking it was Japan.

Also known as the Lost Colony, it started when John White and a group of settlers arrived. When a ship eventually came, it found the colony abandoned. The word "CROATOAN" was written into a palisade, which John White believed to mean Croatoan Island. Rough seas prevented him from going to the island.

A last-ditch effort from indigenous groups to drive colonists off their land. Many Wampanoags were publicly executed and enslaved. Many towns in New England were also involved.

The fall of Tenochtitlan was an important part of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. Occurred after long negotiations between local groups and Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés.

A rebellion by settlers in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon, who asked to drive Native Americans out of Virginia, was denied by William Berkeley. The rebellion included many Virginians who drove Berkeley out of Jamestown and torched the settlement. The main goal of driving Native Americans out of Virginia was never achieved.

A conflict in North America between Britain and France, along with the Native Americans. They fought over territories and expansion throughout North America.

An uprising in Western Massachusetts by farmers in response to high taxes and debt crises. The rebellion highlighted the flaws in the Articles of Confederation, proving that a stronger central government and militia was needed for the safety of America.

Written to break ties between Americans and the British, and is considered the founding document of the United States. The Declaration of Independence explained why the Thirteen Colonies wanted to be independent and no longer be subjected to British rule.

An event where over 340 chests of tea were dumped into the Boston Harbor by the colonists in an act of rebellion against the Tea Act the British had imposed on them. This unified the colonies and was a catalyst for the American Revolution.

A gathering of delegates intended to discuss and ratify the Articles of Confederation to make it more effective for America, but turned into drafting the Constitution we know today. Due to how much the Convention altered America, it is considered one of the most significant events in American history.

The address established a precedent of a peaceful transfer of power between presidents, made principles for foreign policy, and warned the country about the danger of factionalism and sectionalism. The address is still a major point of national unity.

A meeting of delegates between twelve of the American colonies, Georgia did not attend. They met to determine how to react after the British imposed the Intolerable Acts. The delegates created a declaration of grievances, called for boycotts on British goods, and promoted militias.

The United States obtained the Louisiana territory from France in 1803 for fifteen million dollars. Part of the land was west of the Mississippi River, in the basin of it.

A United States law admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It was created to please Northern states, which wanted to limit the expansion of slavery, and Southern states, which wanted slavery to expand to other states.

A British attack against the United States in retaliation for prior American actions. After the Battle of Bladensburg, sailors and soldiers set fire to multiple buildings, including the Presidential Mansion, United States Capitol, and Washington Navy Yard.

A war fought by the United States, with its allies, against Great Britain. It stemmed from tensions over territorial expansions in North America which increased after the Royal Navy enforced tighter restrictions on American trade with France. The Navy also impressed sailors who were originally British subjects, even though many had American citizenship.

The first women's rights convention was organized to discuss the conditions and rights of women. The convention had six sections with a lecture on law and discussions on the role of women in American society. The convention garnered widespread attention, prompting others to follow.

A model describing how the United States became a modern market-based economy. It is considered one of the most significant transformations of America in the first half of the nineteenth century. The Market Revolution marks the change from an agrarian America to a capitalist America.

An invasion of Mexico by the United States following the annexation of Texas due to Mexico still believing Texas was its territory. Established the US-Mexican border with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.

Landmark decision that held the US Constitution did not extend American citizenship to those of African descent. It is considered to be the worst decision in Supreme Court history due to its racism and poor reasoning.

Executive order by Abraham Lincoln that all enslaved people in the Confederate states in rebellion were to be freed. It also permitted Black men to join the Union Army and Navy. It was considered a crucial turning point that weakened the Confederacy.

Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Union general Ulysses S. Grant, signallign the end of the Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth while watching a play in Washington DC. He was the first president to be assassinated. Booth assassinated him in an attempt to revive the Confederate cause.

Period that following American Civil War that was led by the abolition of slavery, reintegration of Confederate States into the United States, and three Amendments (13, 14, and 15). In retaliation, former Confederate states imposed poll taxes and literacy tests to intimidate and control Black voters.

A SCOTUS case that ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the United States Constitution as long as the facilities had equal quality. Established the "separate but equal" doctrine.

An unknown person threw a dynamite at the police, who were trying to disperse a labor demonstration. The blast resulted in gunfire, the deaths of several police officers and civilians, and dozens of others were wounded.

Workers at Carnegie Steel were given a pay cut, leading to a lockout. It escalated as Pinkerton guards arrived, which resulted in the deaths of many workers and Pinkerton guards. The strike ultimately failed, and the union disbanded.

Members of the American Railway Union succeeded in suspending the American railroad network west of Chicago by refusing to handle the Pullman cars. Eventually, the military arrived, and violence increased, resulting in the deaths of 30 workers and the wounding of 57 others.

A book written by Upton Sinclair meant to expose the harsh working conditions and mistreatment of immigrants in Chicago's meatpacking plants. Sinclair went undercover in the meatpacking plants for 7 weeks to gather information. The book resulted in national outrage and reforms.

The USS Maine was destroyed by an explosion in Havana Harbor and precipitated the Spanish-American War. An investigation concluded that the most likely cause was an accidental explosion originating from a fire in the ship's coal bunker.

The war fought between Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine in Havana Harbor in Cuba. It resulted in the U.S. acquiring sovereignty over Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines, and establishing a protectorate over Cuba.

An anti-foreign, anti-imperialist, and anti-Christian uprising in North China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists.

RMS Lusitania was a British-registered ocean liner that was torpedoed by an Imperial German Navy U-boat. It caused international outrage and helped turn public opinion against Germany, especially in the United States.

A global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. The war saw important developments in weaponry, including tanks, aircraft, artillery, machine guns, and chemical weapons. It was one of the deadliest conflicts in history.

A decade of economic prosperity, cultural change, and exuberant optimism experienced especially in the United States and other Western countries in the aftermath of World War I.

A severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and business failures around the world.

A series of programs, public works projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1930s to combat the Great Depression. It aimed to provide relief for the needy, stimulate recovery of the economy, and enact financial reform to prevent a future crisis.

A global conflict between the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated and the delivery of the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war happened. World War II is the deadliest conflict in history.

Emmett Till was murdered after he allegedly whistled at a white woman, and became a pivotal catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement. The case shocked the nation with its brutality and deep-seated racism. It was amplified by his mother's decision for an open-casket funeral to show the world his mutilated body.

A series of nonviolent protests took place from February to July 1960, primarily at the Woolworth store—now the International Civil Rights Center and Museum—in Greensboro, North Carolina, which led to the F. W. Woolworth Company department store chain removing its policy of racial segregation in the Southern United States.

A march to advocate for the civil and economic rights of African Americans. At the march, several popular singers of the time, including Mahalia Jackson and Marian Anderson, performed, and many of the movement's leaders gave speeches. The most notable speech came from the final speaker, Martin Luther King Jr., standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, as he delivered his historic "I Have a Dream" speech.

John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a presidential motorcade through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963. Kennedy was in the vehicle with his wife Jacqueline, Texas governor John Connally, and Connally's wife Nellie, when he was fatally shot from the nearby by Lee Harvey Oswald, a former U.S. Marine. The motorcade rushed to Parkland Memorial Hospital, where Kennedy was pronounced dead about 30 minutes after the shooting.

On April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST, Martin Luther King Jr., an American civil rights activist, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. The alleged assassin, James Earl Ray, an escaped convict from the Missouri State Penitentiary, was arrested on June 8, 1968, at London's Heathrow Airport, extradited to the United States, and charged with the crime.

Outlawed discrimination in housing sales, rentals, and financing based on race, religion, national origin, and sex, later adding disability and familial status. Passed after Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination to address systemic housing segregation, it was a landmark achievement.

The US withdrew with Operation Frequent Wind before the takeover by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) in the Fall of Saigon. It was carried out on 29–30 April 1975, during the last days of the Vietnam War. More than 7,000 people were evacuated by helicopter from various points in Saigon.

A major political crisis that began with a 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate complex, revealing a web of illegal political espionage, sabotage, and a massive cover-up orchestrated by President Richard Nixon's administration, leading to Nixon's resignation in 1974 to avoid impeachment.

The Iran–Contra affair, also referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the Iran Initiative, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that centered on arms trafficking to Iran between 1981 and 1986, facilitated by senior officials of the Ronald Reagan administration.

The North American Free Trade Agreement, referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America.

President Bill Clinton was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives in December 1998 for perjury and obstruction of justice. These charges stemmed from his efforts to conceal his extramarital affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky during a civil sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Paula Jones.

Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98, was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court on December 12, 2000, that settled a recount dispute in Florida's 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore.

The war on terror, officially the Global War on Terrorism, is a global military campaign initiated by the United States in response to the September 11 attacks in 2001. A global conflict spanning multiple wars, some researchers and political scientists have argued that it replaced the Cold War.

The USA PATRIOT Act is a landmark Act of the United States Congress, signed into law by President George W. Bush. It was passed after 9/11 to expand law enforcement's investigative powers to combat terrorism, allowing easier information sharing, broader wiretapping, "sneak and peek" searches, and increased scrutiny of financial transactions to prevent money laundering and terrorism financing.