1776- 1779 During the 17th and early 18th centuries, the British colonies in America had been

largely left to their own devices by the crown, which was preoccupied with civil war and other issues. The colonies were thus largely self-governing, and as time went on they developed their own political identities and systems which were in many ways separate from those in Britain. This new ideology was decidedly republican political viewpoint, which rejected royalty, aristocracy and corruption and called for sovereignty of the people and emphasized civic duty. In 1763 with British victory in the French and Indian War, this period of isolation came to an end. The British government began to impose taxes in a way that deliberately provoked the Americans, who complained that they were alien to the unwritten English Constitution because Americans were not represented in parliament. Parliament said the Americans were "virtually" represented and had no grounds for complaint. Between 1776 and 1789, the United States emerged as an independent country, creating and ratifying its new constitution, and establishing its national government. In order to assert their traditional rights, American Patriots seized control of the colonies and launched a war for independence. The Americans declared independence on July 4, 1776, raised armies under the command of General George Washington, forged a military alliance with France, and captured the two main British invasion armies. Nationalists replaced the governing Articles of Confederation to strengthen the federal government's powers of defense and taxation with the Constitution of the United States in 1789, still in effect today. Declaration of Independence On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, still meeting in Philadelphia, voted unanimously to declare the independence "of the thirteen United States of America." Two days later, on July 4, Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence. The drafting of the Declaration was the responsibility of a Committee of Five, which included, among others, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin; it was drafted by Thomas Jefferson and revised by the others and the Congress as a whole. It contended that "all men are created equal" with "certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", and that "to secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed", as well as listing the main colonial grievances against the crown July 4 would be subsequently celebrated as the birthday of the United States. 1789- 1849 George Washington, a renowned hero of the American Revolutionary War, commander of the Continental Army, and president of the Constitutional Convention, was unanimously chosen as the first President of the United States under the new U.S. Constitution. All the leaders of the new nation were committed to republicanism, and the doubts of the Anti-Federalists of 1788 were allayed with the passage of a Bill of Rights as the first 10 amendments to the Constitution in 1791.

Washington retired in 1797, firmly declining to serve for more than eight years as the nation's head. The Federalists supported Vice President John Adams for President. In 1799, after a series of naval battles with the French (known as the Quasi-War), full-scale war seemed inevitable. In this crisis, Adams broke with his party and sent three new commissioners to France. Napoleon, who had just come to power, received them cordially, and the danger of conflict subsided with the negotiation of the Convention of 1800, which formally released the United States from its 1778 wartime alliance with France. However, reflecting American weakness, France refused to pay $20 million in compensation for American ships seized by the French navy. To protect its shipping interests overseas, the U.S. fought the First Barbary War (18011805) in North Africa. This was followed later by the Second Barbary War (1815). The Louisiana Purchase in 1803 gave Western farmers use of the important Mississippi River waterway, removed the French presence from the western border of the United States, and, most important, provided U.S. settlers with vast potential for expansion. A few weeks afterward, war resumed between Britain and Napoleon's France. Believing that Britain could not rely on other sources of food than the United States, Congress and President Jefferson suspended all U.S. trade with foreign nations in the Embargo Act of 1807, hoping to get the British to end their blockade of the American coast. The Embargo Act, however, devastated American agricultural exports and weakened American ports while Britain found other sources of food. Following the War of 1812, America began to assert a newfound sense of nationalism. America began to rally around national heroes such as Andrew Jackson and patriotic feelings emerged in such works as Francis Scott Key's poem The Star Spangled Banner. Under the direction of Chief Justice John Marshall, the Supreme Court issued a series of opinions reinforcing the role of the national government. 1849-1865 Issues of slavery in the new territories acquired in the War with Mexico (which ended in 1848) were temporarily resolved by the Compromise of 1850. One provision, the Fugitive Slave Law, sparked intense controversy, as revealed in the enormous interest in the plight of the escaped slave in Uncle Tom's Cabin,an anti-slavery novel and play. In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act reversed long-standing compromises by providing that each new state of the Union would decide its posture on slavery. After the 1860 election of Republican Abraham Lincoln, seven Southern states declared their secession from the United States between late 1860 and 1861, establishing a rebel government, the Confederate States of America on February 9, 1861. The Civil War began when Confederate General Pierre Beauregard opened fire upon Union troops at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. Four more states seceded as Lincoln called for troops to fight an insurrection. The next four years were the darkest in American history as the nation tore at itself using the latest military technology and highly motivated soldiers. The urban, industrialized Northern states (the Union) eventually defeated the mainly rural, agricultural Southern states (the Confederacy), but between 600,000 and 700,000

soldiers Americans (on both sides combined) were killed, and much of the infrastructure of the South was devastated. About 8% of all white males aged 13 to 43 died in the war, including 6% in the North and an extraordinary 18% in the South.[1] In the end, slavery was abolished, and the Union was restored, richer and more powerful than ever, while the South was embittered and impoverished. U.S. Expansion in North America 1800s - nationalism increased in the U.S. as the country expanded. 1912 all the U.S. territories in North America had been formed into the 48 states. The U.S. and Russia were alike because both countries expanded greatly during the 1800s. The U.S. expanded west from its population centers in places such as Chicago and St. Louis, while Russia expanded east from its center at Moscow. 1833 a French writer, Alexis de Tocqueville compared the American and Russian patterns of expansion and predicted that during the 1900s the two countries were destined to be the largest and most powerful nations on earth. The U.S. would be democratic and productive, while Russia would be dictatorial and destructive. De Tocqueville thought that these two countries must inevitably come into conflict. The Civil War increased nationalism in the United States because Abraham Lincoln refused to allow southern state to secede from the nation. The country could only grow, not shrink. U.S. Expansion After the Civil War After the Civil War the U.S. began expanding its control and influence beyond North America to other countries. Reasons the U.S. tried to influence other nations: economic; military; moral.The primary reason the U.S. expanded its influence in foreign countries. Economic reasons industrialization in the late 1800s increased the need to trade with other countries. Manufacturers spent money constructing factories with assembly lines, but big companies often produced more products than the American people could buy. This caused companies to find places to sell their products. Sales of American goods to foreign countries were important to the workers in the U.S. because: a. Companies depend on overseas sales to keep their business going. b. Workers would be out of jobs if the companies were out of business. c. Workers depend on overseas sales to keep their jobs. Late 1800s - Products and Natural Resources the U.S. imported: sugar from Cuba and Hawaii; coffee from Latin American countries; silk from China; minerals and rubber from Southeast Asian countries Military Reasons. After the Civil War, the military was used to protect settlers and to push Native Americans onto

reservations. Merchant ships are unarmed ships that carry products and natural resources. The U.S. started building new ships because: shipping products overseas required modern ships; the U.S. began building new coal burning, steam-powered merchant ships. The U.S. needed naval ports in the Pacific because:the U.S. found competition with the merchants of France and Great Britain; these merchants would prevent other countries from trading with territories they controlled. The United States in Latin America- Domination and Accommodation in South America The Monroe Doctrine 1820s the U.S. government was worried that Spain might try to reclaim some of its lost territory, particularly the Louisiana territory. President Monroe declared that the U.S. would not tolerate any European country getting involved in any part of North or South America. This declaration was known as the Monroe Doctrine which was not a treaty or an agreement with other countries. It was a statement by the United States that the U.S. would not allow European countries to expand their control over territory in Latin America. The British navy did not want European countries to get more influence over Latin America. Fear of the British Navy kept France and Spain from trying to do so. Crisis with France The U.S. wanted France to leave Mexico because they did not want a European nation to control a country that bordered the U.S. The U.S. got France to leave Mexico because they insisted that the French leave or face a possible war. France decided that fighting an overseas battle with both the Mexicans and the Americans would be too hard and pulled their troops out of Mexico. Crisis in Chile The U.S. supported the President of Chile during the revolution there. When the President of Chile lost control of the government, many people in Chile were angry with the U.S. for supporting him. When the U.S. ships came ashore in Chile, a riot broke out and 2 American sailors were killed. Chile did not want to apologize for these deaths until the U.S. president said he might consider going to war with Chile. They apologized and sent money to the families of the deceased. Crisis in Venezuela 1895 a dispute between Venezuela and Great Britain gave the U.S. a chance to demonstrate its influence in the Americas. The dispute was about the location of the border between Venezuela and British Guinea. The U.S. helped solve the problem.

The Spanish-American War 1898 - the U.S. fought a brief war with Spain Spains influence changed during the 1800s because countries such as Mexico, Peru,Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador,fought successful wars of independence from Spain. The U.S. became the largest importer of Cuban sugar in 1984, importing over 1 million tons. 1890s - America wanted to go to war with Spain because Spain had sent troops to Cuba to stop them from gaining independence and in the process had killed many Cubans and Americans living in Cuba. 1898 - 2 events increased the desire of Americans to go to war with Spain: the publication in a New York newspaper of a letter from the Spanish ambassador to a friend in Cuba in which the Spanish ambassador had accused President McKinley of being weak. This angered the President and the American public; the sinking of the U.S. battleship, Maine, which had gone to Cuba to protect american citizens there. On Feb.15, 1989 an explosion occurred on the Maine, killing 260 American sailors.The policy of the United States toward Spain used domination. Cuba and the Philippines were supposed to gain independence after the Spanish American war. Puerto Rico was supposed to be turned over to the control of the U.S. Post-war Relations with Cuba 1901 - Platt Amendment was passed. This amendment stated that the U.S. to send troops into Cuba if the new Cuban government was unable to protect life and property. The Cubans were told that their constitution must include provisions stating that Cuba: could not enter into any agreement with a foreign power that could endanger its independence; would give the right to the U.S. to intervene in Cuba if the Cuban government had problems; would lease a naval base at Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. American troops started a revolution in Cuba in 1906 and remained in Cuba until 1909. Domination in the Caribbean Roosevelt Corollary 1904 - President Roosevelt issued the Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine. It basically said that the U.S. would act as a policeman in Latin America. 1918- 1945 The history of the United States from 1918 through 1945 covers the post-World War I era, the Great Depression, and World War II. After World War I, the U.S. rejected the Treaty of Versailles and did not join the League of Nations. In foreign policy the nation never joined the League of Nations, but instead took the initiative to disarm the world, most notably at the Washington Conference in 192122. Washington also stabilized the European

economy through the Dawes Plan and the Young Plan. The Immigration Act of 1924 was aimed at stabilizing the traditional ethnic balance and strictly limiting the total inflow. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression led to government efforts to restart the economy and help its victims. The recovery, however, was very slow. The nadir of the Great Depression was 1933, and recovery was rapid until the recession of 1938 proved a setback. There were no major new industries in the 1930s that were big enough to drive growth the way autos, electricity and construction had been so powerful in the 1920s. GDP surpassed 1929 levels in 1940. By 1939, isolationist sentiment in America had ebbed, and after the stunning fall of France in 1940 to Nazi Germany the United States began rearming itself and sent a large stream of money and military supplies to Britain, China and Russia. After the sudden Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered the war against Imperial Japan, Fascist Italy, and Nazi Germany, known as the "Axis Powers". Italy surrendered in 1943, and Germany and Japan in 1945, after massive devastation and loss of life, while the US emerged far richer and with few casualities. 1945- 1964 For the United States of America, 1945 to 1964 was an era of war, economic growth and prosperity which saw the victorious powers of World War II confronting each other in the Cold War and the triumph of the Civil Rights Movement that ended Jim Crow segregation in the South. The period saw an active foreign policy designed to rescue Europe and Asia from the devastation of World War II and to contain the expansion of Communism, represented by the Soviet Union and China. A race began to overawe the other side with more powerful nuclear weapons. The Soviets formed the Warsaw Pact of communist states to oppose the American-led North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance. The U.S. fought a bloody, inconclusive war in Korea and was escalating the war in Vietnam as the period ended. On the domestic front, after a short transition, the economy grew rapidly, with widespread prosperity, rising wages, and the movement of most of the remaining farmers to the towns and cities. Politically, the era was dominated by presidents, Democrats Harry Truman (194553), John F. Kennedy (196163) and Lyndon Johnson (196369), and Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower (195361). For most of the period, the Democrats controlled Congress; however, they were usually unable to pass as much liberal legislation as they had hoped because of the power of the Conservative Coalition. The Liberal coalition came to power after Kennedy's assassination in 1963, and launched the Great Society. 1964-1980 The history of the United States from 1964 through 1980 includes the climax and victory of the African American Civil Rights Movement; the escalation and ending of the Vietnam War; the drama of a generational revolt with its sexual freedoms and use of drugs; and the continuation of the Cold War, with its

Space Race to put a man on the Moon. The economy was prosperous until the early 1970s, then faltered under new foreign competition and high oil prices. By 1980 and the seizure of the American Embassy in Iran, there was a growing sense of national malaise. This period is closed by the victory of conservative Republican Ronald Reagan, opening the "Age of Reagan" with a dramatic change in national direction. Memories of the 1960s shaped the political landscape for the next half-century. As Bill Clinton explained in 1990, "If you look back on the Sixties and think there was more good than bad, you're probably a Democrat. If you think there was more harm than good, you're probably a Republican. 1980- 1991 The history of the United States from 1980 until 1991 includes the last year of the Jimmy Carter presidency, eight years of the Ronald Reagan administration, and the first two years of the George H. W. Bush presidency, up to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Plagued by the Iran hostage crisis and mounting domestic opposition, Carter lost the 1980 presidential election to Republican Reagan. In his first term, Reagan introduced expansionary fiscal policies aimed at stimulating the American economy after a recession in 1981 and 1982, including oil deregulation policies which led to the 1980s oil glut. He met with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in four summit conferences, culminating with the signing of the INF Treaty. These actions accelerated the end of the Cold War, which occurred during the early part of the Bush presidency, and the removal of the Berlin Wall. The second largest stock market crash(percentage-wise) in United States history occurred in 1987, preceding another recession. The largest scandal of the years was the Iran-Contra affair, wherein weapons had been sold to Iran, and the proceeds used by the CIA to aid Contras in Nicaragua. 1991-present The history of the United States from 1991 to present began after the fall of the Soviet Union which signaled the end of the Cold War and left the U.S. unchallenged as the world's dominant superpower. The U.S. took a leading role in military involvement in the Middle East. The U.S. expelled an Iraqi invasion force from Kuwait, a Middle Eastern ally of the U.S., in the Persian Gulf War. On the domestic front, the Democrats returned to the White House with the election of Bill Clinton in 1992, as independent Ross Perot gained 19% of the vote--for a while Perot was leading in the polls. In the 1994 midterm election, theRepublicans gained control of Congress for the first time in 40 years. and a balanced budget. Charges from the Lewinsky scandal led to the 1998 impeachment of Clinton by the House of Representatives but he was later acquitted by the Senate. In 2000, Republican George W. Bush was elected president in one of the closest and most controversial elections in U.S. history. Early in his term, his administration approved education reform and a large across-the-board tax cut aimed at stimulating the economy. Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, the U.S. embarked on the War on Terror, starting with the 2001 war in Afghanistan. In 2003, the U.S. invaded Iraq, which deposed the controversial regime of Saddam Hussein but also resulted in a prolonged conflict that would continue over

the course of the decade. The Homeland Security Departmentwas formed and the controversial Patriot Act was passed to bolster domestic efforts against terrorism. In 2006, criticism over the handling of the disastrousHurricane Katrina (which struck the Gulf Coast region in 2005), political scandals, and the growing unpopularity of the Iraq War helped the Democrats gain control of Congress. Saddam Hussein was later tried, charged for war crimes and crimes against humanity, and executed by hanging. In 2007, President Bush ordered a troop surge in Iraq, which ultimately led to reduced casualties. The collapse of the housing bubble, which led into the late-2000s recession, helped the Democrats gain the presidency in 2008 with the election of Barack Obama. The government enacted large loans and economic stimulus packagesaimed at improving the economy. Obama's domestic initiatives also included the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, which by means of large reforms to the American healthcare system, created a National Health Insurance program. President Obama eventually withdrew combat troops from Iraq, and shifted the country's efforts in the War on Terror to Afghanistan, where a troop surge was initiated in 2009. In 2010, due to continued public discontent with the economic situation, unemployment, and federal spending, Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives and reduced the Democratic majority in the Senate. In 2011, Obama announced that al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by U.S. forces during a covert operation in Pakistan while the Iraq War was declared formally over the same year. The following year Obama was re-elected president. In June 2013, the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which resulted in the recognition of legally performed same-sex marriages by the federal government.