United States of America Timeline

1800's continued

(1820) The Missouri Compromise. Maine was admitted as a free state and Missouri as a slave state
(1825) The Erie Canal opened
(1836) Texas declared its independence from Mexico; the Battle of the Alamo took place with all Texan defenders killed
(1845) U.S. annexed Texas
(1846) U. S. acquired Oregon Territory; U. S. declared war on Mexico in order to gain California and other territories in the southwest
(1848) The Mexican War ended with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. The U. S. purchased California, Nevada, Utah, most of New Mexico and Arizona, parts of Colorado and Wyoming; gold was discovered in California
(1854) The abolitionists (opponents of slavery)established the Republican Party
(1860) Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, was elected president; South Carolina seceded from the Union
(1861) Eleven pro-slavery southern states seceded from the Union; Jefferson Davis was elected president of the Confederacy; the Civil War began
(1863) The Emancipation Proclamation was issued, which freed the slaves in the Confederate states; President Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address
(1865) The Civil War ended with General Robert E. Lee's surrender to Ulysses S. Grant; President Lincoln was assassinated; the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, prohibiting slavery
(1867) The U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia
(1871) The Chicago fire killed 300 people and left 90,000 homeless
(1876) Lt. Col. George Custer's regiment was eliminated by Sioux Indians at the Little Big Horn River
(1886) The Statue of Liberty was dedicated
(1898) The U. S. declared War on Spain; the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the war; Spain gave Puerto Rico and Guam to the U. S.; the U. S. purchased the Philippines; U. S. annexed Hawaii

1900's

(1900) Galveston, Texas was hit by a hurricane (the Great Storm) killing over 6,000 people
(1903) U. S. acquired the Panama Canal Zone; the Wright brothers made their first flight
(1906) Earthquake in San Francisco left 500 missing or dead and destroyed four square miles of the city
(1914) World War I began; the Panama Canal opened
(1917) U. S. declared war on Germany
(1918) World War I ended
(1920) The Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified, giving women the right to vote; the sale and manufacture of alcoholic liquors was outlawed
(1927) Charles Lindbergh made the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight
(1929) The stock market crash began the Great Depression
(1931) The Star-Spangled Banner was adopted as the national anthem