Key Events in American History: A Comprehensive Review

Posted on May 16, 2026 in History

Foundations of Early America

  1. First Humans in the Americas: Migrated from Asia across the Bering Land Bridge during the Ice Age.
  2. Pre-Columbian Mammals: Many became extinct due to overhunting and climate change.
  3. Native American Population Decline: Primarily caused by the introduction of European diseases.
  4. Bartolomé de las Casas: Advocated against the mistreatment of Native Americans by the Spanish.
  5. The Columbian Exchange: The transfer of crops, animals, diseases, and technology between Europe and the Americas.
  6. Cahokia: A large Native American civilization near present-day St. Louis that mysteriously declined.
  7. Cortés and the Aztecs: Defeated the empire using superior weapons, horses, alliances with local enemies, and disease.
  8. Geography as Destiny: The concept from Guns, Germs, and Steel that geographic conditions shaped societal development.
  9. Half-Way Covenant: A Puritan policy allowing partial church membership for children of members.
  10. Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson: Rejected Puritan government in favor of religious freedom and freedom of conscience.

The American Revolution

  1. Tea Act of 1773: Led to the Boston Tea Party as colonists protested taxation without representation.
  2. Stamp Act Resistance: Colonists opposed it because it taxed printed materials without their consent.
  3. Intolerable Acts: Included the closure of Boston Harbor following the Boston Tea Party.
  4. Revolutionary Support: Approximately one-third of colonists supported the Revolution.
  5. Battle of Saratoga: A turning point that convinced France to support the American cause.
  6. Battle of Yorktown: Effectively ended the Revolutionary War.
  7. Nature of the Revolution: Established an independent republic based on Enlightenment ideals.
  8. Conservative Revolution: Scholars use this term because many existing elites retained power and social structures changed slowly.
  9. Fascism: An authoritarian system characterized by strong nationalism and limited freedoms.
  10. Treaty of Tordesillas: Divided newly discovered lands between Spain and Portugal.

Constitution and the Early Republic

  1. Post-Revolutionary Politics: Federalist ideas favoring a strong national government prevailed.
  2. Three-Fifths Compromise: The Constitutional Convention’s decision on counting enslaved people for representation.
  3. Elastic Clause: Grants Congress implied powers via the Necessary and Proper Clause.
  4. Alien and Sedition Acts: Passed by President John Adams in 1798.
  5. Embargo of 1807: Halted U.S. trade with foreign nations to avoid conflict.
  6. Nullification Crisis: Andrew Jackson prevented South Carolina from seceding.
  7. National Bank: Jackson dismantled it by vetoing its recharter and removing federal deposits.
  8. War with Mexico: Triggered by the annexation of Texas and border disputes.
  9. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo: Granted the U.S. vast territories in the Southwest.
  10. Henry Clay: Known as the “Great Compromiser.”
  11. Dred Scott v. Sandford: Ruled that African Americans were not citizens and Congress could not ban slavery in territories.
  12. Kansas-Nebraska Act: Led to violent conflict known as “Bleeding Kansas.”
  13. Southern Secession Doubts: The North possessed greater population and industrial strength.
  14. Civil War Southern Advantage: Experienced military leadership.
  15. Emancipation Proclamation: Freed slaves in Confederate territory and established ending slavery as a Union goal.
  16. Modern War: The Civil War utilized new technologies like railroads, telegraphs, ironclads, and trench warfare.
  17. Border States: Slave states that remained in the Union.
  18. Reconstruction Amendments: The 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments aimed to end slavery and expand civil rights.
  19. Reconstruction Failure: Resulted in the rise of segregation and Jim Crow laws in the South.

Progressive Era and the 20th Century

  1. Consumer Protection: The Meat Inspection Act and Pure Food and Drug Act followed public outrage over Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle.
  2. 1920s Presidents: Shared a common focus on pro-business policies.
  3. Lost Generation: Represented by writers like Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
  4. Wagner Act of 1935: Protected the rights of workers to form labor unions.
  5. Tennessee Valley Authority: A government-owned corporation providing electricity and regional development.
  6. Second New Deal: Included the creation of Social Security.
  7. Social Darwinism: Popular with elites as a justification for wealth inequality and competition.
  8. Non-Social Darwinist: Charles Darwin himself was not a proponent of the social theory.
  9. NATO: Established by Harry S. Truman following the Berlin Airlift.