U.S. History: 1877-2008

By sheafaulconer
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    Early American History

  • Declaration of Independence Signed

  • The Constitution is Written

  • Bill of Rights Ratified

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    Civil War/Reconstruction

  • Homestead Act

    Provided 160 acres to anyone willing to move to settle on land in the west.

  • 13th Amendment

    The abolishment of slavery

  • 14th Amendment

    Right to citizenship and due process

  • Transcontinental Railroad Completed

  • 15th Amendment

    No male citizen of the US can be denied the right to vote

  • Telephone Invented

    One of many inventions created by Alexander Graham Bell
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    The Gilded Age - (The Big Five)

    Rockefeller/Carnegie- These were two huge robber barons, not to be confused with a Captain of Industry, who lead their industry. Philanthropy- desire to promote the welfare of others Monopoly- exclusive control over the supply or trade in something Jane Addams- American activist for women's suffrage, a leader in social work Laissez Faire- the policy of letting things take their own course without interfering

  • Chinese Exclusion Act

    Prohibited immigration of skilled or unskilled Chinese laborers; first US national immigration act

  • Pendleton Civil Service Act

    Awarded government jobs based on merit.

  • Dawes Act

    Gave individual ownership of land to native Americans instead of the tribe owning things collectively.

  • Interstate Commerce Act

    Ensure railroad set "reasonable and just" rate and the first time government stepped in to regulate business.

  • Hull House Founded

    This was the first of many settlement houses built.

  • Sherman Antitrust Act

    Outlawed trusts to promote economic fairness
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    The Progressive Era

    Muckrakers- journalists who exposed established institutions and leaders as corrupt
    Initiative, Referendum and Recall- constitutional process; voters can adopt a change in law, disapprove a law, or remove an elected official from office
    The Great Migration- the movement of 6mil African Americans out of the South, NE, MW and West
    NAACP- organization dedicated to advancing justice for African Americans
    Immigration Issues- when a culture assumes the behaviors of another group (where they moved to)
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    Klondike Gold Rush (Alaska)

  • Plessy v. Ferguson

    Legalized separation, established "separate but equal".
  • Period: to

    Imperialism

  • Meat Inspection Act

    Law that makes it illegal to adulterate or misbrand meat

  • Pure Food and Drug Act

    Regulation of the preparation of foods and the sale of medicines.

  • The Jungle by Upton Sinclair is Published

    This novel portrays the harsh conditions and exploited lives of immigrants in the US; industrialized cities.

  • NAACP

    Organization dedicated to advancing the justice and rights for African-Americans.

  • 16th Amendment

    Established the federal income tax

  • 17th Amendment

    Direct election of US Senators

  • Federal Reserve Act

    Established the Federal Reserve, which helped stabilize the banking industry.
  • Period: to

    World War 1

  • National Parks System created

    Manages national parks, monuments, and conserves historical properties.
  • Period: to

    Roaring Twenties

  • Period: to

    The Great Depression

  • 26th Amendment

    Moved the voting age from 21 to 18
  • Period: to

    World War II

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    Early Cold War (Big Five)

    Containment: American policy of resisting further expansion of communism around the world
    Communism: a system of government where all property is public and people work, and are given things by the govt depending on their needs
    Arms/Space Race: competition between Soviets and the US on who could get to space first, and build powerful nuclear weapons
    Domino Theory: Truman's policy that if Vietnam fell to communism, SE Asia would follow
    USSR: New Communist state based on Marxist socialism

  • United Nations Formed

    Intergovernmental organization created to maintain international peace and security, create friendly relations between countries, and achieve cooperation and harmonization.

  • Truman Doctrine

    U.S. policy that gave military and economic aid to countries threatened by communism.

  • Marshall Plan

    Program to help European countries rebuild again WWII.

  • Berlin Airlift

    In response to the Soviet blockade of routes into West Berlin, the US organized an airlift that brought food, water, and medicine to the citizens inside the trapped city.

  • NATO Established

    Formed to provide collective security against the Soviet Union.

  • Korean War

    1950-1953 War between North and South Korea, starting when the North attacked the South; the war has never officially ended.

  • Sweatt v Painter

    Ruled the separate law school at the University of Texas failed to qualify as "separate but equal".
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    Civil Rights Era

  • 22nd Amendment

    The 22nd Amendment says that no person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice", and if you've already been elected before and held full term[s], you cannot be elected again.

  • Rosenbergs Trial

    The court case against Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of espionage for providing the Soviet Union with classified information.

  • First H-Bomb detonated by the US

    More powerful than the atomic bomb, designed by Edward Teller, the first H-Bomb was detonated in the Marshall Islands and has never been used in battle or as a weapon.

  • Hernandez v. Texas

    Mexican Americans and all other races provided equal protection under the 14th Amendment
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    Vietnam War

  • Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka

    Overturned Plessy v. Ferguson and mandated desegregation

  • Jonas Salk invents the Polio Vaccine

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    Montgomery Bus Boycotts

    Occurred after Rosa Parks' arrest

  • Little Rock 9 Integrated into an all-white school in Little Rock, AK

  • USSR launches Sputnik

    The first artificial Earth satellite. It orbited for 3 weeks then fell back into the atmosphere. Sputnik struck fear into the hearts of citizens of the United States, as now the USSR had the equipment to go into space, and since the Soviet Union were the enemy, nobody knew what could be next. People feared nuclear war, and the space race had just started, only escalating the tensions between the two countries.

  • Bay of Pigs Invasion in Cuba

  • Berlin Wall built to prevent people from leaving communist East Berlin

  • Cuban Missile Crisis

  • MLK's "I Have A Dream" Speech at the March on Washington

  • JFK Assassinated in Dallas

  • Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

    Begins undeclared war in Vietnam

  • Civil Rights Act of 1964

    Made discrimination based on race, religion, or national origin in public places illegal and required employers to hire on an equal opportunity basis.

  • 24th Amendment

    Abolishes the poll tax

  • Medicare and Medicaid established

  • Voting Rights Act of 1965

    Eliminated literacy tests for voters

  • Tet Offensive

  • Civil Rights Act of 1968

    Prohibited discrimination in the sale or rental of housing

  • MLK Assassinated

  • Tinker v Des Moines

    Defined the First Amendment rights for students in the US Public Schools.

  • First Man on the Moon

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    End of Cold War

  • Pentagon Papers Leaked

  • Title IX

    Protects people from discrimination based on gender in education programs

  • War Powers Act

    Law limited the Presidents' right to send troops to battle without Congressional approval.

  • Fall of Saigon, marks the end of the Vietnam War

  • Period: to

    1990's - 21st Century