1580s

Raleigh’s ill-fated English colony at Roanoke (1585-158?)
 
1587   128 men, women and children are settled at Roanoke (today's coastal North Carolina)
1588  The English defeat of the Spanish Armada organized by Queen Elizabeth
1591 
A relief ship finally able to get to Roanoke most mysteriously finds no settlers there
  1600s Jamestown:  The first successful English settlement in the New World
 
1606   King James I of England creates the Virginia Company - (both in London and Plymouth)
1607   Jamestown is established along the James River in Virginia (1607) in Powhatan territory
1608   John S
mith establishes work discipline on the Virginia settlers in order to save the colony
          The despised Separatists ("Pilgrims") of Scrooby (northern England) begin to flee to Holland        
          The French establish their first American colony at Quebec
1609   Henry Hudson (working for the Dutch) looking for a water passage across North America, discovers
              the "Hudson River
"

1609-1610  Virginia's "starving time"
  1610s The Jamestown settlement begins to take on its specific Virginia "character"
 
1612   John Rolfe begins the successful/profitable cultivation of tobacco in Virginia
1618   Chief Powhatan dies - his anti-English brother Opechancanough becomes chief
1619   The first African indentured servants arrive in Virginia
           Representatives of local Virginia communities gather as the House of Burgesses at Jamestown
  1620s The Separatists' (Pilgrims') Plymouth Colony is established in New England; religious
            persecution in England increases; Virginia experiences the first Indian War

 
1620   With permission from James I and financial backing from London investors ('adventurers'), the
             Pilgrims sail on the Mayflower to America - arriving north of Virginia in the "New England"
              territory; possessing no specific land grant for the place ("Plymouth") where they are forced to
              settle, the Pilgrims themselves draw up an agreement for self-government: The Mayflower
              Compact
1621   Despite a deadly winter and early spring, half the colony survives - and  celebrates  a Thanksgiving
              for its "success" with its Indian friends: Squanto, Massasoit and braves from the Wampanoag tribe
          William Bradford is repeatedly elected to the one-year term of Governor of the Plymouth Colony.
1622   Opechancanough leads the first Indian war in Virginia
1623   A small English commercial settlement is located at Cape Ann (Massachusetts)
1624   The Dutch establish Fort Orange up the Hudson River at present-day Albany
1625   The Dutch establish New Netherland with New Amsterdam (lower Manhattan) as its center
           James I dies; his son Charles I becomes king; he is even less tolerant of religious "dissenters"
1628   The Massachusetts Bay Company (heavily Puritan) secures a grant from the king to
               establish colonial settlements in New England; the first Puritan settlement is at Salem
  1630s Thousands of Puritans join the Pilgrims in New England; Maryland is founded for Catholics
 
1630   John Winthrop leads 11 ships and 700 Puritan settlers in a move to Massachusetts in 1630;
              20,000 more ("the Great Migration") will arrive in Massachusetts over the next ten years
1634   "Freemen" in Massachusetts begin to elect their officers annually to the General Court;
          The Calverts found a colony for English Catholics (and others) in Maryland
1635   Puritans begin to pour into the Connecticut River valley:  Thomas Hooker takes a group of
              religious dissenters to found the town of Hartford; Puritan 'purist' Roger Williams dissents from
              the Massachusetts authorities and is expelled
1636   Williams establishes his Providence Colony (Rhode Island) along the Naragannsett Bay; he
              purchases the land from the local Indians and thus considers the colony his; no religious
              restrictions are placed on citizenship in his colony;
          Harvard college is founded - principally to train pastors
1637   A Pequot Indian uprising against Puritan settlers in the Connecticut Valley; 300+ settlers are killed;
              but it ends disastrously for the Indians (400 Pequots killed; the rest sold as slaves)
1638   Anne Hutchinson is expelled from the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1638); she takes up residence
              near Williams' Providence Colony [but soon moves on to the Hudson River frontier area - where
              she is killed in 1643 by local Indians]
1639   Hartford and two other towns establish their own colony and government - under The Fundamental
              Orders of Connecticut
- giving voting rights to a wider group of citizens; the New Haven colony
             
   (even stricter Puritan) is also founded in Connecticut
  1640s Virginia, Maryland and the New England colonies settle in
 

1642-1649  The English Civil War (1642-1649) slows down immigration to America dramatically
1642    Sir William Berkely elected Virginia Governor (1642-1652 and 1660-1677)
1644   The General Court evolves into a 2-house legislature (by 1644): an upper house of the Governor and
              his Council and a lower House of Deputies elected by all male citizens of the Massachusetts Bay
              Colony
1649   Charles I is executed (Jan) by order of Parliament
          Calvert grants the Toleration Act of 1649 for Maryland (to attract non-Catholic settlers)
  1650s  Chaotic political developments in England seem not to touch the colonies
  
1650-1660   England under the Puritan rule of Oliver Cromwell, bringing briefly to England a "republican"
             form of
 government (Parliament rules without a king) known as the Puritan Commonwealth
  1660s Charles II takes the English throne; grants American "proprietary" colonies to his supporters
 
1661   Virginia passes a law determining slave status based on the mother's slave status
1662  
Massachusetts Puritans create the Halfway Covenant to bring their youth to church membership
1663   Charles grants wealthy friends the proprietary colony of Carolina
1664   The English defeat the Dutch and seize New Netherland; The Dutch colony is given to the King's
              brother James, Duke of York, thus becoming "New York";
          The Maryland Act of 1664 turns African indenture into permanent slavery
1665   James grants a portion of his New York colony to Carteret and Berkeley as New Jersey
  1670s The colonies suffer troubles from restless Indians and rebellious poor whites
 
1674-1682  Carteret and Berkeley sell sections of New Jersey to various proprietors, including Penn
1675   Chief Metacomet ("King Philip") leads his Wampanoag tribe in an anti-English uprising ("King Philip's
                 War") in New England; over 1000 settlers are killed;
1676   The uprising is crushed - with death or slavery for the Indians - and the end of the Wampanoag tribe
          "Bacon’s Rebellion" of English commoners against aristocratic authorities at Jamestown fails
1680s The idea of "human rights" grows both in England and in her northern American colonies
  
1681   Charles II grants land ("Pennsylvania") to the Quaker William Penn in compensation for a large debt
1682   Penn founds the carefully designed Philadelphia as his colony’s capital
1685   James, Duke of York, (and crypto-Catholic) assumes the English throne as James II
1688   Parliament rises up against James (beginning the "Glorious Revolution"); Dutch Protestant cousin                   William of Orange leads the military effort (1688-1689)
1689   Parliament calls William to the throne to co-rule with his wife (James's Protestant daughter) Mary;
              the co-monarchs accept the Whig-dominated Parliament's Declaration of Rights
          The philosopher John Locke writes the Two Treatises of Government justifying this action in
              terms of the "natural rights" of Englishmen and the implicit "social contract" between ruler and
              ruled - which the King had violated; (Jefferson will draw heavily from Locke's work in his drafting
              of the Declaration of Independence in 1776)
1688-1697   King William's War erupts between the French and English, involving Indians on both sides
              (the fierce Iroquois as English allies; the Wabanaki Confederation as French allies)
  1690s French and Indian problems grow; the Puritan experiment is dying out in New England;
           "Enlightenment" comes to the colonies
 

  
1691   Massachusetts is forced to become a royal colony
1692   The Salem witch hysteria breaks out; 24 people put to death as witches or die in prison (1692)
1693   Boston authorities bring the event to a halt
          The College of William and Mary is founded in (Williamsburg) Virginia as the colonies' 2nd college
1696   Deist John Toland publishes Christianity Not Mysterious
1699   Jamestown burns again; Virginia’s capital is moved to Middle Plantation (renamed "Williamsburg")
  1700s Mounting problems with the French and Indians
  
1701-1713   Queen Anne's War [Europe: "War of Spanish Succession"]
1702   Mobile (Alabama) becomes the capital of the huge French territory of Louisiana
1704   The French-Indian massacre of the English settlement at Deerfield Massachusetts (Feb)
  1710s England comes under the Hanoverian dynasty - adding to the remoteness of the colonies
  

1712   Carolina makes slavery permanent
1713   The Treaty of Utrecht assigns French Canada’s Maritime provinces (Acadia) to the English; the war
              has left Spanish Florida in turmoil and depopulated much of the Indian lands in the South
1714   Hanoverian (very German) George I becomes English King (1714-1727)
1718   A newly built New Orleans is established on the Mississippi as the capital of French Louisiana 
  1720s Life in the colonies is increasingly comfortable - with a consequent spiritual deadening
  
1717   Another quite German Hanoverian George II becomes English King (1727-1760)
1729   A dispute between differing cultures splits Carolina into two colonies, North and South 
  1730s Georgia founded; the 1st Great Awakening erupts in reaction to Deistic rationalism 
  
1730   Deist Matthew Tindal publishes Christianity as Old as the Creation (1730)
1732   Georgia (notably Savannah) is founded by soldier, philanthropist James Oglethorpe as an
              experiment in social rehabilitation - and as an English buffer against Spanish raids coming from
              Florida
1735   A "Great Awakening" breaks out in Jonathan Edwards' congregation in Massachusetts
1738-1739   John Wesley and George Whitefield start up the Great Awakening in England
1739   Whitefield arrives in the colonies to carry forward the Great Awakening; Franklin, though a Deist,
            becomes a lifetime friend of Whitefield's
  1740s Once again hostilities among the European powers draw the colonies into their conflict
  
1740s  The Great Awakening gathers strength (first half of the 1740s) - then slowly loses momentum
               (second half of the 1740s) ... though elements continue well into the 1750s

           The "War of Jenkins' Ear" (mostly early 1740s) over the right of English to sell slaves to Spanish
              colonies; conflict between Georgia and Spanish Florida ends inconclusively
1744-1748   King George's War [Europe: "War of Austrian Succession"]; Americans take the initiative to
              seize the vital French fortress at Louisbourg (1745); in the final peace treaty, the English return
              the fort to the French ... deeply disappointing the Americans (1748)
1749-1754   The French build a number of forts in the Ohio Valley to stop the spread of the English
  1750s The French and Indian War [Europe: the "Seven Years' War"] erupts (1754-1763)
 

1750   Georgia ends Oglethorpe’s ban on slavery
1753   George Washington builds Fort Necessity (Southwestern Pennsylvania);
1754   ... but loses it to the French who build Fort Duquesne; The effort of English Gen. Braddock (with
              Washington) to take Fort Duquesne ends in disaster
          The Albany Congress meets to negotiate an alliance with the Iroquois; Benjamin Franklin proposes
              a plan (the Albany Plan) for permanent union - but the colonial assemblies fail to support the idea
1755   The English-French contest becomes global ... and total; The "Great Expulsion" (1755-1763) of
              11,500 French Acadians from the Maritime Provinces of Canada; 1600 Acadians (the "Cajuns")
              trek to the Gulf Coast bayous of lower Louisiana
1758-1759  the British take the French forts in Canada, and Quebec is seized
  1760s Economic and political tensions mount between England and the colonies 
  
1760   A young George III becomes English king, determined to hold his rule over the colonies tightly
1762   Spain enters the war on France's side; Spain loses Gibraltar, but is awarded the Louisiana territory
              by the French (thus Spanish until 1802, when secretly given back to Napoleon's France)
          Americans resist strongly the move of George to place Anglican bishops (answering only to the king)
              over the churches in colonial America

1763   The French and Indian War ends; the Proclamation of 1763 prohibits English settlement west of
              the Appalachian Mountains; Pontiac leads a major Indian uprising ... which is crushed by Amherst
1765   In part in order to cover military expenses, the English Parliament passes the Quartering Act and
              the Stamp Act; the "Stamp Act Congress" gathers in New York City to appeal the Act
1766   Parliament repeals the Stamp Act
1767   ... but extends Parliament's mercantile control over the colonial economies with the Townshend
                 Acts, taxes on imports to the colonies
1769   Four (subsequently just two) British regiments are sent to occupy a noncompliant Boston
  1770s Full-scale conflict breaks out between England and the colonies
  
1770   The "Boston Massacre" - British sentries at the Customs House fire on an angry crowd, killing 5
1772   "Committees of correspondence" are established to strengthen the unity of the colonies
1773   The British Tea Act of 1773 ... and the Boston "Tea Party"
1774  
George infuriates the colonists when he adds to his promise to his Indian allies to block English
              settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains also recognition of that same land as simply an
              extension of Catholic Quebec

           Parliament passes the "Intolerable (or "Coercive") Acts" in reprisal; the 1st Continental Congress
              gathers in Philadelphia, passing the Suffolk Resolves and adopting the Declaration of Rights and
              Grievances.  George III: "The die is cast."
1775   Battles of Lexington and Concord occur (Apr) when Gage moves to seize colonial military supplies;
          The 2nd Continental Congress gathers in Philadelphia
(May)
          Ethan Allen and Benedict Arnold capture Fort Ticonderoga (May)
          The Battle of Bunker Hill is a mixed victory for the British (Jun)
          Washington is appointed Commander of the Continental Army
(Jul)
          Americans under Arnold and Daniel Morgan fail to capture Quebec (Dec) despite a valiant effort
         
The Transylvania Company purchases a huge section of Kentucky from the Cherokee; Daniel Boone
              ignores Charles' orders and leads a group across the mountains to his new settlement via the
             "Wilderness Road": Boonesboro founded

1776   The Deist Thomas Paine publishes Common Sense (Jan)
          Henry Knox brings cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston (Mar)
         
The British, sensing their weak position in Boston, abandon the city (Mar)
          British efforts to take Charleston fail (Jun)
          Thomas Jefferson composes The Declaration of Independence (Jul)
          Washington's army escapes at Brooklyn Heights but loses New York to the British (Aug);
          Washington defeats the Hessians at Trenton and Princeton (Dec)
- reviving American spirits
1777   The Articles of Confederation defining the colonies' new political alliance are proposed by Congress
          Washington is unable at Brandywine to stop Howe’s British advance on Philadelphia (Sep) or dislodge
               them at Germantown (Oct);
           However, Americans under Horatio Gates (with a lot of help from Arnold and Morgan) defeat a huge
               British army at Saratoga (Oct)
           Washington’s exhausted troops enter winter quarters at Valley Forge (Dec)
           Gates participates in the failed Conway Cabal to take command from Washington (late 1777 -
               early 1778)
1778    The Saratoga victory leads to the French Alliance (Feb);
           Jones captures the British battleship HMS Drake (Apr)
           The British now under Clinton decide to vacate Philadelphia in order to better defend New York City
           Because of the cowardice of American Gen. Lee, Washington narrowly miss a potential victory over
              Clinton’s British army at Monmouth (New Jersey)
on its move to New York (Jun);
           Clinton then decides to shift the war to the American South where Tory (pro-British) sentiments are
              stronger
           The British take a lightly defended Savannah  (Dec)
1779    Spain joins France as an American ally (Apr);
           An American effort to retake Savannah fails (Oct)
  1780s The conflict ends in American victory; a new Federal Republic is created
 
  
1780   Clinton captures a huge American army under Southern commander Gates at Camden (South
             Carolina) (May)
          Charleston also falls to the British (May) another huge American loss
          Arnold switches sides; his plan to surrender West Point fails and he narrowly escapes capture (Sep)
         
But Arnold now serving the British captures Richmond (Dec)
1781   The Articles of Confederation are ratified, creating the Congress of the Confederation (1781-1789)
          Morgan defeats Tarleton’s Raiders at Cowpens [a major American victory] (Jan);
          America's new Southern commander Nathanael Greene draws British Gen. Cornwallis into Virginia
          A
rnold even burns New London, Connnecticut (his home state) (Sep)
          However ... with considerable French help, and skillful American meneuvering, a trapped British army
              of over 7,000 troops under Cornwallis surrenders at Yorktown, Virginia (Oct)
          The British interest in pursuing the war subsequently fades away

1782   Lord North resigns as Prime Minister (Mar)
          Parliament votes to end the war (Apr)
          Preliminary peace terms are agreed on at Paris (Nov)
1783   Washington quashes the Newburgh Conspiracy [some of his offices want to seize power from a
              corrupt Congress](Mar);
          The formal signing of the Treaty of Paris (Sep); all territory west to the Mississippi River is ceded to
              the Americans (Britain's Indian allies are furious)
1786   Virginia adopts Jefferson’s Statute for Religious Freedom (Jan);
          The Continental Congress adopts the Indian Ordinance of 1786;
          The Annapolis Convention calls for a full conference in Philadelphia to propose changes to the
              Articles of Confederation
(Sep)
1787   Shay’s Rebellion In Massachusetts is crushed (Jan), but awakens American leaders to the need for
             a stronger national union
         
A Convention of the various state representatives meets during a long hot summer in Philadelphia
             
(May-Sep), debating  the interests of the small states (equal representation of all states vested
              in the New Jersey Plan) versus the interest of the large states (proportional representation
              according to population size vested in the Virginia Plan)
          With debate largely deadlock between the contending interests, the American sage, Ben Franklin,
              in late June, calls for daily meetings to begin in prayer, to get the representatives to think higher
              than merely their own state's political interests ... reminding them that God had plans for America
              that had nothing to do with their respective political interests
          Roger Sherman's "Connecticut Compromise (or "Great Compromise") is gradually (Jul) accepted,
              finally opening the way finally to the drafting of a Constitution for the new Federal Union
          The Continental Congress meanwhile passes the Northwest Ordinance (Jul) setting up plans for
              a number of slave-free states, eventually to become members of the new Federal Union

1788   Federalists (nationalists) and Anti-Federalists (states-righters) debate constitutional ratification;
              Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay write The Federalist Papers
(some 85 articles)
            
advocating ratification
          The Federalists carry the day, bringing the new Constitution to ratification (summer)
1789   Washington inaugurated in New York as the first U.S. president (Apr);
          The French Revolution breaks out (Jul) spurred by the ideals of the Enlightenment ... and the example
              of the new American Republic

  1790s The Republic struggles to establish new (and hopefully viable) political norms
  

early 1790s  Mounting political feud rises in Washington's Presidential cabinet between Treasury Secretary
              Hamilton (Federalist) and Secretary of State Jefferson ("Republican"/strong states-righter), with
              Washington generally supporting Hamilton (to Jefferson's great ire)
1790   Hamilton announces a new national bank’s "assumption" of all public debt (national and state);
              Jefferson and his political ally Madison are strongly opposed to this centralizing of economic power
1791   Congress approves Hamilton’s plan for a US Bank and the plan for central financing of the public debt
          The states ratify 10 Constitutional Amendments (Bill of Rights), guarantying key political protections
              against the unlimited growth of central (or ‘national’) governmental power
1793   The French Republic has alienated all other European monarchies; all of Europe is again at war
          The political hostility between Hamilton (pro-British) and Jefferson (pro-French) deepens
          Washington’s Proclamation of Neutrality is a rather pro-British position
          "Citizen Genet"' welcomed by Jefferson as French Ambassador ... but proves to be an unwelcome
              meddler in American politics
          The Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Jay in the Chisolm v. Georgia case affirms that a
              citizen has the right to sue a state government in a federal court
1794   As an immediate reaction to the Chisolm case, the 11th Amendment is added to the Bill of Rights,
              affirming the immunity of the states from such lawsuits (unless a state agrees to a hearing)
          The French Republic dissolves into a state of unbounded political slaughter (the Reign of Terror)
          Massachusetts farmers rebel against Hamilton's excise tax on their whisky production; Washington
              personally leads a 13,000-man army to swiftly crush the "Whiskey Rebellion"
          The Jay Treaty seems to surrender American maritime rights to the increasingly aggressive English
          The cotton gin is invented, vastly deepening the importance of slavery to the Southern economy
1796   Washington steps aside, serving only 2 terms (and glad to be going home to his farm), ...
              establishing a tradition of a peaceful transfer of limited presidential power (to John Adams)
1798   French aggressions on the high seas lead arch-Federalists to want to go to war with France (and
              to political war with the pro-French Jeffersonian Republicans ... with the Alien and Sedition Act)
          Adams agrees to a treaty with the French, thus avoiding war, but getting him no gratitude from the
              Republicans and costing him the support of a number of arch Federalists (and re-election in 1800)
  1800s The Federalist/Republican rivalry deepens ... within a rapidly expanding America (growing by
            25% each decade)

  

1800   The American capital is moved to Washington, D.C., a town mostly yet an ideal rather than a reality
          Jefferson is narrowly elected President (over Burr); Adams is humiliated by his loss
1801  
As his last act in office, Adams signs the midnight judicial appointments, including John Marshall as
              Supreme Court Chief Justice;
Marshall will greatly expand the powers of the Federal judiciary
              branch (1801-1835)

1802-1810  Jefferson’s Treasury Secretary Albert Gallatin reverses Hamilton's policies, cutting federal
             expenditures in half (importantly the army and navy) and reducing the federal debt, but proposing
             massive road and canal building to open the interior to settlement, favoring Republican farmers of
             the American South and West and undercutting Federalist bankers and merchants of New England
1803   Marshall’s Supreme Court in Marbury v. Madison (questioning the "midnight" judicial appointments)
             assumes the power of "constitutional review" of Congress's legislation
          Jefferson's envoys to Napoleon secure the Louisiana Purchase for $15 (actually $11.2) million
            (acquiring land for settlers who will most likely be supporters of Jefferson’s Republican Party!)   
1804-1806   Lewis and Clark lead a party exploring (to the Pacific) the newly purchased Louisiana territory
1804  
The 12th Amendment eliminates the confusion caused by the 1800 presidential election
          Jefferson orders the (small) navy to end the piracy of the Barbary States (the Libyan coast)
          Following a long-simmering political feud, Burr kills Hamilton in a duel
1806   Pike leads a military party to further explore parts of the American West (today's Colorado)
1806-1807  Britain moves to block American shipping to France, and seize sailors deemed to be
             "English"
1807   Jefferson responds by outlawing exports to or from France or England ... infuriating New
             England exporters
1808   Jefferson's Secretary of State and chief supporter Madison is elected President
  1810s Another war with England (the "War of 1812") promotes the rise of a younger, more "national,"
            American generation ... and further undercuts Indian power east of the Mississippi
 


1810   British arrogance on the high seas, plus young American War Hawks, push America toward war
         
In Fletcher v. Peck, Marshall's Supreme Court claims that federal authority takes precedence over
              the laws of the individual states
       
1811   Harrison defeats British allies, the Shawnee Indians, at Tippecanoe, Indiana, restarting Indian wars
1812   A Republican Congress affirms Madison's call for war with England (the "War of 1812"); Federalist are
             cool on the idea even though it is mostly New Englanders suffering from British actions
1812-1814  
Three American military expeditions to Canada are major failures ... although Americans do
              succeed foolishly in burning the Canadian capital at York (modern Toronto) to the ground, almost
              guaranteeing that the British would do the same to the American capital should they get a
              chance to do so
          Although (thanks to Jefferson) America had no navy to speak of, American privateers do well on
              the high seas in attacking British ships

1814  
Having defeated Napoleon at Leipzig (late 1813) England now sends an experienced army to
              America ... and proceeds to annihilate American troops ... also burning Washington, D.C. to the
              ground in the process
          But the British are blocked at Baltimore (the Star Spangled Banner) and then lose battles to the
              Americans on Lake Champlain and at Chippewa New York
          Meanwhile, Federalist New Englanders are planning a separate treaty with England ... even the
            possibility of seceding from the Union
          But a war-weary America and Britain (Britain's ongoing war with Napoleon's France ise finally over)
              are hungry for peace ... and sign a treaty (Dec 24) in Ghent (Belgium).  The War of 1812 is over
              ... almost!

1815 
Meanwhile England has sent an army to occupy New Orleans, which is stunningly crushed (Jan 8)
              by Americans under Andrew Jackson ... neither side aware that a peace treaty has just been
              signed back in Europe!
          The war has led Americans to a sense of true national unity ... and brought respect from Europe.  
              It also finished off the Federalist Party, with many members joining the Republican Party ... but
              as "National Republicans" (a younger breed who will eventually form the Whig Party); even the
              old guard of the Jeffersonian Republicans are losing ground politically to new ways of doing
              politics
          And the war has been disastrous for a huge number of Indian tribes who got caught up in the
             conflict; they are thrown on the defensive everywhere, with little to protect themselves from
             westward-advancing hordes of White settlers

1816   The Second Bank of the United States (BUS) is formed (the charter of the first one was not
               renewed in 1811)
           James Monroe scores a landslide victory for the presidency over the Federalist candidate; he is a
               congenial man, hoping to promote national unity and end the political partisanship characteristic
               of the Federalist-Republican feuding; but he is also too accommodating to be able to curb the
               feuds that grow within his cabinet
1818    Jackson marches an army into Spanish Florida, ostensibly to break Seminole Indian power ... and
               then overruns Spanish positions (an act of war with no Congressional authorization)
1819    The stunned Spanish sign the Adams-Otis Treaty acknowledging the loss of Florida (and also any
               claims to the Pacific Northwest) ... they are paid $5 million in compensation for Florida
            McCulloch v. Maryland denies the right of the states to tax federal agencies (the Maryland branch
               of the BUS); Dartmouth College v. Woodward confirms the sanctity of all 
contracts
            A tight money policy by the BUS has thrown the country into deep recession ... at the same time
               that cotton from India emerges as a new challenge to the South’s cotton production
            Ultimately
Federal spending and farmer's overborrowing produce a huge speculative crash
  1820s A restless spirit infects the nation in this "Era of Good Feelings" (closely identified with Monroe's
             presidency: 1817-1825)

  
1820s  Inspired by the dedication of the highly active Bishop Francis Asbury (1790s to 1816), Christian
               "Methodism" spreads quickly ... especially in the isolated and hardscrabbled western frontier
               lands
where hundreds of circuit riders work feverishly to spread the Christian Gospel
           Finney turns religous camp meetings into something of a religious science ... his carefully
               engineered religious program soon followed by other revivalists
           Millennialism (expecting the 2nd coming of Christ) infects the American religious heart everywhere
           Thus the "Second Great Awakening" (actually started in the 1790s) gathers momentum .. most
               notably in Western New York (later termed the "Burned-Over District")
           This is coupled with the growth of various Christian organizations uniting various Protestant
               denominations: American Bible Society, American Sunday School Union, Board of Foreign
               Missons, Anti-Slavery Society, American Temperance League (anti-alcoholism), etc.

           America is fast becoming an industrial nation (agriculture, textiles, heavy industry) ... and within
               20 years will equal or surpass British productivity in many industrial areas
           At the invitation of the Mexican government (needing Europeans to counter fierce Indian
                 resistance) Stephen Austin (and others) flock to Tejas ... mostly land-hungry Southerners

           Americans also head Southwest, towards New Mexico via the Santa Fe Trail
1820   
Henry Clay proposes the "Missouri Compromise" setting a north-south boundary distinguishing the
               Slave and the Free states ... determining which category new states will belong to in entering
               the Union; this "solution" to the problem merely highlights a deepening North-South divide

1821    Cohens v. Virginia:  Marshall declares that the Supreme Court has review powers over state courts
1823   
Monroe announces to Congress his "Monroe Doctrine" dedicating America to the defense of the
                Latin American Republics which had recently secured their independence from Spain (the
                English were major silent partners in this policy, offering the necessary military backup)

1824    Gibbons v. Ogden holds that only the federal government can regulate inter-state commerce
1825     John Adams' son John Quincy Adams becomes president ... and offers America four year of
               amazingly calm government
           The 8-year project of the Erie Canal is completed, opening a water route from New York City all
               the way to Lake Erie in the Great Lakes region

1828    The first segment of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad is started up (completed in 1830) ...
               beginning a rush to build railroads that will continue unabated through the entire 1800s

1829     War hero Andrew Jackson becomes President ... instituting a very "populist" version of democracy
               for the country

  1830s

This restless spirit of growth and movement is noticeable among Americans everywhere
  

1830s  Cheap land creates a land-hungry spirit (much to the continuing distress of the harassed Indians)
               and much questionable or shady land trading
           Marshall fails to block Jackson's "Indian removal" program ... which then runs through the entire
               1830s, forcing all Indian tribes East of the Mississippi River to move to new "Indian territory"
               (principally Oklahoma) in the West

           Unitarianism and Deism show strong growth in America (supported greatly by Jeffeson)
1830   
Joseph Smith publishes the Book of Mormon, beginning the Latter Day Saints (LDS or
               "Mormons") ... also birthed in the "Burned Over District" of New York!

          
Daniel Webster and Robert Hayne debate the future of slavery in the fast-developing American
               West
           Overwhelmed by the American buildup in Tejas (Texas), Mexico now blocks further immigration
1831    Cyrus McCormick demonstrates his new mechanical reaper ... revolutionizing the farming industry
1832      Sensing rising Mexican resistance, "Texians" increasingly look to the idea of independence
1833    William Miller (also based in the Burned Over District) predicts Christ's second coming to take
               place in 1844 ... birthing what eventually becomes the Seventh-Day Adventist movement

1835    The Frenchman Alexis de Toqueville will detail what he observes of the unique America spirit in
               his two volume study
Democracy in America (1835/1840)
           Mexicans send soldiers north to break the Texan spirit of independence ... but only deepen it
1836    The Mexicans respond immediately in sending a large force North ... to overrun (and massacre)
                Texans gathered at the Alamo; Texans captured elsewhere are massacred at Goliad (also Mar)
            Texans defeat a huge Mexican army and capture Mexican general/dictator Santa Anna at the
                battle of San Jacinto (April); effectively, Texas is now independent
           
Congress tries to put a "gag rule" on the rising and increasingly bitter debate over slavery
1837    The Great Financial Crisis of 1837
           Now begins the debate as to what Texas is to do ... possibly even join the US
something
                fiercely resisted by anti-slavery Northern politicians; however, the American economic
                depression underway at that point seems to be a higher national priority
            Alton newspaper publisher and preacher Elija Lovejoy (Alton, Illinois) is murdered on the fourth
                assault on his newspaper by a proslavery mob furious over his Abolitionism

           Charles River Bridge v. Warren Bridge severely restricts monopolistic practices
1839    Bank of Augusta v. Earle holds that corporations have legal rights even in other states
Late 1830s  Emerson (and his neighbor Alcott) propose a Higher or more "Transcendental" religion ... one
               drawing much of its character from Hinduism
1830s-1840s  The examples of Britain ending slavery in its country (1807) and then in its overseas Empire
               (1833)
and the French doing the same in France itself (1794) and then in its overseas colonies
               (1848)
only pushes the Abolitionists to press harder for the American abolition of slavery
           For many Americans, the ongoing Christian "Second Great Awakening" also inspires them to take a
               strong anti-slavery position

  1840s The powerful American expansion to the West brings America to full war with Mexico ... also intensifying the North-South's slavery dispute
  
1841    Newly elected President William Henry Harrison catches pneumonia delivering his inauguration
               address and soon dies ... making his Vice President John Tyler the new American President
           The ongoing economic crisis pits Tyler against Clay over the actions to be taken
1842    America and Canada agree on complicated border questions (The Webster-Ashburton Treaty)

1845    As outgoing President (Polk had just won the 1844 election), Tyler pushed Congress to invite Texas
               to become part of the Federal Union; Texas agrees (Dec) ... infuriating Mexico
          
Publisher O'Sullivan popularizes the term "Manifest Destiny" in the matter of America's Westward
              expansion
           Frederick Douglass's autobiographies (1845 and 1855) of his life as a slave sell big in the north
1846    Texas-Mexico border questions greatly complicate the issue (troops from both sides moving into
               the border region) and finally Polk gets Congress to declare war (May)
           Americans are quick to seize Mexican lands West to the Pacific Ocean (June)
           Then General Zacharly Taylor moves his troops into Mexico ... joined by Winfield Scott's troops
           Meanwhile, America and the British finally agree on boundary questions west of the Rockies ...
               Britain finally recognizing the Oregon Territory (including the future state of Washington) as
               American; this clears the way for a huge rush of Americans to the lush Oregon region
and
               California to the south
by way of the "Oregon Trail"
1847    Mormons are led by Young to Utah ... to found (Jul) The City of Zion (Salt Lake City)
           American troops are able to enter Mexico City (Sep) as Santa Anna flees; the war is over
1848    America agrees (Jan
The Guadalupe Treaty) to pay Mexico $15 million for Texas and the Western
               lands America now possesses ... resolving the issue somewhat
           Also ... the tameness of the 1848 presidential elections and the victory of the Mexican war
               hero Taylor
whose views on the slavery issue are largely unknown indicates a general
               desire of most Americans to move past the burning issue of slavery

1849   The discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in California inspires an even greater "gold rush" to
               California


1850s Southern-Northern tensions over the slavery issue become increasingly bitter even violent
  
1850  Vice President Fillmore become US President (Jul) when Taylor dies only 16 months into his
              presidency

         The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (Sep), promising the South to return escaped slaves, goes ignored
              by the growing "Underground Railroad," secretly passing escaped slaves to the North         
1851-1852   Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin gains a huge audience in the North as a series
              (1851) then as a book (1852)
1852   Fillmore orders Commodore Perry to use his naval fleet to return American sailors held in Japan

               and "open up" a Japan to Western trade interests ... beginning a process (1852-1855) of doing
               just that
          With death of both Clay (Jun) and Webster (Oct) that year, the political "Middle" loses much of its
              voice
instensfying North-South animosities
          Presidential elections that year bring the Democrat Party's Franklin Pierce to the White House ...
              a much less radical candidate than the Whig Party's Winfield Scott (still too Abolitionist for the
              tastes of most Americans at that point); the Whig Party will not survive this defeat
1853   Perry "blasts" his way into Tokyo harbor (Jul) forcing the Shogun to agree to American terms
          The Gadsen Purchase (negotiated in Dec) of land from Mexico ($10 million) will allow the South to
              extend a railroad all the way to the Pacific Ocean (and move more Southerners there)
1854    A secret plan for the South to bring Cuba into the Union as a new Southern state is discovered
              and blocked by an outraged North
           A compromise measure of Congress to let the Kansas-Nebraska territories decide their own future
               as slave or free states merely serves to intensify hatred and violence there over this issue
           In Congressional elections of that year, the Democratic Party survives politically largely only in the
               South, with the new American Party (soon to give itself over to the Republican Party)
– and a
               number of other small parties –
victorious in the North
1856   The new Republican Party takes the place of the former Whig Party
– soon to be the ongoing
               political opponent of the Democratic Party (even up to today!)
           Pro-slavery raiders burn the town of Lawrenceville, Kansas,  to the ground (May)
           Anti-slavery John Brown leads raiders to attack Pottawatome, Kansas (May), killing five farmers ...
               inspiring a pro-slavery counter strike (August) against Brown's town of Osawatomie, killing a 
               similar number of individuals – including two of his sons
           Former diplomat and Democratic Party candidate James Buchanan is elected president; but he
               hopes simply to be able to get the country to ignore the slavery issue ... or at least let the
               Supreme Court decide the issue
1857    Roger B. Taney's Supreme Court takes a strong pro-slavery position with its Dred Scott decision
               (Mar) ... even declaring that anti-slavery laws enacted in the North were unconstitutional
           A huge crisis (the 1857 Panic) then hits the huge railway business and banking industry ... when it
               is feared that the Dred Scott decision has thrown Western development into question
           Federal troops are sent to Utah to enforce the Mormons to end polygamy (multiple wives); war
               results; as a byproduct of the war a large groups of Arkansans are murdered (Sep) by Mormons
               as they pass through Utah territory on their way West (the Mountain Meadows massacre)
1858    Lincoln and veteran Democratic Party politician Stephen Douglas engage in seven public debates as
               Illinois candidates for the US Senate; Douglas is ultimately chosen by the Illinois legislature ...
               though the opinion is held widely that Lincoln outclassed Douglas greatly
especially on the
               slavery matter

1859   John Brown and a group of militant Abolitionists attack the military arsenal at Harpers Ferry ...
               supposedly as the spark designed to set off a massive slave revolt across the South; the only
               result is the capture, killing or arrest, and soon execution of Brown and his men; but it does set
               off the legend of the amazing John Brown

1860s A horrible civil war breaks out between the North and the South; the South is defeated; postwar North-South "Reconstruction" begins
 
1860    Lincoln delivers a stunning speech at the Cooper Union New York Republican convention (Feb)
           Lincoln is elected US president ... sparking South Carolina (Dec) to begin the break from the Federal
               Union

1861    Confederates fire on a ship trying to bring supplies to Union emplacements at Charleston (Jan)
           Other Southern States come together to create the Confederate States of America at a meeting
              (Feb) in Montgomery, Alabama ... with Jefferson Davis appointed as Provisional President

           Lincoln in inaugurated as president (Mar)
           A massive Confederate attack on Fort Sumter forces Union troops there to surrender (Apr)
           Arkansas, Virginia, North Carolina join the Confederacy; Kentucky remains "neutral" Western
               Virginians split from the state ... and eventually form their own new state:  West Virginia (May)
           The chaotic Battle of Manassas or Bull Run ... just south of the capital at DC (Jul)
           An inconclusive battle at Wilson's Creek near Springfield, Missouri (Aug)
           Grant distinguishes himself in an othewise rather inconclusive battle at Belmont, Missouri (Nov)
           Confederate officials aboard HMS Trent headed for Britain are seized ... then subsequently
               released (Nov)
1862    Julia Ward Howe publishes (Feb) her poem, put to music,  "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," whic
              becomes something of the Union army's marching song ... and which declares most certainly that
              it is God, going before the Union troops, that is  the guarantor of the Union's ultimate victory in
              the struggle to save the Union ... and end slavery
          Union general Grant defeats Confederate forces at Forts Henry and Donelson ... essentially taking
             much of Tennesee out of action (Feb)
         
An inconclusive battle of the "Ironclads" between the South's Merimac (or Virginia) and the North's
             Monitor at Hampton Roads near Norfolk, Virginia, surprises everyone (Mar)
            An inclusive battle at Shiloh catches Grant by surprise; but the seeming Confederate "victory" is
             very expensive for the Confederates ... including the loss of their general A.S. Johnston Apr)
          The very strategic city of New Orleans is captured by Union Navy commander Farragut (Apr)
          Union commander McClellan marches the main Union army along coast Virginia ... fighting battles in
             a way to glorify his troops (and humself)
but of little strategic importance (Apr)
           Grant moves his troops down the Mississippi River to Vickburg  the last key Confederate position
             on the strategic river ... thus cutting off Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas from the rest of the
             Confederacy
and outside the major action of the remainder of the war (May)
         Confederate General Joe Johnston (another Johnston!) is badly wounded in another round of battle
             with McClellan in coastal Virginia (at the Chickahominy Creek); Robert E Lee thus takes
             Confederate command (May)
           McClellan meets and defeats Confederate forces (the 7-Days Battles) ... then pulls back to rest

             rather than finish off the Confederate military (Jun)
           Union general Pope holds the ground at a Second Battle of Manassas or Bull Run ... unassisted by
             McClellan, who decides simply to not join him in the action (Aug)
         Meanwhile, with the Civil War as America's major military obsession, American Indians have resumed
             their attacks on unprotected White settlers in the West ... with Sioux (Eastern Dakota)
             tribesmen killing several hundred German settlers at New Ulm (Aug); Lincoln sends Federal troops
             to stop the attacks; 300 Indians are are convicted of murder ... though only 38 are hanged
           Lee is stopped by McClellan at Antietam Creek ... resulting in the highest single-day losses in the
             war by both sides; but McClellan then refuses to move to finish off the weary Confederates (Sep)
          Lincoln then
(Sep) issues the Emancipation Proclamation recognizing as of the coming Jan 1st – 
             an official end to slavery in the South
even inviting former slaves to join the Union army
           Lincoln finally removes McClellan from command ... giving the position to Ambrose Burnside (Nov)
          Burnside attempts to live up to Lincoln's expectations and sends his army into Virginia ... only to
             face disaster at the city of Fredericksburg across the wide Rappahannock River (Dec)
1863   Burnside's second attempt on Fredericksburg ends in no less of a disaster (Jan)
         Meanwhile in the American West, Federal troops (led by Kit Carson) begin the round up Navajo and
             Apache tribes ... in order to relocate them to the bleak Pecos River region in New Mexico
         The new commanding general Hooker moves Union troops around Fredericksburg ... but loses his
             nerve when he runs into unexpected Confederate oppositon at Chancellorsville (May); huge losses
             occur on both sides; but especially hard on the Confederates was the accidental loss of Stonewall
             Jackson
         Vallandigham and his anti-war Northern Democrats ("Copperheads") attempt to stir widening
             resistance in the North to "Mr. Lincoln's War"; Vallandigham is arrested (May) ... but is allowed
             by Lincoln to slip off to Canada; Vallandigham then tries to continue his campaign from there
         The Union scores a huge victory at the Battle of Gettysburg (early Jul); but new commanding
             general Meade fails to move against Lee's exhausted, retreating Confederate troops ... missing
             the opportunity to end the war with a full Union victory
         But at exactly the same time (early Jul) Grant finally brings Vicksburg to surrender, completing the
             Union control of the strategic Mississippi River
         Irish immigrants are infuriated to learn that citizenship (which New York City boss Tweed has offered
             widely in order to build up his voting base) also means military service ... and thus riot (Jul)
         Battle now focuses on the central border regions of southern Tennessee and northern Georgia ...
             at Chicamauga (Sep) and Chattanooga (Nov), producing significant Union victories
         Lincoln delivers his famous Gettysburg Address (Nov) commemorating the lives of soldiers lost in the
             huge battle there ... also clarifying considerably the Union cause and its vital importance to all
1864   With Grant now in command of the Union army in Virginia, Lee finds he is up against an individual
             that will not back off to rest following relentless engagements:  Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold
             Harbor, etc.
(May-Jun)
         But the Virginia town of Petersburg has built strong defenses able to block Union progress (Jul)
         Mobile, the last open Southern port, is brought to defeat by Farragut's Union navy (Aug)
         On the Georgia front, Sherman has advanced his troops south, to surround (May) and defeat (Sep)
              the strategic city of Atlanta; Atlanta then burns widely (Nov)
         While Petersburg continues to hold out, Sheridan moves his cavalry into Western Virginia, raiding and
              crushing the Confederate spirit in the Shenandoah region (Sep-Oct)
         With the war now headed clearly in the Union's favor, Lincoln is easily reelected (Nov)
         Meanwhile, White bitterness against Indians in the West brings ongoing conflict ... with 700 Federal
              troops attacking an actually peaceful Cheyenne and Arapaho community at Sand Creek, killing
              mostly women and children ... while the men were away hunting buffalo (Nov)
         In Northern Texas, Federal troops under Carson moved to stop the Indian attacks on settlers
             following the Santa Fe trail to the West ... and engaged a huge Comanche and Kiowa Indian
             coalition at the Battle of Adobe Walls (late Nov)
         Sherman heads his troops through Southern Georgia to Savannah, capturing Savannah as a
              "Christmas present" for Lincoln ... and giving the Union full control of the mid-South (Nov-Dec)
1865   Congress passes the 13th Amendment ending slavery in the US (Jan); it is fully ratified (Dec)
          Sherman heads his troops north from Savannah through the Carolinas (Feb-Mar)
... with
              Confederate resistance collapsing everywhere
          Lincoln delivers his famous Second Inaugural Address ... reminding Americans of their covenant with
              God
          Both Petersburg and Virginia's capital at Richmond are brought to defeat (Apr 3)
          Lee surrenders to Grant at the Appomattox Court House (Apr 9)
          Lincoln is assassinated by Booth (Apr 14)... ending any possibility of some kind of post-war
              reconciliation between the North and the South
          Vice President Johnson becomes American president ... but faces the wrath of Northern Republican
              "Radicals"
led principally by Stevens and Sumner when he attempts to follow Lincoln's idea of
              North-South reconciliation; Radicals view the Democrat Johnson as being simply "pro-South" ...
              and do everything they can to block his presidency
1866   Johnson's effort (Mar) to block Congress's authorization of the 14th Amendment (equality of all
              citizens before the law ... but also excluding from federal office anyone who had fought against
              the Union) merely produces a strong political reaction in the North ... one that increases greatly
              the Republican position in Congress in the elections (Nov) ... which in turn then enables the
              Republicans/Radicals to easily overturn Jounson's vetoes of their other Reconstruction programs
          Former Confederate General Forrest forms the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) to fight Southern Reconstruction
1867   US Secretary of State Seward negotiates the purchase of Alaska from the Russians for $7.2 million
              (Mar)
to block further Russian expansion into North America; the purchase price was considered
              by many to have been excessive ... and called the deal "Seward's Folly"
          The Chisolm Trail is laid out ... to bring cattle north from southern Texas to the railhead at Abilene
              Kansas
1868   Johnson is impeached by the House (Mar) and only one vote short of being convicted by a required
              two-thirds Senate vote (
May) of "high crimes and misdemeanors"
          The 14th Amendment is finally ratified (Jul)
          Grant is elected president (Nov); but he does not monitor his supporting politicians the way he once
              monitored his troops ... and corruption on a grand scale seeps into his presidency
1869   Congress passes (Feb) Republicans supportive, Democrats fully opposed the 15th Amendment,
              granting the right to vote by all citizens, regardless of "race, color, or previous condition of
              servitude" (slavery); the following Feb (1870) it is ratified
          Fisk and Gould attempt to conrner the entire gold market; Grant responds by releasing federal gold
              ... undercutting deeply their profits
1870sThe Grant and Hayes Republican Administrations
  
1870   The 15th Amendment is ratified (Feb) confirming the right to vote of all citizens ... regardless of
              "race, color, or previous servitude" (slavery)
          Rockefeller founds the Standard Oil Company ... the beginning of a huge energy monopoly
1871  The British bring the Columbia region separating America from Alaska into the Canadian confederation
               ... disappointing Americans hoping to make an American connection there
1872  
The Credit Mobilier scandal becomes public ... revealing the tricks of Union Pacific director Durant
              and his personal banking firm Credit Mobilier to increase dramatically the company's profits ...
              at the government's expense
          Grant easily reelected as US president ... in his run against Liberal Greeley
1873   Boss Tweed is finally brought to justice for the way he used his Tammany Hall organization

                 
through his control of the state's Democratic Party to literally run the state of New York ...
              at a huge profit to himself personally
          Shipping and railroad magnate Vanderbilt offers $1 million to start up a university that bears his
              name
          But the country suffers from a huge economic downturn that year ... the 1873 Panic
          The Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is formed to fight alcoholism ... particularly
               rampant among  America's industrial workers
1874    In reaction to the Panic, Republicans are swept from power
1875   With the Democrats now in charge in Congress, the Reconstruction Program for the South dies
          With the invention of barbed wire, homesteads on the Great Plains can protect farmlands ... but
              also serve to block the movement of cattle herds across those plains from Texas to Kansas
1876   A huge Indian coalition (led by Sitting Bull)
attempting to drive Whites from the Dakotas and
              Montana
are confronted by Federal troops led by Sheridan; one of his divisions led by Custer is
              grandly defearted by the Indians (Jun) at Little Bighorn River ... merely strengthening the resolve
              of Whites to finally end completely "the Indian Problem"
          Widespread corruption within the Grant Administration (notably Babcock and the Whiskey Ring)
              causes the Republicans to drop Grant as their presidential candidate ... and choose Hayes
          Hayes narrowly wins the strongly and long-contested presidential election (against Tilden) 
when
              he gains Louisiana support by offering his "Compromise":  withdrawing Federal troops from the
              South
          Bell patents the phone ... and forms a phone company of his name
1877   This ends Reconstruction ... and brings forth "Jim Crow" laws across the South, which force Blacks
              back into a state of servitude
           Huge labor strife hits the railroad industry when companies feel that they have to cut back wages
              to make any profit at all
          Edison invents the phonograph
1878   Hayes vetoes the Bland-Alison Act requiring the US Treasury to purchase the Westerners' silver to
              back the dollar (and not just the more expensive gold); but Congress overrides the veto (Feb)
          Then when Hayes vetoes a bill by Congress outlawing Chinese labor, a strong reaction brings a
              Democratic Party victory in both houses in the 1878 Congressional elections
          Edison invents a carbon-filament light (improved two years later to last over 1200 hours)
          Two steam-driven automobiles compete in a 200-mile race in Wisconsin
1880sThe rise of Industrial America ... and the battle for the West
  
1880s  The number of buffalo that once covered the Great Plains drops to almost the extinction level ...
               making life for the American Indian very difficult
1880   Edison founds the Ediuson Illujminating Company for New York City, making the 110-volt system
               standard for America
1881   Republican Garfield is elected US president (1880) 
but is in office only a few months when
               he is shot (Jul) ... and dies (Sep); Vice President Arthur takes his place
1883   Arthur signs into law the Pendeton Act 
making civil service appointments by a Civil Service
               Commission based on skill ... not political favor
1884   Democrat Cleveland is narrowly elected US President ... helped by Republicans (Mugwumps) who
               view the Republican candidate Blaine as corrupt
(Arthur had chosen not to run again)
           Cleveland attempts to reduce very high American (protectionist) tariffs ... making enemies of
               American industrialists and their political friends; being a "gold man" he also tries to cut back on
               federal silver purchase ... angering Westerners and Southerners
1886   The Knights of Labor workers' organization at this point includes 800,000 members
          However ... the Haymarket Square Riot is blamed unfairly on worker radicalism ... beginning the
               decline of the Knights of Labor (the organization hardly surviving half dozen years later)
               A very hard winter kills hundreds of thousands of cattle ... ruining numerous cattle barons
1887   Under the Dawes Severalty Act (1887) Indians are supposed to take up farming ways on their
                reservations ... and end their nomadic ways (and break their rebellious spirit)
         Hawaiians revolt under King Kamahameh V ... leading White-American plantation owners of the
                Missionary Party to force a new constitution on the king ... the beginning of the American
                "democratization" of Hawaii (White Americans controlling the new legislature)
1888   Cleveland is very narrowly defeated by Harrison (grandson of the former, briefly serving US
                president Harrison) ... Harrison supporting the
"silverites" that is, Western silver miners ...
                and in general the poorer Americans wanting cheaper dollars to cover their debts
1889   Union workers win a huge strike at Carnegie's Homestead steel plant
          Addams purchases the Hull House in Chicago ... to support and encourage poor women and children
1890sAmerica's entry into the "Gilded Age" (for some Americans anyway)
  
1890    At this point, some mere 1 percent of the American population at the top of the social ladder
                earns over 50 percent of the nation's wealth ... with
at the other end of the social ladder
                    some
44 percent of the population together earning only 1 percent of the nation's wealth
           The Sherman Antitrust Act comes into force (Jul) ... originally designed to break up trade unions ...
                but ultimately used to go after industrial monopolies
           Also, Sherman's Silver Purchase Act goes into effect (Jul) in support of the "silverites"
           In Congressional elections, Republicans lose more Congressional seats (Nov)
          
The Indians undertake a supreme effort to remove the White Man from their world ... taking up the
                Ghost Dance in the belief that this would make them immune to the White Man's bullets; Sitting
                Bull is arrested ... but killed by Indian police
(mid-Dec);
           At the same time
(late Dec) federal troops attack Lakota Indians at Wounded Knee Creek, with
                numerous Indians killed ... basically ending any further Indian idea of resistance to White
                expansion
1891   Queen Liliuokalani takes the Hawaiian throne and dismisses the Constitution
1892   Harrison loses his reelection to Cleveland (Nov) ... and his wife to tuberculosis two weeks before
                the election
1893   Another economic panic hits America ... which Cleveland worsens by having Congress repeal
                Sherman's Silver Act; industrial unemployment expands greatly as companies shut down
           Anti-Liliuokalani rebellion breaks out in Hawaii ...and US marines are sent in to restore "order"
1894   The economic situation worsens further with widening worker unrest ... stirred by Socialist Debs;
                hard hit is the railroad industry, with 125 thousand workers on strike
Cleveland sending troops
                to break the strike at the Pullman (luxury railroad car) plant
          White businessman Dole becomes president of a new Hawaiian republic ... and then requests
                Hawaii's annexation to America
          Cleveland's Democrats suffer a huge setback in the 1894 Congressional elections (Nov)
1895   Cleveland finally accepts Morgan and Rothchild's offer to sell 3.5 million ounces of gold to the US
               Treasury (in exchange for 30-year bonds) ... saving the dollar from collapse
1896   Edison invents the movie projector
          The strongly silverite Bryan defeats pro-gold Cleveland as Democratic Party candidate ... but loses
               the national election to Republican  McKinley ... McKinley's campaign skillfully directed by Hanna
1898   America decides (Apr) to back the Philippines independence movement against Spain
and also a
               similar action in Cuba ... America stirred to that action against Spain by the sinking of the
               battleship Maine in Havana's harbor (Feb)
          Dewey's American fleet destroys the Spanish fleet in the
Manila (Philippines) harbor (May)
          The American charge up San Juan Hill (Jul) brings Spain another huge humiliation ... and much glory
               to Roosevelt and his "Rough Riders" (although others took on more of the action)
          A battle-weary Spain simply turns control of the Philippines over to America (Aug) ... for America to
               begin its reform of the Philippines
to make it a model (the American model) of "democracy"
          After much debate about imperialism, Congress (barely) approves the annexation of Hawaii (Aug)
1899   But the Filipinos did not ask for such American "sponsorship" ... and rise up in revolt against its new
               American overseers
          In China, local "Boxers" have risen in rebellion against their Western occupiers (plus Japan) and
              Chinese who have accepted the Western cultural intrusion; various Western (and Japanese)
              armies are sent to China to put down the rebellion  ... including a number of American troops
          US Secretary of State Hay (with much British support) proposes an "Open Door Policy" to keep
              China from being carved up into various Western imperial sectors or "protectorates" ... allowing
              China to be open to Western trade in any part of the country 

1900sIndustrial America enters the 20th century
  
1900    McKinley is renominated as Republican candidate for US president, with Roosevelt as his
               vice-presidential candidate; Mckinley wins the election a second time against Bryan
1901   But McKinley is only six months into his second term when he is shot and killed; Roosevelt
               is thus now US president
          Carnegie sells his steel business to J.P. Morgan for $480 million; he gives most of his earnings away
               to various charities and social endeavors
1902   The Philippine Organic Act gives limited self-government to the Filipinos ... though bloody resistance
               against American authority will continue in the Philippines for another dozen years
1903   Ford sets up the Ford Motor Company in Detroit
          An American alliance is formed (Nov) between Panamanian separatists seeking independence from
               Colombia and offering cooperation in the building of an American canal across Panama (the
               French had just given up the canal effort due to malaria and other problems)
          The Wright brothers test their first engine-powered, human-piloted plane (Dec)
1904   The Olds Motor Vehicle Company of Michigan is the leading US car manufacturer at this point
          The masssive Panama Canal project gets underway ... but will take 10 years to complete
          Roosevelt easily wins reelection as US president (Nov) ... but promises not to run again
1905   Roosevelt hosts a diplomatic conference in Portsmouth New Hampshire between Russia and Japan
              
to bring an end to their military conflict (the Russo-Japanese War) ... gaining the next year's
              Nobel Peace Prize for his effort
          The Wright brothers fly a plane 24 miles in 39 minutes!
1906   A huge earthquake hits San Francisco hard (Apr)
          A strong pentecostal Christian revival breaks out on Azusa Street in Los Angeles (also Apr) 
and
              continues in one form or another until around 1915 ... ultimately inspiring the creation of the
              Assemblies of God
and other forms of pentecostalism to follow ... all the way up to today
1907   Morgan forms a group of investors to put money back into a failed Wall Street ... saving the
              American economy from collapse; he also buys a failing industrial conglomerate; Roosevelt does
              not press the matter of potential monopolitistic practices ... for the action is well needed
          He does however act strongly in supporting the Tillman Act ... preventing corporate contributions to
             federal political campaigns
so as not to let the big-money boys control the democratic process
             (that law would be set aside by the Supreme Court with rulings in 2010 and 2014 ... in effect
             making it "unconstitutional" to set boundaries on campaign contributions!)
1908   Ford introduces the Model T Ford at $825 ... comparatively very inexpensive (with prices dropping
              every year as production expands rapidly)
          The Wright brothers fly their newest model before the disbelieving but now astonished French
(Aug)
             
... and the US military (Sep)
          Roosevelt ends his presidency by sending a fleet of 16 white-colored battleships on a cruise around
              the world ... to announce America's arrival as a great power
          Roosevelt's friend Taft easily wins the Republican Party presidential nomination ... and the
              presidential election itself (Bryan again the Democratic Party candidate)
1910sAmerica's slow emergence as a great power
  
1911   American businessmen are upset when Mexico's newly elected President Madero promises to spread
               Mexico's wealth more evenly around Mexican society (Americans own over 40% of that wealth)
1912
   The Republican Party presidential convention splits in a confrontation between Roosevelt and Taft
               ... supporting Taft
and sending Roosevelt off to start his own Progressive ("Bull Moose") Party
          With the Republicans split, the Democratic Party candidate Wilson wins the presidential election

1913   The 16th Amendment is ratified (Feb), allowing Congress to collect an income tax directly from the
               American citizenry
          Mexican President Madero is overthrown and killed in a plot to put General Huerta in power ...
              involving considerable cooperation by the American ambassador
          The 17th Amendment is ratified (Apr) "democratizing" the US Senate ... making the election of US
              senators no longer the responsibility of the states (their governors or legislatures) but now a
              matter of direct election by the American voter
          The Federal Reserve is founded to intervene with funding when the American economy seems in
               danger of collasping
          Rockefeller establishes his Foundation with $250 million in startup funds for medical research
          Ford
institutes his new moving assembly line ... making the Model T even cheaper  affordable by
               even his own assembly workers
1914   At this point American industry is responsible for one-third of the world's total industrial production
               ... more than Britain, France and Germany combined ... though these European nations still see
               America as a rather backward society
          US Secretary of State Bryan and president Wilson are unhappy about Mexican developments ...
               and send American troops to Veracruz (Apr) to bring down the Huerta government
          When war breaks out in Europe (Aug) America takes a very neutral position ... though the reality of
               the way the war is conducted in the Atlantic works to the detriment of the German side of the
               conflict
1915   The movie Birth of a Nation runs a full 158 minutes
          The British luxury liner Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat (May) ... 128 Americans among the
               1200 people drowned
infuriating America ... and bringing the Germans to promise no more
               such attacks (even though the Lusitania was very illegally carrying war goods in its hold)
1916   The Filipinos are finally promised independence (in the future) ... though the matter will be delayed
               for another 30 years
           Wilson runs for presidential reelection
and wins  in part on the theme "he kept us out of war"
1917    A starving Germany resumes U-boat attacks on the Atlantic to break the British blockade ... and
                Russia undergoes a "February Revolution" (Mar) which brings down the Russian imperial
                government
and supposedly opens the door for Russia to now be counted among Europe's
                democracies
           This causes Wilson to go to Congress requesting a Declaration of War (Apr)
... because in his mind
                the European war is now morally a battle between good "democracies" and evil "autocracies"

1918    Wilson announces before Congress (Jan) his "Fourteen Points" ... a peace proposal to end the war
           Trained American troops now (early 1918) arrive in number in Europe ... along the front at Belleau
                Wood and St. Mihiel
           An exhausted Germany finally (Nov) accepts a cease-fire and armistice to end the fighting; peace
                talks will now presumably begin
           Rockefeller expands his Foundation ($550 Million) to now also conduct social research
           A Spanish Flu epidemic hits the world  intensely so that autumn ... crippling and killing millions of
                Americans (and millions more elsewhere)

           Wilson arrives in Paris (Dec) ... and misunderstands the intent of the adoring crowds that greet him
1919    The 18th Amendment is ratified (Jan) ... making the manufacture, sale, or trafficing of liquor illegal
           But the Paris peace talks will in no way follow Wilson's idea of "fairness" ... with Britain and France
                out for revenge against Germany and its allies
not fairness
           The only thing Wilson comes back having won in the talks was the willingness of his European allies
                to join his proposed League of Nations
           Wilson is hit by a stroke (Jul) ... which incapacitates him deeply (but unknown to the country)
           The US Senate rejects the peace treaty (Dec)
and consequently America's entrance into his
                League of Nations
to the huge disapppointment of a crippled Wilson      
1920sThe "Roaring Twenties"
  
1920s  Due to the return of the European farmers to their fields and herds, a deep economic "depression"
               hits the American farms (and the rural banks funding those farms)
just after the war ... ten
               years ahead of the Great Depression which will hit all America ... urban as well as rural
          But in the American cities, a new offering of cars, radios, home appliances, etc. makes urban life
               dazzling (The Roaring Twenties)
          And the explosive growth of "speakeasy" bars in urban America develops in defiance of Prohibition
          Accompanying this is the development of mobster organizations (such as Capone's Chicago
               organization)
          And race riots (Whites against Blacks) and the growth of the Ku Klux Klan 
even across the North
                
shake America's moral foundations deeply
          Popular writers
part of the "Lost Generation" (such as Fitzgerald and Hemmingway) narrate
               stories about individuals struggling with the meaninglessness or unfairness of life
          And Freudian psychology, which mocks religion as being mere self-delusion, becomes very popular
1920   A payroll robbery and murder in Massachussets (Apr) leads to the arrest of Italian immigrants Sacco
               and Vanzetti ... found guilty at their trial the following year (Jul 1921) ... setting off a bitter
               debate about their guilt or innocense
and the fairness of the American justice system
          The 19th Amendment is ratified (Aug), qualifying women as voters in all elections ("women's
               suffrage")
           A bombing of Wall Street
and death and injuring of many (Sep) intensifies a growing Red Scare
               (fear of the rising world of Communism ... popular among many immigrants and industrial workers
               in America)
1921   Harding's short-lived presidency (1921-1923) has great difficulty in keeping itself under moral
               restraint ... due to the ambitions of particular individuals (not Harding himself)
          America hosts an international Naval Conference in Washington (Nov 1921-Feb 1922) to set limits
               on the number of naval warships various countries are allowed to have
1922    Presbyterian minister Fosdick is brought under question about his anti-Fundamentalist preaching ...
               causing him to resign from the denomination;
Rockefeller then appoints him as pastor of a New
               York City church he himself funded; the Liberal vs. Fundamentalist Christian battle is on!
1923   Harding's death (Aug) brings to the presidency Vice President Coolidge ... who takes the opposite
               path by conducting a morally-tight (even Puritanical) presidency
1925   The "Scopes Monkey Trial" in Dayton, Tennessee (Jul) rivets the attention of Americans ... in the
               form of a huge debate about the origins and development of life on this planet ... and which
               version (Christian or Darwinist) should be passed on to rising generations as the Truth
1927    Ford introduces the Model A Ford, replacing the Model T ... which at that point over 15 million had
               been produced!
           Lindberg flies his plane across the Atlantic from New York City to Paris (May) ... amazing the world!
           Sacco and Vanzetti are put to death (Aug) ... as the international debate continues
1928   The Presbyterian leadership now swings to the Liberal side of the spectrum ... requiring Princeton
               Seminary to move to a move Liberal position ... causing professor Machen and others to quit
               Princeton and form the Westminster Seminary in nearby Philadelphia
          US Secretary of State Kellogg signs an agreement in Paris (Aug) with French Foreign Minister
               Briand, promising not to resort to war (except for self-defense!); other countries join the
               Kellog-Briand Pact, presuming to put the curse of war away forever
           Coolidge choses not to run again ... and Hoover is nominated and elected US President (Nov)
1929   America's speculative fever comes to a crashing end with the selling panic that hits the Wall Street
               Stock Market (Oct) ... when it dawns on investors that the glory days of industrial sales are
               over
1930sThe Depression, the rise of the Dictators, and the beginning of World War Two
  
1930    Initially, Hoover takes no action ... seeing the crisis as purely economic ... not political
1932   At this point almost 30% of the American workforce is unemployed
          Hoover sponsors the Emergency Relief and Construction Act to employ workers ... getting criticism
               from the Democrats for attempting to introduce "Socialism"
          Hoover worsens his cause dramatically by refusing to cooperate with a "Bonus Army" of 17,000
               unemployed former soldiers ... who converge on DC (May) to request that a promised pension be
               given them now (rather than 10 years later);  Hoover eventually (Jul) sends troops to clear out
               their DC encampment
          The Democrats succeed in getting the voting public to see Hoover as the cause of the Depression
               ... and Roosevelt (Teddy's nephew
Franklin) campaigns promising an (unspecified) "New Deal"
               
gaining a huge victory in the presidential elections (Nov)
1933-   Roosevelt's New Deal actually turns into exactly the Socialism that the Democrats had accused
1935        Hoover of attempting ... except that the New Deal involved an extensive takeover of the
               nation's economy by the Roosevelt government; the whole thing is justified by pointing out                      the dangers and evil of a greatly failed "Capitalism" (privately owned industry)

          Roosevelt's New Deal develops public parks, builds hydroelectric dams, highways, and municipal
                buildings), controls agricultural prices, regulates the banking and investment industry, and
               creates the Social Security retirement trust fund ... helping put many of the unemployed
               back to work ... and helping to stablize the economy
          Meanwhile, traditional American society has come into such deep disrepute because of the
               country's economic collapse ... that it inspires a number of intellectuals to join in declaring a
               new Humanist Manifesto (1933) that offers a new and quite secular (and Socialist) Humanist
               religion in replacement of traditional Christianity

          Also, American intellectuals are taken in by the Stalinist deception that real industrial progress (not
               going on at the time in America) depends on the Stalinist social model ... intellectuals not
               understanding that the Russian phenomenon is based on turning Russian workers into
               government slaves ... something carefully hidden from the sight of the West (and America)
          And when Mussolini's Italian troops invade a peaceful Ethiopia (Oct), Americans are shocked ... but
               do little in response ... American oil companies even ignoring the League's sanctions
happy to
               sell oil to Mussolini
          Indeed, Congress begins its annual passage of the Neutrality Acts (1935, 1936, 1937 and 1939)
               forbidding Roosevelt to get involved in any of the international crises breaking out across the
               world     
          At this point also (1935), the Supreme Court begins to declare Roosevelt's New Deal programs as
               unconstitutional ...
upsetting Roosevelt greatly
          A massive and lasting drought hits the American mid-West ... creating the "Dust Bowl" (1935-1937)
               ... forcing farmers to abandon their farms and head West
looking for work of any kind
1936   Roosevelt is reelected with a 61% popular majority and near total sweep of the electoral vote (Nov)
          A bloody civil war breaks out in Spain ... and numerous idealistic Americans join in the "democratic"
               struggle of the Republicans against the traditionalist Nationalists (the latter led by Franco)
1937   So annoyed is Roosevelt with the Supreme Court that he announces plans to expand the number of
               Court justices (with his own appointees) ... but backs down when even Congressional
               Democrats refuse to go along with the plan; this plan also damages his popular support
          Then, with all of the New Deal work projects now completed, unemployment climbs back up again
                (private industry had not made any kind of comeback during the New Deal era) ... and America
                slides back into the Depression
          Auto and steel worker strikes grow violent in confrontations between striking workers, scabs, and
                police or security-service personnel ... with numerous brutal deaths often accompanying these
                conflicts; 18 people die in a battle between strikers and scabs at Republic Steel's
Cleveland
               
plant ... and police kill ten and wound many more strikers and family members simply gathered
                for a Memorial Day picnic near Republic Steel's plant in Chicago (both events in late May)

          Blacks also receive the wrath of frustrated (and crazily angry) Whites
          The idea of massive trans-Atlantic flight via huge blimps collapses with the tragic destruction of the
                massive blimp Hindenburg (May)
          Americans are growing alarmed at the language and actions of Hitler in Germany ... but know of
                little that they can do about such matters; some Americans however want to imitate Hitler
          And the Japanese military acts on its own to invade China (Jul) ... to begin the conquest of that
                country
murdering millions of Chinese in the process; America is shocked!
1938   When Hitler marches his troops into Austria (Mar) to force the union of that country with his Nazi
               Germany, Americans are shocked further ... seeing war clouds developing across the world
but
               not sure what to do about these matters; the situation is worsened that year (Sep) when the
               British authorize Hitler to also seize the German borderlands of Czechoslovaki
          Americans are horrified when Hitler's Nazis begin their full assault (Nov) on Germany's Jewish
               population
1939   Hitler completes the seizure of all of Czechoslovakia (Mar) ... with the help of the Slovaks
who
               resent the Western ways of their Czech partners
          Hoping to turn Hitler's aggressions now westward (towards France and Britain) Stalin signs a peace
               treaty with Hitler (Aug) ... which secretly divides Poland between them as a buffer zone
          Hitler makes his move a week later into Poland (Sep) and Britain and France declare war against
               Hitler; World War Two has officially begun (though underway in China since 1937)
          Two weeks later Stalin moves into his half of Poland ... but the world does nothing; but when Stalin
               sends his troops into Finland (Oct), the League condemns the move ... which also achieves little
              
except Russia's resignation from the League
          Indeed, little is done in the West to counter the moves of these tyrants ... leading Hitler to scorn
               the Western response as the Sitzgrieg (Sitting War); even in the West it comes to be termed
               the "Phony War"
          However, on the high seas, Churchill's navy traps the German battleship Graf Spree at Montevideo,
               Uruguay
(Dec) ... causing its captain to scuttle this valuable battleship rather than surrender it
1940sWorld War Two ... and the beginning of the Cold War
  
1940    Hitler moves his army across Denmark and his navy to the shores of Norway (Apr) ... to gain access
               to  Swedish iron ore needed for his war machine; he then invades Belgium, the Netherlands
               and France (May) quickly overrunning these three countries (by early Jun); he then begins an
               air assault on Britain (Jul) ... in preparation for a channel crossing and invasion of Britain;
               America is shocked ... but is in a position to do little about all this; but it vastly increases its
               defense budget ... and sells "surplus" war goods to Britain
– including 50 battleships (Sep) given
               to Britain in exchange for British land on which to build American air bases
          Germany, Italy and Japan sign a Tripartite Pact (Sep) uniting these three authoritarian societies as
               the "Axis Powers"
          Roosevelt is reelected to his third term as president (Nov)
1941   After much heated debate, Congress approves "Lend Lease" (Mar), permitting Roosevelt to sell, lend
               or transfer any goods to any country (Britain expected to be the major recipient, but also China
               ... and then soon Russia) that he deems necessary for "American defense"
          Hitler now turns his troops against the  Russians (Jun) ... in quest of the grainfields and oil lands he
               deems necessary for Germany's continued dominance; but the Russians prove highly resistant
          America is so unhappy about Japanese action in China and Southeast Asia that it places an
               embargo on sales of oil, iron and other strategic goods to Japan (Jul)
          Roosevelt meets Churchill at sea (Aug), to agree to mutual wartime goals
(the Atlantic Charter) ...
               though America is officially at war with no one at that point
          The Atlantic Charter will be adopted by many other countries (Sep) ... and become the basis of the
               group termed the "United Nations"
          Hitler continues to ignore America's pro-British" neutrality" ... although a German Uboat sinks an
               American destroyer protecting a merchant convoy (Oct) ... leading Congress to put aside its
               Neutraliy Acts
          Japan, anxious to reach the resources of Dutch Indonesia
– and worried about America's strategic
               position in the Philppines across Japan's path to those resources
– decides to bring America to
               its knees by knocking out America's Pacific fleet anchored in Hawaii (Dec); but Roosevelt is not
               interested in any form of surrender ... and gets Congress immediately to declare war against
               Japan; a few days later, Hitler foolishly decides to honor his pact with Japan and declares war
               on America; America is now fully involved in World War Two ... on two fronts, Europe and the
               Pacific
          Meanwhile, Hitler's offensive in Russia comes to a halt as a harsh Russian winter sets in
1942   Sadly an American (and even larger Philippine) military force, surounded by Japanese troops and

               unable to resupplied by sea (the Pacific fleet largely disabled), is forced to surrender (May)
          But a planned Japanese surprise seizure of the vital mid-Pacific island of Midway is anticipated by
               American aircraft carriers (that had been out of Hawaii at the time of Japan's bombing there)
               whose planes do enormous damage to the surprised Japanese fleet (Jun); this battle will mark
               Japan's furthest expansion ... and the beginning of its retreat in the Pacific
          Americans join with the British in attacking the Southern German-Italian flank along the
               Mediterranean coast of North Africa (Oct-Nov)
          The Germans, having resumed their action against Russia (Jun) now find their progress halted at the
               city of Stalingrad (Nov-Dec) ... as another brutal winter sets in
1943   The battle in the Pacific moves north from New Guinea (Buna Beach - Jan) and the Solomon Islands
               (Bouganville - Nov) ... and west from the Gilbert and Marshall Islands (Tarawa - Nov)
          The surviving
– and surrounded German troops at Stalingrad are forced to surrender (Feb) ...
               beginning the Russian counteroffensive against the Germans; a huge battle at Kursk (Jul-Aug)
               destroys much of the German army
          The British-American Allied troops take Sicily from the Germans and Italians (Aug) ... at which point
               the Italians drop out of the war (Sep) ... having already deposed Mussolini (Jul); the Germans
               continue the fight from the mountains in Italy
1944   The Americans decide to do an end run around the Germans with a coastal  landing in Anzio (Jan)

                but wait too long to get off the beach ... and find themselves trapped there (until May)
          The long-awaited cross-channel offensive against the Germans takes place at Normandy (Jun) ...
                beginning the German retreat in France; the same day, American troops enter a freed Rome
           Representatives of the Allies or "United Nations" gather at Brreton Woods (New Hampshire) to plan
                for the coming post-war economic and financial challenges (Jul)
          The Russians advance against the Germans all the way up to Poland's capital, Warsaw (Aug)
and
                then halt
... so as to let the Germans finish off the Polish resistance ... thus leaving Poland
                defenseless against an expansive Russia; then the Russian resume their advance (Oct)
           Americans advance against the Japanese from the East (Saipan, Tinian, Guam - Jun-Aug);
                MacArthur's American troops finally begin the liberation of the Philippines (Oct)
           Roosevelt is reelected to his fourth presidential term (Nov)
           A hoped for Allied swing north into Germany from the Netherlands stalls (Nov); then the Germans
                attempt a counter attack against American troops in Eastern Belgium ... which also fails (Dec)
1945   Russian and American-British troops now find themselves in a collapsing Germany (Jan) ... with the
               Russians most likely to reach Berlin first (located in northeastern Germany)
          Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin meet (Feb) at Yalta (southern Russia) to go over postwar plans;
               seeing how the Japanese are so willing to fight, it is expected that it will take another two
               years to bring Japan to defeat; Roosevelt is delighted when Stalin promises to bring Russia into
               the war against Japan after Germany is defeated ... under the provision of Russia gaining
               Japanese land and becoming the "protector" of various Chinese and Korean territories
          American troops now find themselves on Japanese islands (Iwo Jima - Feb / Okinawa - Apr) ... with
               the Japanese seemingly willing to defend their land down to the last man, woman and child
          To America's huge shock and horror, a very sick Roosevelt suddenly dies (mid-Apr) ... bringing the
               relatively unknown Truman to the US presidency
          Hitler commits suicide (end of Apr) ... and the German government collapses; the German military
               surrenders officially (early May)
          Truman, Churchill and Stalin meet at the Berlin suburb of Potsdam
(Jul) ... to go over postwar plans;
               halfway through the conference, Churchill is informed that he is to be replaced by Labour Party
               leader Atlee
both as prime minister and as Britain's chief delegate to the Potsdam conference
                ... a result of British national elections that just took place
          Two American atomic bombs are dropped over Japan's Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Aug)  ... finally
               breaking the Japanese resolve to fight to the end
          Realizing that the war with Japan is about over, Stalin immediately declares  war on Japan
– in order
               to claim the fruits of the Yalta agreement
          Japanese delegates sign the documents of surrender aboard the US battleship Missouri (Sep); the
               war is officially over
1950sThe Cold War in full force
  
1950    The
1960sThe turbulent 1960s
  
1960    The
1970sThe troubled 1970s
  
1970    The
1980sThe "Regan Era" marks a decade of a return to more traditional values
  
1980    The Former actor and 2-term California governor Reagan (of the old "Vet" generation) crushes
                 Carter in the November elections


1990sThe sole Superpower enjoys a decade of incredible prosperity and international leadership –
              and cultural hedonism

  
1991     A Bush (Sr.) victory against Iraq in the Gulf or "Desert Storm" War (early 1991) puts Vietnam
               defeatism behind America – restoring a sense of America's rightful place as a sole superpower
               leading the world

1992    But US economic difficulties (another economic bubble in the US housing and banking bursts)
               undercuts Bush in his re-election bid – and brings in the young Boomer (former Arkansas
               governor and Democratic Party candidate) Clinton to the White House in 1993

           Clinton undertakes a Liberal reform agenda (national health insurance and open homosexuality in
               the military) which explodes in his face – and he backs down ... to the distress of his wife
               Hillary, who had been heading up his medical program effort

1993     To everyone's great shock, Muslim terrorists – soon connected to the al Qaeda organization
              
succeed in destroying six stories of the North Tower of New York's World Trade Center and
               killing six people and injuring a thousand others (Feb)
           Clinton hosts a successful peace conference between Israeli Prime Minister Rabin and PLO leader
               Arafat (Sep) ... which however is undone when Rabin is killed by a Jewish radical (Nov 1995)
           The UN requests American help in getting food relief past Somali gangs to a starving Somali public
               ... which Clinton answers
(Oct) – and then wisely backs down from when he realized he was
               not getting much Somali support
1994     A cautious Clinton slowly responds to another UN request for American assistance
– in Haiti,
               where a miliary junta had taken over and had created a huge humanitarian crisis; when he saw
               he would have real support, he sent US representatives, then military to Haiti ... forcing the
               junta to restore the elected President to power in Haiti

1995    Republican leader Gingrich’s Contract with America inspires a  Republican takeover of Congress
               (Jan), based on the Republican promise to balance the budget, reduce Federal government
               spending (especially endless welfare payments) and lower taxes

           To save his presidency, Clinton gradually moves to take up much of Gingrich’s program himself
           Once again, America is asked to step in to fix a crisis ... "ethnic cleansing," mostly by Serbs of
               non-Serbs, in much of the former Yugoslavia
– but in the province of Bosnia in particular
           Clinton responds with NATO air strikes (Aug-Sep) and with other allies to attack Serbian positions
               ... resulting in the willingness of the Serbs to agree to the Dayton (Ohio) Accords (
Nov)
1998    Muslim terrorists destroy and kill workers at the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya (Aug)
               Clinton responds with air attacks on al Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan ... and (mistakenly)
               a site in the Sudan
1998-1999    Ethnic strife breaks out in Kosovo (also part of former Yugoslavia) with America again
               taking up the role as the world policeman – separating the warring ethnic groups (Serbs and
               Kosovars this round) in the former Yugoslavia and bringing peace to the region
                   Yeltsin's Russia struggles with corruption in its effort to find stability as a "democracy;" the
               Russian love of Western culture cools.

           An ongoing computer revolution continues to bring unprecedented prosperity to many Americans
           Towards the end of his presidency Clinton gets caught in a sex scandal (Monica) – but manages to
               survive Republican impeachment efforts
2000sMuslim terrorist destruction of the World Trade Center focuses Bush Jr.'s presidency -
       producing military/diplomatic resolve to "remake" Afghanistan and Iraq politically and
       culturally - also helping to plunge the American government into deep indebtedness
  
2000    Putin comes to power in Russia (2000) to put the country back on a more traditional authoritarian
              political course – to the distress of America
          Republican Bush (Jr.) narrowly defeats Democrat Gore in the 2000 presidential elections
2001   Bush, as a "compassionate conservative," proposes a new look for the Republican party – which
              slowly reveals itself as being rather similar to the Democratic Party's vision of political
              "progressivism" run from Washington:  Bush, Jr. pushes hard for his "No Child Left Behind"
              program – which proposes to put American education under close federal government supervision
          But Muslim (al-Qaeda) terrorist destruction of the World Trade Center (Sep 11 or 9/11) refocuses
              Bush's presidency, producing American military/diplomatic resolve in Afghanistan against the
              al-Qaeda terrorists and their Taliban hosts (who have sworn themselves to the total destruction
              of Western civilization); in this,
America and Bush' will receive deep world sympathy, confidence
              and support
          (However, Bush dared not do the same with respect to nuclear armed and supposedly friendly
              Pakistan
where there was an even greater al Qaeda presence);
          But oddly and dangerously foolish enough, a strong push of his Neo-Conservative advisors Cheney
              and Rumsfeld to expand in the Middle East America's "democratic
in Saddam Hussein's quite
              secular Iraq (no connection with al Qaeda) undermines that same global support
2003    Indeed, in the face of widespread opposstion to the Iraq invasion, Bush decides to invade Iraq
              anyway (Mar), plunging American troops into what Cheney clearly knew was a "quagmire"

           Bush equally foolishly sends incompetent Bremer to Iraq (May) ... who undercuts the support
              America was actually receiving from the Iraqis ... most importantly, its military and professional
              classes that initially were quite cooperative; Bremer now makes enemies of them

2004   Bush then tries to turn the running of an agonizingly long war over to the Iraqis (Jun); but Arab
              Sunni and
Shi'ite hatreds and Kurdish independent-mindedness produce such deep political
              schisms that
"democratic" self-government does not automatically spring forth in Iraq; America
              is now stuck in the "quagmire" trying to hold the country together
          Most amazingly, Bush defeats very Liberal Democrat John Kerry in the November elections ... and
              the Republicans increase their majorities in both the House and Senate
2005   A Federal District Judge declares in 2005 that only a Darwinist, not Biblical, explanation of the
              origins of life can be taught in public schools ... and fines a school board $1 million in damages
              for its "inanity" for suggesting that a child might also personally and privately want to consult a
              non-Darwinian viewpoint
2006   Unsurprisingly, Congressional elections (Nov) by a now disillusioned American electorate end the
              Republican control of Congress ... with huge Republican losses in both the House and Senate
          China's economy continues to boom, presenting a challenge for the world's resources + America's
              economic dominance in the world; indeed,
China has moved into the position of now being one
             of the economic powerhouses in the world – running up a huge surplus in the balance of trade
             with America – and helping offset a growing American national indebtedness by buying American
             public debt

          Nuclear North Korea and near-nuclear Iran (with only mild disapproval from Russia and fast-rising
              China) move to challenge Western (American) world dominance
         
2008   
A ballooning American government deficit takes on monumental proportions (growing from $5 trillion
              to well over $10 trillion in the 8 years of the Bush presidency)
          
A near financial meltdown of a number of major American banks – inspired in great part by foolish
              mortgage lending to "subprime" customers
(and the overbuilding of homes) pushes the financial
              world to the brink of collapse (2008); but a US government "bailout" in the last days of the Bush
              presidency provides an expensive a rescue of the banks
           National elections (Nov) pit the seasoned military and political veteran and proven war-hero
             (Republican) John McCain against the
inexperienced political celebrity and multi-racial (Democrat)
             Barack Obama; in the vote, the Republicans lose not only the White House but suffer an even
             bigger political loss in Congress (now numbering 257 Democrats to 178 Republicans in the House;
             59 Democrats to 41 Republicans with 2 left-leaning independents in the Senate)

2009   As President, Obama quickly follows Bush's program of a buyout of troubled American businesses,
              extending the Federal buyout to much of the American automotive industry (GM and Chrysler)
          He also runs up the public debt with "economic incentives" to try to put life back into the economy

          Obama delivers a speech in Egypt affirming America's new support for the Islamic world (Jun)
          Brazil, Russia, India and China hold a summit conference agreeing to bring their economies together
              in closer cooperation (Jun) … designed to make them less dependent on the West's economy

             and in particular the American dollar
for their development;
           South Africa will join the next year – now constituting an organization known by the initials BRICS
           The American economy does not recover from the financial crisis, despite vast amounts of Bush
               and Obama government funding to "stimulate" the economy; this increases greatly the national
               debt
           A Democrat-controlled Congress pushes through Obama's national health program (Nov-Dec)
               ... which Obama signs into law (Mar 2010)
2010sAmerica struggles to locate its national identity at home and to find its way abroad in a     
             multipolar political, economic and cultural universe
  
2011    During the "Arab Spring" (2011) the Middle East is shaken by the rise of Muslim rebel groups,
               particularly in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Libya; America and the West try to stay out of the mess
 
          Osama bin Laden is finally killed by Navy SEALs in Pakistan (May)
2012    Obama threatens Assad with US counteraction if he does not stop his repression in Syria ...
               but fails to deliver on the threat, helping to add to the Syrian confusion ... and driving Assad to
               Putin's Russia for support
           Obama is re-elected in a race with the Republican Romney (Nov)
2014    Masked Russian troops seize Crimea from Ukraine (Feb); America and the West react only
               with anger ... and some economic threats aimed at Putin's Russia
           Jihadists announce the creation of an Islamic state/caliphate in Iraq and Syria - ISIS (Jun)
2015    The Supreme Court decides 5-4 that "marriage" must also include homosexual unions (Jun)
           China claims ownership of the South China Sea by starting construction of naval air bases on
               dredged islands
2016     Because of negotiations undertaken by Secretary of State Kerry, American economic sanctions
               are lifted against Iran ... who supposedly has ended nuclear weapons development (Jan)
           The American federal debt reaches nearly $20 trillion by the end of the Obama Presidency
          
Businessman and TV celebrity Donald Trump defeats Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential
               elections. Democrats protest that the election was not fair (he won the electoral college vote
               but not the popular vote) ... and become determined to bring down the Trump Presidency by
               whatever means possible.

           ISIS is crushed when its capital at Raqqa is taken by pro-American forces (2017) ... but ISIS's
               forces are merely scattered and spread into the surrounding areas of the Middle East
2018 
   Confirmation hearings of Supreme Court appointee Kavanaugh turn ugly as Democrats bring out
              claims of a misogynist event during his high school years ... stirring "Me Too" feminist wrath
              when he is confirmed

           Horrible living conditions in Central America (and elsewhere) send hundreds of thousands of Latinos
               (and others) north to attempt to cross the border into America ...
2018-2019    But House Democrats block efforts of Trump to erect a wall to stop this invasion (2018/19)
2019    Democrats' efforts to find impeachable "collusion" in the 2016 election between Trump and Russia
                are hurt by the Mueller inquiry ... which finally finds insuficient basis to bring criminal charges
                against  Trump (Mar)
           A global pandemic originates at the end of 2019 in China (Covid-19)
2020sThe political-moral problems challenging America and the Western world continue to mount 
  
2020     This coronavirus pandemic hits the world at the beginning of the year ... killing millions across the
               globe, deeply undermining national economies (includin America's) ... and disrupting life in
               general
2020    A very elderly professional Washington politician (A Democrat serving almost a half-century in
               Washington), Biden is elected US President (Nov)
2021    Trump protests that the 2020 election was not fair ... and encourages protesters to march on the
               Capitol Building the day Congress is affirming the vote (January 6); a violent disaster results;
               numerous court cases are filed against Trump
           In his first day in office, Biden issues Executive Order after Executive Order ... in order to bring
               the country more fully under the "progressive" control of the Washington bureaucracy … in
               every possible realm of life
           The massive invasion by "illegals" crossing into America from Mexico continues to go largely
                unblocked
           Biden completes Trump's plan for an American withdrawal from Afghanistan … but the actua l
               operation (Aug) proves to be merely a disastrous abandonment of American assets and 
               allies there
2022     America and Europe swing to strong support of Ukraine when Putin's Russia suddenly (Feb) 
               attacks Russia ... starting up a war which drags on and on
2024     Several Middle Eastern countries join BRICS … and begin to move against the American dollar's  
               place of prominence in the world's economy


  Miles H. Hodges