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🇺🇸 HISTORY OF AMERICA — DETAILED NOTES WITH TIMELINE AND PRESIDENTS
🪶 PRE-COLONIAL AND EXPLORATION ERA
Before 1492
• Indigenous peoples lived in North America for over 10,000 years.
• Tribes like the Iroquois, Cherokee, Navajo, Sioux, and others had complex societies.
• Farming (maize, beans), trade routes, and spiritual beliefs were widespread.
1492 – Age of Exploration
• 1492: Christopher Columbus, under Spain, arrives in the Caribbean.
• Spain, France, and Britain begin exploring and colonizing the Americas.
• Native populations were devastated by war and diseases.
COLONIAL AMERICA (1607–1776)
1607: Jamestown, Virginia – first permanent English settlement.
1620: Pilgrims land at Plymouth (Mayflower), seeking religious freedom.
• Thirteen Colonies form along the East Coast: New England, Middle, Southern Colonies.
• Slavery and indentured servitude were used for labor.
• Conflicts like King Philip’s War and tensions with Native tribes grew.
• British laws and taxes anger colonists (e.g., Stamp Act, Tea Act).
🗽 AMERICAN REVOLUTION & INDEPENDENCE (1775–1783)
• 1775–1783: Revolutionary War – Colonists fight British rule.
• July 4, 1776: Declaration of Independence by Thomas Jefferson.
• Help from France helped the colonists win.
• 1781: Battle of Yorktown ends the war.
• 1783: Treaty of Paris – Britain recognizes U.S. independence.
Important Figures: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson.
📜 Documents: Declaration of Independence, Articles of Confederation (first government).
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FOUNDING THE NATION (1787–1800)
• 1787: U.S. Constitution written in Philadelphia – establishes 3 branches of government.
• 1789: George Washington becomes the 1st U.S. President.
First Presidents:
1. George Washington (1789–1797) – set many presidential traditions.
2. John Adams (1797–1801) – avoided war with France, passed unpopular laws.
🚂 GROWTH, EXPANSION, AND CONFLICT (1800–1860)
• 1803: Louisiana Purchase – doubled U.S. size (from France).
• Westward Expansion: Manifest Destiny = belief U.S. should stretch coast to coast.
• Trail of Tears (1830s): Forced Native Americans westward.
• Mexican-American War (1846–1848) – U.S. gains California, Texas, Southwest.
• Slavery becomes a hot issue in new states.
Presidents of the Era:
3. Thomas Jefferson (1801–1809) – bought Louisiana Territory.
4. James Madison (1809–1817) – War of 1812.
5. James Monroe (1817–1825) – Monroe Doctrine.
7. Andrew Jackson (1829–1837) – Trail of Tears, strong presidency.
⚔️CIVIL WAR & RECONSTRUCTION (1861–1877)
• 1861–1865: Civil War – North (Union) vs South (Confederacy).
• Cause: Slavery, states’ rights, Southern secession.
• 1863: Emancipation Proclamation – frees slaves in Confederate states.
• 1865: Union wins. President Abraham Lincoln assassinated.
🧱 Reconstruction Era (1865–1877)
• Laws like the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments gave rights to freed slaves.
• Southern states were readmitted into the Union.
• Rise of segregation and racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan.
Presidents:
16. Abraham Lincoln (1861–1865) – preserved the Union, freed slaves.
17. Andrew Johnson (1865–1869) – clashed with Congress during Reconstruction.
18. Ulysses S. Grant (1869–1877) – former Union general.
INDUSTRIAL AMERICA & IMMIGRATION (1877–1914)
• U.S. becomes an industrial power: factories, railroads, steel, oil.
• Massive immigration from Europe.
• Poor working conditions, child labor, and inequality grew.
• Rise of labor unions and strikes.
• Native Americans pushed onto reservations.
• 1898: Spanish-American War – U.S. gains Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam.
Presidents:
25. William McKinley (1897–1901) – led U.S. in Spanish-American War.
26. Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) – “Trust Buster,” Panama Canal.
28. Woodrow Wilson (1913–1921) – led U.S. during World War I.
🌍 WORLD WARS & GLOBAL POWER (1914–1945)
World War I (1917–1918)
• U.S. enters late but helps Allies win.
• Treaty of Versailles signed in 1919.
1920s – Roaring Twenties
• Economic boom, jazz age, women’s right to vote (19th Amendment).
1929 – Great Depression
• Stock market crash, unemployment, poverty.
• Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) creates the New Deal to help economy recover.
World War II (1941–1945)
• U.S. enters after Pearl Harbor (1941).
• Defeats Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
• Atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima & Nagasaki.
Presidents:
32. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) – Great Depression & WWII.
33. Harry S. Truman (1945–1953) – ended WWII, Cold War began.
❄️COLD WAR & CIVIL RIGHTS (1947–1991)
• U.S. vs Soviet Union in political, economic, and military tension.
• Wars in Korea (1950s), Vietnam (1960s–70s).
• Space Race – U.S. lands on moon in 1969 (Neil Armstrong).
🖤 Civil Rights Movement
• Fight for racial equality, led by Martin Luther King Jr.
• Key victories: Civil Rights Act (1964), Voting Rights Act (1965)
Presidents:
35. John F. Kennedy (1961–1963) – Cuban Missile Crisis, assassinated.
36. Lyndon B. Johnson (1963–1969) – civil rights laws.
37. Richard Nixon (1969–1974) – Watergate scandal.
40. Ronald Reagan (1981–1989) – strong anti-communist policy.
🌐 MODERN AMERICA (1991–Present)
Post–Cold War
• U.S. becomes the only global superpower.
• Wars in the Middle East after 9/11 attacks (2001).
• Social issues: race, immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, gun violence.
Major Events:
• 2001: 9/11 terrorist attacks – led to war in Afghanistan and Iraq.
• 2008: Barack Obama becomes first Black president.
• 2020: COVID-19 pandemic.
• Ongoing: Climate change, tech revolution, political division.
Recent Presidents:
44. Barack Obama (2009–2017) – health care reform, killed Osama bin Laden.
45. Donald Trump (2017–2021) – America First policy, impeached twice.
46. Joe Biden (2021–present) – pandemic recovery, Ukraine war, climate action.
TIMELINE SUMMARY
Year Event
1492 Columbus arrives in the Americas
1607 Jamestown founded
1776 Declaration of Independence
1787 U.S. Constitution written
1861–1865 Civil War
1929 Great Depression begins
1941–1945 World War II
1964 Civil Rights Act
1969 Moon Landing
2001 9/11 Attacks
2008 Obama elected
2020 COVID-19 Pandemic
