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Plymouth Colony
The Plymouth Colony was the second permanent English colony established 13 years after Jamestown. Around 100 men and women, most of them from the English separatist church set sail on the Mayflower. They landed 2 months later in what is now Cape Cod. More than half the settlers died during the grueling first winter, while the survivors secured peace treaties with neighboring Native American tribes and built an economy within five years. They established Puritan beliefs in North America. -
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God - Jonathan Edwards
Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God was preached on July 8, 1741, in Enfield, Connecticut. This was a speech to sinners to tell them that they will be judged by God and that this judgment will be more fearful and painful than they can comprehend. This sermon was given during the Puritan era which means it was kind of an antithesis to Puritan beliefs. Puritans believe in predestination but Edwards is saying the sins you commit now will lead to judgment from God. -
Revolutionary War
The Revolutionary War was fought between American Patriots and the British. The Colonies declared independence which was taken as an act of war so the British came to fight. The War lasted over 8 years until the colonies won, making America its own country. George Washington commanded the Army during the Revolutionary War and would go on to be the first president of the United States of America. -
Signing of The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is one of, if not the greatest document in our nation's history. It was America's way of telling England we were breaking away. It states that all men are created equal and there are certain unalienable rights that governments should never violate. These rights include the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. When a government fails to protect those rights, it is not only the right, but also the duty of the people to overthrow that government. -
Constitution Ratified
The Constitution of the United States establishes America's national government, the supreme law of the land, and fundamental laws. It also guarantees certain basic rights for American citizens. It was signed on September 17, 1787, and later ratified on June 21, 1788. The first ten amendments are what is called the Bill of Rights. To this date, there are 27 amendments in the constitution. -
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase occurred in 1803 and was a massive western region of North America. It consisted of 828,000 square miles that extended from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains between the Gulf of Mexico and the Canadian border. It was sold by France to America for 15 million dollars, about 4 cents per acre. Without this purchase, America would be about half the size it is today. -
Civil War
The Civil War is one of the most important events in American History because of how much it changed the country moving forward. The war solved two questions left unanswered by the revolution. These were whether the U.S. was to be a confederation of sovereign states or an indivisible nation with a sovereign national government and whether America would continue to hold the most slaves of any country in the world. -
Slavery Abolished
Slavery was abolished in America when the 13th amendment was ratified. The 13th amendment provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Abraham Lincoln was a vital part of this amendment being introduced and passed. This amendment also led to other amendments dealing with civil rights and liberties. -
World War I
World War I began when Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. During the war, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and the Ottoman Empire fought against Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, Romania, Japan, and the United States. World War I saw enormous levels of destruction, due to trench warfare and new technology. The Allied Powers claimed victory after 4 years, but not after more than 16 million people were dead. -
Women's Suffrage
The women’s suffrage movement´s goal was to win the right to vote for women in the United States. It took activists nearly 100 years to win that right to vote. Suffrage activists faced a difficult road to voting but eventually, the 19th amendment would be passed and allow women to do so. The right to vote opened many doors for women in the United States to become more independent. -
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby takes place during the roaring 20s, a time of economic booms in America. It is situated in between World War I and the Stock Market crash in 1929. The book is written from the perspective of Gatsby´s neighbor Nick, who tells the story of Gatsby and becoming close friends with him. Prohibition is also a big part of the book as Gatsby is a bootlegger. -
Market Crash and Great Depression
The 1920s were highlighted by the economic success in America until the stock market crashed. The economic boom in the 1920s led to high consumerism, easy credit schemes, and increased debt which were all factors in the market crashing. Consumer spending and investment dropped, causing steep declines in industrial output and employment as failing companies laid off workers. By 1933 15 million Americans were unemployed and nearly half the country’s banks had failed. -
Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
This novel takes place during the Great Depression, a time where finding a job was very difficult. Of Mice and Men is about Two migrant field workers, George Milton, and Lennie Small. George is an intelligent but uneducated man, and Lennie is bulky and strong but also mentally disabled. George had to take the role of taking care of Lennie but they have to keep moving around because Lennie is causing problems for the two of them. -
World War II
World War II was a conflict that involved almost every part of the world. Mainly Germany, Italy, and Japan fought France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China. The war was in some ways an extension of the disputes left unsettled by World War I. Around 40,000,000–50,000,000 deaths make it the bloodiest conflict, as well as the largest war, in history. -
Cold War
The Cold War was a period of time from 1947 to 1991 where the United States and the Soviet Union had serious tension but never broke out into war. The Soviet Union was trying to spread communism and the United States was trying to contain it. One of the most important events of the Cold War was the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Soviet Union secretly moved missiles to Cuba and America became very scared. The two powerhouses came up with a peaceful solution after two weeks of tension. -
There Will Come Soft Rains - Ray Bradbury
There Will Come Soft Rains was written after World War II and takes place in a time where a nuclear incident erased all the humans. There is a poem within the story that describes how happy nature will be when man has destroyed himself, but the truth is that nature has been decimated by the war. The story has multiple themes but one is showing what reckless actions can do to the world. This story could not have been released at a better time than during the Cold War. -
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The main character Holden Caulfield tells his story from an institution in California about his journey from Pencey Prep School in Pennsylvania to New York City. The novel is set in the 1950s, a confusing time after World War II and the Cold War was going on. Holden is a very interesting character that most certainly has some problems in his life after being expelled and not knowing what to do with his life. -
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Lord of the Flies takes place during a fictional world war that was definitely very similar to World War II. A plane carrying British schoolboys is shot down over the Pacific ocean. The pilot of the plane is killed in the crash, but most of the boys survive the crash and end up deserted on an uninhabited island. They are all alone without any adults and must survive on their own. -
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a long conflict, the second-longest US combat participation in history. More than 3 million people (including over 58,000 Americans) were killed in the Vietnam War, and more than half of the dead were Vietnamese civilians. Opposition to the war in the United States bitterly divided Americans, especially after the Kent State shooting. Communist forces ended the war in 1975, and the country was unified as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam the following year. -
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
This novel takes place during the 1930s, right in the middle of the Great Depression. Racism is also one of the main points of the novel because of its relevancy during that time period. The novel is about a young girl named Scout, whose father is a lawyer defending a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman. Her family lives in a small Southern town, and she has a difficult time watching the trial because she knew the black man was falsely accused. -
"I Have a Dream" - Martin Luther King Jr.
This speech given by civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. is one of the most iconic and important public speeches in American history. It was given during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, in which he called for civil and economic rights and an end to racism in the United States. This speech helped accomplish the Civil Rights Act of 1964. -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is one of the biggest civil rights legislative accomplishments ever. This act ended segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. Martin Luther King Jr. moved civil rights movements to a whole new level and this act probably would not have been passed if it wasn't for him. -
The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton
The story takes place in 1965 which puts it in an interesting time in American history. The Vietnam War is going on and racial tension is really at an all-time high with civil rights movements. The novel tells the story of 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis and his struggles with right and wrong in a society in which he believes that he is an outsider. Ponyboy and his boys are greasers, a term that refers to the young men on the East Side, the poor side of town. -
After Auschwitz - Anne Sexton
This poem by Anne Sexton speaks about the cruelty of the Nazis in concentration camps during World War II. The title comes from the concentration camp Auschwitz, where over 1.1 million people were killed at. The poem has an angry tone to start but then changes to sad. She uses a lot of repetition which gives the sense that Anne Sexton wants people to listen to her disappointment. -
9/11 Attacks
America was hit by a series of terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001. The attacks were planned and executed by the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda. 19 members from this group hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes struck the World Trade Center in New York, One of them struck the Pentagon, and the other went down in a field after passengers fought off the attackers. Almost 3,000 people died from these terrorist attacks.
